From the category archives:
A weekend trip to Taos, New Mexico provided an opportunity to stop by Earthship Biotecture and take a self-guided tour in this showcase for the Greater World Earthship Community. This highly sustainable systems-based structure is the brainchild of Michael Reynolds, and has been evolving since 1969. Taos is the highest concentration of these structures, but [...]
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The use of 3D printing for rapid prototyping in manufacturing has taken hold and led to many interesting business models according to story in today’s New York Times. One innovative company, Contour Crafting in Los Angeles, has even scaled to the point where they’re aiming to print full-size buildings with a machine the size of [...]
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The folks behind the Code for America contest that promoted the development of applications that take city data and turn it into useful citizen-centric software have taken a next step by creating Civic Commons to share the technology for the public good. The concept is to morph city-centric development into a means to share government [...]
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Geospatial analysis of New Jersey land development over the past two decades by Rutgers and Rowan universities show that the state’s sprawl is approaching completion. Their analysis indicates that the state has just one million acres left of developable land after the most active development period the state had seen between 1986 and 2007. The [...]
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When the world’s leaders gather in Seoul, Korea for the G20 Seoul Summit in November to discuss the global recovery and stronger economic growth, the Korean government will bring the attention of the G20 Leaders to the their theme of green growth as a catalyst for global cooperation. Korea has been working actively in an [...]
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Southern Sudan is in a long-term planning stage after recovering from a 21-year civil war that ended in 2005, and is contemplating the redesign of the region’s largest cities into animal-shaped urban centers. The thought is to plan the capital Juba into the shape of a rhinoceros, and the second-largest city, Wau, as a giraffe. [...]
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David Cameron, the new prime minister of the United Kingdom, is promoting the Big Society Network to help empower citizens to affect change. The aim is to harness the energy of individuals and to create new relationships between citizens and government that focus on actions rather than top-down policy. This initiative aims to harness the [...]
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new technical assistance program to help state capital cities design more sustainable communities. Greening America’s Capitals is a competitive program where four cities per year will be selected and assisted to develop environmentally friendly neighborhoods that incorporate innovative green building and green infrastructure. This is a [...]
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The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) has selected pilot projects to test a national rating system for sustainable landscape design, construction and maintenance. more than 150 sites have been selected, including educational centers, transportation corridors, industrial complexes and private residences. Each will employ the guidelines and performance benchmarks outlined in the SITES Rating System. SITES represents [...]
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The second-day keynote at the BeTogether event in Philadelphia this week addressed the topic of sustaining infrastructure, with a panel of three speakers and interactive discussion. Norbert Young, the chair of Bentley’s Infrastructure Ambassador Council and director of Duck Cove Associates, put the issue of sustaining infrastructure in context of global shifts and challenges with [...]
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