Bicycle City does not want to be another community full of cookie-cutter homes. Rather, we want our single-family homes, townhomes, apartments, lofts and other dwellings to reflect our eclectic spirit and champion individuality. We certainly plan to offer traditional-style single family housing, but we also plan to offer unique home options that appeal to our environmentally-conscious, active residents. One example is a treehouse! Imagine reconnecting with nature in the truest way possible – living among the trees. Forget the plywood treehouse you played in as a child; instead, imagine a sound loft high in the tree tops. Check out O2 Sustainability, Free Spirit Spheres, The Living Treehouse and Escape Artist for images and descriptions of some very unique treehouses.

Regardless of what our houses end up looking like, we plan to have all of them be LEED certified. The US Green Building Council has established a point system for awarding LEED certification for homes, as outlined in the Green Home Guide:  

• Innovation and Design Process: Points for project planning, durability planning and management, innovation and design
• Location and Linkages: Points for neighborhood development, site selection, infrastructure, community resources, transit availability and open space
• Sustainable Sites: Points for erosion control, landscaping, reducing heat effects, permeability, pest control alternatives and density
• Water Efficiency: Points for the reuse of water, irrigation and high-efficient fixtures and fittings
• Energy and Atmosphere: Points for energy efficiency, hot water distribution, pipe insulation and HVAC refrigerants
• Materials and Resources: Points for framing, tropical wood, eco-friendly building products and waste management planning and reduction
• Indoor Environmental Quality: Points for venting, moisture control, air ventilation, exhaust, heating and cooling load calculations, air filtering, containment control, radon protection and garage pollutant protection
• Awareness and Education: Points for educating the home owner, tenant or building manager

Dwellings Statistics

• Only 7.2% of home buyers believe developers pay enough attention to the environment. (RCLCO “Measuring the Market for Green Residential Development”)
• 20% of homeowners feel their homes have a negative impact on the environment and want to do something to reduce their impact either in their existing home or on a future purchase. (RCLCO “Measuring the Market for Green Residential Development”)
• 43% want their homes to save more energy. (RCLCO “Measuring the Market for Green Residential Development”)
• In their next home purchase, 40.1% want better insulation, 34.5% want whole-home air filtering, 29.1% want water conserving fixtures, 20% want a reduction of energy, 22% want improved indoor air quality, and 19.8% wants water conservation, renewable energy and resource conservation.  (RCLCO “Measuring the Market for Green Residential Development”)
• If the investment pays itself off over time, 75% of buyers will spend more for a green home if it saves energy; 50% will if it provides health benefits and 46% will if it is good for the environment. (RCLCO “Measuring the Market for Green Residential Development”)
• If the investment may not pay itself off over time, only 18% will spend additional money to save energy, 41% will if it provides health benefits, and 24% will if it is good for the environment. (RCLCO “Measuring the Market for Green Residential Development”)
• The potential demand for high-density housing is in the range of 4.5 million units over the next 10 years. (RCLCO “Measuring the Market for Green Residential Development”)
• There are over 11,390 homes across the U.S. involved in the LEED for home pilot program; 502 homes have already received LEED certification. (US Green Building Council)
• The green homes market is expected to increase to 10% by 2010. (US Green Building Council)
• 2%–or $7.4 billion–of homes were built green (2006) with elements such as energy efficient windows. 0.3% of all existing United States homes are truly green, constructed using several different green building design features and products, a market sized at approximately $2 billion. (NAHB and McGraw-Hill Construction)
• 85% of green homeowners are more satisfied with their new green homes than with their previous, more traditionally built homes. (NAHB and McGraw-Hill Construction)
• 63% report lower operating and maintenance costs as the key motivation behind buying a green home. Additionally, nearly 50% said they are motivated by environmental concerns and their family’s health. (NAHB and McGraw-Hill Construction)
• 40% of those who have recently completed home remodeling or renovation work in their homes reported that they used green products or materials. (NAHB and McGraw-Hill Construction)
• 52% of corporate respondents and 39% of developer respondents currently own manage or lease some green property. (National Real Estate Investor 2007 Green Building Survey)
• 84% corporate respondents/77% development respondents expect to own, manage or lease some green property within five years. (National Real Estate Investor 2007 Green Building Survey)
• 3,200 buildings (575 million square feet) have the Energy Star seal of approval. (National Real Estate Investor 2007 Green Building Survey)
• Corporate users anticipate green facilities that they own or lease will more than double from 9% to 21% in next five years. (National Real Estate Investor 2007 Green Building Survey)
• Developers expect the volume of green properties in their portfolios to jump from 9% to 20% by 2012. (National Real Estate Investor 2007 Green Building Survey)
• 46% corporate users/51% development respondents consider green design either important or extremely important. (National Real Estate Investor 2007 Green Building Survey)
• Only 10% of developers say green design is not at all important in the site selection process.
• When choosing green buildings to buy/lease, the most important factors to corporate users are energy efficiency (81%), water savings (53%) and indoor environmental quality (50%).(National Real Estate Investor 2007 Green Building Survey)
• When building green, the most important factors are lower energy costs (79%) and being environmentally friendly (74%).(National Real Estate Investor 2007 Green Building Survey)