In Greece, during the last few years, a demand for transparency around food and a need to eliminate the intermediaries, mainly due to poor quality of products in combination to high prices, has resulted in a boom of collective action concerning the production and distribution of food. On the other hand, the proliferation of movements [...]
Nowadays, skateparks seem to be the new form of the traditional town squares we all remember visiting during our childhood and adolescence years. It’s not surprising that more and more people gather in this type of park to meet with their friends, spend their evening and, of course, practice sports like skating, roller-skating, and BMX [...]
Miami has found its magic again. With the approval of Miami 21 in 2009, it accomplished an unprecedented feat and became the first major city to adopt a form-based code. With the motto, Your city, Your plan, Miami’s experiment is a solitary example of the importance of public support through outreach and marketing. Thanks to Miami [...]
Global energy demand continues to grow and tidal wave energy generation devices can provide a significant source of renewable energy. Technological developments in offshore engineering, and the rising cost of traditional energy, means that offshore energy resources will be economic in the next few years. Tidal wave energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy [...]
When you lead a nation in green space, what opportunities do you possess? How do those opprotunities impact small and emerging businesses, and the surrounding communities? At what point do you convert underutilized green space into a sprawling piece of revenue-producing land? In the United Kingdom, Nottingham currently boasts the Kingdom’s top green space ranking. [...]
Brighton – a small, tightly woven community of artists and art galleries, is located Northwest of Over the Rhine and downtown Cincinnati. It retains a ghostly atmosphere – a quiet neighborhood, where age-old nineteenth century Italianate buildings sit dormant against a backdrop of a modern city, now beginning to regain its former prominence. Walking these [...]
Thessaloniki, Greece is a city with numerous beautiful spots, great architecture, and a long history. However, many current problems in the city have occurred due to modern style of life. For example, there is a significant lack of green spaces. The ideal average share of green space is estimated at 20 m²∕capita to 10 m²∕capita [...]
In the summer of 2012 I was a fresh graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, trying to make my way into the working world. Having been an Urban Studies student minoring in Architecture, I was hopeful I would be able to find work in which I could apply my passion for urban development, [...]
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 [...]
The city of Lincoln, Nebraska has become a hub of new and innovative designs within the last couple of years. This innovation in development has truly proved Lincoln to be a growing city that encompasses environmental and functional design that benefits both the citizens of Lincoln and the environment alike. The Antelope Creek Valley is [...]
As Austin, Texas strives to grow as a more environmentally and socially sustainable city, it has turned to Smart Growth principles to obtain its growth goals. One way in which the city has met this challenge is through the implementation of Transit-Oriented Developments, or TODs. The principles are transit-centric and consist of the following: ● [...]
The Alley Flat Initiative is a collaborative project between the Gaudalupe Neighborhood Cooperation, the Austin Community Design and Development Center, and the University of Texas Center for Sustainable Development. The initiative’s goal is to demonstrate affordable and adaptable housing types with efficient design and sustainable technologies. The alley flats are “small, detached residential units, accessed [...]
What is the most effective method for rejuvenating neighborhoods that have seen chronic underinvestment for generations? This is a daunting question that major cities across the United States have struggled to answer for decades. While there may be no easy answer, the City of Chicago believes that they have developed a unique approach that will [...]
Throughout history, geological features have shaped our greatest cities. From the rivers that bound the island of Manhattan to the mountains that form Rio de Janeiro, challenging terrain has created many of our densest and most beautiful cities. So, what can a city like Orlando do to control its outward growth? Because Central Floridian cities [...]
KRDB, the architects of the Sol community in East Austin, utilized creative solutions to design homes that address multiple facets of sustainability. Affordability is innate in the Zero-Net Energy homes; the carefully considered designs reduced initial costs, and utility costs are lessened due to their energy efficiency achieved through some unexpected methods listed below. Highly energy efficient [...]
Since 2005, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has been actively working to develop a Regional Plan Update that supports the continued restoration of Lake Tahoe’s clarity and fosters land-use policies that promote sustainable growth. Facing pressure from the passage of Nevada Senate Bill 271, TRPA passed an update to it’s 1987 Regional Plan by [...]
Kane County, IL, like most developing counties across the United States, faces a significant challenge in addressing the issue of mounting traffic congestion. One of Kane County’s major thoroughfares, Randall Road, has been epitomizing this issue. As traffic congestion becomes more and more of a problem on Randall Road, the Kane County Division of Transportation [...]
The Oahu Urban Garden Center is a University of Hawaii at Manoa led initiative. A community resource, the OUGC invites aspiring green thumbs to participate in “Second Saturdays at the Garden,” a series of monthly classes that improve planters’ know-how. In addition, the OUGC offers expertise in soil analysis; this helps at-home gardeners identify nutrient [...]
State, citizens and private investors have been vindicating the area of Eleonas in Athens for the last six years. The area of 9,000 square meters extends in the south-west boroughs of Peristeri, Egaleo, St. John Renti, Tavros and Athens and form the area of Eleonas. Eleonas is regarded as another “back yard” of Athens, in [...]
“The more successfully a city mingles everyday diversity of uses and users in its everyday streets, the more successfully, casually (and economically) its people thereby enliven and support well-located parks that can thus give back grace and delight to their neighborhoods instead of vacuity.” ― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities [...]
