Ground Zero For The Green Housing Movement

...Now, Greensburg is ground zero for the green movement. The area got nearly $100 million from the government to rebuild, including a $50 million school, $25 million hospital and a $3 million city hall - all of them certified LEED Platinum, the most energy efficient you can get - but not inexpensive.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/04/eveningnews/main4990918.shtml#ixzz1NsesM8gY

How we rebuilt tornado-destroyed town

By Steve Hewitt, Special to CNN

May 26, 2011 10:04 a.m. EDT

Energy-Efficient Rebuilding After Tragedy: Inspiration from Greensburg, Kansas  Energy Savers Blog | Tuesday, May 10, 2011

What Joplin can learn from Greensburg (and vice versa)

...Have public meetings — lots of ’em. One thing that’s clearly changed in Greensburg is the whole approach to public meetings. There are more of them and more people seem to attend since the storm. That’s probably because, in the months following the tornado, FEMA and local stakeholders held a bunch of meetings to plan the town’s recovery. At the first one I attended in February 2008, more than 200 people showed up, many of them from nearby FEMAville.

It was in these meetings that residents discussed and ultimately ratified — together — the bold decision to “go green.” It is Greensburg city code today that any public building constructed in city limits must be built to LEED Platinum specifications. And many locals spent a little extra to build their homes back with features that went well beyond the energy savings of a standard new housing unit.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/24/2899089/what-joplin-can-learn-from-greensburg.html#ixzz1Ns50HhD7

Greensburg rebuilds 4 years after tragic tornado

Joplin tornado victims should take inspiration from Greensburg, Kan., where 95 percent of buildings were lost May 27, 2011