Page 49 - Green Builder May-June 2018 Issue

According to a new report from Northwestern Mutual,
What’s more, family structure is more
fluid than ever. Adult children may move
home for a while, or an aging parent more than three-quarters of Americans are worried they
may move in for good. A single parent
may find a new partner who brings won’t be able to afford a comfortable retirement.
step-siblings into the mix. More people
are working from home at least part of
the time—all of which points to a need
for housing that can adapt to changing Security Check
circumstances, especially as we age.
21% Percentage of Americans who have nothing saved for retirement
Mountains of stuff;
mounting debt 10% Percentage of Americans who have less than $5,000 saved for retirement
If America has a common religion, it’s
consumerism. At Home in the Twenty- $84,821 Average retirement savings
First Century, an ethnographic study
conducted by researchers at UCLA, $1 million Amount recommended for retirement
offers a fascinating peek into the daily SOURCE: NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL
lives of 32 Los Angeles families. While
the sample size was limited to middle-
class families with children, the pictures would likely make most
Americans groan in recognition: piles of books, toys, papers,
office supplies and sporting equipment covering every surface in
every room. Most of the surveyed families admitted they had little
time to enjoy the hot tubs and barbeque pits in their neglected
backyards.
Another recent national study called Buried: The State of Stress
and Stuff, found that nearly half of those polled believe their homes
are cluttered with possessions they no longer need or use. At the
same time, 84 percent expressed financial concerns and nearly half
found it difficult to make end meet every month.
Though many families are awash in stuff, many are also drowning
in debt. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, we broke
a new record for total household debt in 2017. The $13.15 trillion we
collectively owe includes mortgages, student loans, auto loans and
credit card debt; on average, households with credit card debt owe
close to $16,000. At the same time, more than half of Americans
have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts, and few have saved
CREDIT: FSTOP123/ISTOCKPHOTO our stuff own us?
enough for retirement.
Numbers like these beg the question: Do we own our stuff, or does

The New (Ab)Normal
There’s no denying the upward trend in temperatures and the
increasing frequency and severity of disasters. In 2017, the country
was battered by no less than $16 billion in disaster events, including
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, and the fires that devastated
Northern California last October. According to the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the cumulative price tag
for these events exceeded $309 billion—the costliest year in U.S. CREDIT: CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD
history. The last three years were also the hottest on record, according
to NOAA. This translates into more energy for cooling buildings,
aggravated respiratory conditions, vectors for disease and beetle-
killed forests. Fire works. The wildfires that swept through Northern California in
Increasingly, designers and city planners are tasked with adaptation October 2017 destroyed 5 percent of Santa Rosa’s housing stock.

www.greenbuildermedia.com May/June 2018 GREEN BUILDER 47

44-50 GB 0518 Align Project 1.indd 47 6/14/18 12:39 PM