The extreme lack of sustainable architecture is an issue that is rising at a rapid speed so material and labor costs are only going to become more outrageous. Due to the fact that 40% of carbon dioxide emissions are from the construction and building industry, a greener cityscape is essential if we want to keep our Earth alive. Greener can mean actual vegetation, implementing laws to enforce eco-friendliness, or just using sustainable technology such as green roofs, solar panels, and greywater systems to take runoff water from rain and snow, store it, and then use that water to keep the green roof alive. Which, in turn, will help cut down the major amounts of CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere. 

If we want to reach the United Nations’ goal of not letting the Earth raise 1.5ºC, we will have to cut ALL CO₂ emissions by 2040. This means 0 CO₂ entering the atmosphere from human-made things like cars, buildings, construction, and deconstruction (deforesting, demolition, or removing of anything). Of course, this is not possible without drastic changes to our ecological and political systems, but we can slow the rise of temperatures by incorporating solutions like green roofs, solar panels, and greywater systems. Rethinking how buildings are designed is easy enough, but retrofitting eco-friendly and sustainable systems into existing buildings can be challenging. For the buildings that won’t allow for those solutions, things like more bike parking, adding trees or greenery to the ground area surrounding the building, or even just removing old and outdated ductwork, plumbing, and electrical systems can really help.

Han Fei Tzu was a Chinese philosopher who practiced Legalism. He believed that laws should be strict and punishments should be severe.  If we were to ask him today about his thoughts on sustainable architecture, he would agree that implementing strict rules and regulations in the current build code to ensure sustainability would be the most effective way of reducing the ever-developing issue. In his writings, he claimed “if [we] pursue ease, the land will waste; if the land wastes, the state will not be in order. If the state is not orderly, it will become chaotic” implying that if we don’t take action and preserve our land, a chain reaction of terrible events will occur ending in our downfall. Adding laws to lower CO₂ emission such as per x amount of square feet on a rooftop, y needs to be solar panels and/or green roof, or prohibiting the use of potentially toxic materials.

Green roofs are one of the most common solutions for the issue of global warming and sustainable architecture. However, not many people know the pros and cons of adding them. The United States Environmental Protection Agency states that “green roof temperatures can be 30-40°F lower than those of conventional roofs and can reduce city-wide ambient temperature by up to 5°F” which would push us drastically to the UN’s goal of not letting the globe heat up more than 1.5°C. Not only is this solution environmentally conscious, but it also will increase the value of the buildings because The New York Times states that “as risks of climate change rise, investors seek greener buildings” so it's a win-win.

Another really easy way to improve the eco-friendliness of existing buildings is by adding solar panels. As technology develops, solar panels are becoming more and more of a necessity. With unpredictable weather, inflation, and understaffed electricity and gas companies, solar panels are a way of preventing weather and maintenance outages and can also lower the costs of operations.

With green roofs requiring water to keep them functioning, the best way to keep a sustainable footprint is to implement a greywater system. In cities like Los Angeles, however, natural water sources are rare and minimal. Catching runoff from normal watering and reusing that water can also help maximize sustainability.

These three ideas are just the most basic and understandable of the many solutions to the huge crisis that is the CO₂ emissions of human-made infrastructure. Sustainable architecture, in my opinion, will end up being the most common type of infrastructure in the next decade. With the increasing popularity of environmentally friendly products, vehicles, and architecture, I hope we end up with a greener planet in my lifetime.

Sources: 

nytimes.com/2021/10/26/business/climate-change-sustainable-real-estate.html

epa.gov/heatislands/using-green-roofs-reduce-heat-islands#:~:text=Green%20roof%20temperatures%20can%20be,up%20to%205%C2%B0F

plato.stanford.edu/entries/chinese-legalism/#DefLeg

un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement

architecture2030.org/why-the-building-sector/