Q: How is green building relevant to the larger environmental and social justice movement?

A: Green building is perceived as being a lot more expensive. I have read, and we have been told by developers during our close, that building a home green only adds about 7-10% to the cost of the home. But a green, healthy home should not be just for the upper middle class and richer. Lower income families, who also lack quality food and often adequate health care, deserve to live in healthy homes, too. Often they benefit even more from better air quality and properly insulated homes. I seem to always use High Point as an example, but as the City of Seattle becomes increasingly diverse a primary challenge is the ongoing struggle to create a community where all people are valued, regardless of their background. Mayor Nickels’ Race and Social Justice Initiative seeks to reduce disproportionality in economic opportunity, education, civic engagement, and other areas, and to make City services more relevant to Seattle’s diverse populations. High Point, with a high density of low-income housing managed by the Seattle Housing Authority, has new rental homes built to the green standard, in addition to the entire development being certified Built Green. A number of homes are even part of an asthma experiment to see how much better indoor air quality will significantly improve the health of area children suffering from this condition. They are called Breathe Easy Homes.