Brown Out Though the NAHB appreciates Congress' efforts to address brownfields in legislation passed in mid-December, it is "disappointed that the House and Senate didn't go further."
H.R. 2869 will bring modest but not meaningful reform. For example, of the estimated 450,000 sites as many as 200,000 suffer from petroleum contamination. "By excluding liability protection for these kinds of sites, Congress has in effect prevented their cleanup and rehabilitation," the NAHB says.
AARP Keynotes
William D. Novelli, AARP's executive director, will be the keynote speaker for the 2002 Seniors Housing Symposium, "Building for Boomers and Beyond," to be held at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Fla., May 1 3. The annual symposium, sponsored by the NAHB's Seniors Housing Council and the NAHB Research Center, addresses changing demands and impact of home buyers 55 plus.
Novelli was appointed executive director and CEO of AARP in 2001 from his position as associate executive director of public affairs for the organization. Novelli is co-founder and former president of Porter Novelli, the worldwide marketing communications firm.
Symposium sessions include planning, design, financing, construction, and marketing of active adult, independent living, and retirement and resort communities by experts from some of the country's most successful building and development firms. There will also be an exhibit hall featuring the latest products and services.
China Focus More than 450 building industry professionals attended the second NAHB International Housing Conference held at the Shanghai International Trade Center.
"World Focus on Housing: China," was held in conjunction with the Building Shanghai 2001 Expo, China's major trade show for the construction industry.
"There is an insatiable interest in American building products and technology now that the Chinese government is requiring strict compliance to building codes and standards for all new construction," says Thomas Mullen, chairman of the NAHB International Housing Committee and a multifamily builder from Indianapolis.
One of the most unusual conference tours was a visit to Yishanlu, a unique outdoor building supply marketplace--actually a crowded outdoor bazaar where American products from flooring to toilets are displayed side-by-side in open-air stalls with housing products from China, Germany, Spain, and other countries.
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