Practical solutions for people + planet

Urban Environmentalism

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Let's discuss ideas and action regarding sustainability in an urban environment. What unique challenges do we face as we pursue the sustainable lifestyle?

Website: http://bioneers.org
Location: Global
Members: 52
Latest Activity: Nov 3

Read of the Week

Bioneers community member Teo posts a report on blindspots at the American Planning Association meeting last week in Las Vegas.

Indeed, the whole conference was somewhat discouraging to me: a massive missed opportunity to address sustainable community planning in this most unsustainable of cities. Not only was there not a single session on what was wrong with Las Vegas (and there is plenty to be learned from, there), the closing speaker, New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger, largely focused on how Las Vegas was an extreme extension of American anti-urbanism (per Venturi et al's groundbreaking 1972 book Learning from Las Vegas) that nevertheless has become 'accidentally urban' thanks to the massive pedestrian traffic the Strip generates.

[Photo from Mongabay.com]

Discussion Forum

Micro-farming in the city? 3 Replies

Started by Afriendof B. Last reply by Louis Loizou Dec. 19, 2008.

Your garden is ruining my view... of the lawn 2 Replies

Started by Chantal. Last reply by House Sparrows Academy Oct. 12, 2008.

How to lure people back to the urban core? 12 Replies

Started by Chantal. Last reply by Nicole Maron May. 14, 2008.

Urban edibles

Started by Afriendof B Feb. 27, 2008.

Bees & other good ideas for 2008 2 Replies

Started by Chantal. Last reply by Chantal Jan. 17, 2008.

Comment Wall (8 comments)

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8 Comments

Comment by LizM - Hyperlocavore.com on March 3, 2009 at 10:23pm: Hi Folks!

While living in NYC for 10 years, and seeing CSA waiting lists get longer and longer and community garden plots getting harder to come by, I came up with the idea of yardsharing or group gardens.

It's likely not a solution in all cases but for many people it will work out just fine. All kinds of groups can form yardshares - a group of friends, church members, family members, neighbors or just like minded people who find each other.

I set up hyperlocavore.com to help people find and manage yardsharing groups.

It's an idea that is already happening in the UK, Canada and Portland Or.

Please share the link with anyone you think might be able to make use of it!

LizM

Comment by Peter Roberts on October 24, 2008 at 8:24pm: Hi all. Looks like a good group with lots to offer. I hope to have something to offer.
pete the heat

Comment by Daniel R. Seidel on June 26, 2008 at 7:04am: Small buildings house, greenhouses, barns, apt buildings can use the boiler furnace tech NOW. Can run water pipes through boier for hot water as well (in addition to passive solar hot water heaters one can put in on the cheap - code compliant). How many of you with oil and /or nat gas/propane have made the switch? Creates green jobs as well as getting the farmers to grow the grasses on marginal lands. What's not to like? Then there is the value added of CO2 offsets - crteate enough offsets as per KYOTO standards and sell them (the non use of fossil fuels can be measured, documented and sold, in addition to the sequestration of CO2 by root mass of grasses).

Comment by Daniel R. Seidel on June 26, 2008 at 7:01am: sorry: quite well. Went from 360 therms in Dec to less than 80 in Feb to 70 in March - nat gas fired house. Kept temp on first floor to between 68-76 F. (3 story house - old tudor). 2nd fl was about 62, 3rd about 58-60. Savewd about $400 per month. next year should be double. This is something we can all do NOW - technology and tax credits exists NOW.

Comment by Daniel R. Seidel on June 26, 2008 at 6:58am: Okay, so who's talking and who's walking? How about all you urban designers making room for pellet stove/furnace/boiler technology in your sustainable buildings to supplanat the use of oil/nat gas? Pellet stoves (modern) emit far fewer PMs (partic matter) than #2 oil - some below nat gas. Price? about $200-300 per ton (heats about 2500 sq ft for one month). BTU value for wood pellets is about 8400 per lb. Waxy cardboard/cardboard is about 11,000 per lb. Add native grasses (switchgrass/reed canary) with the waxy cardboard and you get about 10,000-11,000 depending upon the blend. Design your buildings/houses with old ":coal chutes" for pellet deliveries by milk trucks type vehicles (negative pressures feeds into your basement hopper). For my 3000 sq ft house in White Plains NY - I started with use of a Bixby maxfire 115 biomass pellet stove (burns any pellet type fuel q

Comment by Swan on June 13, 2008 at 12:37pm: Just joined. That's the view out my bedroom window. More about what I'm doing in my blog and at http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com

Comment by Afriendof B on April 15, 2008 at 7:22pm: Hey you urbanites,
found a link that may have some ideas. seems that a lot of urban stuff is happening in the u.k. and e.u. check it out and post your thoughts.
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/

Comment by Laura Fox on April 4, 2008 at 10:33pm: Aloha! I'm in Fairfax, working on the Harmony Festival Eco Village for 2008. I would LOVE your input on exhibits as one of my focuses this year is Greening Our Cities, along with Eco City, Eco Village and Sustainable Community Design & Exploration.