The Jordan Institute

The Jordan Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in the downtown capital city of Concord, New Hampshire. Its mission is to preserve the natural environment and rural character of the state of New Hampshire by focusing primarily on the built environment. The number of full-time staff is currently 5, but a number of part-time paid and volunteer staff are essential to the functioning of the organization.

Among its endeavors, the Jordan Institute strives to promote environmentally friendly building practices and works with clients on LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The "3iSolutions" program emphasizes three types of infrastructures that are essential to creating sustainable communities (Green, Built, and Social) and works with communities in New Hampshire to create sound development practices. This approach is also being used on a regional scale, most notably in response to a state initiative to widen Interstate 93 between Manchester and the Massachusetts border (Salem) to four lanes. It is feared that this massive project will further contribute to suburban-style "sprawl" in southern New Hampshire, and in response the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) has allocated $3.5 million to the Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) to help corridor towns plan for this development. The Jordan Institute has played an active role in CTAP, emphasizing the "three infrastructures" and the need for regional coordination. New Hampshire faces the fastest population growth rate in the Northeast United States with 17% documented growth between 1990-2000.

Another initiative of the Jordan Institute is the "New Hampshire Partnership for High Performance Schools," which recently received an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its work. NHPHPS focuses on creating schools that reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts, improve durability, and which are sensitive to the health of occupants. The initiative seeks to partner with public and private entities involved with school construction to achieve a favorable end result. It has also worked to advance a New Hampshire version of California's Certified High Performance Schools (CHPS) guidelines for safe and efficient schools.

Because of its small size relative to other non-profits, the Jordan Institute sees itself as a resource and information hub for sustainable development in New Hampshire. As a non-advocacy organization it strives to connect the various entities needed to promote healthy change, including public officials, consumers, and businesses.

External links

* [http://www.thejordaninstitute.org/ The Jordan Institute home page]
* [http://www.nhphps.org/ The New Hampshire Partnership for High Performance Schools homepage]
* [http://www.rebuildingi93.com/content/ctap/ Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP)] to confront growth-related problems associated with the I-93 expansion corridor