Blog #3: TIF, LEED, Books and Rahr’s

TIF Project and Fort Worth

Jim Johnson, Director of Downtown Development, spoke to the class about the TIF project and some of the difficulties involved in reworking a city to become more sustainable. Some of the topics that came up were public transportation, energy/water/landfill costs, the availability of alternative fuels, parking spaces and prices, traffic, road construction, and many more things that are current opportunities for the city of Fort Worth.

The TIF project was one the major topics. Tax Increment Finance District, or TIF, “helps provide public improvements downtown, in conjunction with private investments” [1]. The program uses the taxes to fund public projects. One of the major projects that are funded is to provide free-parking to attract more people to visit Fort Worth and spend money.

The economic benefits of TIF are definitely present, but are they sustainable? Discussing the difficulty of changing Fort Worth into a more sustainable city is very disheartening. It is something that requires everyone’s involvement. The prices of our resources do not reflect their value and until they do it will be very difficult to convince individuals to treat them as valuable.

Future of LEED

Jackson Murphy presented an analysis of the green building. The analysis was very positive and drew a picture of how rapid the growth and knowledge of “green” buildings are growing. Increases in investments in green building projects are growing. The presentation mainly focused on LEED, because of its popularity, but other certifications were mentioned as well. Something that was interesting was how he explained that LEED certification standards are slowly seeping into regulated building policy. In various municipalities throughout the U.S. buildings that are built to code are already built to LEED certified standards.  Building better new buildings is not only thing that needs to be done; there are 99 times more existing buildings versus the projected amount being built. That means there is a tremendous need to rework these existing buildings so they can enjoy a sustainable life-cycle just like the new buildings. Building sustainable buildings is a great leap in sustainability, but it will not be enough. We need to rework existing buildings if we are to complete our transition.

Green Library

The Bedford Public Library was built with sustainability in mind. Even though it is not certified as such, the building is built to LEED Gold Standards. As a person walks in, they can read all about the building’s sustainable technologies. This building is amazing in its ability to present the merging of profit and planet. Every day the building is in operation it is returning its investment. Some of the green technologies that the library houses are: solar panels, reflective white roof, geothermal heat pump system, water conservation fixtures, natural lighting, high-efficiency lighting, and motion sensors for light switches [2]. I hope that with this library as a model of efficiency more local cities realize that building sustainable public buildings is a way to decrease energy costs. If local municipalities adopt this mindset it will be one step closer to greener communities.

Rahr Brewery

Rahr’s Brewery is a great example of how a local business can focus on serving the local community and do their part for sustainability. They brew and ship locally and are very open to the community about their brewing process. They are also committed to finding uses for their spent grains. Not only do these grain turn into cow feed, but can also be turned into bread [3]. I enjoyed touring the facility and seeing where and how their product was made. It gave me a sense of pride in my community. Local business is very important to sustainability because it reduces the need for mass transportation of products, keeping vehicles off the road. It also encourages local businesses to work with other local businesses.

SOURCES:

[1] http://www.dfwi.org/what-we-do/tif-overview
[2] http://www.bedfordlibrary.org/
[3] http://rahrbrewing.com/community/rahr-recycles.html
PICs:
[a] bwucinski.wordpress.com
[b] http://fresh-interior.com/architecture/future-bioclinical-skyscapers-by-ken-yeang/
[c] clipartpal.com
[d] historicryanplace.org