In 2007, Boston was the first city in the nation to adopt Green Building provisions, known as Article 37 (pdf). Those provisions require reduced emissions from privately-owned buildings, and require all 
buildings over 50,000 square feet to comply with LEED certification standards. Now, Boston’s Allston neighborhood is home to the nation’s first Green District. The 500 sustainable rental units are spread across seven distinct buildings in a two-block area off Commonwealth Avenue. Bearing appropriate monikers such as “The Element” and “The Edge,” the buildings will feature solar panels, reflective roof materials, and electric car charging stations, as well as the sub-metering of utilities in each apartment so tenants can see first-hand (and pay for) their own energy consumption. Tenants also will sign a “green lease” that sets forth the baseline costs of running the building, and if they can keep their actual costs below the baseline, they’ll share those savings 50-50 with the landlord. The days of using a long, hot shower to loosen muscles and steam out wrinkles in pants are over in the Green District. But the loss of long showers may be mitigated by rooftop yoga and a luxury movie theater. For more information, check out Living on Earth’s recent segment on the District.
