Retrofits
Retrofitting Old Cities for Sustainability
Explore strategies for retrofitting old cities to enhance sustainability while preserving historical integrity and managing logistical challenges.
Housing as a Climate Resilience Strategy
Ensuring that housing, including in informal settlements, is safe and healthy for its residents is a key tool in the fight to build more sustainable and equitable communities in the face of climate migration.
Federal Resilience Program a Lifeline for Affordable Housing Providers
The little-known Green and Resilient Retrofit Program funds upgrades and repairs that improve efficiency and comfort in existing housing stock.
Colorado Launches New Efficiency and Weatherization Rebate Program
The state is using federal funds to assist homeowners in replacing inefficient appliances and making their homes more climate-friendly and resilient.
Future of Justice40 Initiative Hinges on Election
The program requires that 40 percent of some federal funds be used to benefit historically disadvantaged communities.
Retrofitting Parking Garages to Create New Housing
Underused parking garages and lots offer an opportunity to alleviate the housing crisis by retrofitting them with temporary and permanent housing options.
Study: Retrofitting Old Buildings Has Lower Total Carbon Footprint Than New Construction
A study of over a million Chicago buildings assessed their ‘embodied carbon’ footprint over their lifetimes, showing that demolishing an old building in favor of a new one almost always produced more emissions.
How To Reduce Energy Use in Buildings
The cheapest energy is energy not used.
HUD Resiliency Awards Target Affordable Multifamily Housing
The Green and Resilient Retrofit program aims to reduce vulnerability to climate challenges and improve energy efficiency in multifamily buildings.
NYC Approves Carbon Neutrality Plan
The zoning amendment, part of the ‘City of Yes’ plan, will make it easier and more affordable to make efficiency retrofits and reduce emissions.
US Building Emissions are Growing
Green building standards and efficiency retrofits are not keeping up with energy demand, resulting in a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.
Boston Pilot Program Funds Electrification of Small Residential Properties
Owners of small buildings can get up to $50,000 per unit to fund decarbonization retrofits.
Pennsylvania Law Ties Building Repair Loans to Affordability
A new state program provides forgivable loans for residential repairs and retrofits to landlords who don’t raise rents by more than 3 percent.
Efficiency Retrofits Get Expanded Tax Credits Under Inflation Reduction Act
The doubled incentive could be a ‘tipping point’ for innovative construction materials that were too expensive for most projects.
D.C. Adds New Safety Requirement in Wake of Recent Collapses
A series of incidents including the fatal collapse of a condo building in Surfside, Florida have prompted the District to implement safety enhancements to its building safety review.
Budget Crunch Threatens California's Climate Resilience Plans
Facing a massive budget due to the declining revenues created by the coronavirus pandemic, California will have to cut a program intended to retrofit homes and roofs as a protection against wildfire, among other climate resilience programs.
Designing for Social Distance Requires Creative Solutions
Modular systems and flexible use of shared spaces are priorities as urban designers begin to consider how design requirements will change in the future.
Study: Density Better Than Retrofits for Emissions
Just because a study says density is more effective than energy system retrofits in reducing emissions, doesn't mean that we have to settle for just one.
Retrofitting Vulnerable Buildings Becomes Mandatory in Earthquake Prone LA..
Decades in the making, the Los Angeles City Council has approved regulations requiring the retrofit of vulnerable wood and concrete buildings.
Planning for the 'Big One'—In Salt Lake City
Many people outside of Salt Lake City might not realize that the city's proximity to the Wasatch Fault puts it at risk for an earthquake likely in the range of 7.1 on the Richter scale.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
