With communities balking at the purported ugliness of windtowers and solar panels, a Dutch company proposes using nature's own designs.
"With all the potential good wind power could do for the carbon economy, one of the objections hindering its implementation is aesthetic; people simply don't want massive turbines dotting the landscape and marring their views. The Dutch founder of London's Solar Botanic Ltd. was wrestling with that very issue in 2002 when the idea began to blossom: why not redesign the technology to blend into the natural world?
Founded last year, Solar Botanic's ambitious goal involves layering existing technologies three-fold into the natural form of a leaf and producing fake power-producing trees that individually could power an entire home. Each "nanoleaf" would incorporate photovoltaics for collecting solar power, thermoelectrics for converting the sun's heat to electricity, and piezoelectric nanogenerators in the leaves' petioles (the stalk connecting the leaf to the branch) that capture the kinetic energy from the wind rustling the leaves."
Read the full story: Pumping Green Power from Fake Plastic Trees
A Wind Turbine Acting Like a Palm Tree Delivers Five Times the Electricity
It's still a longshot for full-scale production, but a unique research partnership has produced a unique example of biomimicry: a wind turbine that borrows from palm trees to achieve new levels of energy production.
Urban Trees Have Bigger Impact in Hot, Dry Cities
The cooling effect of robust urban tree canopies is more pronounced in hotter, drier cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Symposium Highlights the Crucial Role of Trees in Combatting Extreme Heat
Experts emphasize that planting and maintaining trees in urban areas is essential for reducing extreme heat, cooling cities, and preventing heat-related illnesses, especially as heatwaves become more frequent and severe.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello