Austin, Texas, adopts AI-driven building permit software

Sixteen years out from a 2007 law that aimed to end the use of fossil fuels in federal buildings, gas heat is still being installed within the federal sphere.

Boston will soon adopt a new stringent green state building code that aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions in new construction and major renovations.

Arlington County, a Washington, D.C., community that took shape in the 1950s, when single-family homes were the rule in suburbia, recently became one of the first locations on the East Coast to eliminate single-family-only zoning.

The U.S. Green Building Council, Green Business Certification Inc., and the International WELL Building Institute released a streamlined process for projects pursuing certifications for the LEED green building rating system and the WELL Building Standard. The new protocol simplifies documentation for projects that are pursuing both certifications at the same time or that have already earned one certification and are looking to add the other. 

The U.S. Department of Energy is offering funding to help state and local governments upgrade their building codes to boost energy efficiency. The funding will support improved building codes that reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency, according to DOE.

The Washington state House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would legalize duplexes or fourplexes in almost every neighborhood of every city in the state.

The changes will take effect in 2024-2026 for the development of the 2027 International Codes (I-Codes). They will move the development process to an integrated and continuous three-year cycle.

Cities in the South and Southwest have eased zoning rules with parking space mandates in recent years to allow developers to build new housing with less parking.