Sustainability

Personal Rapid Transit for San Jose Airport?

The City of San José, CA is reviewing proposals from 18 companies to create a PRT system connecting the airport to other transportation modes.
16 December 2008 - 10:00am
ABC KGO TV 7 - San Francisco

Growing People And Jobs While Shrinking Traffic

As New York City faces its worst financial crisis in 2 decades, a NYC D.O.T. study was released showing that from 2003-2007, the increase in jobs and people was accompanied by a slight decrease in traffic due primarily to increased transit usage.
15 December 2008 - 2:00pm
The New York Times

What Green Architecture Really Means

Architect David Cook looks at the sustainability craze in building and architecture and warns that calling something "green" doesn't necessarily make it so.
8 December 2008 - 6:00am
Flavorwire

Draft EIR on SF's Bike Plan Released

A court order prohibits new bicycle infrastructure in San Francisco, but its Municipal Transportation Agency and Planning Department have crafted a 1,353-page Draft Environmental Impact Report to make a case against it.
5 December 2008 - 11:00am
Streetsblog

Colossal Sprawl in Greater Toronto

Tue, 12/02/2008 - 09:47

"Why did nobody notice it? If these things were so large, how come everyone missed them?" - Queen Elizabeth, on the global credit crunch.

Things are so large in the Vaughan Corporate Centre, an edge city about 20 kilometres northwest of downtown Toronto, that a cross-section of Vancouver's downtown peninsula, from False Creek to Lost Lagoon, could fit within five of its blocks.

There's a street named Colossus, leading to a cineplex of the same name. The overpass and ramps of the adjacent freeways take up an area the size of the West End. They in turn are surrounded by acres of emptiness, just grass and dirt, awaiting more big boxes, more asphalt.

Why It's Different This Time

Historically, green initiatives come about as responses to energy crises, but are abandoned when oil prices drop and the economy busts. This time around, though, that's less likely to happen.
29 October 2008 - 8:00am
NPR

300% More Oxygen: The Guardian Examines Greenwashing

In a new weekly column, Fred Pearce of The Guardian examines corporate and municipal claims to sustainability.
27 October 2008 - 12:00pm
The Guardian

How to Make San Francisco More Sustainable

As part of its series on creating a sustainable future, the San Francisco Bay Guardian has outlined a list of steps for improving land use in the city, and argues that current plans from the mayor won't be enough.
25 October 2008 - 9:00am
The San Francisco Bay Guardian

Chilling in Honolulu

Honolulu is moving ahead with an ambitious plan to use deep seawater as a natural air conditioning for downtown buildings. The system should be in place for up to 40 clients by 2010.
18 October 2008 - 5:00am
Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Green Technology for Cities

Writing from the Connected Urban Development conference in Amsterdam, reporter Scott Smith says that "the sustainable future will be a networked future."
10 October 2008 - 11:00am
WorldChanging

Doug Farr on Detroit, His Hometown

A Detroit weekly talks to Doug Farr about his life growing up in Detroit and his ideas for bringing sustainable urbanism to the city.
30 September 2008 - 6:00am
Model D

'Sustainability Toolbar' Released for Google Sketchup

Integrated Environmental Solutions is releasing a free plug-in for Google's SketchUp software that allows users to run sustainability performance simulations.
29 August 2008 - 12:00pm
Residential Architect Online

Do Sustainable Buildings Need to Be Ugly?

As the number of sustainable buildings increase rapidly, ecologically friendly designs are shedding an ugly past for a sleeker and more striking future.
14 July 2008 - 1:00pm
The Christian Science Monitor

It's Not That Easy Greening Your Fleet

Austin and a number of other cities are working to reduce the carbon footprint left by their fleets of city vehicles. Austin officials are looking for ways to offset their remaining emissions.
3 July 2008 - 11:00am
Austin American-Statesman

The Green City of the Future

This multimedia presentation from Popular Science offers a vision of future green cities and the technologies that will sustain them.
29 June 2008 - 5:00am
Popular Science

Tornado Clears Way for LEED Platinum Building

The 5-4-7 Arts Center in Greensburg, Kansas gets a LEED platinum designation- evidence that the town, which was 95% destroyed by a tornado in May, 2006, is making good on its sustainable rebuilding plan.
13 June 2008 - 10:00am
Kiowa County Singnal

Beyond the Backyard Garden: Urban Agriculture

Thanks to industrialized agriculture, there’s a wide gulf between those who produce food and those who consume it. Too many city-dwellers lack access to nutritious, non-processed foods. Dave Steel thinks that urban agriculture is the key.
11 June 2008 - 12:00pm
The Next American City

Comprehensive Analysis of Transit Energy Conservation Benefits

Tue, 05/27/2008 - 09:54

A recent report by the libertarian Cato Institute, Does Rail Transit Save Energy or Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions?, claims that public transit service improvements are ineffective at conserving energy and reducing pollution emissions. But this conclusion is based on faulty analysis.

An Alternative to the Water Bottle: Public Fountains

Awareness is increasing of the evils of the ubiquitous plastic water bottle. Elizabeth Royte suggests a solution- the return of the public fountain, a neglected staple of yesteryear.
26 May 2008 - 7:00am
The New York Times

Don't Fill-er-up With Stupidity

Sun, 05/18/2008 - 07:59

People’s response to death typically proceeds through various stages: disbelief, denial, anger, bargaining, guilt, and eventually acceptance and hope. Motorists’ response to increased fuel price seems to follow similar stages:

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