Renewable City Toolbox

The potential for renewable is immense. In urban centres, many efforts are being made to utilize all potential of the natural and renewable energy to reduce costs and improve efficiency and quality in urban environments. Especially in smaller developing cities where there is more opportunity to test new and innovative technologies.

In the book 'Renewable City', Droege sums up the tool that could be used given the source of renewable energy available.

- Solar energy - could be captured by photovoltaics and solar-thermal systems - largely used in commercial, residential or industrial buildings, or in rural areas as well.

- Wind energy - captured by turbines - for its size and impacts it could be used in remote areas or remote buildings. However in smaller scale it can also be used on the top of high rise buildings.

- Bio-energy - biofuels - used in power stations and for transport systems, causing less impact on the environment.

- Ocean energy - thermal, tidal power or wave energy - this source of energy can be largely used in coastal regions, however it is still not fully developed.

Source: Droege, P 2005, The Renewable City: A Comprehensive guide to an urban revolution, Wiley, Chichester.

Image Source: Kuat, H 2013, 'Alternative Renewable Energy Sources', accessed 17 May 2014 < http://technologygreenenergy.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/alternative-renewable-energy-sources.html>

Curitiba's Efficient Transport

One of the major examples of efficient mass rapid transit in the case of Curitiba, Brazil. Implementing bus exclusive lanes, the government has reduced transport fuel consumption to 1/4 bellow any other Brazilian city. This initiative has inspired other cities in South America, as Quito and Bogotá - cited in a previous post.

The intent of the three times Major Jaime Lerner - also architect and urban planner - was to protect the city centre from the trend of massive increasing of car ownership during the 70s. For that, there was a large investment in public transport infrastructure and the opening of exclusive bus lanes, connecting all areas of the city.

Also, lower speed streets, and pedestrian exclusive streets were opening, improving safety in central areas streets and encouraging people to walk. In business district, only local traffic is allowed and lots of streets are still dedicated to pedestrians.

After the 70s, the system was continuously improved and single fare systems were implemented allowing low-income people living in distant areas to use the system easily. The system today transport 36 thousand people per hour in one direction costing one hudred times less than a subway rail system. Considering that 70% of the total journeys are made using public transport, it is clear its success.

Text Sources: Galvao, R 2007, Jaime Lerner: o realizador de sonhos, Planeta Sustentavel, accessed 17 May 2014 < http://planetasustentavel.abril.com.br/noticia/cidade/conteudo_258392.shtml>

Droege, P 2005, The Renewable City: A Comprehensive guide to an urban revolution, Wiley, Chichester.

Macedo, J 2004, 'Curitiba', in Citites, 21:6, accessed 17 May 2014 < http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275104001003>

Image Source: Dubiginski, D 2011, 'Onibus de Curitiba, accessed 14 May 2014 < http://www.onibusdecuritiba.com.br/expresso/>

Reducing Fossil Fuel in Transport

Transport has a large impact on the environment as it demands large amounts of land and energy, and pollutes the environment by burning fuel and splitting oil and other pollutants on the ground that affects directly the environment. Considering that, urban planning policies in many cities are trying to reduce fossil fuel in transport and its impacts.

Singapore - planning and pricing - The integration of land use and transport begun in the 70s with housing and settlement policies aiming to delivery affordable high-rise buildings in mixed use areas connected to mass rapid transit systems. Since then, the government introduced policies to reduce car ownership based on price, to encourage the use of public transport.

Quito - unifying transport systems - The government has invested in transport infrastructure creating trolley-bus corridors linked to a lines of regular buses. The trolley buses can accommodate 180 passengers and the regular buses 80, and the link between those saved time and money for passengers and contributed to reduce air pollution levels.

Bogotá - banking on buses - In one of the most densely cities, the government implemented a bus rapid transit to reduce congested streets - speed average of 10km/h in rush hours. Bus exclusive lanes were created 230km of a network of bicycle lanes, and also private cars were banned to circulate on central areas during rush hours.

Source: Droege, P 2005, The Renewable City: A Comprehensive guide to an urban revolution, Wiley, Chichester.

Reinventing Fire

Amory Lovins in an American environmental scientist and the writer of the book `Reinventing Fire`.  In this book, Lovins talks about the use of natural and renewable energy and how we could improve our effectiveness in producing energy. The aim is to show how countries - despite that he talks specifically using U.S. data as examples - could still have profitable energy business without using oil and coal by 2050. As we consider that in the U.S. 90% of the energy comes from oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear, it seem a big - and possible change.

In the following video, Lovins talks about how it could be possible by being more efficient and even more profitable by restructuring systems network, and how it could save U$5 trillion and support a 158% bigger economy - for example: reducing military forces costs; triple vehicles efficiency and later produce them for using electric energy, and also by rethinking the urban policies related to vehicles mobility in urban centres; triple the energy efficiency in buildings; and many other examples, all of them having energy efficiency and renewable on the top.

Source: Lovins, A 2011, Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era, Chelsea Green, White River Junction, Vermont.

Great Lakes Century

The Great Lakes Region - US and Canada - has 192 million acres and contain 21% of the word's fresh water and somehow the development of some areas has contributed to decrease water levels and rise the pollution.

To avoid that and preserve the lake's clean water for this and future generations, the master plan project developed for SOM - Skidmore, Owings & Merrill - intends to protect and revitalize this area in a plan for the next 100 years. By doing this, SOM engaged with scientists, politicians, environmentalists, and advocates in a proposal that was approved by the 95 Mayors of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities.

The main argument for this plan is the appearing of invasive species - Asian carp, air pollution - from coal-fired power plants, agriculture runoff - nourishes algae plants and leads to aquatic dead zones, and hard surface covering on nearby cities that flush stormwater and overflow sewers - spoiling beaches after heavy rains. And of course, the increasing population that without any planning worsen the conditions.

It is without a doubt a challenge to develop such a large plan and to work with different planning rules - which in the U.S. are locally controlled, tight money for infrastructure, and short election cycles, but only working in large scale and engaging with all members involved in the urban development and in the maintenance of the natural resources a plan to keep safe a precious natural environment like this can be successful.

More about the project here.

Text and Image Sources:  Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 2011, The Great Lakes Century, accessed 03 May 2014 < http://thegreatlakescenturyblog.som.com/about-us/ >

Litt, S 2013, Game Changers - Planning: The Great Lakes Century, accessed 03 May 2014 < http://www.metropolismag.com/January-2013/Game-Changers-Planning-The-Great-Lakes-Century/>

Wadi Hanifah Restoration

The Hanifah valley in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, rises in central Arabia and runs for 120km to southeast until the sands of the Empty Quarter desert. This watercourse is a landmark in Riyadh's landscape but it has been treated as an open sewer after the 70s when rapid growth overwhelmed the local environment.

Since 2001, the local development authority has worked with landscape architects and engineers in a project of restoration of this whole area by cleaning, landscaping and replanting native flora. It uses natural processes to improve the environmental conditions.

The landscape architects created ponds with algae that feeds fish and molluscs and the natural oxygenation system helps to diminish the pollution levels of the water. This was the first project to use this system in a large scale and now that it has been successful scientists are trying to use this technology in other cities.

By improving the environmental conditions the project also improved the economy and the health of the population with better air, water, and visual conditions, and so, creating also a place for public use, something unseen until then.

Image Source: Aga Khan Development Network, 2010, Wadi Hanifa Wetlands, Accessed 02 May 2014 <http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project.asp?id=2258>

Text Source: Environmental Management & Protection Department, 2002, Wadi Hanifah Comprehensive Development Plan - Executive Summary, accessed 02 May 2014 <http://www.unesco.org/culture/melina/arabie_saoudite/divers/2002.pdf>

Low-Carbon Energy to Africa

A recent study by Green Alliance shows that providing energy from low-carbon sources is the quickest and the cheapest way to help people living without electricity in Africa. Today, the main source of energy in places like Ghana is by using diesel generators.

The benefits of low-carbon energy is largely seen in Kenya, where off-grid solar energy has given electricity to 2.5 million of people and has helped to diminish maternal deaths by half.

In sub-Saharan Africa currently 50% of the population lives without access to electricity. The estimative to increase the access to electricity in this area by using low-carbon energy would cost around U$24 billion per year.

Providing access to electricity would improve the quality of hospitals, schools and houses by reducing costs of its maintenance. Children could study at night, hospitals would be more efficient and so people could be healthier, small local business could be more profitable, and lots of other clear advantages could happen. It would improve economic and social development in a sustainable way. How it could be done it is already known. Why it is still not done?

Text and Image Source: Green Alliance Blog, 2014, How low carbon energy can bring faster development to sub-Saharan Africa. Accessed 01 April 2014 <http://greenallianceblog.org.uk/2014/04/29/how-low-carbon-energy-can-bring-faster-development-to-sub-saharan-africa/>