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The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) adopted a new rule with new accessibility guidelines for federal buildings. The rule establishes that pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way are readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.
Climate change is making design and construction more challenging and increasing the potential for lawsuits against building teams, according to insurance experts. Building to code is not enough to reduce liability because codes have not kept up with the rapid climate changes that are making extreme weather more common.
A Florida law enacted after the Surfside condo tower collapse is causing turmoil in the condominium market. The law, which requires buildings to meet certain structural safety standards, is forcing condo associations to assess hefty fees to make repairs on older properties. In some cases, the cost per unit runs into six figures.
A law ending single-family-home-only zoning in California was ruled unconstitutional by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. The decision could lead to the law being invalidated in the state’s largest cities.
ASHRAE has released a new standard that defines the terms ‘Zero Energy’ and ‘Zero Carbon’ to describe buildings.
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 228-2023, Standard Method of Evaluating Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Carbon Building Performance, sets requirements for evaluating whether a building or group of buildings meets a definition of “zero net energy” or a definition of “zero net carbon” during operation.
Hurricane Ian struck the Southwest Florida coastline last fall with winds exceeding 150 mph, flooding cities, and devastating structures across the state. A construction risk management expert believes the projected economic damage, as high as $75 billion, will prompt the state to beef up building codes and reform land use rules.
A recent ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco invalidating Berkeley, California’s ban on natural gas within new building construction puts similar measures adopted around the country in legal jeopardy.
Sixteen years out from a 2007 law that aimed to end the use of fossil fuels in federal buildings, gas heat is still being installed within the federal sphere.
Boston will soon adopt a new stringent green state building code that aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions in new construction and major renovations.
Arlington County, a Washington, D.C., community that took shape in the 1950s, when single-family homes were the rule in suburbia, recently became one of the first locations on the East Coast to eliminate single-family-only zoning.
The U.S. Green Building Council, Green Business Certification Inc., and the International WELL Building Institute released a streamlined process for projects pursuing certifications for the LEED green building rating system and the WELL Building Standard. The new protocol simplifies documentation for projects that are pursuing both certifications at the same time or that have already earned one certification and are looking to add the other.
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has released a guide for educators, administrators, and school districts on indoor air quality. The guide can be used as a tool to discuss options to improve indoor air quality based on existing HVAC equipment, regional objectives, and available funding.
The U.S. Department of Energy is offering funding to help state and local governments upgrade their building codes to boost energy efficiency. The funding will support improved building codes that reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency, according to DOE.
The Washington state House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would legalize duplexes or fourplexes in almost every neighborhood of every city in the state.
