1. Sustainable Design Elements and Practices For Affordable Housing A study of existing housing conditions in Chula Vista and approaches for a new standard of living in San Diego Introduction: This study primarily focuses on comparing new, eco-friendly methods of urban design to current, normative designs that are used in all affordable housing by: 1) inquiring about water and energy conservation efforts, 2) practicing sustainable living techniques and 3) using resident feedback to see if sustainable living is unanimously desired in the city of San Diego. In order to achieve these goals, I focused my research on two affordable housing developments in San Diego: one that is sustainable (Los Vecinos) and one that is not (Rancho Buena Vista Apartments) in Chula Vista. Methodology: Interviews with the property managers of Los Vecinos and *RBVA, survey responses of thirty residents collectively, case studies Is it easy for you to commute to work from your apartment? How long does it take usually? 63% Los Vecinos respondents take less than 5 minutes to commute to and from work compared to 66% RBVA respondents who take over 20 minutes. In correlation with these responses, Los Vecinos respondents were unanimously satisfied living at their complex and would not want to live anywhere else due to its location and accessibility to nearby services and schools, as some respondents noted. Roughly 1/3 of RBVA respondents report that they would prefer to live elsewhere if they had a choice. On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with your current living conditions in terms of: A. energy conservation B. water conservation C. community D. building orientation & design: Los Vecinos undeniably surpasses RBVA in terms of resident satisfaction within all four areas, with not one resident giving an average rating below a 9. RBVA has varied responses that range from 8.22 to 6.44, which shows how unsatisfied RBVA residents are with their complex 2/3 of Los Vecinos respondents made no recommendations & unanimously agreed that they would not want to live anywhere else. 1/2 of all RBVA respondents however made many recommendations on improvements they would like to see, (ie. offering classes to its residents, wheelchair accessibility, putting in recycling bins within the complex). Recommendations: to encourage green building and sustainable design methods & instill conservation efforts among residents, thereby saving the developer and managers money to maintain their units in the long run to implement monthly group meetings for all of the residents and the property managers to talk about what improvements they can make for the complex collectively,. Key Finding #1: Key Finding #2: Question: What makes for good affordable housing? Does designing the complex to be more sustainable help or are there are other factors we need to take into consideration? *RBVA = Rancho Buena Vista Apartments Goals: To enhance public awareness of these progressively new design methods and to promote sustainable living to all low-income American families nationwide. Eliza Yu, University of California San Diego, Urban Studies and Planning Program Courtesy of solaripedia.comCourtesy of: jaloh.webhop.org