Posts Tagged ‘urban’
Call for Papers: Sustainable Urban Transformation
Posted in Research, seeking by Kate Archdeacon on August 25th, 2011
Image: GiorgioAntonio via flickr CC
A Special Issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production on Sustainable Urban Transformation
The emerging concept of “Sustainable Urban Transformation” places the emphasis on understanding cities as a source of possibilities, promoting active collaboration among diverse stakeholders (particularly researchers and practitioners), and integrating different perspectives and bodies of knowledge and expertise.
This Special Issue on “Sustainable Urban Transformation” calls for contributions that advance knowledge and understanding related to a range of topics, including: governance and planning, innovation and competitiveness, lifestyle and consumption, resource management and climate mitigation and adaptation, transport and accessibility, buildings, and social interaction and public space.
Contributions can address some or all of these dimensions. Contributions that address relevant issues that are creatively beyond these categories will also be welcomed. Authors are encouraged to highlight and explore examples of city initiatives that clearly document “walking the talk” of sustainable development.
Extended Abstracts due October 15, visit the site for more information.
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30440/description#description
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Can you conserve biodiversity in the urban area?
Posted in RDAG by Virginia on June 18th, 2009
There are currently more people living in urban areas than there are living in rural areas. Due to increasing urban pressures, an increasing amount of natural land is turned into agriculture pasture or residential developments. Some argue, because of urban sprawl, that biodiversity conservation must be considered within cities as well as in the natural environment.
Since an increasing amount of natural land is continuously being turned into developments, a growing number of conservation biologists, social scientists and other trans-disciplinary scholars have advocated the need to spread conservation efforts into urban areas. They argue that neglecting the urban environment is neglecting a large potential of land that can facilitate in conserving biodiversity. Other arguments that are used in support of the integration of biodiversity into urban areas is that in doing so, can close the gap between society and nature that has formed in our society. Thus conserving biodiversity in the urban environment can both enhance the amount of conservation and also act as an education program to introduce and remind urban dwellers the presence of nature.
Despite the promising tenets of conserving biodiversity on urban land, there are several implementation problems. Firstly, any sort of conservation project situated in the urban area must take into consideration community concerns. An example of the importance of the community was seen with the relocation of the grey headed flying fruit bats from the Royal Botanic Gardens to Yarra Bend Park in Kew. There were concerns from the locals of the spread of disease, disruption due to bat noise and loss of agricultural produce from nearby small scale farms. After community consultation had occured, the project was able to be approved and has since been hailed as a success in urban biodiversity conservation.
Situating a conservation project amidst the urban environment also presents numerous management problems. These problems are presented as an increase in environmental weeds escaping from private backyards, increased number of cats and other domestic animals which prey on the conservation land and increased visitors which bring their own set of management challenges such as rubbish and degradation to the natural environment. These factors then contribute to a loss of quality to the overall conservation area.  All these elements combined transform into an increased costs of managing an urban conservation project compared to a rural or natural conservation project. Thus, it is more economically efficient to devote resources into conserving a prsitine, natural environment than implementing an urban conservation project.
Urban conservation projects may have numerous social benefits, however, in terms of economic efficiency and the limited budgets of most conservation projects, urban conservation projects may not be the most viable option.
What should be done with dead malls?
Posted in Models by Devin Maeztri on June 15th, 2009
This article discusses about redeveloping vacant malls into a more sustainable building.
Original article posted by Sara Wolfson, published in Smart Growth Around America.
“But people kept going, and new malls kept going up. But the traditional shopping mall as we know it is all but extinct. Developers have trended towards the open-air ‘lifestyle center’ – an imitation of the downtown center that malls were once replacing – but even those are struggling in today’s economy.”
To read more of the article visit Smart Growth Around America.
The Skyscraper Museum – New Verizons – July 22
Posted in Events, Models by skyscrapermuseum on July 21st, 2008
As part of its Spring-Summer 2008 series, Re: NY Recycle | Retrofit | Reinvent the City,
The Skyscraper Museum presents:
New Verizons
Date:July 22, 2008
Time: 6:30 PM
Location:
NYPL Donnell Library Auditorium,
20 West 53rd St. between 5th & 6th
“New Verizons” looks at the high-value real estate portfolio of buildings erected for 20th-century telephone technology and how developers, architects, and engineers are retrofitting and re-positioning these properties.
Project teams present two case studies:
375 PEARL STREET
- Rick Cook, Partner, Cook + Fox Architects LLP
- Douglas Winshall, Executive Vice President, Taconic Investment Partners
1095 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
- Dan Shannon, Partner, Moed de Armas & Shannon Architects
- Douglas Mass, President, Cosentini Associates
- Frank Frankini, Senior Vice President, Equity Office Properties
COST
- FREE Museum & Corporate Members
- $5 Students & Seniors
- $10 Adults
Payment may be made in cash at the door. 1.0 CEUs available. Please contact programs[AT]skyscraper.org or call 212-945-6324 with any questions.
