July 17 2012

New California Recycling Law Mandates Landfill Diversion in Mammoth Lakes, CA

July 17th, 2012Posted by 

Everyone wants to recycle, but what would you do if it was mandatory? California Bill AB 341, directed by CalRecycle, will go into effect on July 1, 2012 and will require commercial recycling within California state limits. The Town of Mammoth Lakes is providing education and outreach in an effort to help the community adjust [...]

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July 04 2012

Copenhagen, Denmark’s New Aquarium: Sneak-Preview From The Blue Planet Building Site

July 4th, 2012Posted by 

“A sculpture at the coast unites the natural elements of water, air, and earth.” Kim Herforth Nielsen, 3XN The South-East coast of Zealand, Denmark offers a leisure time oasis as the motor way streams out of the urban area. Sandy beach patches, with small yacht ports and bike tracks, stretch across undulating green fields. Before [...]

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July 04 2012

Why the City of Spokane, Washington is Wary of Adopting More Neighborhood LID “Storm Gardens:” A Fear of Expensive Popularity

July 4th, 2012Posted by 

The City of Spokane, Washington implemented two of their first-ever SURGE (Spokane Urban Runoff Greenways Ecosystem) projects in 2010 with AHBL: Lincoln Street on the South Hill; [Bottom] [Official Surge Report]; Broadway Street in the West Central Neighborhood. [Top] [AHBL's Presentation to the City]. Both were the first of their kind in Eastern Washington, and [...]

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July 02 2012

Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain: 2012 European Green Capital

July 2nd, 2012Posted by 

Vitoria (Gasteiz in Basque), Spain, was awarded the title of European Green Capital for the year 2012. Former European Green Capitals were the city of Stockholm, Sweden in 2010 and Hamburg, Germany in 2011. For the year 2013, the green torch will be passed on to the city of Nantes, France. The aim of this [...]

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June 20 2012

Spokane, Washington’s Waste-to-Energy Plant’s New Recycling Center Design

June 20th, 2012Posted by 

Waste Management broke ground October 2011 on behalf of the City of Spokane for their new 62,000 square foot, state-of-the-art recycling center. October 1st, 2012, they are scheduled to open and ready for almost a dozen new recyclable materials. The Spokane Material and Recycling Technology (SMART) Center will receive many things dubbed as trash until [...]

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June 11 2012

Non-Regulatory, On-the-Ground, and Effective in Conserving Private Land in Western Washington: Conservation Districts

June 11th, 2012Posted by 

Until I became a Washington Service Corps AmeriCorps member at the Thurston Conservation District (TCD), I had never heard of conservation districts and the tremendous impact they have on private land in Washington State and across the United States. Established during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, Conservation Districts were created through “A Standard State [...]

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May 25 2012

(The GRID Blogger) Selin Mutdoğan: Ankara, Turkey

May 25th, 2012Posted by 

A big Global Site Plans welcome to our newest blogger, Selin Mutdoğan from Ankara, Turkey. Selin Mutdoğan holds a PhD degree in interior architecture and environmental design from Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. Her dissertation was focused on sustainable residential interiors and research containing not only cases from Turkey, but also well-known green bulding certification systems [...]

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May 08 2012

Municipal Bankruptcy: How Mammoth Lakes, CA is Struggling to Provide Essential Services During Default

May 8th, 2012Posted by 

Chapter 9 is the section of the National Bankruptcy Code that provides for the reorganization of debt incurred by municipalities such as cities, towns, counties, and villages. The very first municipal bankruptcy was filed in the United States in 1934 during the Great Depression. While the provision has been around for 60 years, there have [...]

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May 04 2012

Phase I Collaboration begins on Detroit, Michigan’s Bloody Run Creek

May 4th, 2012Posted by 

Daylighting Detroit, Michigan’s Bloody Run Creek will be no small feat, but it’s a project that truly embodies a new and sustainable direction for the city. St. Louis developer, Richard Baron, has been pitching redevelopment ideas to Detroit since the 1980’s, but until now, nothing’s stuck. Flowing south, just east of downtown and into the [...]

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April 23 2012

Stormwater Management in New York City, New York

April 23rd, 2012Posted by 

During rainfall and snow storms, 27 billion gallons of raw sewage and stormwater are released into New York City’s waterways. These discharges are called Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOS). CSOs occur when treatment plants are overwhelmed by water flows that are more than twice the design capacity. A number of sustainable methods of stormwater management have [...]

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April 19 2012

Vertical Farming in Los Angeles, California: Future Skyscraping Architecture

April 19th, 2012Posted by 

The sky is limitless, they say. So if there’s no space to your left, or to your right, or below, then look up! Land, limited in the City of Los Angeles, is slowly becoming a commodity. And as new land becomes occupied by never-ending construction projects, it’ll eventually vanish so we need start thinking straight, [...]

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April 12 2012

Social Media Networks Contribute to Detroit, Michigan’s Transformation

April 12th, 2012Posted by 

Social media is changing the way we live, work, and play. Our networks are larger, our interests broader, and our opportunities more abundant than ever before. Thanks to this dynamic, digital infrastructure, Detroit, Michigan is making a comeback and gaining esteem as a city of possibility. The new direction is small and sustainable. There is a [...]

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April 10 2012

City of Los Angeles, California Files Lawsuit for Ownership of Mammoth Creek

April 10th, 2012Posted by 

Water is an important resource and all too often it is taken for granted. We all expect water to be there when we need to do the dishes, take a shower, or rinse our food. While a renewable resource, only 3% of the world’s supply is fresh water and unfortunately, demand already surpasses supply. What [...]

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March 13 2012

Ecobuild 2012 Conference: London, United Kingdom

March 13th, 2012Posted by 

Are you interested in sustainability, but not sure where to get the latest information, sample products, and meet like-minded people? The upcoming Ecobuild conference in London, United Kingdom could be just the event for you. Ecobuild is, put simply, the place to go to update your environmental expertise and put yourself ahead of the competition [...]

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March 12 2012

The Environmental Justice Movement in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York

March 12th, 2012Posted by 

“Here in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, we have 200,000 cars a day going through the Gowanus Expressway. Our community complains about asthma, cancer, respiratory disease … but the excuse for neglecting us is that it is too expensive to mitigate” -Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director of the Labor/Community Strategy Center Elizabeth Yeampierre’s words highlight a number of the environmental [...]

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February 24 2012

Global Site Plans Presenting: 2nd International Greenage Symposium in Istanbul

February 24th, 2012Posted by 

On April 26 & 27th, 2012, the Faculty of Architecture of Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts (Mimar Sinan Guzel Sanatlar Universitesi) will gather an array of experts from institutions such as universities, municipalities, NGO’s, as well as the disciplines of architecture, engineering, and design, together for the Second International Greenage Symposium: Sustainable Society and [...]

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February 23 2012

Sustainable Graphic Design: What to do with Ink and Other Printer Cartridges

February 23rd, 2012Posted by 

Being environmentally cognizant has become the new way of thinking in terms of developing a profitable business. In the contemporary eco-conscious world, businesses are working toward incorporating environmentally friendly procedures into their production. Even practicing eco-friendly techniques or associating an eco-friendly logo design to your company may make the difference between financial profit and loss. [...]

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February 13 2012

Impacts of Public Transportation Access on Real Estate Development in New York City, New York

February 13th, 2012Posted by 

According to the 2006-2009 American Community Survey, 43% of New Yorkers commute to work by subway or railroad. New York City’s real estate market will be increasingly shaped by proximity to subway and rail lines, especially in light of the Bloomberg Administration’s commitment to the expansion and improvement of transit infrastructure. Investment in public transit [...]

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February 09 2012

Transformers in Disguise: Compact Home Design to Optimize Space Efficiency

February 9th, 2012Posted by 

Can you imagine a small apartment, let’s say about 344 square feet, transforming into 24 different rooms? It’s possible. Well, at least when architects and engineers choose to focus on such a concept anyway, but the fact is that it has been done. Space is becoming more of a commodity, particularly within the city, such [...]

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January 30 2012

Urban Farming: Eagle Street Rooftop and Added Value Farms in Brooklyn, New York

January 30th, 2012Posted by 

A number of non-profit and community-based organizations have been exploring New York City’s potential to be a center for urban agriculture. Added Value and the Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn, New York have been working to foster community development and sustainability in a number of innovative ways. Eagle Street Rooftop farm is a 6,000 [...]

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