Greensburg KS to Rebuild as LEED Platinum City
The city of Greensburg KS was nearly obliterated by an F5 tornado in May 2007. But turning the devestation into an opportunity, the city is looking to make its mark by rebuilding as a green community. The city has mandated that all city buildings larger than 4,000 sq. ft. must be built to LEED-Platinum level and must have an energy performance level at least 42% better than current building code requirements.
“The city of Greensburg has taken the extraordinary step of committing to rebuild their community to a new vision, not settling for simply recreating what had gone before,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “By committing to a recovery plan based on green building, the community’s leadership has set a path that will result in a healthier, more livable city for its citizens, turning a crisis into an opportunity that is an example for us all.”
After a disaster, it is difficult to take the time and effort to try to build something better than what had been present before. This mandate only applies to city buildings. But hopefully, the wider city itself will embrace this direction, and not only will city buildings, but the stores, offices, homes, and other buildings will likewise be built better, and greener, than what they are replacing.
[...] environmental journalist featured on the Sundance Channel and sundancechannel.com, is documenting Greensburg’s recovery as a “Green City” with her new series The Good Fight. She’s also promoting a fund-raising effort to help [...]
[...] fundraiser for Greensburg GreenTown, a non-profit supporting Greensburg, Kansas’ efforts to rebuild green after a tornado leveled the town last May. Despite ugly weather, the ballroom at the Scarritt [...]
[...] Planet Green will feature a variety of original green programming, often featuring well known personalities like Emeril Lagasse or Ed Begley Jr. Other celebrities come on board both in front of and behind the camera, as does Leonardo DiCaprio with the network’s series on Greensburg, Kansas, a tornado-devastated community that’s rebuilding in a green and sustainable fashion. [...]
Is the city giving consideration to rebuilding Greensburg in such a way that promotes active living, which is also key to sustaining health and wealth? Are provisions being made for designing buildings and pedestrian routes to be walkable and accessible by bike and on foot?
Thank you and best wishes to Greensburg! For more information about active living, see Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Active Living Research.
I am all about green living and self-sustained building, but isn’t the city still in a tornado area? I would be afraid to live there…isn’t the likelihood of it getting destroyed again high? Not to be bringing down a good idea, I’m just making an observation. I wish them all luck…
I was wondering why they are rebuilding square buildings which another tornado can take down. Why aren’t they looking into building any Monolithic Dome buildings around the town? Churches could be built in Monolithic style, the Schools could be as well as any Municipal buildings.
The other concern I had is offsetting the basement or underground shelters so that the house cannot fall in on top of the folks down there. And, laugh at me if you want to… but what about slides to get down there in an emergency?
I saw a few episodes of Greensburg rebuilding on the Green Channel. At first I was really intrigued by the prospect of “rebuilding” green, though I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant. I thought I was going to see a lot of sustainable buildings and a city design that incorporated a new living style that would promote sustainability. Unfortunately, the town people were mostly against anything that was too avant garde, and wanted mostly to have their old “dying” city back. The way green is defined by the city is to have all the city buildings built to platinum LEED standards, which means that the buildings have to be 43% more energy efficient then current models. In order to achieve that all a building has to do is install new windows, insulating techniques, water heater, etc. I thought there was something really revolutionary going on in Greensburg, but its mostly a lot heart-felt stories about middle America and a few energy efficient buildings. If there is something I’m missing please let me know.
[...] meet a required level of green building could lead to legal difficulties and lawsuits. A year ago, Greensburg, Kansas was struck by a tornado which destroyed most of the town. In the wake of this disaster, city officials adopted a plan to [...]
[...] meet a required level of green building could lead to legal difficulties and lawsuits. A year ago, Greensburg, Kansas was struck by a tornado which destroyed most of the town. In the wake of this disaster, city officials adopted a plan to [...]
Requiring that the City of Greensburg should rebuild to a LEED Platinum standard is ludicrous. LEED Platinum is extremely difficult and expensive to attain, which I know because I am a LEED Accredited Professional. I can get on board with Cities requiring some green features and even using the LEED manual to get ideas for new buildings. The LEED Platinum requirement will delay the rebuilding process for years. This is not in the best interest of the people of Greensburg. In case you are wondering, I am from Central Kansas and I spent a couple days in Greensburg in 2005 (a couple years before the tornado hit - my former roommate is from Greensburg). The town has a lot of heart and hardworking people who deserve to be able to rebuild their town as they see fit.