images of hurricane damage and reconstruction
This is the companion Web site to the Post Disaster Green Reconstruction Forum, which is a mailing list for discussing strategies and projects for rebuilding after disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. It is led by Bill Browning and Mark Ginsberg, and hosted by BuildingGreen, Inc. Use the link above to subscribe to that list or view archives.

The New Orleans Principles Published

The New Orleans Principles, a 27-page report from the Gulf Coast Reconstruction Charrettes held at the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild conference in Atlanta, is available for downloading. The charrettes were held on November 9th through 11th and attended by more than 160 people from the Gulf Coast and throughout North America. The ten principles and more than 50 detailed policy recommendations and actions chart a course for incorporating a context of sustainability into planning and reconstruction efforts in New Orleans. Additional reports on Schools and Affordable Housing from the charrettes will be available later.
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USGBC Spearheads Initiative at Greenbuild 2005 Designed to Embed Sustainable Strategies in Gulf Coast Rebuilding Efforts

October 20, 2005 (WASHINGTON, DC) - The U.S Green Building Council (USGBC), together with the Enterprise Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, the Trust for Public Land and others have announced a "full complement" of initiatives and ideas designed to assist in the rebuilding efforts of the Gulf Coast communities ravaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The immediate opportunity that presents itself is during the Council's annual 2005 Greenbuild Conference & Expo, which will be held in Atlanta on November 9-11, 2005.
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A Bold Plan for New Orleans

October 4, 2005--In an in-depth editorial in the October, 2005, issue of Environmental Building News (EBN), BuildingGreen president and EBN executive editor Alex Wilson lays out a bold plan for how to approach the reconstruction of New Orleans in a way that protects the environment while respecting the city's culture and the well-being of its residents. Only twice before in our history--with the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and with the San Francisco earthquake of 1906--has this nation faced such wholesale reconstruction of a city. The rebuilding of New Orleans offers an opportunity to address sustainability on a scale that has not been tried before.
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