This Week’s Sustainable Building News: Could churches become one of America's biggest new housing developers? This week, we explore the fast-growing YIGBY movement—"Yes In God's Backyard"—and the surprising idea that faith-based organizations could help unlock as many as 800,000 new homes. We also break down why Maryland's battle over building energy codes is really a debate about the true cost of housing, and what it means for homeowners, builders, and renters. Then we're heading to Greece for a look at one of the world's most ambitious sustainable communities, checking in on Babcock Ranch's latest resilience initiative, examining whether healthy indoor air is becoming a luxury, sharing wildfire smoke protection tips, exploring the hidden performance benefits of heavy timber construction, and highlighting a new Forbes feature on Green Builder Media's VISION House Asheville. If you care about the future of housing, resilience, and sustainable building, this week's roundup is packed with ideas you won't want to miss. This Week’s Story Links YIGBY: Can Churches Help Solve America's Housing Crisis?21st Century ROAD to Housing Act breakdownThe debate over housing affordability in MarylandA look at energy codes in New Hampshire, Delaware, and Rhode IslandSustainable city Ellinikon in Athens, GreeceFlorida's Babcock Ranch launches the Southwest Florida Resilience AcceleratorIs clean air the next luxury amenity?Heavy timber’s excellent building characteristicsNew feature in Forbes highlighting VISION House AshevilleEditor's Product Pick of the Week: Hunter's new 52-inch AirStack Outdoor ENERGY STAR ceiling fanNAHB’s 2027 Sustainability and Green Building Scholarship Upcoming Sustainable Building Events July 23–24: Industrialized Housing Summit, Austin August 2-7: 2026 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Pacific Grove, Calif. August 31: Fall In Love With Nature Sweepstakes Entries Due September 9–10: Building Fire Safety Symposium September 15-16: U.S. Heat Pump Summit, Worcester, Mass. September 16–18: EEBA Summit 2026 St. Paul, Minn. October 20–23: Greenbuild 2026 New York, NY November 4–5: The Building Products Customer Workshop, Nashville November 18: 2026 Southwest Utility Energy Efficiency Workshop, Santa Fe, N.M. About Green Builder Media Green Builder Media www.greenbuildermedia.com is North America’s leading green building and sustainable living media company. Through our magazine, website, demonstration homes, and data services, we provide actionable information to consumers and builders about how to build and remodel sustainable homes. We focus on net-zero building, green products, energy efficiency, healthy homes, resilience, connected living, and building science. Subscribe to our weekly Vantage enewsletter: https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/enewsletter-subscribe Follow Green Builder Media: LinkedIn: @green-builder-media-llc Facebook: @greenbuildermedia Bluesky: @greenbuildermedia Threads: @greenbuildermedia
