Study Finds Sustainable Design Saves
$60,000 Per Home While Protecting Environment

A summary by Evan Manvel, 1000 Friends of Oregon

A recent study of development design and building alternatives found a sustainable community design could save over $60,000 (US dollars) per dwelling unit in development costs over a current standard subdivision design. The study, "Alternative Development Standards for Sustainable Communities," (April 1998) was commissioned by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and the University of British Columbia.

The study analyzes three neighborhood patterns in the greater Vancouver, BC area: a status quo (current) pattern, a "traditional" (pre-World War II) pattern, and a hypothetical "traditional" pattern with an ecological underlay that works to preserve and enhance existing natural systems on site.

The study then looks at two comparable 14-acre parcels in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb. A Status Quo design, building only single-family detached units, is contrasted with a similar site done in the traditional pattern with an ecological underlay, a "Sustainable Alternative." Maps are supplemented with calculations, measurements, and descriptions.

The Sustainable Alternative provides over four times as many dwelling units per acre, creating a critical mass required for transit and nearby commercial services. The impervious surface in the two designs is the same -- about half. On a per dwelling unit basis, the Sustainable infrastructure is one-fifth the cost, saving over $12,700 per unit. The average cost per dwelling unit for Sustainable design is more than $60,000 less, partially due to the slightly smaller size of units (2090 sq. ft. compared with 2300 sq. ft.). Yet each Sustainable Alternative unit includes at least a small terrace or back yard, and in some cases a back yard comparable to Status Quo houses.

Most of the cost savings in the Sustainable Alternative model come from land and infrastructure costs -- for example, due to permeable alleyways and other design elements, the Sustainable Alternative avoids $138,000 in storm sewer costs. Finally, the Sustainable model's replacement cost for on-site infrastructure is estimated at one-third the cost compared to the Status Quo model. Off-site infrastructure costs are not compared.

To order the study, contact the University of British Columbia, (604) 822-4481, or send $10 to: James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Livable Environments, Landscape Architecture Program, 6368 Stores Road, UBC, Vanouver, BC V6T 1Z4 CANADA

Note: Throughout this summary, Canadian dollars have been converted to U.S. dollars, at $0.67US /$1CN.

More information about the study