The American economy has long relied upon technological innovation to drive its economy. Today,basic investment in science and technology is once again taking center stage,as a cure for both our economic and environmental ills.
Technology
Architecture, Downloaded
Online sources for house plans are cutting the architect out of the home building process. One site is now making available the plans of well-known architects like William Turnbull.
Fast Company
Planning for Spontaneity
According to this opinion piece, planners must ease up on "big bang" planning--an approach centered around sweeping changes with fixed ideas of what the outcome must look like.
Archinect
Electric Bus, Where Art Thou?
Thu, 04/02/2009 - 11:33
Amid the stimulus-backed hullabaloo over high speed rail, perhaps efforts by municipalities to supplant old-school diesel with new era electric bus fleets have been overshadowed. Maybe it is still too soon, but there has been little media coverage on cities making the switch from diesel to hybrid or electric buses; however, with the money that is being pumped in, and the major shift in national perspective on the importance of sustainability, energy efficiency, and pollution reduction, now is the time to bypass the delays of a hybrid “stepping stone” and leap straight for all-electric transit systems.
Slow and Steady Survives the Recession
Pittsburgh's strategy of slow, steady growth has made it the front runner for sustainable building. The city now boasts the most LEED-certified square footage in the country.
The New York Times
A Meaner, Greener Recipe for Concrete
Concrete in a Minneapolis bridge replacing that which collapsed in 2007 is made of a concoction that boasts less environmental impact and durability. And it's self-cleaning.
The New York Times
Smart Grid Not As Complicated As Some Say
The smart grid is not as hard to define as some have suggested. Jesse Berst, managing director of Global Smart Energy says making it work will be tough, but it's really just a matter of coordinating three crucial aspects, according to Worldchanging.
WorldChanging
Dubai's Seawater Vertical Farm
Possibly coming soon to freshwater-poor Dubai is a self-sustaining vertical farm that uses seawater for irrigation, cooling, and humidifying.
Gizmag
Reinventing Infrastructure with Tech
According to Kazys Varnelis, architects should spend less time worrying about the little funding that the stimulus allots to highways and rail, and spending more time focusing on new technologies that supplement typical infrastructure.
The Architect's Newspaper
Japan's Bullet Trains to Top 310 MPH by 2025
High speed train technology is progressing at a rapid pace in Japan, where mag-lev bullet trains are planned to travel at speeds of more than 310 miles per hour by the year 2025.
Los Angeles Times
Urban Emergence
The concept of 'emergence', in science refers to the way complex systems and patterns arise among groups without planned organization. Emergence is now being applied in interesting ways to study urban areas that evolved spontaneously.
Emergent Urbanism
Lightweight Blocks Cut Rail Costs and Timelines
Light rail developers in Utah are cutting costs and timelines with a new and unlikely track base: foam.
KSL
Clean Coal Stimulus Funds Put To Work In Indiana
Duke Energy hopes to tap $3.4 billion of stimulus funds to build the nation's first clean coal plant, burning the coal in a gaseous form and storing the CO2 emissions. It already has received federal funds to build the $2.35 coal power plant in IN.
The New York Times: Energy & Environment
Amsterdam Leading Green City Movement
In the next few months, the Dutch capital will make numerous changes to make its infrastructure greener. With the help of private companies like Cisco and IBM, Amsterdam is closer to becoming a "smart city" than any other in Europe.
BusinessWeek
Playing Catch-Up with Rail
Have high-speed rail stimulus funds put us any closer to technology like mag-lev? A long record of underfunding makes many of such projects shovel-unready, but hopes are still high.
Miller-McCune
Legalize Gray Water!
Colorado law prohibits the collection of rainwater, but urban farmers, environmentally-conscious homeowners, and even developers are catching on to its benefits and building momentum for the legalization of rainwater harvesting.
Los Angeles Times
How Far Can $1.3 Billion Take Amtrak?
Amtrak's list of projects that will get stimulus funding is just about finalized, but this financial boost is just the beginning. Three rail experts weigh in on how the initial $1.3 billion in grants will get spent, and how else the agency can use the money to achieve self-reliance.
Planner's Predictions Uncovered
Fifty years ago, Kenneth E. Norwood placed a time capsule and his predictions for Burbank, CA in a newly constructed bridge. According to the planner, monorails and "multi-unit garden apartments" were the waves of the future.
Los Angeles Times Blog
Green Economy Coming Despite Downturn
Good green jobs are on the way - just not right away due to recession. Stimulus funds - not just from U.S. but many nations are investing in their economies by targeting renewable energy, smart electricity grids, energy efficiency, and more.
Financial Times - Business & The Environment
The Copenhagen Approach To "Traffic" Could Transform Your City!
Mon, 03/16/2009 - 14:47
Our world and our cities, would be so very different, if all of the Directors of Traffic thought like Niels Tørsløv of Copenhagen - especially if, like Niels, all such Directors were trained as landscape architects. What if the "traffic problem" was about too many bikes, and the "parking problem" was about how to deal with so many bikes overtaking the public spaces and sidewalks?
