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What Do Voters Think About Green Buildings?

To obtain information on what America thinks about energy and the built environment, the American Institute of Architects commissioned the Tarrance Group and Lake Research Partners to conduct a survey of registered voters nationwide. Responses to this survey were gathered January 21—24, 2007.

The bipartisan survey found that voters across the nation are uneasy about energy issues and their economic, environmental, and national security implications. High levels of public concern extend to matters of the built environment, including issues that directly affect architects. Here are some key findings:

• 89 percent of the nation's voters believe "the federal government should make the kind of massive national commitment to make the United States independent of foreign oil through energy conservation and development of alternative energy sources in the same way it committed itself to winning the Second World War and landing a man on the moon."
• 90 percent believe the "people who design and build houses and commercial buildings should try to convince property owners to use construction materials that protect the environment and building standards that reduce energy consumption even if it costs a little more to do so."
• 85 percent expressed support for new tax breaks "to encourage the design and construction of buildings that significantly reduce pollution and energy consumption."
• 75 percent say that "government should take the lead in promoting real estate development that conserves our natural resources such as oil, gas, and electricity."
• 63 percent agree with the statement that "federal and state governments should put a little less money into building new highways and a little more money into building mass transit systems so people don't have to use their cars so much."
• 91 percent said "yes" to whether they would be willing to pay an additional $4,000 or $5,000 for a house that would use less energy and protect the environment. Of the 91 percent saying "yes" to this question, 73 percent said "strongly yes," indicating great intensity on the issue. Furthermore, of the 7 percent who answered the initial question "no," more than two-thirds of those switched their answers from "no" to "yes" when they were asked whether they would be willing to pay more for housing that uses less energy and protects the environment if they could get the upfront costs back through lower electric and gas bills over the next 7 or 8 years.
• 70 percent of voters agree that "global warming is already having an effect on weather, and government should immediately put into effect new energy policies that dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions that may be causing such climate change."