No, the title of this post is not an analogy. Diane Ackerman takes a looks at the very literal ways in which cities around the world are harnessing body heat to warm up residential and office buildings.
In Paris, architects from Paris Habitat use body heat from a nearby metro station to provide under-floor heating for a public housing project. In Minnesota, the indoor temperature at the Mall of America is consistently maintained at 70 degrees by body heat, light fixtures, and sunlight. In Stockholm, engineers combine body heat from railway travelers to warm an office building close by. "Part of the appeal of heating buildings with body heat is the delicious simplicity of finding a new way to use old technology (just pipes, pumps and water)," says Ackerman, "Hands down, it's my favorite form of renewable energy."
Heating buildings with body heat can be costly in cities like Paris where buildings and Metro stations need to be adapted, but the design works especially well in Sweden where the addition of sustainable elements help save 24 percent on energy bills. "Widening their vision to embrace neighborhoods, engineers from Jernhusen, the state-owned railroad station developer, are hoping to find a way to capture excess body heat on a scale large enough to warm homes and office buildings in a perpetual cycle of mutual generosity," praises Ackerman. "Heat generated by people at home at night would be piped to office buildings first thing in the morning, and then heat shed in the offices during the day would flow to the residences in the late afternoon."
As for the United States, the body-heat design probably won't be coming soon. "Retrofitting city buildings would be costly at a time when our lawmakers are squabbling over every penny," explains Ackerman. "Also, the buildings can't be more tan 100 to 200 feet apart, or the heat is lost in transit. The essential ingredient is a reliable flux of people every day to provide the heat." She concludes, "But it's doable and worth designing into new buildings wherever possible."
FULL STORY: The Power of a Hot Body

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie