Building H Index

 

AvalonBay Communities

 
 

INDUSTRY

housing

Category

apartment management and development

products Profiled

apartments managed by AvalonBay Communities

 
 

H-Score

 

62

ranked 4th of 7 within housing industry

ranked 8th of 37 overall

 
 

product description

 

AvalonBay Communities is a real estate investment trust that owns nearly 80,000 apartments across New England, the New York City metropolitan area, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Seattle, and California. It is the 3rd largest owner of apartments in the United States.

 
 

influence on health-related behaviors

 
 

EATING

slight positive influence

 

Proximity to grocery stores with healthy food options can positively influence eating habits. One metric of a neighborhood’s food environment is whether it is characterized by the USDA as “low access to food stores.”(1) In a sample of AvalonBay locations reviewed by Building H, 37% were in low-access neighborhoods.

AvalonBay has partnered with health-focused organizations to give residents discounted pricing on services such as HelloFresh meal delivery kits and even online cooking classes at selected properties.(2)

 

opportunities:

  • Review the food environment – both access to fresh foods and prevalence of unhealthy food outlets – as part of the decision to build or buy in a certain neighborhood. Use the potential of aggregated demand that a new apartment property would create to encourage investment in local fresh food outlets like grocery stores.
  • Facilitate home cooking through:
    • experimentation with provision of indoor hydroponic gardening appliances
    • establishment of community gardens within properties
    • partnerships to provide discounted memberships to local community-supported agriculture (CSA) farms
    • partnerships to provide discounted grocery delivery services or meal kit subscriptions
    • experimentation with the promotion of food sharing apps to help residents share excess groceries
 
 

PHYSICAL ACTVITY

neutral to slight positive influence

 

The walkability of a geographic location has an influence on the physical activity of its residents. In a sample of AvalonBay locations reviewed by Building H, approximately 53% were in neighborhoods rated as “very walkable” or better by Walk Score.(3) 27% of locations were in neighborhoods rated “car-dependent” by Walk Score. Mean Walk Score was 66.7; the median was 70.5. A higher Walk Score rating for a given neighborhood has been associated with increased physical activity among neighborhood residents.(4)

AvalonBay offers fitness centers at some of their properties.(5)

 

opportunities:

  • Review the walkability, bikeability and access to transit of a neighborhood as part of the decision to build or buy in a certain neighborhood. Use the potential of aggregated demand that a new apartment property would create to advocate for and encourage investment in sidewalks and bike lanes, if not already available.
  • Publish data on the walkability, bikeability, and access to transit of properties.
  • Provide bike sharing and scooter sharing services at properties.
  • Where feasible, build pocket parks within properties.
 
 

Sleeping

neutral influence

 

There is no indication that AvalonBay does anything in the design of their properties to enhance their residents’ sleep experiences.

To the extent that AvalonBay’s locations and property designs influence physical activity and time spent outdoors, they could indirectly influence sleep as both of those behaviors are positively correlated with better sleep.

 

opportunities:

  • Promote healthy circadian rhythms by
    • designing for exposure to natural light through larger windows, skylights and solar tubes where possible
    • installing circadian LED lighting systems that adjust color temperature to mimic natural light throughout the day
  • Monitor indoor air quality, as it has shown to influence sleep(6) and mitigate where it is poor.
  • Provide smart thermostats and appropriate instructions in order to optimize nighttime temperatures for better sleep.
  • Use soundproofing and other acoustic design techniques, such as sound-absorbing materials, to reduce noise that could interfere with sleep.
 
 

Engaging Socially

slight to moderate positive influence

 

At many of their properties, AvalonBay offers multiple amenities seemingly designed to create social opportunities for their residents. These amenities and activities include: potlucks, wellness classes (fitLYMPICS), and fitness offerings.

 

opportunities:

  • Create indoor and outdoor common spaces that facilitate both planned community events and casual social interactions among neighbors.
  • Offer regular social programming – events designed to bring neighbors together.
 
 

Getting Outdoors

neutral to slight positive influence

 

Neighborhood walkability is a key driver of spending time outdoors. The walkability of AvalonBay’s locations (discussed above in physical activity) has an influence on how much time its residents spend outdoors. 

Access to public parks can also encourage people to go outdoors. In the sample of AvalonBay locations reviewed by Building H, 67% were within a 10-minute walk from a public park.(7)

 

opportunities:

  • Pursue opportunities noted above related to neighborhood walkability, bikeability and access to transit.
  • Pursue opportunities noted above related to outdoor amenities such as playgrounds, community gardens and walking paths.
 
 
 
 

Notes

 

  1. The “low-access to food” designation means that a significant portion of residents of the Census tract are more than one mile (if urban) or more than 10 miles (if rural) from the nearest supermarket or large grocery store. See U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Food Access Research Atlas: Measuring Access to Food.

  2. See, for example, the Avalonfit offering mentioned on the AvalonBay Communities website

  3. Walk Score is a methodology for assessing the walkability of a location, using a proprietary algorithm that factors in walking proximity to amenities and pedestrian friendliness. Walk Score is based on a scale of 0-100. Locations scoring 49 or under are considered “car-dependent;” Locations scoring 70 or more are rated “very walkable.” Those scoring 90 and above are labeled “walker’s paradise.” See https://www.walkscore.com/methodology.shtml for more on the Walk Score methodology.

  4. E. Twardzik et al. Walk Score and objectively measured physical activity within a national cohort. J Epidemiol Community Health 2019;73:549-556.

  5. See, for example, website for Avalon Belltown Towers

  6. Tereza Pultarova. Trouble Sleeping? Air Pollution Could Be the Culprit. Live Science. May 24, 2017

  7. Based on a geographical analysis using ParkServe, a tool provided by the Trust for Public Land.