Green Building - Sustainable Cities

I need to do a research paper about green building. below you will find the format requiered. Also, below you will find a proposal that I did to my professor and the articles I would like to use on the paper. Lastly, there is a feedback for my professor. I would like it to take into consideration. 

The format of Research Project Paper:

Your research report is structured in a way to help you start creating the content of your website. You can change the headlines of the pages as long as you create the required content. Your page formatting should be double-spaced.

1. Title
2. Contents
3. Abstract (200 words)
4. Introduction (2-3 pages)
   1. Rationale: Explain briefly the topic of your research. What aspect of urban sustainability will be pursued, and why?
   2. Background / Brief Literature Review(3-5 pages) Support your rationale with findings from previous studies and cite only the most significant and relevant sources. Use in-text citations and include the sources in the references list.
   3. Significance:(3-5 pages) Show the benefits, relevance, or advantages that may be derived from your findings and proposed solutions.
5. Problem statement, objectives, and research State clearly your main study concern. The problem statement is the reason why the topic is important and relevant. What do you want to know/ change and why?
6. Case study research (5-7 pages). Explain your methodology, case selection criteria, findings and proposed solutions.
7. Conclusions (1-2 pages). Emphasize your main points. Do not rewrite. Provide an overview or your recommendations.
8. Communication of project results: review the webpage requirements.
9. References

Research Project Proposal (this is what I already did)

1.    Topic: Explain briefly the topic of your research. What aspect of urban sustainability will be pursued?

2.    Rationale and background information: Support your rationale with findings from at least one academic article or report. Use in-text citations and include the sources in a references list. 

3.    Problem statement, objectives and research questions: State clearly your main study concern. The problem statement is the reason why the topic is important and relevant. What do you want to know/ change and why?

4.    Plan of action: Give a brief schedule of your research tasks, including methods.

5.    Hypothesis, ideas: Predict possible benefits, relevance, or advantages that may be derived from your proposed solutions.

Green building it is a building project that would allow you to preserve most of the natural environment around the project site, while still being able to produce a building that is going to serve a purpose. The construction and operation will promote a healthy environment for all involved, and it will not disrupt the land, water, resources and energy in and around the building. This is the actual definition of a green building.

The concept of green buildings is the measure of our efforts in attaining that idealistic sustainable construction practices. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US, Green Building is the “practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction.” This definition has evolved over the years. “Green Buildings” is an ever evolving, dynamic term. Green Building is the status of our efforts in attaining sustainability in construction practices. As technology evolves and new materials are developed, the status of our efforts is also changing. Hence, the essence of green buildings is changing. The aim of this paper is to discuss sustainability with respect to green buildings, its importance in one of the world’s leading Green Building program - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the perspective of sustainable material selection, and governing policies in LEED. Furthermore, the role of life cycle assessment (LCA) in assessing the sustainability claims of green buildings and building materials is introduced.

Reference:

Bernstein, H.; Bowerbank, A., 2008: “Global Green Building Trends: Market Growth and Perspectives.” Around the World. McGraw-Hill Construction.

Bowyer, J.L., 2007: The green building programs-are they really green?. Forest Prod.

Professor's Review (please keep into consideration)

"Great topic! It would be really novel if you can select a few criteria from LEED-Green buildings and LCA and merge them in one scorecard. Then you can select a few case studies and compare them using your scorecard. This will take your project beyond what is already known and will help you build a really interesting website where people can find something to help them evaluate their projects. Use in-text citations >> (Bernstein and Bowerbank 2008)."