Restarting Neighborhoods By Reactivating Abandoned Buildings

From Detroit to recession-hit Spain, the world is full of abandoned buildings: factories left by companies that went somewhere else, suburban subdivisions from the boom years, crumbling farms and churches in remote places. Italy has an estimated 2 million such properties; Spain, another 3.5 million; America, many more.

Andrea Sesta, who lives in Milan, has been trying to find alternative uses for some of them. His web site, Impossible Living, allows anyone to map unused real estate, and act as champions for their renewal (even if they don’t own them). If there’s a building standing empty near you, you can add an address, put up some photos and videos, and then call on the web to help develop new ideas. "It’s a communication tool between the activator and the community," he says.

Sesta is driven by two problems, as he sees them. One, that abandoned buildings contribute to neighborhood decline, feeding cycles of neglect, vandalism, and crime. And two, that developers often fail to meet civic needs. "In Italy, there is a big gap between what people would like to have and what investors realize," he says. "In particular, for the younger population, there are not a lot of innovative services in place."

He sees Impossible Living acting as a bridge between investors on the one hand and the community on the other, allowing capital to go where it’s most needed. "We want to put the question on the web, so the investors can arrive at an idea that they couldn’t come up with on their own. That might be mixing different functions that are not so common at the moment."

There are currently 15 "reactivations" on the site, including several buildings from the small town of Favara, in southern Sicily. Two-thirds of the place has been abandoned, including castles, and former cement, and candle factories. But artists and technologists are now beginning to move in, attracted by open space, and cheap prices. "For us, this place is very important because it’s a way to rethink the abandoned world, reconstructing a territory that’s basically dead," Sesta says. "The big value is that the property is worth nothing almost, so you can have a lot of space for free."

Impossible Living is shortlisted for the LLGA urban innovation contest, which announces winners next month.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681844/restarting-neighborhoods-by-reactivating-abandoned-buildings

10 Best New Complete Street Policies in the US

Ever been to a city that has the perfect ratio of bike lanes to pedestrian walkways to roads? Chances are, that city has implemented a Complete Streets policy--a formal policy that outlines a community’s plans to make streets safe for people using all modes of transportation. There are 488 Complete Streets policies in place across the U.S.; in 2012, cities, states, and regions passed 130 new policies.

This year, at least, the best new policies haven’t come from huge U.S. cities. With a few exceptions, smaller communities are making the most inroads. That’s according to The National Complete Streets Coalition, a project of development research and advocacy organization Smart Growth America. The Coalition ranked the top 10 Complete Streets policies of 2012 based on their performance in a number of "ideal elements," including a clear vision; access for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit passengers, trucks, buses and automobiles; street connectivity; design, and measurable performance standards.

 

communities adopt Complete Streets policies that they’re thinking about what the next steps are going to be," says Stefanie Seskin, deputy director of the National Complete Streets Coalition. "It’s an accountability measure we’ve been pushing a lot."

These are the 2012 winners:

• 1. Indianapolis, IN
• 2. Hermosa Beach, CA (tie)
• 2. Huntington Park, CA (tie)
• 4. Ocean Shores, WA
• 5. Northfield, MN
• 6. Portland, ME
• 7. Oak Park, IL
• 8. Trenton, NJ
• 9 Clayton, MO
• 10. Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Indianapolis took the number one spot for a thoughtful, well-rounded policy. Says Seskin: "They are recognizing the needs of an aging population, and attracting and maintaining a younger generation. They spent a year or so working towards what Complete Streets means locally, how it would apply to their process. They’re thinking about how this works across their streets. People have options to get from destination to destination."

The city also plans to measure everything it’s doing, including transit stops that are accessible by sidewalk and curb ramps, crash rates, bike lane mileage, and more.

“Indianapolis is putting critical investments into our urban environment to make it more inviting to new businesses and residents,” said Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard in a statement. “Growing our workforce and attracting new talent requires Indianapolis to do everything possible to make our city a place where people easily can walk to amenities in their neighborhoods, bike and drive to and from work, and explore our many great attractions--a place where people want to call home.”

It’s too soon, of course, to measure how well the Indianapolis Complete Streets policy is working. But we’ll be watching. For an example of a long-standing (since 2006) Complete Streets policy in a major city, check out what Chicago is doing.

As Seskin points out, it’s not just cities that can implement Complete Streets policies. "There are so many different kinds of jurisdictions that are really interested in this. We don’t view it as a big city only or a small community only kind of thing," she says.

But in many smaller communities, implementing the policies can be a struggle. If they don’t control the local roadways, it takes longer to make changes. And big infrastructure projects don’t come along as often as in big cities, so it can be a long time before the fruits of a Complete Streets policy are apparent.

"It’s a slow process," says Seskin. "We have over 500 communities with policies now, and it takes some time for projects to take hold."

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681910/the-10-best-new-complete-streets-policies-in-the-us

Air Research Topics

Air - Research

Air contamination - amount of pollution in air
Public transit - mapping and volume of people
Demographic - info of the neighborhood (at risk populations)

Site Goals

SITE: Main triangle + Parking lot (surface, wall, roof, etc.)

1. Cultivate local economy using natural resources, sustainably grown food, stormwater management, and green space used for education and community events

            - EARTH = Boost local economy

            - WATER = Collect and distribute stormwater runoff

            - ENERGY = utilize community’s natural resources

            - AIR = reduce air pollution, create filtration and circulation     

2. LIFE =  Develop replicable models for open spaces for city/neighborhood scale

Neighborhood Goals:

Goals for Neighborhood: 

Water:     Increase stormwater infiltration

Air:         Develop Streetscape strategy that uses native plants to filter the air

Life:        Create more efficient traffic layouts

Energy:   Education and awareness to reduce energy use

Earth:     Create a cradle to cradle community plan and or policy

Amenities Goal

Retrofitting existing outdoor amenities to increase community interaction while benefitting all sub elements

•Scale break-outs

–Check-in

–Facilitators

–Rounds

1.1st person speaks about your KSS goals and how you believe they apply

2.Reaction and Clarification Round

3.Next, and so on through all 5 KSS’s

4.Ideation

•Reiterate your research and KSS goals with each other (Q&A).

•To what extent should your scale receive or provide benefit related to each KSS? (%, quantity, etc.)

•Roughly determine the needs and resources at your scale (across the KSS’s) and

•The give and take with other scales.

•Set goals based on this new information.

Impacts of Urban Green Space on Wellbeing

People living in urban areas tend to report greater wellbeing if they have parks and gardens nearby, says a new study from the UK that suggests green spaces have a positive impact on mental health in cities. Mathew White and colleagues from the University of Exeter Medical School's European Centre for Environment & Human Health, in Truro, Cornwall, write about their findings in a paper due to be published online this week in the journal Psychological Science. They describe how they examined data from a national survey that followed UK households over time, and even after taking into account differences in income, marital status, employment, physical health, and type of housing, they found city dwellers reported higher life satisfaction and less mental distress when they lived in greener areas.


Investigating the impacts of urban green spaces on wellbeing from ECEHH on Vimeo.
Considering greenspace improvements like parks, gardens, trails, etc., in new development of cities can pay off for the city and its residents in the long run!

Rachel Howren - Energy Research

Philadelphia's Current Energy Sources:

Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a leading manufacturer of petroleum and petrochemical products and operates two domestic refineries, Girard Point and Point Breeze, and is the longest continuously operating refinery on the East Coast, processing approximately 330,000 barrels of crude oil per day making it the largest oil refining complex on the Eastern seaboard

As the cost of energy produced from fossil fuel rises while the price of solar technology drops, Philadelphia is encouraging residents and businesses to install solar panels and is planning to build a number of large-scale solar arrays on City-owned land. The region was successful in securing two critical investments in our energy-efficient future. The first was a $25 million pool of retrofit finance funding awarded to the Metropolitan Caucus, a partnership of elected officials created by Nutter from the five major southeastern counties — Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia. This award enabled the region to accelerate retrofit activity among the commercial and residential building stock. The second major investment was a $200 million smart grid grant awarded to PECO, the region’s electric utility, that financed upgrades for critical system infrastructure as well as the installation of smart meters so that consumers can better understand how to manage their energy use.

Alternative Energy Sources: 

Alternative energy refers to energy sources that have no undesired consequences such for example fossil fuels or nuclear energy. Alternative energy sources are renewable and are thought to be "free" energy sources. They all have lower carbon emissions, compared to conventional energy sources. These include Biomass Energy, Wind Energy, Solar Energy, Geothermal Energy, Hydroelectric Energy sources. 

Solar Power

From an environmental perspective, solar power is the best thing going. A 1.5 kilowatt PV system will keep more than 110,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, out of the atmosphere over the next 25 years. The same solar system will also prevent the need to burn 60,000 pounds of coal. With solar, there's no acid rain, no urban smog, no pollution of any kind.The current cost of solar panels means that grid-interactive systems do not pay for themselves in terms of the cost saving when compared with electricity from the grid. In spite of this, many people with grid connected houses are choosing to install grid-interactive solar systems, as they do not create any greenhouse gases when generating electricity, unlike coal-fired power plants. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the equivalent amount of electricity used to make a solar panel is generated by the panel within the first two years of operation, hence a solar panel will repay its greenhouse gas "debt" within this time.

Geothermal Energy

Energy from the Earth - What could be more natural or plentiful? The source of geothermal power is the heat contained inside the Earth; heat so intense that it creates molten magma. There are a few different types of geothermal energy that can be tapped. "Some geothermal systems are formed when hot magma near the surface (1,500 to 10,000 meters deep) directly heats groundwater." The heat generated from these hot spots flows outward toward the surface, manifesting as volcanoes, geysers, and hot springs . Naturally-occurring hot water and steam can be tapped by energy conversion technology to generate electricity or to produce hot water for direct use. "Other geothermal systems are formed even when no magma is nearby as magma heats rocks which in turn heat deeply-circulating groundwater." In order to maximize the energy gleaned from these so-called "hot dry rocks," geothermal facilities will often fracture the hot rocks and pump water into and from them in order to use the heated water to generate electricity. The concentration of geothermal energy at any given location must be quite high in order to make heat extraction feasible, and not all geothermal sites are created equally. Despite the fact that geothermal energy is abundant renewable, and able to reduce our dependence on imported fuels, the fact remains that fields of sufficient quality to produce economic electricity are rare.

Another type of geothermal energy being used commercially is Earth energy, extracted through heat pumps. Heat contained in shallow ground is used to directly heat or cool houses since the temperature inside the ground tends to stay at the yearly average. Therefore, in the winter the ground is warmer than the air and can be used to heat a building, and in the summer the ground is cooler than the air and can act as an air conditioner. Researchers know that "no active technology for home cooling is more efficient than the geothermal heat pump." This technique reduces the reliance on other resources and can be utilized anywhere, resulting in significant environmental benefits and reduced energy costs.

Hydropower

There are several favorable features of hydropower. Anywhere rain falls, there will be rivers. If a particular section of river has the right terrain to form a reservoir, it may be suitable for dam construction. No fossil fuels are required to produce the electricity, and the earth's hydrologic cycle naturally replenishes the "fuel" supply. Therefore no pollution is released into the atmosphere and no waste that requires special containment is produced. Since "water is a naturally recurring domestic product and is not subject to the whims of foreign suppliers," there is no worry of unstable prices, transportation issues, production strikes, or other national security issues. Hydropower is very convenient because it can respond quickly to fluctuations in demand. A dam's gates can be opened or closed on command, depending on daily use or gradual economic growth in the community. The production of hydroelectricity is often slowed in the nighttime when people use less energy. When a facility is functioning, no water is wasted or released in an altered state; it simply returns unharmed to continue the hydrologic cycle. The reservoir of water resulting from dam construction, which is essentially stored energy, can support fisheries and preserves, and provide various forms of water-based recreation for locals and tourists. Land owned by the hydroelectric company is often open to the public for hiking, hunting, and skiing. Therefore, "hydropower reservoirs contribute to local economies. A study of one medium-sized hydropower project in Wisconsin showed that the recreational value to residents and visitors exceeded $6.5 million annually." Not to mention the economic stimulation provided by employment. Hydroelectric power is also very efficient and inexpensive. "Modern hydro turbines can convert as much as 90% of the available energy into electricity. The best fossil fuel plants are only about 50% efficient. In the US , hydropower is produced for an average of 0.7 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). This is about one-third the cost of using fossil fuel or nuclear and one-sixth the cost of using natural gas," as long as the costs for removing the dam and the silt it traps are not included. Efficiency could be further increased by refurbishing hydroelectric equipment. An improvement of only 1% would supply electricity to an additional 300,000 households. Hydropower has become "the leading source of renewable energy. It provides more than 97% of all electricity generated by renewable sources worldwide. Other sources including solar, geothermal, wind, and biomass account for less than 3% of renewable electricity production." In the US , 81% of the electricity produced by renewable sources comes from hydropower. "Worldwide, about 20% of all electricity is generated by hydropower." Some regions depend on it more than others. For example, 75% of the electricity produced in New Zealand and over 99% of the electricity produced in Norway come from hydropower. The use of hydropower "prevents the burning of 22 billion gallons of oil or 120 million tons of coal each year." In other words, "the carbon emissions avoided by the nation's hydroelectric industry are the equivalent of an additional 67 million passenger cars on the road 50 percent more than there are currently." The advantages of hydropower are therefore convincing, but there are some serious drawbacks that are causing people to reconsider its overall benefit.

 Wind Power:

Today, people are realizing that wind power "is one of the most promising new energy sources" that can serve as an alternative to fossil fuel-generated electricity. The cost of wind has dropped by 15% with each doubling of installed capacity worldwide, and capacity has doubled three times during the 1990s and 2000's.As of 1999, global wind energy capacity topped 10,000 megawatts, which is approximately 16 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. That's enough to serve over 5 cities the size of Miami, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Five Miamis may not seem significant, but if we make the predicted strides in the near future, wind power could be one of our main sources of electricity. Is your utility company offering your family the best rates? Though wind energy is now more affordable, more available, and pollution-free, it does have some drawbacks. Wind power suffers from the same lack of energy density as direct solar radiation. The fact that it is a "very diffuse source" means that "large numbers of wind generators (and thus large land areas) are required to produce useful amounts of heat or electricity." But wind turbines cannot be erected everywhere simply because many places are not windy enough for suitable power generation. When an appropriate place is found, building and maintaining a wind farm can be costly. It "is a highly capital-intensive technology." If the interest rates charged for manufacturing equipment and constructing a plant are high, then a consumer will have to pay more for that energy. "One study found that if wind plants were financed on the same terms as gas plants, their cost would drop by nearly 40%." Fortunately, the more facilities built, the cheaper wind energy is.

Biomass Energy

The term "biomass" refers to organic matter that has stored energy through the process of photosynthesis. It exists in one form as plants and may be transferred through the food chain to animals' bodies and their wastes, all of which can be converted for everyday human use through processes such as combustion, which releases the carbon dioxide stored in the plant material. Many of the biomass fuels used today come in the form of wood products, dried vegetation, crop residues, and aquatic plants. Biomass has become one of the most commonly used renewable sources of energy in the last two decades, second only to hydropower in the generation of electricity. It is such a widely utilized source of energy, probably due to its low cost and indigenous nature, that it accounts for almost 15% of the world's total energy supply and as much as 35% in developing countries, mostly for cooking and heating.
Radiant Energy:
This natural energy can perform the same wonders as ordinary electricity at less than 1% of the cost. It does not behave exactly like electricity, however, which has contributed to the scientific community’s misunderstanding of it. The Methernitha Community in Switzerland currently has 5 or 6 working models of fuelless, self-running devices that tap this energy. Nikola Tesla’s magnifying transmitter, T. Henry Moray’s radiant energy device, Edwin Gray’s EMA motor, and Paul Baumann’s Testatika machine all run on radiant energy. This natural energy form can be gathered directly from the environment or extracted from ordinary electricity by the method called fractionation. One of the earliest wireless telephones to be based on radiant energy was invented by Nikola Tesla. The device used transmitters and receivers whose resonances were tuned to the same frequency, allowing communication between them. In 1916, he recounted an experiment he had done in 1896. He recalled that “Whenever I received the effects of a transmitter, one of the simplest ways [to detect the wireless transmissions] was to apply a magnetic field to currents generated in a conductor, and when I did so, the low frequency gave audible notes.”

Biofuels – these are fuels that are made from plants or animals. It can include methane from wood, wood chippings, and animal wastes. Biofuels are used to heat homes, to power machines, and for cooking.

Natural gas – it is a fossil fuel but does not generate carbon dioxide, which happens to be the chief greenhouse gas. Thus natural gas is a better option. It can be created by various organisms, and is also found in areas which have fossil fuels.

Nuclear energy – this is created though atoms. Either by merging or splitting atoms, energy is created. Though it produces a large amount of power, it has certain hazards.

NYC Phone Booth Redesign Competition

Infrastructure / amenities group: some cool ideas here for what could happen at your design scale.

http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/archives/56203

The Most Beautiful Mexico City Building Eats The City's Smog

Using a new type of tile that converts the chemicals in pollution into less toxic substances, the Torre de Especialidades is fighting the city’s bad air--and looking good in the process.

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Plenty of green buildings cut down on pollution with design features that minimize their energy usage. A tower under construction at a Mexico City hospital, on the other hand, actually eats pollution in the air that surrounds it. The Torre de Especialidades is shielded with a facade of Prosolve370e, a new type of tile whose special shape and chemical coating can help neutralize the chemicals that compose smog: and not just a small amount of them, but the equivalent produced by 8,750 cars driving by each day.

The tile is the first product by Berlin-based design firm Elegant Embellishments, whose co-founder Allison Dring explained to me via email, just exactly how a 100-meter-long tile screen can suck up serious amounts of smog.The process is twofold (and might take you back to a high school chemistry class): the paint applied to the tiles is made from titanium dioxide--a pigment used to make things like sunscreen white that happens to double as a catalyst in certain chemical reactions.

When UV light cuts through smoggy air and hits the titanium dioxide on the tiles, a chemical reaction occurs between the tiles and chemicals in the smog--mono-nitrogen oxides, or NOx. A lot of chemistry goes on in the interim, but for simplicity’s sake, the end result of the reaction is that the smog is broken down into small amounts of less noxious chemicals, including calcium nitrate (a salt used in fertilizers), carbon dioxide, and water. The titanium dioxide itself remains unaffected, so it can keep making reactions happen.

But it’s not just chemistry that makes this work: it’s design. The shapes of the tiles, a “quasicrystalline grid, create omni-directionality, and surface enlargement, which enhances their ability to receive and scatter UV light,” Dring explains. “The shapes slow wind speeds and create turbulence, for better distribution of pollutants across the active surfaces. The omni-directionality of the quasicrystalline geometry is especially suitable to catch things from all directions.”

So, the shape of the tile scatters more light and collects more pollutants, which means more chemical reactions. But they’re also beautiful, a strategic decision by Elegant Embellishments to attach the technology “to an aesthetic, to be visibly apparent to the public,” Dring offers. “The client, and indeed the general public are aware and live every day with the hazards of pollution--it’s a fairly visible problem in [Mexico City.]” The unique look of the Prosolve370e tiles serves as a beacon that something’s being done.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681660/this-beautiful-mexico-city-building-eats-the-citys-smog#1