The National Institute of Building Sciences
Consultative Council's 2024 Moving Forward Report identifies key
issues and makes recommendations to policymakers to guide potential
solutions
WASHINGTON, May 14, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS)
today issued the 2024 Moving Forward Report, a two-part report
focused on recommendations to ensure access to clean water and
sanitation and to promote housing affordability.
The report was compiled by the NIBS Consultative Council, which
convenes high-level building community leaders to make collective
recommendations directly to policymakers to improve the nation's
buildings and infrastructure. The report is included as a core
component of NIBS Annual Report to the President of the United States.
"The Moving Forward Report is our opportunity to research
critical issues and offer forward-thinking solutions to these
challenges in the built environment," said Stephen T. Ayers, NIBS Interim President &
CEO. "The council's findings, which are based on expert testimony
and research by the council, are designed to ensure access to clean
water and sanitation and promote housing affordability for all
Americans."
Clean Water and Sanitation and the Built Environment
In the report, "Water and Sanitation Access and the Built
Environment," the Consultative Council focused on key
considerations to inform decisions on planning for, mitigating, and
potentially solving clean water access for residential and
commercial buildings.
The Council concluded that water use in buildings and households
is an underexamined and underappreciated aspect of the water crisis
in the U.S.
The water and sanitation access report calls for:
- Improved and increased data collection efforts regarding water
access, quality, and use in households and buildings.
- Increased market share for WaterSense and other efficiency
programs, expansion of the use of alternate water sources, and
increased focus on water efficiency as it relates to energy
efficiency.
- Increased funding for centralized
and decentralized water and sanitation
infrastructure, especially for projects in underserved communities,
and support for strong water treatment standards.
A Close Look at Housing Affordability
The 2024 Moving Forward Report also examines the fundamental
problem of affordability of rental and for-sale housing in the U.S.
The study kicked off last November, when NIBS hosted a hearing on
housing affordability at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The hearing assembled leading
experts from trade associations, think tanks, academia, and
practitioners to discuss the state of housing affordability and
solutions to address the affordability and availability of
housing.
The housing affordability crisis has steadily worsened over
decades of divergence between housing costs and incomes.
The council offers several recommendations around regulations,
zoning and land use, financial investments, and alternative
construction methods, including offsite construction. These
include:
- A full and comprehensive, unbiased study of the impact of
buildings codes and other regulations on housing
affordability.
- Revision of zoning codes to allow accessory dwelling units
(ADUs), increase density, and allow multifamily buildings in
neighborhoods previously restricted to single-family homes.
- On the supply side, Federal agencies should encourage lenders
to ease lending requirements and fund reduced mortgage rates for
builders, particularly for land development and construction
loans.
- Invest in alternative methods of construction, including
industrialized offsite production.
View the housing affordability report.
About NIBS
National Institute of Building Sciences brings together labor
and consumer interests, government representatives, regulatory
agencies, and members of the building industry to identify and
resolve problems and potential issues in the built environment.
NIBS is a non-profit, non-governmental organization. For more
information, visit nibs.org or follow @bldgsciences on X, Facebook,
and LinkedIn.
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SOURCE National Institute of Building Sciences