Filed under: Clients In The News, Ecocity, Environment, Events, Government, dallas sustainable square block | Tags: Astrid Haryati, dallas sustainable square block, Gavin Newsom, Nicole Cassani, San Francisco Civic Center Revitalization, San Francisco Sustainable Square Block, stacey frost, Sustainable Civic Center, urban revision
This week we are in San Francisco supporting Urban Re:Vision for a 2-day intensive design session to redefine the city’s Civic Center district using Re:Vision’s Unified Conceptual Framework which is currently guiding our sister project, Re:Vision Dallas.
To quote Mayor Gavin Newsom’s goal: “We are transforming our Civic Center into a global model for how to achieve a more sustainable future in urban environments.”
The ultimate goal is to enable the Mayor’s vision by generating sustainable design solutions for the Civic Center. Outcomes of this week will ideally include a set of design principles and a series of diagrams that show how the designs will function. Short and long term planning will be addressed in 3-month increments through fruition.
Partners in the revitalization project include The Art Institute, UC Berkely Extension, Art & Garden Cafe, Rana Creek Living Architecture, Jensen Corporation, Greenworks Design, Living Green, San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, SF Botanical Gardens, Sloat Garden Center and others.
Video from the press conference last month:
Filed under: Ecocity, Technology | Tags: abu dhabi, Ecocity, Gil Friend, Masdar, Tech Review
“If environmental engineers, by gaining experience from building [Masdar], become much more productive at building the next city, this starts to move from being science fiction to something Houston would adopt.” – Gil Friend
The first hints of the project are visible. A white wall stretches through the desert, like a chalk line on a dusty playing field. A bus with darkened windows stirs a low cloud, ferrying workers past a cluster of steel cranes, two portable drilling rigs, and a stand of concrete columns sprouting rust-colored rebar. A tall wire fence guards rows of solar panels mounted on concrete pads.
The construction is the start of a vast experiment, an attempt to create the world’s first car-free, zero-carbon-dioxide-emissions, zero-waste city. Due to be completed in 2016, the city is the centerpiece of the Masdar Initiative, a $15 billion investment by the government of Abu Dhabi, which is part of the United Arab Emirates. The new development, being built on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi city, will run almost entirely on energy from the sun and will use just 20 percent as much power as a conventional city of similar size. Garbage will be sorted and recycled or used for compost; sewage will be processed into fuel. Concrete columns will lift the city seven meters off the ground, creating space underneath for a network of automated electric transports that will replace cars. Planners predict that the development will attract 1,500 clean-tech businesses, ranging from large international corporations to startups, and–eventually–some 50,000 residents.
Filed under: Community Service | Tags: blog, Green By Design, Tanzania, VEF
Any outfit that adheres to their mission to do good stands out in today’s world, and that’s what makes Green By Design outstanding. From the clean, friendly visual presentation to the Green By Design Shop of handpicked toys, gadgets, furniture and other products made sustainably, Green By Design gets it, does it and makes it look good. Here’s a clip from their most recent blog post to whet your appetite.
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Green By Design: In the Heart of Tanzania
Published by Melissa Cicci
On the outskirts of Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania, microenterprise is making a difference in the lives of rural villagers. Since 1987, Village Enterprise Fund (VEF), a non-profit based in San Carlos, California, has helped fund more than 16,000 small businesses in East Africa with grants that typically range from $100-$150 but that make incalculable difference in human lives and fortunes.
Recently, I traveled to the heart of Tanzania to visit some of the grant recipients. Central Tanzania reminded me of the American southwest, where I live: red clay earth, simple mud-brick dwellings, dry riverbeds and a deep blue sky.
Also as in parts of the American southwest, there is a real need here among the local people to find alternatives to subsistence farming whereby locals may empower themselves out of the enervating cycle of poverty.
Follow them on Twitter: @GreenByDesign
