The triple bottom line of sustainability addresses the importance of environmental, social and economic considerations. It's something we all strive to achieve. That being said, the social aspect is often forgotten or overlooked, particularly in affordable housing. Very often, residents are spoken for and not included in the decision making process upfront. This session will highlight typical resident responses and concerns that we hear every day. It will also highlight new strategies that aim to improve interactions with residents, throughout the design process.

Current pathways to carbon emission reductions are primarily driven through electrification of heating via heat pumps. Types of heat pump technology that are underutilized in the NYC area are ground source heat pumps (GSHP)/geothermal energy and other thermal networks. Heating and cooling from geothermal energy and other thermal networks are not novel technologies and have been used in urban areas in North America and Western Europe for some time. However, these systems are still facing barriers to adoption.

As part of the State of New York’s ambitions to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by mid-century, NYSERDA initiated the Buildings of Excellence (BOE) Design Competition for multifamily new construction and deep renovation projects. The results from the first two rounds of BOE awards give insight into achieving higher levels of building performance in terms of energy savings, carbon reductions, and other co-benefits. They provide data on how to manage costs, effectiveness of technology, etc. and offer replicable models for others to follow.