SOSNA Site Studies

I created a few images of the site including what we have defined as our "Neighborhood" and a study of tree density along major roadways.

Air Research Links

Philadelphia Air pollution
http://www.phila.gov/aqi/

http://blogs.phillymag.com/bewellphilly/2012/04/25/tenth-polluted-city/

http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&cityid=163

http://articles.philly.com/2013-04-26/news/38819770_1_particle-pollution-air-pollution-american-lung-association

http://www.weatherexplained.com/Vol-1/Air-and-Water-Pollution.html

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/025/chapter123/chap123toc.html

Philadelphia Public transit and bike routes

http://www.transalt.org/files/resources/maps/pa/philadelphia.pdf

http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/resources/stats

http://www.phila.gov/motu/initiatives-transportation.html

http://www.septa.org/sustain/blog/2011/02-25.html

Water Usage

Average water usage per person a day, broken down into areas of use:
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html

Philadelphia's Current Water Treatment:
http://www.phila.gov/water/urban_water_cycle.html

Energy Usage

Here's just a general idea of average household energy usage:

http://blog.myenergy.com/2012/09/26/average-amount-of-electricity-a-household-uses/

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)