Posts Tagged ‘residential’
Sharing City Space: A Temporary Playstreet
Posted in Models, Movements by Kate Archdeacon on February 10th, 2011
Via Going Solar Transport Newsletter
Photo of Playstreet © Dudleystewart via flickr
78th Street Playstreet, Jackson Heights, New York City:
The idea is simple: 78th Street, between Northern Boulevard and 34th Avenue, is closed to traffic on Sundays in Summer to allow for games, free play, performances, markets, and other activities to take place in the car-free street. 78th Street is right next to Travers Park, our small neighborhood park. With thousands of residents around it, Travers Park is very crowded on weekends, and often there is not enough space for everyone to enjoy the park. The Play Street makes it possible for the park to spill into the street, allowing people to stroll, play, attend events and relax in the space, while reducing crowding in the park.
The Play Street is also a space for the Greenmarket on 34th Avenue to expand, adding more vendors, and making it more comfortable for shoppers. Jackson Heights has one of the highest densities of children per acre of green space and is the city district with the second-to-last amount of green space in the entire city. We need more park space, and the Play Street is a small practical step in our search to expand and improve neighborhood parks.
A coalition of neighborhood groups initiated and developed this project with the support of NYC Department of Transportation. These groups are: JH Green, Friends of Travers Park and The Western Jackson Heights Alliance.
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Each year since the launch in 2008, the Jackson Heights Green Alliance has been able to gain permission for the Playstreet to continue. Looking at their website, it looks like the event is running more often and for longer periods. Check out their website for photos, presentations and the original proposals for council.
http://jhgreen.org/playstreet.html
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Green Star Social Housing: Lilyfield, Sydney
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on February 10th, 2010
Source: Green Building Council Australia (GBCA)
The Lilyfield Housing Redevelopment in Sydney is the first social housing scheme in Australia to be awarded a Green Star certification, and is also the first project of its kind to achieve a Green Star residential rating on the East Coast of Australia.
Representing ‘Australian Excellence’ in environmentally sustainable design, this project by HBO+EMTB for Housing NSW sets a new standard for public housing developments in Australia, and demonstrates that highly sustainable public housing outcomes are both realistic and achievable in terms of building function and use, project demographics and importantly, housing affordability.
ESD initiatives featured in the project:
Indoor Environment Quality
* All 88 apartments are naturally ventilated and there is no air conditioning in the development
Energy
* Roof elements over stair wells have been designed to support and orientate solar hot water and photovoltaic (PV) panels, which provide on-site energy
* All roofs to north facing units are tilted in order to maximise solar access to those units during winter (low sun angle) and to avoid direct excess solar radiation to those units in summer (high solar angle)
* The lighting design has utilised energy efficient bulbs throughout
* A common area interior lighting occupant movement and daylight sensor
* Solid floors exposed to the northern sun for thermal mass
* Low-E glass in all east and west façades
Water
* Water efficient fixtures throughout apartments and common area
Innovation
* Exceeding the benchmarks of TRA-1 by providing significantly less car parking than the minimum – there is no on-site car parking in the development