Building Better Communities Resource Cards

The Dallas Comprehensive Environmental & Climate Action Plan (CECAP) was unanimously approved on May 27, 2020 and is a comprehensive roadmap that outlines the activities that the City will undertake to improve quality of life, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to prepare for the impacts of climate change, and to create a healthier and more prosperous community. It builds upon our understanding of future impacts from climate change, other environmental challenges facing Dallas, and the data from the 2015 City of Dallas greenhouse gas inventory. The CECAP leverages existing efforts by the City and builds upon an active public outreach and engagement effort to solicit input from businesses, community organizations, residents, and stakeholders, to create an effective and equitable Dallas plan that everyone can implement.  The AIA Dallas Committee on the Environment created the following resource cards based on the goals of CECAP to further understanding and to provide resources for discovering how each person can contribute to their own community's sustainability and resilience.

DESIGN JUSTICE
Just treatment of all members of society with regard to a specified public issue, including equitable distribution of resources and participation in decision-making.

HEALTH & WELLBEING
Good design supports health and wellbeing for all people, considering physical, mental, and emotional effects on building occupants and the surrounding community.

NET ZERO COMMERCIAL
A net-zero building is defined as a building that is highly energy efficient and fully powered from on-site and/or off-site renewable energy sources.

RESILIENCE
Building and site resilience is defined as the ability to withstand or mitigate the damaging potential from disruptive events.

RENEWABLE ENERGY
Renewable energy is a cleaner form of energy that comes from natural resources and processes that can be constantly replenished.

BIOMASS ENERGY
Biomass energy comes from burning plant and animal waste to convert heat into electricity and biofuels.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Geothermal energy refers to using the steday temperature within the earth to heat buildings of generate electricity.

SOLAR ENERGY
When the sun's radiation reaches the solar panels on rooftops or in fields, this energy is converted into electricity to operate llighting, appliances, and other devices.

WIND ENERGY
When the wind turns the blades on a turbine, it feeds power to an electric generator.

ZERO WASTE
Zero Waste is more than recycling.  It involves planning the 5 Rs of Zero Waste: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair and Rot (composting).