Researcher links green buildings with improved health

published 10/29/2009

Green buildings don’t just conserve energy — they also improve their occupants’ health.

That was the message of David Jacobs, director of research for the National Center for Healthy Housing, to a panel of state lawmakers.

Speaking at a joint meeting of the House Housing Finance and Policy and Public Health Finance Division and the Senate Housing Subcommittee, Jacobs argued that investments in affordable green housing could improve public health and ultimately lower health care costs. (Watch the meeting.)

“The burden of disease is picked up by our medical care system when some of it could be picked up by adequate housing,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs described a recently completed case study that demonstrated significant health improvements in Worthington, Minn., residents who lived in housing that had been rehabilitated using green building standards.

Various improvements made to the residents’ housing included: proper ventilation systems; removal of surfaces containing volatile organic compounds; radon testing; integrated pest management; no-smoking rules for common areas; and proper drainage.

As a result of the modifications, respiratory illnesses and other health problems decreased significantly, Jacobs said. As an ancillary benefit, he said residents also cut their energy usage by 46 percent.

According to Jacobs, the Worthington study and others like it suggest major policy implications for lawmakers, as green building standards and investments in improved affordable housing could make positive impacts on health, energy and environment simultaneously.

- Nick Busse