Sensible City’s Weblog


Urban Re:Vision to lead design Charrette in San Francisco this week

Urban Re:Vision San FranciscoThis 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:



Academy for Global Citizenship in the news…

NBC Reporter Art Norman with AGC Students


On Feb 27, 2009, Megan Ellis, a sustainability education teacher at the Academy for Global Citizenship on the southwest side of Chicago, IL, started her class from an unusual location – Churchill, Manitoba, the edge of the Arctic Circle.


As part of her educator fellowship, sponsored by HSBC in the Community, Mrs. Ellis used satellite and Internet technology to connect “Live from the Field” to her classroom and community. Mrs. Ellis joined Earthwatch Institute’s Climate Change at the Arctic’s Edge expedition as a member of a research team consisting of scientists and volunteers determined to collect data and answer the most pressing issues related to climate change.


The research team was led by principal investigator G. Peter Kershaw, Ph.D. of the University of Alberta, Canada. The volunteers assisted the researchers by quantifying snowpack differences in local ecosystems and assessing wildlife use.

[Read more about it on her expedition blog]

[Visit the AGC website]



Fox News Orlando: OCC Goes Solar (launch at Green Cities Florida)

ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s good enough to power the most expensive real estate in the universe – the International Space Station. Now it will help power one of the biggest buildings in Orlando. Steve Gehlbach has the enlightening details.

Media: register here.