February 03 2012
The Challenges of Affordable Housing in New York City, New York
Affordable housing, as defined by the U.S. government, enables qualified residents to put 30% of their income toward housing while the government subsidizes the rest of the cost. While New York City (N.Y.C.) upholds this basic principle, the conditions surrounding affordable housing often make its related costs unrealistic for low-income families.
Contemporary affordable housing in N.Y.C. revolves around the concept of “inclusionary zoning,” or incentivizing luxury developments to incorporate a certain percentage of units for low-income people. This policy relies on market forces and was created with the best of intentions [...]
February 02 2012
Assessing the Damage: Preserving Detroit, Michigan’s Historical Places
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="343" caption="Renovated interior of Westin Book Cadillac"][/caption]
Many agree, Detroit, Michigan requires restructuring, on a physical and political level, but the process is still unclear. From the Art Deco and Neo-Renaissance buildings of downtown, to the Tudors, Victorians, and Bungalows of Detroit's diverse neighborhoods, the architecture tells a tale of the city's rich and painful history. In order to save the city, Cityscape Detroit and Preservation Wayne agree, urban planners, architects, and city officials must strike a balance between preservation and demolition.
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February 01 2012
Micro-Generation of Electricity in United Kingdom (U.K.)
Micro-generation refers to the practice of generating some or all of one’s household electricity or heating through renewable sources, rather than drawing the energy from the National Grid. In order to maintain sustainable energy supply within U.K. and meet emission reduction targets, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) published a Micro-generation Strategy along with the Micro-generation Industry Contact Group Action Plan on 2 June 2011. The Strategy represents an important step on the U.K.’s journey towards cleaner, greener energy.
As part of strategy planning, va[...]
February 01 2012
Seeking Spring 2012 Internship Applications
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 you answered yes to any of these questions, Global Site Plans wants your application.
Global Site Plans is seeking talented students and professionals in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, urban planning, and specialties within these environmental design fields. As a bi-weekly blogger, you would speak to topics related to your fields of ex[...]
January 31 2012
Make Good or Get Rid. Time to Get Tough with Regeneration?
Brownfield sites prime for building. Derelict architecture crying out to be regenerated. Both are common sites up and down the United Kingdom, but why? With a long standing housing shortage only predicted to get worse, what are we doing to utilise these potentially valuable resources?
The value of the land on which they sit is key. Developers want to maximise their profits, ideally with as little input as possible. So rather than regenerating and the costly process of hiring an architect, developing and completing a scheme, they are content to sit tight with a degenerating site. As long as th[...]
January 31 2012
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in Mammoth Lakes, California
"Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design," or LEED, is an obvious standard in environmental design and Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes, CA strives to maintain its natural resources while attempting to accommodate thousands of tourists. The LEED standard was established by the U.S. Green Building Council in 1993 as a national environmental rating system to encourage the mainstream architecture industry to utilize sustainable practices. Some accepted home design practices include:
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• A reduced carbon footprint by utilizing local building materials;
• The use of local masonry rock;
January 30 2012
Urban Farming: Eagle Street Rooftop and Added Value Farms in Brooklyn, New York
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 square foot green roof organic vegetable farm located atop a warehouse rooftop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. During New York City’s grow[...]
January 30 2012
Montreal, Canada’s Transportation Plan: Increasing Public Transit Options
Montreal Island (the core of the Montreal region) boasts of a city bus network, a subway system (hereafter, the metro), and a commuter rail system serving the entire metropolitan region. Eventhough Montreal has one of the highest public transit riderships in North America, some places in the Montreal area are not served by public transit as adequately as they could be. Rampant automobile use has generated problems like traffic congestion, urban sprawl, and automobile-generated emissions which could be reduced by public transit usage. Public transit is essential for those without cars.
Montreal’s 2008 Transportation [...]
January 27 2012
How Realistic is the Scottish Government’s Target of 100% Electricity Generation from Renewable Sources by 2020?
With a wealth of natural resources, Scotland has the potential to be a world leader in renewable energy production and Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, is happy to encourage a new industry that with create jobs and wealth. Scotland’s wind, wave and tidal potential make up to 25% of the EU capacity.
This has major benefits for not only how Scotland meets its electricity demands, but also a major export industry for safe, green energy to the rest of Europe. A recent report by think tank Reform Scotland highlighted that increasing Scotland’s energy exports could increase manufacturing exports by 17%.
There are alr[...]
January 26 2012
The Benefits of Website Maintenance for Your Environmental Design Business
Within the field of architecture, engineering, environmental non-profit, landscape architecture and urban planning, attending to your website’s upkeep will help your business grow and continue to thrive. Clientele will most likely conduct research about your company prior to contacting you, and in today’s age, companies are always developing and maintaining websites to attract new and return clientele, as well as promote, expand, and market their growing business. Examples of webs[...]
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