Water trails are defined by the North American Water Trails, as “a stretch of river, a shoreline, or an ocean that has been mapped out with the intent to create an educational, scenic, and challenging experience for recreational canoers and kayakers.” Here in Lake Tahoe, we have seventy-two miles of scenic shoreline that provides an [...]
In the neighbourhood “Polderwijk“ of Zeewolde, The Netherlands, more than a thousand homes, schools and a churches are sustainably heated with green heating that is produced with the production of electricity from biogas. The project is a partnership between the municipality, a local energy company (Essent) and a farm (Van Beek) located 5 km from [...]
Previously, we discussed urban parks and how cities can mitigate issues created by time and light circumstances. This week we’ll be examining rural parks. Cheney, Washington, about 20 minutes outside of downtown Spokane, Washington. is home to Eastern Washington University, and maintains a classic, rural university town setting. During the day, Cheney’s park system is [...]
Do you have a unique specialty in the field of environmental design? Do you currently live in a town or city that has not/or is currently not being covered by another blogger? Have you successfully managed social media platforms? Do you have a passion for writing and want to learn how to successfully blog? If [...]
In recent decades, public staircases have been subject to a great deal of controversy in most cities, often viewed as places which are commonly associated with dangerous illegal activities such as crime, drug use, and even violence. In Cincinnati, Ohio – these staircases can be found in various urban locations throughout the city – some [...]
When you think of tough neighbourhoods and burroughs like the Bronx in New York, or St Ann’s in Nottingham, you don’t necessarily equate them with energy efficient living. If you consider it living at all, it is most certainly not energy efficient living. However, it is in Nottingham England that city council has made an [...]
Miami is a melting pot not only of cultures, ethnicities, and cuisine, but also of students, professionals, couples, families, retirees, and tourists. However, contemporary housing fails to represent this diverse population by developing only single-family homes and condos – leaving few options in-between. Miami is missing middle-density building types: townhouses, row houses, courtyard housing, live-work [...]
“No matter where you are, what your constraints are, you can make it happen.” – Susie Sutphin, Farm Manager at the Truckee Community Farm The Tahoe Food Hub has a vision: to create a “hub for all sustainable food initiatives that promote social, economic and environmental responsibility in our food system.” With help from its community [...]
The Netherlands is a relatively small country, however it has a considerably sizeable population that is currently in and around 16.5 million. This makes it one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with almost 83% living in urban regions. It is an extremely low lying country with about 50% of its land [...]
Even on a university campus neatly integrated into downtown, University of Michigan students still find themselves sprawled out across the city. The University’s three Ann Arbor campuses stretch across the city: South Campus houses athletic buildings, Central Campus is home to most of the University’s academic colleges, and North Campus is a retreat for art, [...]
For the first time since 2002, the City of Phoenix, Arizona is undergoing a General Plan Update. The current plan is being updated in order to comply with Arizona state statutes, particularly the Growing Smarter Act, which requires cities to update their general plan every 10 years. This time around, Phoenix has created an interactive [...]
James Corner’s Field Operations, renowned designer of New York’s High Line Park, won the design competition for Chicago’s Navy Pier one year ago. The attraction is approaching its centennial in 2016, and the trustees of Navy Pier, Inc. hope the renovations will be completed in time to celebrate. Navy Pier is a major tourist attraction [...]
High-income residential and resort communities line Oahu’s most beautiful beaches: Along the North Shore; Near Kailua and Lanikai Beaches (where President Obama and his family vacationed this winter); Near Waialae Beah Park. Property owners in these and other areas have used greenery, including fast-growing vines and shrubbery, to obscure public easements. This trick of landscape [...]
Climate change is seen as the major problem of our generation, and confronting it will mean action on how energy is sourced and the levels of demand. In 1990, the United Kingdom signed an agreement for reducing emission levels at least 80% by 2050. The Northern Ireland government has set a bold target in relation [...]
During the twilight of the 1880s, Cincinnati, OH, (the Queen City) was internationally celebrated as one of the most prolific centers for beer brewing in the United States. According to Michael D. Morgan, Author of Over the Rhine: When Beer was King, Cincinnati, during this pinnacle era, was chief among the Great American Brewing cities. The city [...]
The special characteristics of cities and the urban way of life have been of fascination to people for a long time. But what exactly does this idea entail? Urbanity is a concept that is classically associated with modernity, when inner-city industrial spaces became the new centers of living and working, leading to a population boom [...]
As a child in elementary school, you become subjected to such plays on words as rethink, reuse, and recycle. To you, as a child, it is fascinating and mind-numbing how the words work together. As the years fade though, so does the fascination with this play on words. Your once favorite buzz word recess has [...]
New York City, above others, has defined itself through an evolving scholarship connected to its rapidly changing street life. This broad conception of street life has been widely debated and discussed from the standpoint of urban theorists and activists such as Jane Jacobs and William H. Whyte, whose respective works, The Death and Life of [...]
The process of shale gas exhaustion, fracking, has been used since the late 1940s to help get “that last bit” of conventional oil and gas out of the ground. Conventional means that it is easy to get out, not tightly trapped between, or in the rocks, which is essentially the definition of unconventional oil and [...]
With the trend of de-industrialization common to many American cities, the 93,500 square-foot Peer Foods meatpacking plant was in danger of being abandoned when it was sold in 2010 to a unique social enterprise. Enter the The Plant, an ambitious effort to convert this huge facility into a vertical farm and business incubator. By recruiting [...]
