Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute (PMI) should spark the interest of Global Site Plans readers interested in all aspects of sustainable living. Essentially, PMI operates as a working laboratory where new theories and ideas about sustainable farming and architecture are developed and taught to growing numbers of local residents and visitors. The site was originally purchased as [...]
Trees are important for cities. Environmentally-speaking, trees provide important environmental inputs and outputs. Aesthetically-speaking, trees can provide a sense of beauty to a city. Planners and landscape architects have long-recognized the importance of trees and other plants in urban design.Tampa, Florida has a long-established grassroots organization that has helped bring trees to the city. The [...]
While at one time it was counted among the most productive manufacturing areas in the world, the area of former heavy manufacturing bordering the Great Lakes, known as The Rust Belt, has suffered from decaying industry and deserted cities. Through the 1980′s and 1990′s, The population drop in cities like Cleveland, Buffalo, and Detroit has [...]
Considering New York City, New York (NYC) contains 5.2 billion ft2 of built space parceled out among a million buildings, and that the building sector emits 79% of the city’s greenhouse gases, the importance of sustainability in its built environment is paramount. The Bloomberg administration’s 2007 PlaNYC effort, a comprehensive plan for the City’s largest issues [...]
How can a world-renowned ski resort town attract world-class athletes in the summer time? The answer is a top-notch sports field facility. For Mammoth Lakes, California this project is called The Whitmore Park Track and Sports Field Project, a joint effort by the High Sierra Striders and the Town of Mammoth Lakes to be completed by [...]
The Cold War could be described as the golden age of the bomb shelter. Fears of nuclear and chemical warfare caused many governments and individuals around the world to construct fortified bunkers. Urban planning anticipated massive bombing campaigns by fortifying schools and underground tunnels. This is one of the more utilitarian examples or architecture Global [...]
Frequently cited as an indicator of an emerging economy, bicycles are becoming the symbol of sustainable and productive communities. From Copenhagen, Denmark, to Portland, Oregon, bicyclists represent a considerable portion of daily commuters. Will the Motor City (Detroit, Michigan) ever relinquish its auto-centric ideals for the benefits of pedal power? A combination of rising gas [...]
An urban heat island (UHI) is an urban area that experiences warmer temperatures than its surrounding areas. UHIs occur because buildings block the surface heat from radiating, which lets heat continue to build up in the area. The UHI effect can also be caused by the lack of vegetation in urban areas and changes in [...]
Transit-oriented development (TOD) is the development of mixed-used development to optimize access and use of public transit. Transit stops serve as the center of the neighborhood. The concentration of shops and restaurants are highest around the center and gradually decline further away. TOD maximizes public transit use by making it easier for riders to walk [...]
Less about urban planning and more about the forgotten interstitial margins created by architecture, this article links scattered reports about fishing in basements beneath New York City with the cisterns of Istanbul, the home of Global Site Plans’ principal, Renée van Staveren. Istanbul is home to several hundred ancient cisterns that, when built during the [...]
