Link to webpage version of this newsletter http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs072/1100594 http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=hdosiabab&v=0011Epg2wSvN84MHrH3gYBp4qjwc8zlvtKdqnX2j4lhFwojyeJw4hjzaRDdG6iKDAcHg2cyWpvQPDBkPk15xf9deeT8edDsqM5T-10jXs3FyGU%3D ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ecocities Emerging To support humanity's transition into the Ecozoic Era Ecocity Builders March 2014 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Greetings! It's springtime for projects. The seed funds awarded for our EcoCitizen World Map Project from the Abu Dhabi Global Data Initiative (AGEDI) and the Organization of American States have sprouted active pilots in Egypt, Morocco and Colombia. Corresponding classes on EcoCitizenship have launched at Cairo University and Casablanca's Mudiapolis University. Team member Dave Ron is on location helping to teach the participatory GIS (PGIS) elements of both courses. In a few weeks, four more of us from Ecocity Builders' team will join Dave and the universities for the first of our community events in Cairo and Casablanca. These workshops will pair up the university students with community organizations and citizens to investigate and problem solve, together, how to increase quality of life, sustainability and resilience at the scale of the neighborhood. In order to build out a whole systems perspective with a custom view to each location, we'll be accessing data, information and maps provided by the municipal governments, utilities, and other data providers. In addition we'll be teaching citizens to conduct their own community audits - all of which will be posted and shared online. It's all converging in one place - a website that will serve as a portal for citizens to map their communities and share first-hand information for a holistic assessment of their city's ecological and social health. We are hoping to lay a whole systems urban information foundation upon which better informed decision making and planning can happen. You will be able to find, upload and explore information about your city and neighborhood's urban metabolism - the dynamic flows of energy, water, food, materials, information, transportation, economy, etc. that bring the city to life and keep it healthy -- or not -- depending on urban design, access, quality, and social conditions. The site will go live in time for the upcoming 7th World Urban Forum (WUF7) in Medellin Columbia, April 5-11th. In partnership with the Organization of American States, we also have a Medellin, Colombia pilot for the EcoCitizen World Map Project that will feature Medellin's transformative urban projects and programs using creative and interactive social media like Esri's StoryMaps and Mozilla's web making tool, Popcorn. During the WUF7, we will be hosting, along with Esri, the Association of American Geographers and the University of Twente, the Netherlands, a networking event to explain the EcoCitizen method and tools, and a training event to show others how to use them with a hands-on workshop. You can read more about these events in this month's Ecocities Emerging. It's all about shining a spotlight on the essential elements of the city that combine to make a larger whole system and includes smaller, but still whole (if they are healthy), sub systems (neighborhoods). Earlier today I had a conversation with someone on our team who had just met with a group of planners to map out a new eco-neighborhood. Interestingly, when my colleague asked the simple question, "Where is the proposed drinking water supply for this new eco-neighborhood and what is the current capacity and projected capacity of this source to supply the planned growth?" nobody had an answer. In fact he told me that a lack of awareness and information of source to sink (nature to nature through infrastructure) flows of essential elements like water and energy are more the norm than the exception for planners and experts, not just for ordinary citizens. Today we all need to connect more closely to the parts while understanding the dynamics of the whole itself. We don't have to know every detail but we need to know much more than most of us do now. Ecocity pioneers Paul Downton and Richard Register like to talk about "ecocity fractals" and "integral neighborhoods" -- Register nicely sums up the concept of an integral neighborhood or ecocity fractal as "a fraction of the whole city with all essential components present and arranged for good interrelationship with one another and with the natural world and its biology and resources for human activity." The late ecocity visionary Palo Soleri took the idea to a whole other level with his concept of arcology and his experimental city project, Arcosanti. In this edition of the newsletter you can read Register's article about the future of arcology as well as a feature interview in ATLANTIS with Ecocity Builders' Board Member Jeff Stein on "Architecture, Ecology & Urban Space at Arcosanti." As we build, so shall we live, Kirstin Miller Executive Director sm.ecb [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1Ss9pqx7TljKR72qr4kpE4zPF9lFsI4h_hc5EUKyb4gA782-TvF21sfqkuLvC8I_THDrtmEcDjJvkb0FErTMNCPI-juhUdQ82TYtpwNarmJEvWQW-vqlDC0Y] Keeper of the International Ecocity Conference Series, Ecocity Builders is a non-profit organization dedicated to reshaping cities, towns and villages for long-term health of human and natural systems. Ecocity Builders 339 15th Street, Suite 208 Oakland CA 94612 USA www.ecocitybuilders.org [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1Ss9pqx7TljKR72qr4kpE4zPF9lFsI4h_hc5EUKyb4gA782-TvF21sfqkuLvC8I_THDrtmEcDjJvkb0FErTMNCPI-juhUdQ82TYtpwNarmJEvWQW-vqlDC0Y] www.ecocitystandards.org [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1Ss6Ydfe2M2-aF2I7pdRSftkSiluCPxt3Ovo-lmw22mC1COdupdNsHIeiAxpCJyrL8ahqmio3Wj57TqsFKKaKPHnp-5sfoMUor_7_mMCk8oPOF9SD1ou9WB8] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JOIN ECOCITY BUILDERS AT THE WORLD URBAN FORUM - REGISTRATION IS OPEN Ecocity Builders is a lead partner of the World Urban Campaign. Join us at our events at the WUF7 in Medellin: "The EcoCitizen Map Project: Building Resilience and Equity Through Citizen Participation and Geo Design" Thursday April 10th, 11am - 12pm, UN Habitat City Changer Room (3) Presented by: Ecocity Builders, Association of American Geographers, Esri, Organization of American States, AGEDI, US Department of State This event will showcase the EcoCitizen approach to understanding and designing more sustainable and equitable urban environments. Currently active global projects and processes will be showcased featuring the use of online crowd mapping, GIS and social media Internet applications to actively engage cities and citizens in learning, sharing and applying sustainability principles and practices. Scientific and sociological underpinnings of the Project are based on the International Ecocity Framework and Standards Initiative (IEFS). Presentations by: Kirstin Miller, Executive Director, Ecocity Builders; Ashoka Finley, Projects Facilitator, Ecocity Builders; Dr. Sahar Attia, Director of Architecture and Urban Design, Cairo University; Shannon McElvaney, Global Industry Manger, Community Development, Esri; and more. Training Event: "How to use mobile technology to measure urban equity" Wednesday April 9th, TE 7 in room 20 Presented by: ITC-University of Twente, the Netherlands, Esri and Ecocity Builders Do more than learn how mobile technology to empower residents in their communities - get hands-on practice! This workshop will introduce participants to the new technologies Ecocity Builders and their partners are developing to facilitate civic participation and access to information. See the technology in action and learn how these processes can be applied to a wide variety of communities, including yours. Also join Ecocity Builders partners -- UN Habitat, at their WUF Special Session presentation: "Towards a New Urban Paradigm: The Future we Want, the City we Need" Wednesday April 9th from 2pm to 4pm Register and see the WUF program here: http://wuf7.unhabitat.org/programmeataglance [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1Stb-1l4nCRpD2fe__mqFXNEBAgvHwM--qX6g2uoJTjUX17seH6izqR4Lfqzhy8PASEPLiVl57iC_dApkVDobvjkvvOfTj7HWQ3BDrH5rscGZ2MM2AaLC4uinQNqMGwdGMmQVJPz6HBhgA==] UNEP - TIE Networking event: "Making the business case for resource efficient cities" Wednesday April 9th, afternoon in the One UN room Register and see the WUF program here: http://wuf7.unhabitat.org/programmeataglance [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1Stb-1l4nCRpD2fe__mqFXNEBAgvHwM--qX6g2uoJTjUX17seH6izqR4Lfqzhy8PASEPLiVl57iC_dApkVDobvjkvvOfTj7HWQ3BDrH5rscGZ2MM2AaLC4uinQNqMGwdGMmQVJPz6HBhgA==] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ECOCITY INSIGHTS by Jennie Moore, Director, Sustainable Development and Environmental Stewardship, British Colombia Institute of Technology Well Being and Quality of Life: Beyond the GDP The International Ecocities Framework and Standards (IEFS) identifies human wellbeing and quality of life as an essential social feature. Specifically, "residents report satisfaction with their quality of life including employment, the built, natural and landscaped environment, physical and mental health, education, safety, recreation and leisure, and social belonging" (www.ecocitystandards.org). Human wellbeing depends on access to resources sufficient to lead a dignified life (Raworth 2013). This includes access to natural resources such as clean air, water and energy, as well as nutritious food. It also includes access to social resources including education, healthcare, employment and recreation, participation in decisions that affect one's life, and freedom from persecution for one's religious beliefs. Ecocities not only support wellbeing and quality of life through provision of affordable shelter and services, they also enable people to: access jobs close to where they live, breath clean air in car-free cities, and enjoy nature at their doorstep (Register 2006). This is achieved through compact design of the built environment that takes advantage of roof-tops (e.g., for parks and restaurants) and spaces below ground (e.g., for storage and shopping). Landscaped environments at grade blend with the natural environment to foster ecological connections that invite nature into the city (Register 2006). Residents of ecocities enjoy a high quality of life regardless of their socio-economic status. This means that social services are provided based on need, not just an ability to pay. An important measure for wellbeing is the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). Invented by Redefining Progress in 1995, the GPI considers changes in income distribution, volunteerism, crime, pollution and resource depletion as factors that affect quality of life (Redefining Progress 2013). This stands in contrast to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which measures the sum of a nation's financial transactions, but does not consider whether those contribute or detract from the wellbeing of citizens, particularly those who are most vulnerable. References: Raworth, Kate. 2013. Defining a Safe and Just Space for Humanity in Linda Starke, ed., State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible? Washington DC: Island Press. Redefining Progress. 2013. Sustainability Indicators: Genuine Progress Indicator (online resource) http://rprogress.org/sustainability_indicators/genuine_progress_indicator.htm (Accessed on November 14, 2013). Register, Richard. 2006. Ecocities: Building Cities in Balance with Nature. Gabriola Island BC: New Society Publishers. Register, Richard. 1987. Ecocity Berkeley: Building Cities for a Healthy Future. Berkeley Ca: North Atlantic Books. British Colombia Institute of Technology School of Construction and the Environment [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1StDKyHGSm1wRqVqdzMHJLeS_W5f4mDL7KyJ5hfQ6flRAH5ouZz3rxrxkxSxZrRVxkUDS1JYMocQc8CDNGBrdFgklj7l1JrQ_5xdubFPPvhqhMjdooPdrN5cWAy-pBdhsBQ=] is Lead Sponsor of the International Ecocity Framework and Standards Initiative ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LINK TO INTERVIEW: Ecocity Builders' Board Member Jeff Stein on Architecture, Ecology & Urban Space at Arcosanti [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1SvmTnEBnQABjpfnDVihlBU_xi2CXjyHIflgGVIofIrC4-i59Aw0ygCM0UsTbfF9BXWQnS6IhOnVB6UGcswlOOnlsMS2x6PS7eKsmAlWviRne1DZp7rkzR_0leFd7sv2qC1JPCq1ykxIrrNfCE_ZNSldagunJ3KeDxMKzMxERRvSrNmmko0BBDxmTtIRv_QAfBZb-jFzLXhmAg==] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Car Free Journey BY STEVE ATLAS For the past few weeks, my family and I have wished the ice and snow would go away-and so have many other people all over the United States. Don't you wish you could escape it all in a warm setting with lots of great beaches that you can walk to? Then you will want to check out Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast of Central Florida, the focus of this month's Car Free Journey. Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast of Florida Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast: two great reasons to visit is the 72 miles of beaches along Florida's Atlantic Coast. Stay in Cocoa Beach and walk to beaches and many other attractions, restaurants, and entertainment the area has to offer. For a break from the beach, you can take a local bus to Cape Canaveral, home of the United States Space Program. Here the Space Shuttle ATLANTIS is on permanent display. Port Canaveral is the second largest cruise port in the United States. Local boosters claim it will beat Miami and become the largest U.S. cruise port by 2015. The Brevard Zoo is one of the top 10 small zoos in the United States and it too is just a bus ride away. Welcome to Cocoa Beach Cocoa Beach offers great weather, beaches, and attractive shops and restaurants. With its coastal location and positioned where two climatic zones (sub-tropic and temperate) meet, the weather here usually avoids extremes. This unique location attracts wildlife indigenous to both climatic zones as well as coastal and migratory species. Cocoa Beach is a residential community and a tourist destination with a base population 12,631. This increases to 30,000 during the peak tourist season when the hotels, motels, timeshares and condominium rentals are filled. In addition, Cocoa Beach is the destination for another 2.4 million day visitors per year; it is the primary tourist destination on the Florida Space Coast and home to an active retiree population. Both visitors and residents enjoy the casual beach lifestyle! Many residents first experienced Cocoa Beach as visitors and eventually relocated here. READ ON [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1Sv5Ucbx_pz37hUK1Azi5_GSLGRZBgkWZF78nKpHgez4PksurF4qsVVLnuUYNUbVQOAg8pfcfShtHSJK2MmzifEmSLHLVm8cQ47XBqqTxuAMaylFKyIsLohbouu_uKlxztHIky4JkUwH1ny7aCScXK-7_03bPoKtGMbf_maktGF5xKe0xzXiBhm9NH3xv_6CGRvuCDlylnOWk201ytdfj5UM] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Founded in 1992, Ecocity Builders is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reshaping cities for the long-term health of human and natural systems. www.ecocitybuilders.org [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1Ss9pqx7TljKR72qr4kpE4zPF9lFsI4h_hc5EUKyb4gA782-TvF21sfqkuLvC8I_THDrtmEcDjJvkb0FErTMNCPI-juhUdQ82TYtpwNarmJEvWQW-vqlDC0Y] In this issue Join Ecocity Builders at our World Urban Forum event Ecocity Insights: Quality of Life Car Free Journey: Cocoa Beach Ecocity Updates From Richard Register: Future Arcosanti? Ecocity Spotlight: Car-free Hamburg; Food waste mandates; Public housing in the Bay Area ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Like us on Facebook [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1Sse1o9VuU53NfgkodfCtlBlXRJ2tbv1lIyu5-F66O90_pRuePd0f_LA69vOlz7kqcCRGFEP5GJnl268Utci6MT0IOObypPO_QDbdQ_H6HiH3fbhA6DifGKvAmHtdsHC9vE=] Follow us on Twitter [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1Ss0LiqZysqrlIbigAUjenGX8i4vlT62MXwIIklnwQhf5nXb2v5pf9r8i0MNhGP34c0DQJbIxYctQsCFdL1Bzk5r4CeKHdFC_KNHwsxsSMKn-xxcpOOaLQOL8WOpARzAvCs=] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ecocity Updates News, events and announcements Historic White Building receives city prize The White Building in downtown Oakland, Ecocity Builder's base of operations, was honored by the Oakland Heritage Alliance on February 20th for outstanding renovations. Over the past year and a half the building has received new flooring, paint, bathrooms, energy efficient lighting, and beautifully restored detail work. The building is home to diverse old and new tenants including architects, lawyers, a wellness studio, several pop-up arts spaces, barbershops, and a new recording studio in the basement. In addition, of course, to the Ecocity Co-Lab and Ecocity Builders. Come visit us! Abu Dhabi Get ready for Ecocity World Summit 2015! Announcing Abu Dhabi as host city The Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau recently announced the city's selection as the host of the 2015 EcoCity Summit. Next year's gather will host an estimated 1,500 delegates. Abu Dhabi, the capitol of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was awarded the conference by a 'clearly outstanding proposal' submitted by the Convention Bureau along with the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD), its Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI), and with the support of Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company and Etihad Airways. "The city was chosen for its commitment to facing environmental challenges, supporting renewable energy, and its interest in 'blue carbon sequestration' - the absorption of carbon out of the atmosphere in mangroves and sea grasses," the release continued. LINK [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1StF0WzdJUPiG7daHBvEPeWKU4x_Qg3x4rGKr9XD99Ib8pqGa2m9au2Tz9vKFkrcNU2JooKrfdzWoUR7TxxJmwO9k5AoWCgmLeHfPGVbqI0EtONeSSCxz9vi25OHKD87Oi4LuP5nu9HCysVdzcNdKd7xnoZMtDoUKB5KVgti9OkoSpKAIqd-64q1QV9yH1Y1l_s=] March 2014 Ecocitizen World Map Project Citizen Bootcamps Cairo, Egypt: March 24, 25 Casablanca, Morocco: March 28-30 The Ecocitizen World Map Project Bootcamps will be bring university students together with citizens and community organizations to learn and apply geographic information and GPS tools, along with audits and assessments of environmental and social health, for decision support in addressing the needs of cities to increase resilience and sustainability while improving quality of life for citizens. Along with Ecocity Builders, partners include Cairo University (Etypt), Mundiapolis University (Morocco), the Association of American Geographers (AAG); IT industry partners such as ESRI and Trimble; NGOs such as USHAHIDI in Kenya; as well as the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi's "Eye on Earth" initiative. The next steps in these projects include an October 2014 workshop in Casablanca, Morocco, under sponsorship of the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD). April 2014 Medellin, Colombia April 5-11 World Urban Forum - Medellin Colombia Ecocity Builders and partners, including the Association of American Geographers, the US Department of State, and Esri will feature the EcoCitizen World Map Project at UN HABITAT's City Changer forum and the Esri Pavilion. Ecocity Builders is a Lead Partner of UN HABITAT's World Urban Campaign and the City of Medellin is a pilot project under the EcoCitizen World Map Project which will go live online at the event. ECOCITY BUILDERS and partner events at WUF7 __________________________________________________________ Our partners: UN Habitat [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1SsOukANne4WQI06UrULvbPPCnav2tnoBOp6J2nRFO8oaOSPYEA_j57FqyM_i_of6nWN3ML8zhOZYU04bDq35gb32hsR69nHWhAhm6jrpzMW50sTuYxAa-ICj9LT4brQ2uN-zxQJEC9sgW5MnaIKPt0J] ushahidi [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1SsVkux91p68zTdhCtnLMrc_qSC3Ch2x4Z4oesRvZk-YeksQKg_-5n9qrMltsxXNibllZMeRFxQD2TqvE1Zh_vsOwfujYQkTu8l5YcjlVCiinw==] esri logo [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1SvOwkHqNnQxQ2ZkcQBFvgCMPJUK2OHxmMrah31NqcraG0r7lIvCz5COHGzbAO64iHoYZLF58RfSz5Tj--5F-KE8_lrtLg-GW0mmzrFUKFoVxQ==] bcit logo [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1StDKyHGSm1wRqVqdzMHJLeS_W5f4mDL7KyJ5hfQ6flRAH5ouZz3rxrxkxSxZrRVxkUDS1JYMocQc8CDNGBrdFgklj7l1JrQ_5xdubFPPvhqhMjdooPdrN5cWAy-pBdhsBQ=] UNISDR [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1St5PyYNZWPIBYs9Xvo2OoAM5xAUeKRlYjnJMpdnZSxeXAZvfHHaDkQU6kNIZD0teOEN59vEBVtgkSLMEAASIDB7Diq0KqheYa-ZdsQvZEH8BA==] world urban campaign logo [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1StxMe6AjwwoZI1QYOfSjD62v8QF9bA4kKflUGlxIhiqMrwNE4JMHjUqJMZar9n860vqiqfIoGDwOw0-PAqluygjwcrWxJZx59Os0NkhJ1JsCXf7bBLXUQok] eye on earth [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1StWRdtdA2LVc_2dr5E-JtRtC-4g9J0vbmM900e8k7dtffXPLwRQZEXQndL8GBYdDV8DR6-n04LsM8mOES2qOCVhEOR_ZwINH27MPveOTdIU0BPfPvJSyZb7tNZ6lBr1t2JDGAnO4luse6a1p1c7VGmk] iclei [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1SuPi6TPmHJlaeqoL_7nTV1HAAo84B3O05wasO7pAp5ui5KIcOOncIf-7FIbcFiLIYfKJSarXOFyZXp1C3GU9PxMHAkvl0rqgwMEVm1VmxluzA==] OAS.jpg [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1StDKyHGSm1wRqVqdzMHJLeS_W5f4mDL7KyJ5hfQ6flRAH5ouZz3rxrxkxSxZrRVxkUDS1JYMocQc8CDNGBrdFgklj7l1JrQ_5xdubFPPvhqhMjdooPdrN5cWAy-pBdhsBQ=] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Richard Register President, Ecocity Builders Future Arcosanti? In a distant world, long, long ago... What's Arcosanti? Paolo Soleri's experimental aspiring city in the high Arizona desert, USA. I love the place. I was there the first day of construction, July 23, 1970, a long time ago. In fact, with one other of Paolo's students I raised the first vertical structure there, and if you know something about Paolo's thinking about rising off the flat suburban format, that might mean something. It also makes me something of a fossil. But you can sometimes learn something from fossils, and not even only about the past. They Richard Register have that much maligned ability to inform about the whole flow of time and thus hint the future as well as report the past. I guess I was a fundamentalist's apostate since I grew up in the Jewish/Christian/Islamic monotheistic tradition but thought fossils made sense as something that looked a lot like contemporary bones but older. I am a fundamentalist though, but based on fundamental principles about the things that open inquiry might reveal these days about our beautiful universe, rather than what was thought and recorded several thousand years ago on the same subject. Anyway, back in 1965 when I met him, Soleri was already saying the flat city of cars was wrecking not only the lives of people through serious car accidents but also wrecking the whole damn future by way of creating flat, scattered cities. That seemed to be bizarrely obscure and unwelcome information to Los Angelenos. I was one at the time I met him; but to me it simply made sense. I'd been interested in his work for five years already when one morning I decided to call him up on what's now known quaintly as a "land line" - Los Angeles to Phoenix, "dial up" around a little circle with numbers - to see if he was making any progress on starting his "city of the future." In his case this future city was not sci-fi or tongue-in-cheek but deadly serious. He wanted to build one and he answered the phone at 6433 East Doubletree Ranch Road, Scottsdale, Arizona. "Hi Paolo, how are you doing?" I asked. "Fine." "When are you starting work on your city." "Tomorrow at 6:00am." What?! I couldn't believe it! I had to get there. Though carless at the time, almost immediately I found a friend driver crazy enough to say, "Hey, that sounds like fun." Off we went, arriving about 4:00 in the morning. Around sunrise Paolo was running around his property with his two Rhodesian ridgeback dogs that appeared to be having a hard time keeping up with him. I found myself waking up to the syncopation of flying feet and paws rippling over the sand. I was next to the swimming pool at Soleri's Cosanti Foundation in Paradise Valley, which is part of Scottsdale, with my artist/night job taxi cab driver friend, William Brun, at my side. We made it just in time. Our caravan snaked up the highway and down a dusty, barely existing road to the site. We all got out to survey the cactus-strewn landscape, the meandering canyon below with yellow-green cottonwood trees, and cliffs terminating in flat top bluffs called mesas - tables in Spanish. (If you want to get extra detail here you have to read my book "Ecocities".) The most auspicious part for me: one of the 20 people present, named Terry McConnell, joined me in raising a 2 x 4 wood frame structure covered in plastic to protect the first barrels of nails and bags of cement from the rain - and rain it did: a cloud burst let loose shortly after we completed the small shelter. The roof sagged with water and ice, fresh and cloudy white with hail. We skimmed out a couple of cups and drank a toast to the city's happy future. As the thunderhead broke up toward the east, a rainbow appeared. Nice start. A possible future for Arcosanti No invitation but here it comes anyway Paolo Soleri died on April 9th last year. The architect and often-called Prophet in the Desert left a series of several versions of Arcosanti. Construction there has been slow over the last few years. He died with some resignation and, to all appearances to long time observers like myself, a fair slice of depression about the fact that Arcosanti was very far from completion. Few people around the world give Paolo credit for his impact on their own works, designs slowly densifying in an intelligently pedestrian-oriented, three-dimensionally linked and ordered way of the sort Paolo was advocating and toward which he was building before anyone else. So now, what for Arcosanti, the experimental city to reform cities from now into the evolutionary infinite future? I acknowledge right off that no one invited or authorized me in any degree to chime in. But I will because I fancy myself to have learned a lot from Paolo and I think my critique where we differ is also useful. I tried to extract what seemed to me to be the most profound principles at the core of the idea he called "arcology," a melding of the worlds "architecture" and "ecology." First, to whit, cities should be designed and built like complex living organisms, very three-dimensional in form and with all parts well ordered according to the best articulation of internal functions. Think organs of our own bodies and their positioning, eyes up front and high, not down on the knees, for example. I call this the "anatomy analogy." No complex living organism is flat - two-dimensional like a tortilla - and cities at their best function in many ways like complex living organisms. Therefore, the compact, highly "mixed use" city with its parts arranged well internally and in relation to the local environment (to shed and collect precipitation and absorb or reflect the sun's rays depending on local environment, for example) and not scattered sprawl, is the way to go. As a sub heading here, Soleri noted, and most forcefully, that automobiles have played a disastrous role in scattering the city into that flat, inefficient, land and energy squandering, pollution and climate changing, pedestrian, bicyclist and driver killing machine wracking up over a million fatalities a year. As Soleri liked to say more generally, "Cities are not just in bad shape, they are the wrong shape." Link to full article [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1StmA0hUnGHgWPas5U8IDyInkjQ-tA7o-mFGuOPt69VcKVkXxGdXz4Ica0s_XDBJ8p2B_mGA2FLBE-RRfM3nDKHDBNyMcpjEAg4GkQWYxgadb7yBZr9s16kxaHzfkJHBRRcn1EoROxFtRtVvEe482CMCc-rqBCobu0fyxmUYIIOIyw==] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ecocity News Spotlight Stories and highlights from around the world Hamburg Aims to Be Car-Free by 2040 Via 02b.com The Hamburg City Council has announced ambitious plans to divert most cars away from the city center and replace roads with a vast network of pedestrian and bicycle lanes over the next 20 years. Cars will not be banned completely from major thoroughfares, but will cede dominance to bikes, pedestrians, and public transit. By connecting the periphery of the area to the center with car-free transit officials hope to cut down on congestion while ameliorating flooding and rising temperatures. The plan includes a total of 17,000 acres of green space, over 40% of the city's area. Read More [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1SvQ3DJ6m7GHaI9T0I2SflnrKSBkKSJkgiS8TLhRj31Sjsx2rBhp7wZb8lhvmyVRVF6VWzmcQW9PKaw7PrfqFLohqYwI-cfGdGRcJ4pKU6beKtQcxeVmyhsrv1KKOoczZeFvdc0SYucdzYNW8gsCh0UCw5UEYddzApOT2W-jtTJj-___CofzIM0djpYTENLtR-NKQChLR_50iUZJRCdY8hAsvzTgiFQCPAo=]. Massachusetts says NO to more food waste Via Earth911.com As of October 1st, approximately 1,700 colleges, high schools, hospitals, restaurants and other businesses across the state of Massachusetts will no longer be throwing food scraps in the garbage. According to a new mandate, institutions producing over 1 ton of food waste per week will be required to set up a composting, animal-feed operation, or plant that will convert biomass into energy. Their other option is to reduce food waste to below the cutoff. In a separate state initiative, 300 supermarkets saved an average of $20,000 annually per store by diverting food waste for recycling. The state aims to reduce trash by 80% by 2050. Read More [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1Stk2WEn7zW89Jtc5Rs7JFWGw4PIzQJVmNVYZXCaqWLanZJbIUB4UgySYJ1Am54yewFlVwj3Xsk9mJkkofsYXUgz9HNu5RifR9vcqV-sZVXI9onU591zkaeVN7VEGefRs_vqA_KHo-yeJg-5_pI2G71RTaEnsgaQcopNRWybazWtsdV7kplOtyZj]. Around Town - Bay Area Features: Saving the City TV series Via www.savingthecity.org [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1SsuBwqY4QcoDKL496kDz1ia4FpNI67bDmqZQp7-WQboDSSyDm0cS5MYaxeKB5yIINJ8AuStA3et98E5Lqbyr2KYoVTllKYLTREtQ36405BOrW31F2BVVaph] and www.facebook.com/savingthecitytv [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1SsgGfir1jt8tyDT7FKwWxwSbJdboWR3NdUR6Xhoz3up_XjSjfzsxkTtM2a7Fzn6UrjpnQyxh4UkeXyPJZNCBgU0VoQCaxyvTcmoJO-jCZ_QuX1WOXCjBACrX2c3IaYcwpA=] Saving the City is a new television series that investigates the challenges and successes of our approaches to building cities. "Telling stories through the eyes of people who use the city, Saving the City highlights successful and unsuccessful examples of urban development throughout the United States and Canada. The focus is on downtowns and surrounding neighborhoods, the most visible and visited part of our cities," says Ecocity Builders friend and producer, Ron Blatman. A recent episode focuses on the Bay Area - what's being done in Mission Bay vs Vancouver. Watch the series [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1SshpY4hQltA9MKdjizj835L8uhJxJg_1TUYOu4aenZGDZI4hHxKNQZTeo7-cwIjLqMox6SWI-2DygAa43NO8I2kZrakpIUYVnCQj8jyFt16Hb-zn1KhFOpj]. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PRINCIPAL SPONSOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL ECOCITY FRAMEWORK AND STANDARDS bcit logo [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pKl8S-dq1SsvisEPDciuxaFo18OLvs1b4Yffg7tOipYc6tlSoOWt_IviUSnMqqG9j4GRY8GkFqtF7lPj4UU3NpixiNEjGLzXHnjL-Fbgk43MEStGPoN2umm4IkBFRNMQ] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forward email http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=hdosiabab&m=1100594362471&ea=spsd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx&a=1116616299919 This email was sent to spsd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx by kirstin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. 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