Green Design » Resource – Shelter

Watch This Video: City-Based Ecovillages

WorldChanging Team — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:06:07 +0000

Streetfilms posted a film today called Los Angeles’ Eco-Village, which takes a closer look at the benefits of this alternative type of housing. The film's presenters take you behind the scenes to show you how this particular ecovillage, located only two miles from downtown LA, functions as a sustainable community within the city. You can read more about ecovillages by checking out Alex Steffen's piece on the power of intentional communities, or Chris Turner's article on rural ecovillages.

by Nick Whitaker

Last Summer contributor Nicholas Whitaker had the opportunity to visit the Eco-Village in LA, to see what it's like to practice more sustainable ways of living, while having a lesser negative impact on the environment. In the third installment of Lessons from LA, the people who work and live at the LA Eco-Village show how even in an urban setting, there are ways to live closer to the earth and in better harmony with the people and environment around you.

"An ecovillage is a human scale neighborhood where people know their neighbors and care about them. People can live close to where they work and play and have access to other essential services without use of automobiles. Together, neighbors try to minimize waste and pollution of all kinds. Residents and friends work together to create a healthy community socially, physically and economically.

Urban ecovillages work with surrounding neighborhoods and the city at large to bring a whole systems perspective to urban planning and community development activities. The L.A. Eco-Village Demonstration is part of an international network of sustainable neighborhood groups which seek to model healthier ways of living based on environmental sustainability and social and economic justice." (ecovillage.org)

Editor's note: This video post comes to us from our Worldchanging allies at Streetfilms. The site is a part of the Livable Streets Network, an online community for people who are working to create sustainable cities through sensible urban planning, design, and transportation policy. Streetfilms, and their sister sites, serve as a conversation hub where people can actively discuss, report and reflect on the creation and evolution of this movement.

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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Resource - Shelter at 4:06 PM)

Sustainable Cooking Stoves

WorldChanging Team — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:00:58 +0000

by David Lehr

Energy poverty in the developing world is a complex and ongoing problem with serious impacts on health, economic growth, and the overall environment. The impact on the poor is particularly felt in their day to day needs for cooking fuel – much of it coming from either oil or gas - or from the decreasing availability of freely collected fuels such as firewood or its derivative, charcoal.

Growing price volatility for these products has created shortages of fuel and increasing uncertainty around meeting basic needs. Indoor pollution from smoke contributes to health problems such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancers and eye diseases, and of course there are ongoing risks or burns and fire from unstable cooking pots and stoves.

As I have learned more about these issues and cooking fuel in particular, I was surprised at both just how complex they are and the number of organizations trying to find "better stove solutions," including giants such as the FAO, Oxfam, and Shell Foundation to much smaller organizations such as Mayan Families, The Escorts Foundation, Envirofit, and the Chimp-n-Sea Wildlife Conservation Fund.

These organizations are all either donating stoves, or providing funding to local organizations and communities so that they can either purchase or build their own stoves. The focus has been almost exclusively on improving efficiencies around wood burning, and most of the designs are based on the rocket stove, whose creation is widely attributed to Larry Winiarski from Aprovecho.

There are other alternatives that have the potential to move away from wood and fossil fuels altogether which I will write about in future posts. One of the more interesting wood fuel organizations I have seen is Stove Team International in Eugene, Oregon. Their approach has been to set up small factories in Central America that produce affordable and fuel-efficient stoves, largely initially using volunteer labor and small grants to cover the costs of construction. Ultimately, however, they are one of the few organizations actually selling their stoves and using a business approach to increase their sustainability and avoid creating a "hand out" mentality. Over 4,200 of their stoves have been sold in the last year.

Stove Team produces stoves from local materials that sell for $40 with the grants covering $20 and the end user paying a final price of $20 (often equivalent to the costs for a two or three week supply of firewood). The money is collected in payments of $5 a month for four months. In addition to helping address the above health, environment and cost concerns, the factories are run by locals, so employment opportunities increase as well.

The stoves – called Ecocinas– use 50 to 70 percent less fuel than traditional stoves or open fires and emit 70 percent less smoke. They generally cook food quickly, freeing up time for their users. The stoves also can be easily carried outside, which also reduces indoor pollution.

Today Stove Team has factories in El Salvador and Guatemala and they are planning to expand to other countries as funding becomes available. They are also working on getting their stoves certified so that they can receive carbon credits and further decrease their need for grant monies.

David Lehr has over 15 years of experience in international business and development focused primarily on information communication technologies and job creation and is currently Senior Advisor, Social Innovations at Mercy Corps. He has consulted for several non-profits, including Acumen Fund and Gates Foundation on issues related to technology and poverty alleviation.

This piece originally appeared on the NextBillion

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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Resource - Shelter at 1:00 PM)

Resource: Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism

Morgan Greenseth — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 20:08:30 +0000

Throughout history, some architects have earned reputations as egoists who want to impose their ideals on culture through their massive structures. Industry masters are often viewed as untouchable, as few can afford their services. Not to mention, the majority of highest-profile buildings tend to be located in the urban environment, culturally and geographically removed from rural and agrarian communities, who often are equally in need of good design.

But the role of today's architect is changing. I recently read a collection of excellent accounts of architects and designers who are bridging those gaps, and becoming engaged citizens, in the book Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism edited by Bryan Bell and Katie Wakeford. This visually rich book, (published by Metropolis) is an inspiring read for anyone, but its clear and instructive descriptions also make it a reference book of sorts for those interested in acting through architecture.

This book presents diverse examples of architectural projects directed towards the greater public good, in stories told from the perspectives of the architects. The stories aren't about the individuals themselves, but about their experiences. As they discuss projects that range from a public transit shelter in a disadvantaged neighborhood to new dwellings in a rural part of Taiwan, each designer describes the design process, challenges they faced and the proposed solutions. Some explain in first person; others speak along with their team as a whole; some speak more at a distance. Through stories told this way, we view the architects and the projects on a more personal level, rather than as typical textbook descriptions.

With detailed accounts of projects located both in the United States and abroad, the book shows how architects have met the needs of people in all types of development. One chapter described the Social, Economic and Environmental Design Network (SEED), a group that emerged from a meeting in 2005 at Harvard, where attendees discussed ways for architecture to help communities. One of their first efforts was in New Orleans, where they helped local residents by teaching them to build furniture from salvaged materials, thereby created jobs as well as the needed furniture. Their work became the Katrina Furniture Project. One of the designs, a church pew made from debris, was used in many of the rebuilt churches that had been destroyed.

Another group profiled in the book is Platforma 9.81 in Croatia. This creative group is all about reclaiming public spaces. They have "taken over" abandoned properties and created public events such as theatre openings and art shows. Platforma 9.81 re-envisions these structures, and sees how they can use them to add meaningful interaction and experience to their community.

Expanding Architecture is arranged into eight chapters of various topics that allow designers of all interests to relate. As a professional designer, I found it easy to be inspired by a project. What I found extremely helpful was that this book offered guidance on how to proceed with projects in a similar way to those described, showing me exactly how I could make a difference myself. The architects profiled discuss their processes step by step, telling what worked and the actions they took.

And the stories also discuss how designers overcame challenges mid-project. For example, during the Design Corps Summer Studio in Asheville, NC, the group's bus shelter design came to a halt when a police officer joined the discussion mid-project and opposed the location of the proposed site. By working with the policeman, the group was able to select a new site near a park with a stream, which turned out to be more beneficial to their project.

The actual design of the book facilitates its use as a valuable reference. Graphics, color-coded chapters, block quotes and overall organization combine to allow easy perusing, whether you enjoy reading from cover to cover or just flipping through.

Architects and designers are uniquely poised to help communities around the world solve pressing human problems such as the need for shelter, the need to rebuild in the face of natural disaster, and the need to craft a built environment that uses the Earth's resources sparingly and efficiently. It's wonderful to have a collection of stories that so strongly makes this point, by showing the broad array of projects that are already making a difference, and hopefully inspiring more like them in the future.

For those who have already read the book and want to discuss, and learn more, Metropolis Magazine is hosting Conversations on Design as Activism.

Morgan Greenseth is an interior designer living in Seattle. She currently designs hospitality and retail spaces, but is also focused on public spaces.

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(Posted by Morgan Greenseth in Resource - Shelter at 12:08 PM)

Loan Payday

Clark Williams-Derry — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:11:41 +0000

California's innovative energy efficiency loans are a model worth copying.

A request: if you a) have anything to do with city or county government, and b) have any interest in, or authority over, property taxes, finance, or energy efficiency, please drop whatever you're doing for two minutes, and skim this article.

Oh, all right, I bet you didn't actually hit the link. So to make your job easier, I'll pull a quote or two.

California [just] enacted a law that allows cities and counties to make low-interest loans to homeowners and businesses to install solar panels, high-efficiency air conditioners and other energy-saving improvements.

Participants can pay back the loans over decades through property taxes. And if a property owner sells his home or business, the loan balance is transferred to the next owner, along with the improvements. [Emphasis added.]

I don't think that I emphasize this enough, so I'll use capital letters: THIS IS TRULY GROUNDBREAKING. In fact, it may well be among the top three climate policies ever adopted by the state. I hope that other states follow suit soon -- even if it means fixing the state constitution. (Cough*Washington*cough).

Why am I getting all exercised about this? Because energy efficiency is a truly awesome investment opportunity. There are hundreds of energy saving measures -- new appliances, new insulation, new heating systems, you name it -- that cost a little bit of money up front, but recoup their costs within 3 years or less. After that, the cost savings from efficiency are gravy -- they keep adding up, helping out home or business budgets for years or even decades. Investments in efficiency are a great way to boost finances, goose the economy, and save the climate -- all in one easy step.

But even though it's a great investment, most of us vastly under-spend on energy efficiency. It's actually pretty astonishing: we think that 3 percent is a pretty good rate for a savings account, but we often turn up our noses at efficiency opportunities that yield returns of 60 percent or more.

Some of this is just plain consumer irrationality: many of us are leaving money on the table for now good reason. But there are plenty of perfectly rational reasons we don't invest as much as we should in efficiency:

The up-front costs can be daunting. A super-efficient furnace, for example, may cost $1,000 more than a less-efficient model. A thousand bucks seems like a lot to spend to save a few bucks a month. If you don't have that kind of money to throw around, you'll have to take out a loan -- which is an expensive and time consuming nuisance, and could affect your credit-worthiness for other loans.
Homeowners aren't sure they can recoup the costs. A furnace upgrade might start paying for itself within 10 years. But by that time, the original homeowner who made the purchase could be long gone. And since experience suggests that home buyers aren't willing to pay much for a new furnace, there's often no way for a homeowner to recoup their money on efficiency investments.
Uncertainty is scary. It's hard to know in advance how much you'll save on utility bills with any particular efficiency upgrade. Will the extra efficiency pay for itself within 5 years, or 10, or never? That sort of uncertainty is intimidating for someone considering a major purchase.

So the reason why I'm so excited by California's new law is that it absolutely shatters these legitimate financial barriers. The loan from the city eliminates up-front costs. Financing the loan with property taxes means that homeowners don't have to worry about their own credit, or whether a new homeowner will pick up the costs. And a well-designed program, with low government-backed loan rates, will eliminate much of the uncertainty -- homeowners will save starting on day one, without having to wonder when their investment will pay for itself. The only financial uncertainty: will they save a lot on utility bills, or only a little?

As I discovered with my own home, financing efficiency investments can make good sense--but the conditions have to be just right. But with this sort of program, many families will find that there's simply no reason NOT to opt for an efficiency upgrade. Well, there's always inertia and procrastination, but I know of no government program that'll fix that.

Of course, this isn't the first time I've been bullish on using creative financing to fix some of the market failures that inhibit energy efficiency. Time will tell whether my optimism is justified. But in the meantime, I'm going to be watching California, to see whether this idea will get some momentum.

[Photo courtesy of Go Solar California Go Solar California.]

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(Posted by Clark Williams-Derry in Resource - Shelter at 1:11 PM)