A primary focus of the Center for the Sustainable Built Environment (SBE) is to produce, promote, and disseminate original, high-quality empirical research in the broad arena of the sustainable built environment. Research projects are intended to be collaborative and interdisciplinary, bringing together academia, industry practitioners, and the public and nonprofit sectors. SBE's research provides timely, practically grounded knowledge that serves to enhance sustainable decision-making and facilitate innovation in sustainable development practices and technologies.

SBE's research agenda is divided into four primary clusters:

• Policy, Planning, and Regulation
• Building Technologies and Technology Transfer
• Economics and Finance of Sustainable Real Estate
• Urban Systems and Smart Cities

If you are interested in learning more about our research projects or collaborating on a particular topic, please contact SBE director, Constantine Kontokosta at ckontokosta@nyu.edu.

Current Research Partnerships and Collaborations

The NYC Urban Technology Innovation Center
In February 2010, three New York City universities—Columbia University, New York University (NYU), and the City University of York (CUNY)—formed a partnership in response to a request for proposals from the New York City Economic Development Corp (NYCEDC). The result of this unprecedented collaboration is the NYC Urban Technology Innovation Center (NYC UTIC).

The mission of NYC UTIC is to promote energy efficiency and lead New York City forward in smart building technology and advancing economic development. The countless global businesses and industries located in and around New York City create a dynamic environment for innovative, green technological advances to occur. Smart building, by necessity, is an interdisciplinary effort, and NYC UTIC focuses on process approaches to integrate all elements of smart building, including design, equipment and material selection, financing, and construction, both in existing buildings—which make up the vast majority of New York City’s built environment—and in new construction.

Urban Systems Collaborative
The Urban Systems Collaborative is an inter-disciplinary community that studies how the use of real-world information to reveal patterns of urban behavior is changing the ways that people live in cities and how these changes affect the planning, design, development, governance, and operation of cities. The Collaborative receives support and sponsorship from several generous organizations.

The Center for the Sustainable Built Environment is one of the co-founders of the Collaborative, and is a member of the Governance Team.

For more information, please visit: www.urbansystemscollaborative.org

UNEP Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative
The United Nations Environment Programme’s Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (UNEP-SBCI) works to promote sustainable building policies and practices worldwide. The initiative presents the common voice of building sector stakeholders on the issue of sustainable performance of buildings, drawing on the UN’s unique capacity to provide a global platform for collective action. UNEP-SBCI was launched in 2006 and works with key stakeholders in industry, business, government, local authorities, research and academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and representatives from civil society.

In the initial phase of the research partnership, the SBE will produce a report that summarizes total GHG emissions from building operations in the United States. This report, entitled, "Buildings and Climate Change in the United States," will document current and historical energy consumption patterns in buildings; explore opportunities for, and barriers to, greater energy efficiency; forecast future trends through modeling of energy reduction scenarios; and examine the implications of building-related GHG emissions. The report is intended to inform policy recommendations at the national level, similar to reports previously produced by UNEP-SBCI for South Africa and Mexico.

As a key component of the U.S. report, the SBE will generate a potential standardized template that may be adopted by UNEP-SBCI for the development of subsequent national reports in other countries. The development of the U.S. report, and similar initiatives in other countries, will comprise a series of national reports envisioned by UNEP-SBCI to provide recommendations and lessons to be integrated in its biannual report, "Buildings and Climate Change: Summary for Decision Makers."

Selected Research In-Progress

"Framework for Expanding Access to Capital for Building Energy Retrofits"
To be presented at the World Sustainable Building Conference, Helsinki, Finland
by Constantine Kontokosta

"Taking the LEED? Analyzing Spatial Variations in Market Penetration Rates of Eco-Labeled Properties" (with F. Fuerst and P. McAllister).
To be presented at the American Real Estate Society Annual Conference, Seattle, WA
by Constantine Kontokosta

"The Spatial Diffusion of Green Building Policies"
To be presented at the "Strengthening the Green Foundation Conference" hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta / Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
by Constantine Kontokosta

"Locational Determinants of Green Commercial Buildings" (with F. Fuerst, P. McAllister, and T. Geurts)
presented at the European Real Estate Society Annual Conference, Milan, Italy
by Constantine Kontokosta.

"Setting the PACE: Financial Mechanisms for Building Energy Retrofits,"
presented at the American Real Estate Society, Annual Conference, Naples, FL
by Constantine Kontokosta.