Urban Planning Blog

…the company boasts of illuminating its stores with low-wattage lightbulbs but positions outlets far from city centers, where taxes are low and commuting costs high—the average IKEA customer drives 50 miles round-trip. Cleverly, IKEA transfers transport and energy costs onto consumers, who are then handed the additional burden of assembling their purchases [source].

I’m a self-professed fan of Ikea but everything cited in this article is true. Consumers often fail to judge the true cost of their purchases; just because it is cheap doesn’t mean it costs less. Even to the consumer (assembling time is an opportunity cost).

This blog will follow U.S. local governments that are curbing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing energy consumption, utilizing renewable energy sources, adapting to the impacts of climate change, and developing more sustainably. It will showcase their challenges, accomplishments, innovations, strategies, and lessons learned.

ICLEI’s Local Action Blog launches to make available information on cities and counties on the front lines of climate, sustainability, and energy action.

Downturn in the housing market leads to rise in milk prices? Alex Tabbrok at Marginal Revolutions observed this curious correlation in Vermont. Recycling is at the heart of the relationship; who would have thunk!

Much is being said about the grand libertarian experiment in rebuilding New Orleans. We saw how reforming the education system was considered a case against public education and overall government intervention. Nicole Gelinas at the City Journal looks at the urban renewal efforts in New Orleans that are taking a similar libertarian slant and at how the city is evolving post-disaster. Although also a firm believer in the free market mechanisms and individual choice, it is not that simple in New Orleans and the rant against planners might be slightly misplaced. The decentralized planning system hasn’t exactly worked wonders in Houston at least in terms of creating a sense of place or identity.

As John McQuaid at Huffington Post points out, the basic problem of New Orleans is “its siting, mostly below sea level, on an eroding, hurricane-prone river delta.” This context demands state and federal intervention if at all New Orleans should be considered suited for habitation. Man’s desire for controlling nature to suit his habitation needs does not necessarily triumph’s nature eventual dominance. I’ve no strong opinions whether New Orleans should or should not be developed but if it is meant to be built through a bottom up approach, it should continue on that path even in eventuality of a natural disaster.

Update: Nicole writes in to mention that she believes in good government that maintains flood control infrastructure and protect citizens from crime. I agree but like any rational entity, government will not giveth unless it can taketh even it means control over planning processes. Extremes in governance systems be it totally state-controlled or completely individualistic may not work and efforts should be made to find an amicable middle-ground.

Architect Vincent Callebaut’s latest project balances public galleries, meeting rooms and gathering spaces over canals and abandoned railroad tracks in the 19th Parisian district. Callebaut describes the process as an intention to “absorb and recycle by photo-catalytic effect the cloud of harmful gases (Smog) from the intense traffic near Paris” [source: Inhabitat].

Definitely a worthy and proactive effort at going beyond the traditional green architecture.

Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest person is building a monstrous residence in the heart of densely-populated Mumbai. The structure is 490 feet tall and includes a corporate meeting facility along with his 35,000 square feet of private residence. Arzan however is impressed by the architectural aspects of the structure which might change the way high rises are built in dense Indian cities.

Dubai is home not only to most construction cranes building skyscapers but also to the world’s first zero emissions 322 meter tall structure. The Burj Al-Taqa Energy Tower will “use sun, wind, and water to create all of its own energy.”

“Try this experiment. Go knock on someone’s door in West Oakland, Watts or Newark and say: ‘We gotta really big problem!’ They say: ‘We do? We do?’ ‘Yeah, we gotta really big problem!’ ‘We do? We do?’ ‘Yeah, we gotta save the polar bears! You may not make it out of this neighborhood alive, but we gotta save the polar bears!’ ”

Thomas Friedman writes about including the minority low-income populations in the ‘green movement’. Imposing conservation and sustainability on people usually doesn’t work. Rather you have to make the case that it is beneficial to them in the long run. Only then will they listen. Just like the corporations listened when it affected not only their image but also their bottomline.

Ever wonder how you can increase mileage without having to convert to a hybrid or electric car? The Cleantech Blog tells us how simple design changes can affect your car’s mileage. I wonder what is keeping the Big Three from at least implementing such simple and basic design changes.

On the other hand, this couple have started out on their Fossil Fuel Free Roadtrip.

Ottawa is one of the cleanest and livable cities in the world but an energy and environmental think-tank, Pembina Institute suggests that Ottawa’s peripheral greenbelt is in fact encouraging sprawl and thus longer commutes.

[via Eco Geek]. Don’t they remind you of The Shire? You would expect a Hobbit to rush out any moment. Green (literally) roofs are getting increasingly common even in the United States. Apart from keeping the home interiors cooler, these roofs reduce significant stormwater runoff, protects the roof membrane from harsh weather, and are an excellent source of oxygen (no need to get expensive carbon offsets).

A global survey revealed that “green” construction costs are dramatically lower than believed.

Will the design community respond to the challenge of building the twenty-first century city? Will they rally around the mayor’s plan?

The Metropolis Magazine is asking whether designers and city planners will heed to Mike Bloomberg’s vision of creating a cleaner and greener New York City

WIRED and LivingHomes—a pioneer in green, prefabricated development— will open the doors to the first ever WIRED Home, a showcase of the best in sustainability, technology and design.

Do you know of a national park near New York City? Probably not. The Gateway National Recreation Area spreads over more than 26,000 acres and is located on the New York-New Jersey harbor and coastline. This national recreation area was crated in 1972 and provides recreational opportunities for more than 22 million tri-state area residents while protecting the natural and urban ecologies of the system.

The Gateway National Recreation Area is currently planning on furthering the potential of the park and with the help of Van Alen Institute, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), and Columbia University are conducting a design competition. The competition has already attracted more than 100 architects, planners, and conservationists. The finalists are posted online and are pretty impressive. In a rare move, the competition has now moved to the voting stage where the public votes on the design of their choice. Head over and vote for the design of your choice; especially so if you live in the tri-state area. Conservation and protection of the last vestiges of our ecology are of utmost importance however it is equally important for us to reconnect with our natural habitat even if it is for recreational purposes.