Recycle / Reuse | I Commit to Green Blog

20 Feb 2012

Transforming a derelict city building into vertical gardens for nearby residents

Posted in Recycle / Reuse | Leave a comment

Kaid Benfield, Director, Sustainable Communities, Washington, DC

Aspiring interior designer Lucie Sadakova has come up with a striking concept to bring more green space and nourishment into a scruffy part of London. And, despite being in a sense all about an outdoor activity, it is in fact an interior transformation, a proposed adaptive reuse of an old building way past its prime.

One of the things I love about the ever-fascinating website Inhabitat is that it brings me into contact with cutting-edge ideas, frequently green ones. Yet it stimulates my environmental imagination in a radically different way than does my usual world of urbanism, which is more about perfecting pragmatic, tried-and-true concepts and bringing them to scale. Inhabitat isn’t about the tried and true but the new and provocative. Its predominant aesthetic is unabashedly modernist. Many ideas it presents may never be brought to scale: but I like it that they take me away from the familiar.

In this case, Inhabitat ran a story about Sadakova’s proposal, which led me to her own website and blog, where she writes:

“I have become interested and intrigued by projects that make use of neglected spaces of cities and focus on innovative design solutions that introduce new ideas to local areas in order to improve life of their residents.”

For her final degree project at university, Sadakova designed a concept she calls Multileveled Vertical Urban Allotments, which in plain English means hollowing out the guts of an old warehouse, opening up its roof and (enlarged) windows to the elements, and filling the space with a sort of stacked series of green plots that could be gardened by nearby residents.

In a sense, it takes the wonderful concept we know in the US as victory gardens, where city residents cultivate small plots of land on public spaces, and tiers the plots vertically so they require less space at street level. And it saves an old building at the same time.

The site is a hardscrabble corner by the elevated tracks, on the South Bank of the Thames in the Southwark area of London. There are some pubs and eateries nearby, but it’s not the sort of place one would go without a reason.

As you can see, the old building is nicely proportioned but manifestly unfriendly to the street, just kind of sitting there. Sadakova’s project would bring the outdoors into the building, and the indoors outside, creating a space that really is both:

“The project aims to bring an innovative solution by designing multileveled vertical urban allotments which in turn make use of derelict or underused spaces. Eventually multiple function of the building that is open to the public, offers an interpretation centre for schools and seasonal use for those affected by S.A.D (Seasonal affective disorder) all contributes to sustainable development in London.”

The building is privately owned, and there does not appear to be any certainty that the project will actually be built there. (The “Union Street Urban Orchard,” only a short walk away, turned out to be very temporary.) But the important thing is that it could be. My only concern is whether the walls of the old building (which would be opened up considerably under Sadakova’s plan) would allow enough light and moisture inside to facilitate growing. I suspect she has thought that through.

So, if not in this particular space, why not in another? The concept is too good not to be realized somewhere.

(For a much more ambitious – and to my eyes perhaps less accessible and neighborly – approach to vertical farming, see Lloyd Alter’s article about the “Plantagon” in Sweden.)

Move your cursor over the images for credit information.

Kaid Benfield writes (almost) daily about community, development, and the environment. For more posts, see his blog's home page. Please also visit NRDC’s Sustainable Communities Video Channel.

19 Feb 2012

Textile Recycling Is Thriving in New York

Posted in Recycle / Reuse | Leave a comment

With buildings clamoring for bins in which residents can leave clothing to be sold or reprocessed, fewer discards will go to landfills.

Tags: Discards, Landfills, New Buildings, Textile Recycling

14 Feb 2012

Cleaning up the garbage of LA’s dirty waste hauling practices

Posted in Recycle / Reuse | Leave a comment

Adrian Martinez, Staff Attorney, Environmental Justice, Santa Monica, California

Yesterday, during a marathon hearing that went past 5:30pm, the Los Angeles Board of Public Works took a huge step to a more sustainable future. You can read about the hearing here and here. It passed recommendations on how to improve LA’s waste system, while simultaneously reducing unnecessary truck pollution, reducing our dependence on space-hogging landfills, and helping resolve emerging environmental challenges like climate change. A broad array of environmental, environmental justice, community, faith-based, labor, and small business groups from the Don’t Waste LA Coalition participated to support the proposal.

Overall, the Board was swayed by the thorough job completed by the Bureau of Sanitation, which hired a consulting firm to analyze the benefits of various models of waste service and determine which system would have the smallest environmental footprint while still being financially feasible. The Bureau staff determined that an exclusive franchise would have the smallest environmental footprint of any option for reforming the commercial and multi-family sectors of LA’s waste industry. The exclusive franchise system being proposed would create 11 service areas in LA and have one hauler per service area. The proposal even said there would be ways to carve out areas for smaller enterprises, as opposed to solely going to the big four haulers which handle more than 85% of the waste contracts in the City’s commercial and multi-family sectors. An appropriately designed exclusive franchise system can have benefits ranging from a fairer rate structure, fewer dirty vehicle emissions and overlapping truck routes, the most aggressive diversion rate, and the highest reduction of impact from this industry in general.

I was struck during the hearing when one commenter claimed we do not need an exclusive system and that the above benefits could be achieved tomorrow without fundamental changes in the current system. If this is the case, then I challenge the industry to prove it. However, I am not going to hold my breath. I’m not confident that they will change their practices since they could have done so for decades. Now, I want to reiterate that there are many good actors in this sector. And, I am confident those folks will do well under a new system with standards. However, the lack of accountability and visibility in the system and the bad actors in the industry are bringing the whole system down. Because of this, I will continue to advocate for the exclusive franchise system because it provides the best environmental benefits and is the best solution for the City.

Hyperbole ran deep from the opponents of the Bureau of Sanitation’s plan. The main group organized to oppose rational reform of LA’s waste system was a new organization formed in October called Angelenos for a Clean Environment (ACE). Its members include the LA Chamber of Commerce, the Valley Industry Commerce Association, Central City Association and the Los Angeles County Disposal Association, amongst others. You can read more about them here. Essentially, ACE is a conglomeration of industry trade groups with a misleading name.

We should not be fooled by the rhetoric being promoted by ACE. The speakers they organized yesterday ranged in fanatical claims from concerns over small haulers to spread of fascism to the destruction of the American family. In focusing on the first argument, which may have a small nugget of legitimacy, it is important to understand that despite claiming 140 companies will be put out of business, only seven companies actually voiced concerns yesterday. And, many of the companies that the opponents claim will be impacted actually won’t be because they are exempted from the proposal. Asking them to testify is merely to maintain the status quo of a dirty and polluting system that benefits few on the backs of many.

Moreover the opposition expressed concern over the “thousands of jobs that would be lost” due to the new system; however, these claims appear to lack evidence. A recent report from the Blue Green Alliance found that you tap greater job creation when you increase recycling activities. I blogged about this report back in November.

NRDC will continue to advocate for the Bureau’s proposal to be implemented by the City Council. According to the Bureau’s consultant report submitted in January, only 19% of the waste in the commercial sector gets diverted from landfills. That is not a good record, and we need to improve this number to realize our zero waste goals. An exclusive franchise system is the best way to get there. Besides, there is too much at stake to allow City Councilmembers to be spooked by rhetoric and doomsday scenarios.

14 Feb 2012

The Path to Success in the Bay-Delta

Posted in Recycle / Reuse | Leave a comment

Barry Nelson, Senior Policy Analyst, Water Program, San Francisco

In his State of the State address, Governor Brown emphasized his commitment to developing a visionary Bay-Delta plan that will restore the estuary and its fish, and ensure a reliable water supply. Developing this plan will require hard work, but it can be done. The Bay Area has a great deal at stake. The Bay-Delta is the defining feature of our region. It provides a cornucopia of recreational opportunities and is a major reason why people choose to live here. But this ecosystem is in trouble, as shown by the plight of Chinook salmon.

A dozen rivers, draining 40 percent of California, funnel through the Golden Gate, the most important salmon system south of the Columbia River. But in 2008, 2009 and most of 2010, California’s salmon fishery was closed – the result of collapsing Bay-Delta runs-- putting thousands of fishermen out of work and costing the state a quarter billion dollars per year. One primary reason is increased water pumping from the Delta mostly for Central Valley agriculture. In some years, less than 40 percent of natural spring flows reach the Bay, starving the estuary of nutrients and imperiling young salmon.

But we don’t have to sacrifice salmon and the health of the Bay-Delta to meet water needs. There is a way to balance our water needs that would yield benefits for all. Two years ago, the legislature passed the Delta Reform Act, with a road map for the Delta. The Act established ecosystem protection as a “co-equal goal” for management, ending decades of narrow focus on increasing diversions. The law established a policy of reducing reliance on Delta water by increasing water efficiency. It also directed the State Water Resources Control Board to determine the flows needed for a healthy ecosystem. (They did so, concluding that restoring the Bay-Delta will require diverting far less.)

The legislature charted a path to success in the divisive debate over the Delta. A successful effort will mean less pumping and increased water conservation, water recycling and more – so that Central Valley farmers and Southern Californians can meet their needs with less Delta water. It will entail wetland restoration and flood protection investments. It might include a new facility to convey water around the Delta, if designed carefully and accompanied by strong protections built on a solid scientific foundation. Finally, it must be founded on fiscal reality. No public agency has resources to squander on overbuilt infrastructure.

Unfortunately, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, an ambitious process that is developing a long-term Bay-Delta conservation strategy, has focused almost exclusively on a massive new facility to pump more water from an ecosystem that is already flow-starved, and has largely ignored the scientific findings of the State Water Resources Control Board, the National Research Council, the Delta Independent Science Board and others. This isn’t the path to success.

Returning to the path the legislature established will require state and federal agency leadership. They can’t turn this process over to water users and must give all an equal role in shaping this critical plan.

If we work together to use the water we consume more wisely, we can continue to grow California’s economy, restore fishing jobs, and protect the heritage represented by this natural treasure. There’s no pretending that striking the right balance in the Bay-Delta is an easy task, but the legislature has pointed the way.

13 Feb 2012

NRDC in the News 2/13: State of the Union, Keystone XL end-run, marine mammals endangered by sonar and more…

Posted in Recycle / Reuse | Leave a comment

NRDC News, NRDC News Team, NRDC Offices Worldwide

Frances Beinecke was quoted in Environmental Magazine’s Earth Talk on the environmental implications of Obama’s State of the Union address and policies… Scott Slesinger spoke with Bloomberg BusinessWeek about Obama’s budget proposal to cut more than $40 billion in tax breaks for oil, gas and coal producers in the next decade and spend more for conservation and alternative energy, calling the proposal “forward-thinking”… Anthony Swift commented on a House Republican bill that would override Obama’s January rejection of a permit for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline in an Inside Climate News article…

Michael Jasny expressed concern in Canada’s Victoria Times Colonist about marine mammals exposed to sonar used by the Canadian Navy in Juan de Fuca Strait… In a Los Angeles Daily News article, Adrian Martinez commented on Los Angeles’ proposed recycling plan which supports the city’s recycling goals of recycling 90% of waste by 2025, saying the plan is a “key nut to crack to getting to zero waste”… Peter Hill discussed the cost and benefits of California’s revised renewable energy requirements in the Merced Sun-Star… An Environmental Magazine’s Earth Talk piece referred to an NRDC report, “U.S. Latinos and Air Pollution: A Call to Action,” highlighting the disproportionate health effects of air pollution on Latino populations in the U.S…

13 Feb 2012

City places that inspire romance (a gallery of walkability, part 2)

Posted in Recycle / Reuse | Leave a comment

Kaid Benfield, Director, Sustainable Communities, Washington, DC

London (photo by Chuck Wolfe)

There is a reason that romantic movies and novels are set in cities such as Paris, Rome, Prague, San Francisco, and New York. Or perhaps in picturesque historic towns and villages. And why they are seldom set in, say, sprawling Tysons Corner, Virginia or on Interstate Highway 610 during a Houston rush hour.

Love can happen anywhere, anytime - that's part of the wonderful magic of life - but the odds are much higher in nature or in a walkable city neighborhood (or both at the same time!) than in sprawl, or while driving in traffic. So this week, let's celebrate some of the world's more romantic walkable city places. London, above, has many of them.

Madrid (photo by Steve Mouzon)

Last year at this time, I posted a short essay titled, "What Do the World's Most Romantic Cities Have in Common?" These characteristics formed part of my answer:

Strong sense of place anchored by historic preservation
Lively, walkable, diverse downtowns
Compact development patterns
Extensive and well-used public transportation
Great public spaces for lively human interaction
Parks and quiet places mixed in with urbanity
Great traditional neighborhoods with a strong sense of community
Welcoming to people of diverse cultures

Tivoli Garden, Copenhagen (photo by La Citta Vita)

Two weeks ago, to mark my 1000th post as a blogger, I posted "A Gallery of Walkability," drawing from my own collection of photos. It took me a long time to put that together, but it was a labor of love. I promised then that I would do a follow-up featuring the work of other great photographers, including some of my enormously talented friends. This is the promised follow-up and assembling it, too, was a labor of love.

The top two photos above are by my friends Chuck Wolfe and Steve Mouzon, respectively. I'll say more about them below. The one just above from Copenhagen, a city whose walkability is legendary, is from La Citta Vita, whom I've never met. I've turned to LCV's photos, which are available for noncommercial use via creative commons license, often because they are so good at depicting the best of city life.

Market Street, San Francisco (photo by Payton Chung)

I think Payton may be the only one of my photographer friends whom I have known longer in person than online. His photo above is fantastic. Read his blog here.

New York City (photo by Ed Yourdon)

Ed Yourdon is like La Citta Vita in that I use his great photos, in his case often of New York City, time and again.

Paris (photo by Steve Mouzon)

Steve Mouzon is not just one of my favorite photographers but also one of my favorite thinkers and writers about sustainability. His book Original Green deserves to become a classic. The scene above virtually defines "romantic city place."

Tokyo (photo by Payton Chung)

(Amsterdam (photo by Claudio Alejandro Mufarrege)

Amsterdam has not only romantic beauty but an approach to urbanism that allows over half of all trips to be made by walking, bicycling, or public transportation.

Miami Beach (photo by digitalkunde)

Miami Beach has a lot going for it, including that it is amazingly conducive to a lifestyle based on walking. The City of Miami may also be headed in that direction, thanks to a new zoning code whose writing and adoption was led by my colleague on the Smart Growth America board, Ana Gelabert-Sanchez, named "public official of the year" in 2010.

la Promenade Plantee, Paris (photo by Fiona Cullinan)

New York’s City’s hugely successful and justly celebrated High Line wasn’t the first elevated urban railroad bed to be converted into a much-loved linear park. As I wrote last year in a Bastille Day tribute to the Promenade Plantee in Paris, NYC planning director Amanda Burden acknowledges the wonderful French park as the model for the newer one in New York.

North Beach, San Francisco (photo by Payton Chung)

Union Station, Washington, DC (photo by Pedro Szekely)

I made a point to note in my walkability gallery two weeks ago that a great urban public space needn't be outdoors. Likewise for one that inspires romance. This spectacular photo of DC's Union Station shows why.

Florence/Firenze (photo by Chuck Wolfe)

This is another of Chuck Wolfe's fine photos. If you can't feel a romantic tingle in a magnificent public square in Florence while listening to classical guitar, you may have a problem. Which makes me wonder about that guy in the foreground.

Chuck is a prolific writer who places his work in The Huffington Post, The Atlantic Cities, the Sustainable Cities Collective, several publications in the Pacific Northwest, on his own blog myurbanist and likely in additional places I haven't discovered yet. He usually builds his writing around images, most frequently his own. I frequently use his postings as a starting point for my own writing, as I did in this autobiographical essay on how I imagined cities as a kid.

Madrid (photo by Steve Mouzon)

And this is another of Steve's. City parks can add immeasurably to our well-being and can even help spur revitalization of distressed neighborhoods. Unfortunately, budget squeezes are forcing some cities to reduce their budgets to maintain and improve them.

Puerto Cruz de Tenerife (photo by esSos.de)

Portland, Maine (photo by Jane LaFleur)

City markets are great places to take a special friend and enjoy the flavor (sometimes literally) of a city. This photo is by my friend Jane LaFleur, who directs Friends of Midcoast Maine. Last fall, I wrote about some of her outstanding work furthering citizen engagement in community planning.

Monemvasia (Greece) (photo by Robert Wallace)

I love this photo, of an obviously romantic place I have never personally visited.

Saint-Raphael, France (photo by Chuck Wolfe)

This photo evokes a memory of a visit I made to Avignon some time back. I want to go again.

Grand' Place, Brussels (photo by Vase Petrovski)

La Grand' Place, a World Heritage Site, is without question one of the most magnificent city squares in the world.

Brooklyn Heights, NY (by Josh Libatique); Copenhagen (by Niels Andersen)

These two photos speak pretty well for themselves, no?

Georgetown, Washington, DC (photo by Dmitri Lyakhov)

As an unabashed lover of all things non-political about Washington (and some would be surprised at how little the real DC has to do with politics), I may love Georgetown's back streets and pathways most of all.

Third Ward, Milwaukee (photo by John December)

When I announced that I was going to do this gallery, John December offered up this photo of a historic neighborhood in Milwaukee. There is something inherently impressionistic about historic neighborhoods, because they engage our imagination. They also tend to be inherently green. Milwaukee, by the way, hosts a development-in-progress that is poised to become perhaps the nation's most ambitious example of adaptive reuse of older buildings.

New York City (photo by La Citta Vita)

This looks like Paris but is really New York. What a wonderful evocation of romance by La Citta Vita. I compiled my own bit of homage to a romantic New York City evening here.

Capital Crescent Trail, Montgomery County, MD (photo by M.V. Jantzen)

I have found no better photographer of the real Washington, DC region than M.V. Jantzen, who wonderfully licenses his work for noncommercial use via a creative commons license. He also writes an eclectic blog.

I can't tell you how many times I have bicycled through the Dalecarlia Tunnel on the Capital Crescent Trail, shown above. It must be well over a hundred. I wrote about cycling last fall.

Place des Abbesses, Paris (photo by La Citta Vita)

Ibeza (photo by Trey Ratcliffe)

In the end, sustainability is profoundly linked to place, and best when linked to places we love (more about that soon). For me, these photos show why we care when it comes to cities. Many thanks to the generosity of these photographers in sharing their work.

Move your cursor over the images for credit information.

Kaid Benfield writes (almost) daily about community, development, and the environment. For more posts, see his blog's home page.

Archive for the ‘Recycle / Reuse’ Category

FOLLOW US

Latest Posts

Categories

Previously on ICG . . .

User:
Password:

User:
E-mail:

User:
E-mail: