ABSTRACT
Steve Glenn created LivingHomes in Santa Monica, California, sixteen miles west of Los Angeles. LivingHomes claimed that modular prefabrication produced "higher quality homes faster and for less money than traditional, 'stick-built' methods." Green building is a term encompassing strategies, techniques, and construction products that are less resource-intensive or pollution-producing than status quo construction. In 1998, the United States Green Building Council introduced the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for new institutional and commercial construction. LEED for Homes began as a pilot study in August 2005. In 2005 the Green Building Initiative launched a competing system for all building types called Green Globes. A custom home designed by an architect is typically an expensive proposition, representing only 3–5% of new homes in the United States in 2006. Developers craft a set of restrictive property-use agreements regarding what future owners may or may not do with their property and homes.
