Clipmarks | urbanlife's 'city' clips

How Does San Francisco Keep 70% of Their Trash Out of Landfills?

Thu, 08 May 2008 21:31:08 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: “When we look at garbage, we don’t see garbage. We see food, paper, metal, glass.” The 70 % diversion rate includes recycling, composting and source reduction (meaning reusing things instead of throwing them out.)

The city has 12 recycling streams, or programs, devoted to different materials, including regular garbage, construction debris, furniture and paint. For example, much of the concrete from demolished buildings is recycled in new sidewalks.

Unwanted paint is blended it in 55-gallon drums: resulting in 3 colors — off-white, beige and green — are packed in 5 gallon tins and sent to local nonprofit organizations, schools or charitable institutions in Mexico.

They can collect scrap paper to re-sell because of low levels of glass contamination. Garbage trucks can compress mixed loads of paper, cans and bottles without breaking the bottles.

Compare 2006 diversion rates: Chicago 55%, New York City 30.6%, Milwaukee 24%, Boston 16% and Houston 2.5%.

Clip Source: www.sfenvironment.org

Clip Source: usinfo.state.gov

Clip Source: www.sfrecycling.com

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

the city found out a few weeks ago that it was keeping 70 percent of its disposable waste out of local landfills

one of the main reasons the city keeps up the pressure to recycle

The No. 1 export for the West Coast of the United States is scrap paper

Another major innovation in the past decade was the development of infrastructure for turning food wastes

into baggable compost that is used in California’s vineyards and the vast farms of the Central Valley

The garbage from San Francisco’s 750,000 residents is picked up on the pay-as-you-throw principle — the more garbage bins you need, the higher your monthly fee

The city has 12 recycling streams, or programs, devoted to different materials, including regular garbage, construction debris, furniture and paint.

Mayor Gavin Newsom

will soon be sending the city’s Board of Supervisors a proposal that would make the recycling of cans, bottles, paper, yard waste and food scraps mandatory instead of voluntary

we can get to 75 percent

Clip Source: usinfo.state.gov

Tags: trash, environment, recycle, landfills, local government

City Slickers Turn Tropical Entrepreneurs: An Eco-Adventure

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:44:48 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Imagine going after your dream business…on a tropical island. What does it really take to build an island resort? In 2002, four city slickers set out to build their dream business in the Panamanian rainforest: called Tranquilo Bay.

All of the buildings at Tranquilo Bay—are constructed from steel, virtually unheard of in that corner of Panama: but they wanted to protect against termites, sea air, and earthquake damage.

Jim Kimball and Jay Viola knew nothing about construction before beginning work on the buildings. They learned everything they needed from the Internet during Sunday visits to the mainland.

“We built Tranquilo Bay inside the rainforest overlooking the Caribbean Sea and the beautiful Panamanian Jungle. Our central location within the archipelago of Bocas del Toro permits us to explore some of the most biologically diverse areas of Panama and Central America: an archipelago of some 68 tropical islands”

http://www.tranquilobay.com/home.htm

Clip Source: ifmsapanama.org

Clip Source: www.inc.com

In 2002, four city slickers set out to build their dream business in the Panamanian rainforest

Jim and Renee Kimball and Jay and Stefania Viola had no construction experience, no modern equipment, no electricity and no skilled labor

What they did have was mud, heat, and plenty of crocodiles

the creation of their eco adventure lodge Tranquilo Bay -- a testament to entrepreneurial adventure in its purest form

Clip Source: www.inc.com

used a boat called a “panga” as their pickup truck to ferry tools to the dock under construction

Clip Source: www.inc.com

For more than two years Kimball and Viola camped out on a raised platform dubbed “the rancho.”

inside tents, which were attached to a roof

No toilets. No electricity. Lots of snakes and bugs.

Clip Source: www.inc.com

The entrepreneurs built the cabanas

Clip Source: www.inc.com

Kimball and Viola standing before the first completed cabana

Clip Source: www.inc.com

All supplies were unloaded at the dock and then dragged up to the work site

Clip Source: www.inc.com

The same method used by builders of the Panama Canal.

Clip Source: www.inc.com

Clip Source: msnbcmedia2.msn.com

Tags: eco-advetnure, panama, rainforest, dream job, island, vacation, nature

16 Of The World's Best Squares: Think About The Details

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:12:15 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: From Mexico to Italy to Iran, these remarkable squares can inspire us all. What stands out most is that design is only a small fraction of what goes into making a great square: small details add up to great places.

Historically, squares were the center of communities, and they traditionally helped shape the identity of entire cities.

Like the tentacles of an octopus extending into the surrounding neighborhood, the influence of a good square (such as Union Square in New York) starts at least a block away.

Any great square has a variety of smaller "places" within it to appeal to various people.

The use of a square changes during the course of the day, week, and year. The streets and sidewalks around a square greatly affect its accessibility and use, as do the buildings that surround it.

Any community where people want to discover the rewards of public life can make a square its centerpiece.

Clip Source: www.pps.org

1. Rynek Glowny, Krakow, Poland

2. Plaza Hidalgo, Mexico City, Mexico

3. Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy

4. Piazza del Campo, Sienna, Italy

5. Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Covent Gardens, and Leicester Square, London, United Kingdom

6. Hotel de Ville (City Hall), Paris, France

7. Old Town Square, Prague, Czech Republic

8. Plaza de la Constitucion (Zocalo), Oaxaca City, Mexico

9. Plaza Santa Ana, Madrid, Spain

10. Plaza de Armas, Cuzco, Peru

11. Trg Bana Jelacica, Zagreb, Croatia

12. Östermalmstorg, Stockholm, Sweden

13. Plaza de Entrevero, Montevideo, Uruguay

14. Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia

15. Imam Square, Isfahan, Iran

16. Campo Santa Margherita, Venice, Italy

Clip Source: www.pps.org

Ten Principles for Creating Successful Squares

1. Image and Identity

2. Attractions and Destinations

3. Amenities

4. Flexible Design

5. Seasonal Strategy

6. Access

7. The Inner Square & the Outer Square

8. Reaching Out Like an Octopus

9. The Central Role of Management

10. Diverse Funding Sources

Tags: public square, great places, urban, world, tourism, economic development

April 4, 1968: RFK Delivering News of Martin Luther King's Death

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:28:00 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: A moving speech...I get chills and tears in my eyes when I hear it, but this montage makes it even more emotional for me and reminds me, 40 years ago we lost 2 great men…

The gathering was actually a planned campaign rally for Robert Kennedy in his bid to get the 1968 Democratic nomination for President. Just after he arrived by plane at Indianapolis, Kennedy was told of King's death. He was advised by police against making the campaign stop which was in a part of the city considered to be a dangerous ghetto. But Kennedy insisted on going.

He arrived to find the people in an upbeat mood, anticipating the excitement of a Kennedy appearance. He climbed onto the platform, and realizing they did not know, broke the news.

His passionate speech was credited with quelling violence in the city, when other American cities had exploded with violence and anger.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: martin luther king, assassination, robert kennedy, sad day, hope for the future

Largest, Strangest & Scariest Collective Activities in the World

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:39:35 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: "As humans we have a difficult time comprehending large numbers, and vast collections of people perhaps in particular. There is something simply surreal about a pilgrimage that attracts more people than the population of Texas or a festival that draws thirty thousand revelers deep into one of the harshest deserts on Earth. These three events are vastly different in terms of geography, history and purpose but are all impressive in their own way and right as these images show."

Clip Source: weburbanist.com

the Maha Kumbh Mela is a Hindu pilgrimage that occurs just over once pre decade

a total of 70 million people converge on the Ganges to wash away their sins in the river

the entire event is remarkably peaceful and well-organized considering its enormous scale.

the infamous Burning Man Festival - the single largest art festival and temporary city in the world

tens of thousands of citizens/residents/visitors take their places in a three-quarters circle all centered on the central Burning Man figure

Imagine the world’s largest choreographed dance - now imagine that it is completely unscripted and on a snowy mountainside

The Engadin Ski Marathon in St. Mortiz was a 30 mile race taking, for many, hours to complete

Tags: incredible gatherings, millions together, temporary city

Beyond Zero-Energy: The World's 1st Positive Energy Building

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:07:23 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Generates more energy than it consumes. The building’s aggressive approach to sustainability enables it to offer the lowest energy consumption per square meter for its class. The complex will utilize sustainable materials and feature integrated wind turbines, outdoor air quality monitors.

In addition to serving as the Masdar headquarters, the building will accommodate private residences and ‘early bird’ businesses starting up in the city. The Masdar development will be constructed over seven phases and is due to be completed by 2016.

Clip Source: www.smithgill.com

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

setting new design standards for green building, with their scheme that generates more energy than it consumes

The Masdar Headquarters building outside of Abu Dhabi is also the first building in history to generate power for its own assembly, using a solar roof pier that will be built first to power the rest of the construction.

The building’s sustainability gave it the edge to beat 159 others in the international design competition.

The $300 million, 1.4 million square foot headquarters will serve as the stunning centerpiece of the super-green, car-free Norman Foster-designed Masdar City, the $22 billion development just outside Abu Dhabi.

one of the world’s largest integrated photovoltaic systems and the world’s largest solar thermal driven cooling and dehumidification system

Compared with typical mixed-use buildings of the same size, the Headquarters will consume 70 percent less wate

Masdar’s headquarters is part of phase one and will be completed by the end of 2010

Clip Source: www.smithgill.com

Tags: positive energy, sustainability, abu dhabi, future, super-green

Island Wood: City Kids First Visit with Nature & Environmentalism

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:16:39 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: An environmental learning center—nestled into a rustic 250-acre nature preserve—plays a dual role as symbol and teaching tool. "We envision a future in which all people view themselves as lifelong learners, and share an extraordinary bond of stewardship for the environment, for their communities and for each other." Raising of environmental consciousness, one child at a time.

“The center is primarily for inner-city kids who don’t have an opportunity to connect with the natural world. And when kids are uncomfortable, they’re not open to learning. So we wanted them to be as comfortable here as possible.”

The mission of IslandWood is to provide exceptional learning experiences and to inspire lifelong environmental and community stewardship.

Clip Source: www.metropolismag.com

Clip Source: www.islandwood.org

Clip Source: www.metropolismag.com

Island Wood, a six-acre environmental learning-center campus built carefully, almost apologetically, into a 255-acre nature preserve on Bainbridge Island, Washington

to demonstrate architectural environmentalism and to elicit kids’ questions and interest

to address two apparently unrelated problems: environmental degradation and shortfalls in inner-city education

now covered with second-growth forest, and features—among other natural wonders—a pond, a bog, a marsh, an estuary, a deep ravine, and a harbor

brings in children and teachers from inner-city schools and hosts them for the better part of a week, giving them intense, hands-on outdoor science education and indoor exposure to “green” architecture

Washington State’s first LEED Gold project

everything from photovoltaic roof panels to a rainwater-capture apparatus and a greenhouse, called the Living Machine, packed with plants that filter Island Wood’s gray water for reuse

We don’t preach

we just make it obvious so they’ll ask questions

Tags: environment education, green design, sustainable, forest friendly, children hold our future

Winning Design: Urban Farm Above & Music Festival Below

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:42:53 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Winning Green Design: The movement from industrialization to post-industrialization, from global to local, from the free market to the farmer’s market, and from sand to hay. To be built for Summer 2008 PS1 Festival Series.

Work Architecture’s winning proposal calls for a series of cardboard tubes, each no more than a yard tall, being assembled next to each other to form a large platform. Some of those columns will be filled with a series of fruit-growing plants, everything from mint to peas, while some will remain completely open, from top to bottom, to allow some light to shine through.

PS1 was founded in 1971 as The Institute for Art and Urban Resources Inc., to the transformation of abandoned and underutilized buildings in New York City into exhibition, performance, and studio spaces for artists.

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

For the past seven years, the PS1 gallery has invited a number of young emerging architects to participate in this competition to design a temporary structure for their summer music festival.

Work Architecture, this year’s winner

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

proposal by Dan Wood and Amale Andraos, the husband-and-wife duo

the urban farm concept — including an abundance of fresh produce and a genuine harvesting plan

To organize the space they chose the heavy cardboard tubes

Each tube will play its own role. Some will contain plantings on dirt shelves equipped with liner bags to prevent leakage

There is a phone-charging column, a children’s grotto of columns with swings, an herb-growing column with circulating fans dispersing scents like basil or lavender,

one that plays farm sounds when you sit down, another in which you can look upward, see stars and hear crickets

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

reinvent the idea of a temporary space

how that leisure space could work for us, reinventing it for the city

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

combining it with a real farmer’s market

Tags: ps1 music festival, queens, art meets green design, architecture, farm

Underground City? The Future of Amsterdam

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:52:11 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Dutch engineers have proposed building an underground city 6 floors under Amsterdam's picturesque canals, which would be drained section by section during construction.

It is both feasible and sustainable, creating a city beneath the city is not futuristic, it may be a necessity in this day and age.

And what will this city hold? Parking, shopping and "leisure".

Should they be digging up Amsterdam for parking and shopping, OR should they have added public transit and bike lanes instead?

Construction could last up to 20 years.

Clip Source: www.treehugger.com

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Dutch engineers have unveiled plans for a £7.4 billion underground city providing one million square feet of underground retail, leisure and parking facilities.

what we are doing is building a city under the city by using a new construction technique, which will not interfere with street traffic

Amsterdam was originally built on drained, swampy marshland and many of the classic Dutch gabled houses along its canals are still precariously supported by underground wooden beams.

canal water will be temporarily pumped out in order to start construction beneath.

Amsterdam sits on a 30-metre layer of waterproof clay which will be used together with concrete and sand to make new walls

Once we have resealed the canal floor, we will be able to carry on working underneath while pouring water back into the canals

The project has been approved by Amsterdam's city council. Construction work, lasting up to 20 years, is expected to begin in 2018.

Clip Source: www.treehugger.com

Tags: amsterdam, moving underground, city of the future, parking, retail

Would You Live Next to the Hollywood Sign?

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:35:21 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: The land left of the famous letters perched on the hills above Hollywood is for sale.

Should the land be purchased for mansions & condos OR preserved as a landmark & park?

"There are a lot of reasons communities gel, but one of them is a sense of place in the landscape, and the simmering fight between who can do what with enough money reaches a boil when the few seek to profit on land in which the public feels that it has an ownership stake."

Clip Source: www.thedailygreen.com

Clip Source: www.businessweek.com

A group of Chicago investors is putting the 138 acres of land just west of the "H" in the sign on the market

The asking price: $22 million.

The property offers a stunning 360-degree panorama of the Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Abutting the largest urban park in the country –- and just west of the giant sign’s H, the property atop Cahuenga Peak has been privately owned for years

Howard Hughes bought it before World War II in hopes of building a mountain hideaway for his then-girlfriend Ginger Rogers

Two years ago, city officials, residents and conservationists launched a fundraising drive to buy the property atop the 1,820-foot-high peak

Clip Source: www.businessweek.com

Councilman Tom LaBonge, who led the fundraising, said building homes on the peak would ruin one of the city's most famous views.

"That mountain should not be cluttered," LaBonge told the Los Angeles Times. "It's good for the psyche of Los Angeles."

"The city should acquire this land,"

Tags: sense of place, hollywood sign, landmark, park, preserve, mountain

To Beat the Heat in Madrid: Build an Air Tree

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:13:39 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: A new structure that will “climatically transform” its urban architecture. These trees will cool the surrounding environments and as a bonus generate clean electricity.

Designed by Urban Ecosystems

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

The city of Madrid soon plans to add a striking new structure that will “climatically transform” its urban architecture.

the Air Tree pavilion is to be built from recycled materials and will be 100% energy self-sufficient.

Using photovoltaic cells, the Air Tree produces a substantial amount of energy, which is then sold back to the local electric companies, the profits being used for maintenance of the structure.

The second byproduct is of course oxygen - hence the name ‘Air Tree’!

the trees have a very interesting benefit for the local residents who have to suffer through hot Spanish summers

The surrounding environment near the air tree will be naturally conditioned, reducing the heat island effect found in most city centers

the structure, made from lightweight recycled materials, can be easily disassembled and moved to another site when needed.

The air trees will be implemented city wide in the coming years

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

Tags: cool trees, heat island, madrid, spain, urban ecosystem, energy, recycled materials

A Green Utopia: World's First Zero-Carbon & Zero-Waste City

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:53:16 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Abu Dhabi: Masdar City aims to be the world's greenest city....and the most sustainable city.

The Masdar development is a 6 km sq, car-free “walled-city” scheme. A challenging design that promises to question conventional urban wisdom at a fundamental level. Masdar promises to set new benchmarks for the sustainable city of the future

Clip Source: www.outnext.com

Clip Source: www.enn.com

WWF and the government of Abu Dhabi today launched a Sustainability tStrategy to deliver the world’s greenest city

Masdar City will be the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, meeting or exceeding a set of stringent sustainability goals established under the “One Planet Livingâ„¢” programme established by WWF

Clip Source: www.outnext.com

Clip Source: www.enn.com

These targets are to be achieved by the time the Masdar City is completed and fully functioning in 2012.

ZERO CARBON 100 per cent of energy supplied by renewable energy

ZERO WASTE 99 per cent diversion of waste from landfill

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT Zero carbon emissions from transport within the city

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS Specifying high recycled materials content within building products

SUSTAINABLE FOOD

SUSTAINABLE WATER

HABITATS AND WILDLIFE All valuable species to be conserved or relocated

EQUITY AND FAIR TRADE Fair wages and working conditions for all workers

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS Facilities and events for every demographic group

CULTURE AND HERITAGE

Clip Source: www.outnext.com

Tags: utopia, green, city, masdar, sustainable, wwf

Baltimore Suing Wells Fargo For Discrimination Against Minorities

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:54:37 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: "This wave of foreclosures in minority neighborhoods really threatens to undermine the tremendous progress the city has made in developing distressed neighborhoods and moving the city ahead economically."

"Foreclosures have a more profound effect in minority communities because they are closest to the line of distressed neighborhoods in many cities. That causes big problems for the cities, not just the lost income from taxes but also the long-term social costs. Programs are going to be needed to stabilize the communities to be rebuilt."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Baltimore’s mayor and City Council are suing Wells Fargo Bank, contending that its lending practices discriminated against black borrowers and led to a wave of foreclosures that has reduced city tax revenues and increased its costs.

to ask that the court bar Wells Fargo from charging higher fees to black borrowers

Wells Fargo made high-cost loans, with an interest rate at least three percentage points above a federal benchmark, to 65 percent of its black customers in Baltimore and to only 15 percent of its white customers in the area

The complaint requests unspecified damages

to cover the diminished property tax revenues and higher costs that the city said it had incurred

for fire and police protection in hard-hit neighborhoods and expenditures to buy and rehabilitate vacant properties.

a Wells Fargo spokesman, rejected the contention that race was a factor in the bank’s pricing of mortgage loans

Our loan pricing is based on credit risk. We are committed to serving all customers fairly

Tags: foreclosure, wells fargo, baltimore, city, mortgage, low income, neighborhood

A Mobile Sea Barrier To Save Sinking Venice

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:37:37 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: The project is building 78 floodgates at the 3 inlets that link the Venice lagoon to the Adriatic Sea.

When the giant doors are at rest, they will be lying on the bottom of the inlet channel, invisible to the world. Each gate will be up to 92 feet long, 65 feet wide, and will weigh 300 tons.

The gates allow one inlet to close and not the other so you are not obliged to close the whole lagoon.

Some 37 percent of the work has been completed, and MOSE should open as planned in 2012.

Clip Source: www.npr.org

the Venice lagoon

The lagoon covers 212 square miles

Along with the city of Venice in the center, there are some 50 smaller islands

This delicate and fragile ecosystem is the largest wetland in the Mediterranean

If Venice is to be saved, the lagoon must be protected

rising seas threaten the Venice lagoon

windows of buildings near sea level have been closed and filled with cement

No Venetian lives on the ground floor any more

In the last century, the city sank 11 inches

Flooding is more frequent as climate change brings higher tides

A century ago it happened seven times a year, now it's more like a hundred

MOSE

is the biggest public works project in Italian history

78 giant mobile floodgates that can be raised against high water

the mobile gates are designed to last at least a century and to protect Venice from a difference in water level between the sea and lagoon of up to six and half feet

The latest prediction of the United Nations

is for a one- or two-foot increase by the end of this century.

Tags: venice, lagoon, flood, gates, wetland

Eco-Sin Tax? Chicago Fights the 7 Sins of Bottled Water

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:03:39 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Chicago's 5-cent tax on bottled water took effect on Jan. 2, 2008. The tax is expected to bring an extra $10.5 million annually into the city's coffers while encouraging people to drink tap water and eschew the environmentally suspect bottles.

Illinois residents consumed 270 million gallons of bottled water in 2005, making the state the seventh-biggest bottled water consumer in the United States.

The Earth Policy Institute estimates manufacturers use more than 17 million barrels of oil in making polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles. Only 23 percent of those bottles are is recycled, according to the Container Recycling Institute. The rest are tossed into landfills.

Clip Source: www.thedailygreen.com

Sin taxes have always been the most palatable of fees to voters who hate taxes

Welcome to the era of the eco-sin tax

Chicago is the first major U.S. city to tax bottled water

seven sins of bottled water

are these:

Plastic bottles are made from petroleum

The bottles often go into the trash, rather than the recycle bin (in part because many states don't offer five-cent deposits to encourage recycling, as they do on soda and beer cans and bottles).

water is pumped far from where it is sold, creating needless pollution as trucks and barges transport it across the country

water underground or flowing from natural springs is publicly owned and should not be exploited for profit

Bottled water is rarely as closely monitored as tap water.

Tap water in the United States, when provided by a municipal system, is the most highly monitored and safe supply in the world.

Some of the water sold in little plastic bottles is tap water, but it costs an awful lot more per gallon.

Tags: bottled water, chicago, eco-sin tax