Post contributed by local commercial realtor and green building enthusiast Bryan Wasmer Dempsey, ESQ.
The City of Miami addressed the pressing issues of climate change, resource depletion and energy security last Friday, December 8th with the “Mayor’s Green Building Forum” at the downtown campus of Miami-Dade Community College. The event heralded Mayor Manny Diaz’s first public foray into the green building movement as he voiced the City’s intent to become one of the greenest cities in the country. Mayor Diaz really seemed to grasp the urgency of developing "green". He, and a couple of the other speakers, dropped small hints that green building elements will soon begin to be incorporated in the City of Miami planning and design programs.
The Mayor was followed by the keynote speaker, Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council. Mr. Fedrizzi gave an impressive presentation, chalk-full of statistics on the health, environmental and economic benefits of green building. William Holly, whose Green Miami building just broke ground the other day was a guest speaker as well. Also in attendance, local non-profit Dream in Green.
The standing room only crowd of interested parties included; engineers, architects, developers, non-profits, commercial real estate professionals, and local media. The desire for further illumination into Miami’s possible future green building practices and prerequisites was evident by the number of questions addressed to the Mayor and panel ranging from incentives to standards to administration.
My personal opinion of the forum was that, although it was long overdue for Miami, it was a good start with what felt like a lot of enthusiasm on behalf of the Mayor and the attendees. The Mayor made several bold statements, including his desire to make Miami one of the leaders in green building. The green momentum was palpable. Let’s hope that it continues and that the City of Miami carries through.
3 Responses to “Mayor’s Green Building Forum”
Bryan,
Thanks for the contribution…this is great news. If the mayor and everyone can follow up and keep the momentum going, Miami will join an exclusive list of green cities such as SFC, Denver, Portland, and Austin.
Bryan, thanks for the insight on what’s happening in the local political arena. It’s awesome to see our city leaders embrace these new types of building practices. They certainly have an incredible amount of power that can help transform Miami into a sustainable, healthy & livable city. Very exciting news. I hope to hear more about this in future columns.
Is this the future of sustainable construction known as ASMET – monocoque building system.