Posts Tagged ‘Models’
Constantinople: An Example of Urban Resilience
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on March 10th, 2011
Source: Stockholm Resilience Centre
Image: Ian W Scott via flickr CC
From “Revisiting urban resilience: Echoes from ancient Constantinople can inspire visions for modern green urbanism:
You may love it or loath it, but the contrasts of Istanbul are impossible to ignore. It is a city where history meets modernity, where palaces, mosques and cathedrals lie next to chaotic bazaars, steaming hamam baths and small shops selling things you never need. It is a city that, despite plague, war and economic regression for more than 2000 years has always stood up against the test of time. Today, it is one of the 25 largest cities in the world and the bridge (literally) between Europe and Asia.
2000 years and still relevant
In a new book on urbanism and environmental dynamics, centre researchers Stephan Barthel and Sverker Sörlin have looked at how Constantinople has succeeded to persist and develop despite regularly occurring disturbances. Their findings demonstrate that in the quest for more ecologically sound urbanisation, urban planners of today have a lot to learn from this ancient city. “Our message from having revisited the resilience history of Constantinople during more than three millennia is that the keeping of green space for tacit co-production and community-based relationships to land and water have been essential properties for long-term survival and success”, Barthel and Sörlin say.
Strategic location and smart food production
Constantinople is a city whose origin can be traced back to the establishment of Greek cities and colonies in early antiquity. Eventually it became the capital of the East Roman Empire and since then its role in the region has never really diminished. One answer to this long-term resilience is the city’s capacity to produce significant amounts of food within the urban settlement itself rather than having to rely on others. The productivity of gardening, livestock keeping and fishing proved essential to how well the city could cope in times of stress. Even in periods with population peaks such as the early 6th and 12th centuries, Constantinople was resilient in terms of food and water when trade was cut off. “The rulers of the city invested not only in military infrastructure but also in systems for supplying and storing food and water. And when sieges were efficient and supplies ran dry, there were still possibilities to cultivate food within the city walls and catch fish in the Golden Horn. Hence Constantinople had a variety of options to sustain the city with food.”
New York Traffic Calming
Posted in Models by Devin Maeztri on June 12th, 2009
The section below is republished with permission from the Going Solar Transport Newsletter #107, 2 June 2009, compiled by Stephen Ingrouille. Going Solar newsletter provides an excellent commentary on sustainable transport issues.
“Janette Sadik-Khan, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), spoke via video, on the remarkable improvements which have been made to New York’s streets. New Yorkers have one third of the carbon footprint of an average American, so as Sadik-Khan pointed out, if you want to do the planet a favour, move to New York City. Commuting by bicycle has already been increased by 35% between 2007 and 2008. DOT has a program for quickly and cheaply transforming streets, moving away from car-domination to ‘complete streets’.
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.
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.
Lessons of the Square Watermelon
Posted in Models by fedwards on February 23rd, 2009
Find an extract (and some pictures) from an article, Lessons of the Square Watermelon by Peter Drucker on the Lean Thinking Network.
Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than their US counterparts and therefore don’t have room to waste. Watermelons, big and round, wasted a lot of space. Most people would simply tell the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. That is how the vast majority of people would respond. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. If the supermarkets wanted a square watermelon, they asked themselves, “How can we provide one?” It wasn’t long before they invented the square watermelon.
The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn’t nearly as difficult to solve for those who didn’t assume the problem was impossible to begin with and simply asked how it could be done. It turns out that all you need to do is place them into a square box when they are growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box.
To read the full article visit the Lean Thinking Network.
Bike Lending Models
Posted in Models by fedwards on February 2nd, 2009
The section below is republished with permission from the Going Solar Transport Newsletter #93, 27 January 2009, compiled by Stephen Ingrouille. Going Solar newsletter provides an excellent commentary on sustainable transport issues.
“Errand Bikes, funded by GetAbout Columbia [in the US], are changing the way some Columbia merchants are doing business. Instead of depending on a car for all of their transportation needs, bikes are becoming a popular option. The Errand Bike Program loans new, ready-to-roll bikes to businesses owners or employees so that they can run errands, attend meetings or make deliveries with them. The bikes can also be used to travel back and forth to work to give people the opportunity to try out the bike commuting lifestyle.
“Businesses are allowed to keep the bikes for up to 60 days and if there is not a waiting list they can be kept longer. Janet Godon, PedNet Outreach Coordinator, runs the Errand Bike program and said the goal is to loan the bikes to businesses so they can see if employees will use them for errands, deliveries, meetings or commuting. ‘Because it’s a temporary loan program’, said Godon ‘we hope they use the bike & find it helpful so that they will want to purchase their own or begin riding one from home’.
“That is exactly what happened to Michael Baroli, owner of 9th Street Deli. He received an Errand Bike in September and enjoyed the bike so much that he bought his own for business and personal use. ‘I was too lazy to ride a bike before’, said Baroli. The Errand Bike program showed him that riding a bike was easy and fun. ‘Now I ride my bike every day’. Baroli bought a Journey 6 semi-recumbent bike. ‘I only drive on Sunday’s now to do the heavy errands. Other than that I am on my bike’. Main Squeeze Natural Foods Café has also had an Errand Bike since mid-September and owner Leigh Lockhart has been pleasantly surprised. “We use it a lot more than I thought we would’, she said. ‘Besides bike deliveries, we use it for many errands that we used to walk to do’.
“The Errand Bike has also been saving the business some money. ‘Before the bike we always felt like we need a car here in case we had to make a trip for something we ran out of. Now, we can get to Clover’s on Broadway just as fast as if we had a car’, said Lockhart.â€
Ref: Pedestrian & Pedaling Network (PedNet) Columbia, Missouri
www.pednet.org/newsroom/2008/errand-bikes.asp
A Revolutionary new city bus, ‘Freight*Bus’ that’s so much more than just a means of transporting people, it’s a radical bus & urban freight system concept.
Posted in Models by hugh on December 16th, 2008
A real ‘step change’ in city transportation logistics, Freight*Bus marks the integration of passenger and freight transportation. It will have a profound impact on city infrastructure, providing increased passenger and freight capacity, improved convenience and service, whilst reducing congestion, pollution and real costs.
Audio files available of Roberto Perez, Cuban permaculturalist
Posted in Models by fedwards on November 28th, 2008
Roberto Perez, Cuban permaculturalist (featured in the documentary The Power of Community), travelled to Australia recently to speak about Cuba, food and fossil fuels – see the post “Event – Organic Cuba: Abandoning Fossil Fuels – Public meeting featuring Roberto Perez – 5 April“. A popular guest, Perez gave an inspiring talk at London Food Link’s Big Autumn Do in September 2008. He focused on how Cuba responded to peak oil and its transition to a more sustainable model of agriculture which included thriving urban agriculture projects throughout Havana.
His presentation was recorded and can be accessed at:
Read the rest of this entry »
Launch of the online toolkit Greening Grocery: Strategies for Sustainable Food Retailing
Posted in Models by fedwards on November 27th, 2008
The Food Trust has recently launched their online toolkit Greening Grocery: Strategies for Sustainable Food Retailing, a valuable resource for grocery store operators and policy makers who want to harness the financial benefits of sustainable building practices in order to increase the availability of fresh food in communities. The toolkit is available at www.greeninggrocery.org.
Freight Systems: ChronoCity
Posted in Models, RDAG by Kate Archdeacon on November 26th, 2008
This information is part of research into case studies provided by Liz Boulton, Logistick, at the recent Sustainable Freight Seminar.
ChronoCity is a parcel-delivery service in Strasbourg that uses electric-powered handcarts for the routes through the inner-city, combining a consolidation hub with “clean” vehicle use.
