This Eastmoreland house was torn down last fall to make way for new construction. Mike Francis | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Already, though, some say the new rule isn’t enough. A group called United Neighborhoods for Reform wants the City Council to require deconstruction for all homes built before 1978 — when the government banned lead paint in consumer uses.
“When a house is demolished through mechanical demolition, lead is pulverized and sent up into the air and falls into neighbors’ yards as dust,” said Barbara Kerr, the group’s representative on the city’s Deconstruction Advisory Group. “If it’s deconstructed, it poses little danger.”
Source: Portland City Council to discuss deconstruction requirements | OregonLive.com
Have you ever thought about how the design of our cities, towns, and communities has wide ranging effects on both our own lives and on larger global issues? Yes, simply by changing the way we design our living spaces, we affect many things in both good ways and bad.
via How US Urban Sprawl Causes Problems Ranging from Obesity to Climate Change | Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building.
TreeHugger has an outstanding article on the health benefits of buildings that have already off-gassed – in other words, old buildings.
Carl Elefante once said that The greenest building is the one already standing, and it has become a mantra among the heritage community. However a case can be made that The healthiest building is the one already standing as well.
via The healthiest building is the one already standing : TreeHugger.
Reclamation Administration: News and Research on Building Material Waste Prevention