Archives: 2008 April

Archive for April, 2008

Models - Prams, buses and trains in more sustainable cities

Posted in Models by fedwards on April 18th, 2008

The section below is republished with permission from the Going Solar Transport Newsletter #55, 15 April 2008, compiled by Stephen Ingrouille. Going Solar, www.goingsolar.com.au/transport.

Pram Utopia in Finland
“It seems there is an utopia for public transport travelling parents with prams out there - in Tampere, Finland. Buses are equipped with a ‘pram button’ at the centre doors to alert the driver that a passenger with a pram wishes to board. Buses have enough space for two large prams (not ‘umbrella’ strollers) to be parked for the journey. Anyone accompanying a tram and using the centre doors can travel for free — the bus company recognising that it is not acceptable for a carer to leave an infant and negotiate their way to the front of the vehicle to purchase a ticket. All children under 7 years travel for free anyway.”
Ref: Bryony Cooper, The Flyer, PBAI Aust, Mar 08

Ultra Light Rail in the UK
“With Parry People Movers vehicles set to take over the Stourbridge Junction-Stourbridge Town branch from December 2008, interest has revived in whether this truly lightweight and efficient vehicle can restore passenger services over relatively short distances, thereby lowering the cost of operations whilst at the same time providing an appropriate quality service. According to Parry People Movers itself, this could be the solution to providing regular passenger services on lines which currently carry very few passenger trains, or only the very occasional freight, or even ‘heritage’ lines which do not operate daily but which usefully could if an economic, light rail solution (but not an intensive fully-fledged, urban-type tram operation) could step into the breach. The entry of Parry People Movers into the national franchised rail operation is significant. The two PPM 60 railcars … will reduce considerably the daily cost of operating and maintaining the short branch and release a Class 153 for London Midland to use elsewhere.”
Ref: Today’s Railways UK, March 2008

Tags: energy, Transport, Urban Design and Built Form
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Resource - Papers available – environmental economics

Posted in Research by fedwards on April 16th, 2008

The UK Network of Environmental Economics recently held its annual conference. The presentations given at the event are now available online at www.uknee.org.uk or more specifically at http://www.eftec.co.uk/UKNEE/agenda.htmhttp://www.eftec.co.uk/UKNEE/agenda.htm. Sessions focused on: Climate and carbon; Ecosystem services and biodiversity; Water; market based instruments; Economic valuation; and Life expectancy and satisfaction.

Content from past conferences (envecon 2004-2007) and UKNEE seminars can also be accessed via the website.

Tags: Carbon-neutral, climate change, Water
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Networks - Check out the Green Map! April Newsletter Update

Posted in Models by fedwards on April 14th, 2008

Green Map’s April Express! http://www.greenmap.org/greenhouse/en/node/4036.

Building a New & Inclusive Green Mapmaking Website
This season, Green Map System is focused on the creation of the OpenGreenMap. Moving from the concept stage to designing a robust and fun-to-use interactive mapmaking tool has our team jumping. You jumped too – your votes helped this become a Featured Project in the NetSquared Mashup Challenge! As we move toward the mid-2008 public launch, this ‘remixing the web for social change’ conference will bring our project together with 20 others for well-timed development support.

OpenGreenMap is the finalized name for this project. Designed to involve a great diversity of people in bringing sustainable living to light, the website is already being tested and integrated with other online resources including GreenMap.org. Our upcoming presentations (listed below) will preview it, including our May 21st Top Ten Party - thanks again to our America’s Giving Challenge donors who seeded this project! Find out more and discuss this social media project in progress at OpenGreenMap.org.

Green Map Board of Directors News
Our projects, large and small, often take a giant leap forward once our Board gets involved. These wonderful, talented individuals have devoted many hours towards our nonprofit organization’s effectiveness. …Each deserves a big bouquet of spring blossoms for their dedicated years of ! service to the Green Map movement!

Local Impacts – Global Connections
Charting the impacts of our work in 20 diverse vignettes, our latest collaboratively-authored book was released by Aichi Japan’s Green Mapmaker, Keiko Nakagawa this week! Watch for news on the English edition later in the year.

Newly selected as the pilot project for UNEP’s Green Passport project, the Parati Green Map project has sustainable tourism as its goal. Led by Dr. Claudia Green, students of tourism management at NYC’s Pace University have been working with this Brazilian community for three years. We are looking forward to seeing how this model impacts tourism worldwide!

In December 2006, Green Map System began distributing our local Compost Green Map of Manhattan, together with our project partner, Lower East Side Ecology Center. LESEC also collects compostable food scraps from customers at the Union Square Greenmarket. Already, Saturday collection has increased over 300%, according to director Christine Datz-Romero, and doubled at their other collection site. We’re so pleased to see this most efficient and regenerative form of recycling grow that we’re starting to plan our 3rd printing of this popular little map/composting poster. Download it or pick one up in Union Square.

To find out more about the Green Map project or to subscribe to their newsletter visit http://www.greenmap.org/greenhouse/en/node/4036.

Tags: networks, Resource, Urban Design and Built Form
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Sustainable Cities Update - Mount Alexander Sustainability Group Weekly News Digest

Posted in Uncategorized by fedwards on April 12th, 2008

For more information see http://masg.org.au.
Friday 11th April 2008

Deadlines: more details in newsletter below
12 April - Carbon hero nominations
12 April - buy your raffle tickets
14 April - poetry competition entries close

MASG News and Events
Welcome back Carolyn, who re-starts work at MASG on Mondays, starting 14th April. Please come to the morning tea at 10.30am to welcome her back from maternity leave.

Community-Owned Wind Park Open Day: Saturday 19th April from 10.00am to 2.00pm. Phee Broadway Foyer, Mechanics Lane, Castlemaine, with light refreshments provided. MASG are investigating the potential for a community owned wind park in our shire. All members are invited to an open day to learn more about the project and how you can be involved. Written info available on the day. Wind park developer David Shapero and MASG representatives will be present to answer enquiries and discuss the project. More information and bookings: Jayson 5470 6978 and jayson@masg.org.au

Congratulations to MASG committee member Tony Smark who gave a very well- researched and well-reasoned presentation to the MA Council public meeting on the 08/09 budget. His major recommendations were around the Council’s use of GreenPower, how it offsets its vehicle fleet emissions, the opportunities in the retrofit of the School of Mines Building & the Council’s HACC Home Maintenance program working to increase the energy efficiency of our low income resident’s homes. Tony’s full presentation can be downloaded from the MASG website http://masg.org.au.

For more information see http://masg.org.au.

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Comments on sustainable cities in the press

Posted in Models, Visions by fedwards on April 10th, 2008

The section below is republished with permission from the Going Solar Transport Newsletter #53, 1 April 2008, compiled by Stephen Ingrouille. Going Solar, www.goingsolar.com.au/transport. This newsletter provides an excellent commentary on local sustainable transport issues in Melbourne.

Sustainable Cities
“The urban environments we design today – our cities, towns and places will significantly affect environmental sustainability in the future. Cities currently are a major contributor to global warming. In the future they must become sustainable. The design professions and especially planners, urban designers and architects need to rethink how to design and manage the built environment more effectively in the context of addressing environmental sustainability.”
Ref: Alex Tzannes, Urban Design Forum #80, December 2007

“Abu Dhabi has started to build what it says is the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste car-free city. Masdar City will cost $22bn (£11.3bn), take eight years to build and be home to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses. The city will be mostly powered by solar energy and residents will move in travel pods running on magnetic tracks.”
Ref: BBC News 10/2/08 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7237672.stm

Tags: climate change, energy, Resource, Transport, Urban Design and Built Form
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Vision for a Sustainable Sydney in 2030

Posted in Models, Visions by fedwards on April 9th, 2008

Sustainable Sydney
Sydney’s 10 most important targets for the city to reach by 2030 show how lives would change drastically.
1. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent compared to 1990 levels.
2. At least 132,000 dwellings, 48,000 new dwellings, for an increased household diversity.
3. Of all city housing, 7.5 per cent will be social housing and 7.5 per cent affordable housing.
4. The city to contain at least 465,000 jobs with an increased share of the finance, education, creative industries and tourism sectors.
5. Use of public transport for travel to work increased by 80 per cent.
6. At least 10 per cent of trips made in the city by cycling and 50 per cent by walking.
7. Every resident within a 10 minute or 800m walk to a main street with food markets, childcare, health services and leisure infrastructure.
8. Every resident within a three-minute walk or 250m of continuous green links that connect to the Harbour Foreshore, Harbour Parklands, Moore and Centennial Parks or Sydney Park.
9. The level of community cohesion to increase with more than 45 per cent of people believing their neighbours can be trusted.
10. Have the capacity to meet up to 100 per cent of the city’s energy demand and 10 per cent of its water supply.
Ref: Daily Telegraph 26/3/08

Tags: climate change, energy, Health, Transport, Urban Design and Built Form, waste, Water
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Research on visioning our future with climate change

Posted in Research, Visions by fedwards on April 8th, 2008

This paper, ‘An overview of climate change: What does it mean for our way of life? What is the best future we can hope for? ‘ by Neva Goodwin from the Global Development and Environment Institute was recently posted on the Australian Policy Online newsletter. Find the abstract below followed by a link to read the full article.

An overview of climate change: What does it mean for our way of life? What is the best future we can hope for?
Neva Goodwin / Global Development and Environment Institute
Posted: 31-03-2008
Abstract:
This paper starts with the question of whether climate change will require a significant reduction of consumption among the richer people in the world, and ends with the most optimistic picture the author can conjure up, of the world in the year 2075. That hopeful picture is of a world in which inequalities – among and within nations – have been substantially reduced. The challenges and adjustments confronting humanity in the coming decades provide an opportunity that could be used to mitigate climate change in ways that can improve the circumstances of the poor. Ecological reasons to reduce throughput of energy and materials in economic systems urge the abandonment of high- consumption life-styles. The 21st century will be an era of many losses, but it is conceivable that societies will successfully make the transition from goals of economic growth, as understood in the 20th century, to goals of maintaining and increasing sustainable well-being.

To read the full article visit http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/wp/08-01OverviewOfClimateChange.pdf

Tags: climate change, energy, Provocations
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Research - Towards urban water reform

Posted in Research by fedwards on April 6th, 2008

This discussion paper, ‘Towards urban water reform: a discussion paper‘ by the Productivity Commission was recently posted on the Australian Policy Online newsletter. Find the abstract below followed by a link to read the full article.

Towards urban water reform: a discussion paper
Productivity Commission
Posted: 01-04-2008
Abstract:
Most urban households face severe restrictions on their use of water. These impose hidden costs that could amount to billions of dollars each year. Australia’s urban water shortages are only partly due to low rainfall. An important contributor has been inadequate institutional arrangements for the management of our urban water resources.This discussion paper identifies a number of deficiencies in how urban water is currently managed, the most fundamental being the lack of any effective market.

The paper reveals that some of the issues are complex to resolve and it does not lay out a particular blueprint for reform. Nevertheless, the Commission finds that the direction for reform seems clear. Key areas for more detailed assessment that it identifies include: * allowing a greater role for prices to signal water scarcity and to allocate resources; * removing artificial impediments to rural urban water trading; and * removing barriers to competition in the supply and retailing of urban water. The Commission argues that appropriate reforms would be best advanced through a comprehensive public review, to determine the merits of different options and build a greater understanding within the community of the costs of the status quo and the tradeoffs in pursuing change.

Read the full text: http://www.pc.gov.au/research/commissionresearch/urbanwaterreform

Tags: climate change, Provocations, Urban Design and Built Form, Water
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Update - SustainableMelbourne.com shows Sustainable Cities Round Table on Mobility

Posted in Events, Models, Movements, Research by fedwards on April 4th, 2008

Our sister site, SustainableMelbourne.com, recently held a Sustainable Cities Round Table on the topic of Mobility. Check out the post below with film footage of one of the presenters.

Local Action & Network - Paul McKay talks about Cyclovia at the Sustainable Cities Round Table, 17 March
March 31st, 2008
by ferne edwards

Also speaking at the recent Sustainable Cities Round Table on Mobility, 17 March 2008, was Paul McKay, a Cyclovia Consultant, whose talk was titled “Cyclovia”. Cyclovia is described on http://www.cyclovia.org/ as Life to the street! The website reads: “Imagine roads with barely a car insight and people of all ages walking, cycling, rollerblading or pushing a pram. That is a Cyclovia. During a Cyclovia, cars are not allowed to drive along the selected road but are still able to cross at designated intersections. The first Cyclovia in Australia was held on 28 May 2006 in Moreland, Victoria. Over 5,000 participants attended this great day.”

Please find footage and the powerpoint slides from Paul McKay’s presentation below.

Cyclovia powerpoint