Author Archive
Thank you and good bye!
Posted in Events by fedwards on June 23rd, 2009
Thank you all for your interest and support in the Sustainable Cities project over the last couple of years. I have now resigned from my position as Sustainable Cities Research Officer at VEIL. It’s been a very productive innings – SustainableMelbourne.com has had over 200,000 unique visitors in the last year and along with SustainableCitiesNet.com we have posted more than 1,500 total posts of positive urban sustainability initiatives. The Sustainable Cities Round Tables, our face-to-face events, have showcased 110 local presenters, networking people across sustainability sectors and illustrating the extent of rich resources and knowledge that we have here in Melbourne. 
I have also enjoyed teaching the ‘Meals in Metropolis‘ course at RMIT University (check out the student work here), and writing the ‘Briefing Paper on Social Innovations in the Victorian Food System’ – soon to be released (to request a copy email Kirsten Larsen at klarsen@ unimelb.edu.au). The highlight of the project was having this work recognised internationally when I moderated the ‘Sustainable cities and human life’ session at the 2008 World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, Korea.
SustainableMelbourne.com, SustainableCitiesNet.com and this Newsletter will continue on to be moderated by Kate Archdeacon, Design Research Assistant, VEIL. For future information about these projects please contact her directly at kfa@ unimelb.edu.au. Of course, we encourage you to continue to post your initiatives directly online – just go to “How to use this site” and follow the instructions. To keep up with VEIL’s work visit the website here.
I have now published the footage from the most recent (and possibly the last) ‘Sustainable Cities Round Table – The Energy to Change‘. In all these projects – SustainableMelbourne.com, SustainableCitiesNet.com and the Sustainable Cities Round Tables – I have striven to showcase positive initiatives to inspire fresh, innovative and positive change towards sustainability. On that note, a question asked at the recent Sustainable Cities Round Table is very relevant: “What motivates you to change?” I hope the websites and events have also inspired such changes to become real.
Best,
Ferne Edwards
Sustainable Cities Research Officer, VEIL
Harvesting the wind – integrating existing energy structures with new
Posted in Models by fedwards on June 3rd, 2009
This article, Harvesting the wind, was originally published by Suzanne LaBarre on 13 May 209 on the Metropolis website. It demonstrates an innovative model to integrate existing powerlines with wind energy. An alternative version of distributed systems perhaps? The full article can be found here.
Harvesting the wind
From the window of a TGV hurtling through France, the countryside flattens to a smudge—electrical towers rise and recede in clusters, and tall, lanky wind turbines seem to whip off pirouettes like a young Moira Shearer. Most passengers turn their heads, nodding off on a neighbor or burying their noses in Le Monde, but for a triÂumvirate of young designers, the sight is a view of the future. The passing turbines and pylons augur a new way to harness renewable energy in a country that relies almost entirely on nuclear power. “When we’re riding on the train, we al-ways see pylons, and some turbines too,†NicÂola Delon says. “We say, ‘Both are here. Can’t we mix them together?’â€
Tags: design, energy, energy systems, innovation, integration, sustainable energy, wind
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Lapse of posts due to sickness – my apologies
Posted in Events by fedwards on June 1st, 2009
I would like to apologise for the lapse of posts on the Sustainable Cities Net website over the last week. I have been ill and unable to moderate the site during this time. Thankfully I’m now back at work and the website will continue as par usual!
Best,
Ferne Edwards
SustainableMelbourne.com and SustainableCitiesNet.com moderator / Sustainable Cities Research Officer
Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab
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Introducing the EcoTipping website
Posted in Models by fedwards on April 27th, 2009
The EcoTipping website provides numerous diverse examples of communities resolving environmental problems. The site defines an EcoTipping Point is a lever that reverses environmental decline, setting in motion restoration and sustainability. The website showcases environmental pioneers in community organizations, business, and government who are demonstrating how the right change can turn ecosystems away from ruin and back towards health and sustainability. To visit the site go to http://www.ecotippingpoints.org.
Tags: case studies, human ecology, Models, Research, tipping point
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City slickers have a lower footprint
Posted in Research by fedwards on April 3rd, 2009
According to a new study released by the International Institute for Environment and Development, urban dwellers have a lower carbon footprint than the national average. “Many cities have surprisingly low per capita emissions but what is clear is that most emissions come from the world’s wealthier nations,” says David Dodman, author of the study that will be published in the April edition of Environment and Urbanization. “The real climate-change culprits are not the cities themselves but the high consumption lifestyles of people living across these wealthy countries. To read more about this report visit the IIED website here.
Tags: carbon footprint, climate change, urban sustainability
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Lowhub – delivery / waste model
Posted in Models by fedwards on March 25th, 2009
Lowhub is a sustainable delivery company, using electric vehicles or those fuelled with biodiesel produced from used cooking oil, to restaurants, retailers, hotels and delicatessens in Central London. They have recently been interviewed by the Food Climate Research Network and you can read the interview by clicking here or just access it from the home page.
Tags: biodiesel, delivery, Models, sustainable transport
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Launch of new Environment, Health and Development research network
Posted in Research by fedwards on March 23rd, 2009
A new Environment, Health and Development research network has been launched in 2009, funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council. Please see the website: http://www.uea.ac.uk/dev/ehdnet.
There will be an inaugural conference in June 2009. This will comprise an electronic conference and a symposium, where we will particularly explore the role of social science perspectives on themes linking environment, health and development, discuss different analytical approaches, and discuss ways forward for the network. The website gives details of how to join the network and how to apply for the symposium.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: development, environment, Health, networks, Research
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Applications for fellowships at TEDGlobal 2009 have now opened!
Posted in Events by fedwards on March 19th, 2009
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. TED is excited to begin the search for the inaugural class of TEDGlobal Fellows to participate in the TEDGlobal Conference in Oxford, U.K. Following the successful Fellows program launch in Long Beach, CA, they are looking for the next eclectic group of 25 innovators from around the world.
TED Fellows may apply or be nominated by another individual. Please follow this link to apply. To nominate a candidate, email fellows@ ted.com. The program will accept applications for fellowships from March 6, 2009 through April 3, 2009.
For more information the TED Fellows program visit http://www.ted.com/fellows.
Tags: design, entertainment, Fellows program, technology, TED
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Seeking information – do you grow your own food for ’survival’?
Posted in Research by fedwards on March 13th, 2009
I realise that ’survival’ is a fairly strong term, but I’m wondering if there are many people out there – in Australia and elsewhere – who have been or who have recently started to grow their own food in order to supplement their diets? The reasons of course may be varied – is it due to burgeoning tough times in the economic recession, is it because you’d like to become more self-sufficient and self-supporting, is it because you want to act and do something for yourself and for the environment in this era of climate change? Of course, there’s probably many more reasons than that…. And maybe you’re doing other things besides…. I’d be very interested to know.
Please either comment on Sustainable Cities Net below or email me directly at fedwards @unimelb.edu.au.
Best,
Ferne
Ferne Edwards, Moderator, SustainableCitiesNet.com
Tags: climate change, Food, grow your own, seeking, survival
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Healthy Cities Conference
Posted in Events by fedwards on March 10th, 2009
Please see message below from Sophie Secombe, Healthy Cities Conference Secretariat. More information is available at www.healthycities.com.au.
There are only 2 weeks remaining until the Healthy Cities Conference being held at the Holiday Inn, Surfers Paradise 25th – 27th March 2009. The Conference will be a platform for Government, Academics and Industry sector professionals to consider health, sustainability, natural resource management, climate change, urban design and the implications for public policy. The future will present some exciting challenges, what do we need to meet these challenges and how will it effect the way we live and work?
Tags: Events, Health, healthy cities, seeking, sustainable cities
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