Study finds the greening of New Orleans is stymied by funding

Funding remains the biggest obstacle to the greening of the Crescent City. A new Sierra Club survey of key players in the New Orleans green movement found that nearly 67% of those surveyed cited funding as the major barrier, followed by small staff size, as reasons for not providing green building products and services. Nearly half the respondents devote less than a quarter of their budgets for green building. The report calls for the city to develop a “best practices” model for rebuilding that focuses on existing and emerging partnerships and highlights their role in providing funding, coordinating efforts, managing resources and creating “green collar” jobs. Two researchers from Monterey, California, spent three weeks in New Orleans in January working with the Sierra Club to develop a plan for the green building assessment. They conducted informal interviews with various green building organizations and stakeholders throughout New Orleans, then conducted the surveys online. Some 42 academic institutions, architects, consultants, contractors and construction companies, nongovernmental organizations, nonprofits and local government officials were surveyed; nearly 60% of them completed the questionnaire. To read the full report, click here. To read the rest of 10/12 Corridor Weekly, click here.