Archive for June, 2008
Comment - Noise pollution in cities
Posted in Uncategorized by fedwards on June 13th, 2008
The section below is republished with permission from the Going Solar Transport Newsletter #63, 10 June 2008, compiled by Stephen Ingrouille. Going Solar, www.goingsolar.com.au/transport.
Noise Pollution
“Drivers hooted their way through Mumbai’s first no-honking day, ignoring efforts to cut the ear-splitting cacophony of life in India’s most bustling city. …The city of 18 million suffers from severe noise pollution, with not even designated ‘no honking zones’ - such as for hospitals and educational institutions - spared by impatient drivers. …Doctors say noise pollution stemming from cars, motorcycles, trucks and air traffic takes a toll on health, pushing up stress levels. Last year, the World Health Organisation said long-term exposure to traffic noise could be linked to heart disease.”
Ref: SMH, 8/4/08, URL
Quiet Ultra-Light Rail
“I live in close proximity to the line that runs between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town [in the UK] and during the week am plagued with the noise made by the rail carriage that generally uses that line. However, Sundays are a totally different situation. Your ‘People Mover’ slips virtually silently up and down the line and almost goes unnoticed. Apart from
the benefits to ourselves and other residents of reduced noise, I would imagine that there is also a significant reduction in the amount of fumes and other gases that pollute the environment.”
Ref: Parry People Mover Website 24/8/06, URL
Tags: energy, Health, Resource, Transport, Urban Design and Built Form
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Model & Movement - Fading Cars in Japan
Posted in Models, Movements by fedwards on June 12th, 2008
The section below is republished with permission from the Going Solar Transport Newsletter #63, 10 June 2008, compiled by Stephen Ingrouille. Going Solar, www.goingsolar.com.au/transport.
Fading Cars
“With car buying down by close to 33-percent since 1990, Japan is claimed to be in the grips of kuruma banare, which, for Japanese carmakers, is the polar opposite of hakuna matata. ‘It’s being labelled the ‘demotorisation’ process, and it involves large numbers of people in Japan’s urban centres not buying cars.
“Surveys have revealed a variety of reasons, from the cost of purchase and ownership, to vehicles simply not being status symbols anymore, to cars being passé – as in ‘so 20th century’. The greatest worry [for car makers] is that young folks are simply not into cars, preferring cell phones and gadgets to Cubes and keis. Losing their audience before the love affair has even begun is no doubt causing JDM manufacturers to lose sleep. And the even worse news is that the trend is expected to continue, with another 1.2-percent drop in sales predicted this year. Japanese carmakers are fighting the perception that cars aren’t cool or worth the price by expanding their marketing and sales efforts in an attempt to form emotional bonds in other ways. It is certain, however, that they aren’t the only ones interested in the outcome: Japan’s kuruma banare is expected to befall Europe as well.”
Ref: Jonathon Ramsey, Autoblog, 23/5/08, URL
26/05/08
“General Motors Corp. announced it was closing four truck and sports utility vehicle plants and launching a new series of environmentally friendly vehicles in the face of high fuel prices. The automaker said it was also considering selling its hulking Hummer brand as consumer demand for gasoline guzzling vehicles dried up in its home market. ‘These moves are all in response to the rapid rise in oil prices and the resulting changes in the US, changes that we believe are more structural than cyclical’, said Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and chief executive officer.”
Ref: Mira Oberman, The Australian 4/6/08, URL
And Also …
“The first two oil shocks banished oil from power generation. How fitting if the third finished the job and began to free transport from oil’s century-long monopoly.”
Ref: Economist.com 29/05/08, URL
Tags: energy, Health, Transport, Urban Design and Built Form
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Research - Australia 2020 Summit: Final Report
Posted in Research, Visions by fedwards on June 12th, 2008
Please find below some information about the “Australia 2020 Summit: Final Report” which was recently posted on Australian Policy Online . There is also a link to the full article below.
Australia 2020 Summit: Final Report, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Posted: 02-06-2008
“This report is intended to provide a record of the Australia 2020 Summit and recommendations on each of the discussion areas for consideration by the Australian government. It is based on ideas put forward by participants during the summit discussion sessions, outcomes from preliminary summit events and ideas generated from public submissions received prior to the summit.
The report includes an introductory section and ten chapters which can be viewed and/or downloaded separately.
> Read full text”
Tags: climate change, energy, Food, Health, Resource, Transport, Urban Design and Built Form, waste, Water
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Resource - Article about cities that emerged from the sand
Posted in Models by fedwards on June 10th, 2008
The article “Desert field of dreams” by Sally Breen, Griffith Review, looks at the links between Dubai and other post-modern cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and the Gold Coast that emerged from sand. To read the full article as a pdf visit http://www.apo.org.au/linkboard/results.chtml?filename_num=210987.
Tags: Resource, Urban Design and Built Form
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Network - The European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign
Posted in Uncategorized by fedwards on June 2nd, 2008
Please find information about the network, The European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign. This campaign has information on local sustainable development and the implementation of the Aalborg Commitments. Check out their website to learn more about how to achieve your local sustainability targets. Read the news, follow the debate and check the events. The partners of the ESCTC provide you with practical guidance, project ideas and tools, showcased in the Sustainability Kit and in the linked partners’ websites. To mainstream local sustainability throughout Europe, the Campaign fosters the implementation of the ‘Aalborg Commitments’. You can follow their structure throughout many of the items on this site. Enjoy browsing at and become part of the biggest movement for local sustainability across Europe!
URL: http://sustainable-cities.eu/index.php
Tags: networks, Resource, Urban Design and Built Form
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Movement - Guerrilla Gardeners in urban centres
Posted in Movements, Research by fedwards on June 1st, 2008
Please find below an abstract about the guerrilla gardeners of London below by Kate Kelland as listed on the Planet Ark World News, 1 May 2008.
“LONDON - They work under the cover of night, armed with seed bombs, chemical weapons and pitchforks. Their tactics are anarchistic, their attitude revolutionary. Their aim: to beautify.
An army of self-styled Guerrilla Gardeners is growing across the world, fighting to transform urban wastelands into horticultural havens. To document and encourage their victories, one of the movement’s top generals has written a handbook.
“On Guerrilla Gardening“, by Richard Reynolds, defines the activity as “the illicit cultivation of someone else’s land”.
“Our main enemies are neglect and scarcity of land,” said Reynolds, a 30-year-old former advertising employee who wrote the book after his website guerrillagardening.org became a global focal point for would-be green-fingered activists.
“Land is a finite resource — and yet areas like this are not being used. That seems crazy to me,” Reynolds told Reuters.”
To read the full story visit http://features.us.reuters.com/cover/news/L2921871.html.
Tags: Food, Urban Design and Built Form, waste
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