What is a sustainable city? 10 characteristics of green urban planning..Susan Meyer Updated September 7, 2023 Imagine a world where city centers are smog-free and full of thriving green ecosystems, with more cyclists and pedestrians than cars. While this vision might seem straight out of a fairy tale, sustainable cities are working to achieve this idyllic urban setting. Yet the U.S. is home to zero of the top 10most sustainable cities in the world. New York City is the first U.S. metropolitan to make the list at number 14, followed by San Francisco and Seattle, at 16 and 19 respectively. It’s clear that America has a long way to go in terms of making its dense urban centers sustainable.So how can the U.S. rise to the challenge? Read on to discover popular features our cities can adopt. We’ll also cover how sustainability is a risk mitigation strategy in the fight against climate change (and what this means for your home insurance cost- USA only). For a visual guide, jump to our infographic.                                                                                                                                                    What does it mean to be a sustainable city?  A sustainable city is one designed to address social, environmental and economic impact through urban planning and city management. Many sustainable initiatives are achieved by building eco-friendly alternatives into city infrastructure, such as adopting walk and bike lanes. Regulations and fines can also achieve change: waste removal orders have proven to reduce landfill waste. While finding ways to help the planet is essential to sustainability, reducing costs and creating a vibrant culture for citizens are equally important. Through planned infrastructure, public green spaces, smart waste removal and more, cities can leave behind a net zero footprint for a more sustainable world. 1. Public transportation.......Cities that focus on sustainability must address transportation head-on, as motor vehicles are responsible for 75% of carbon monoxide pollutionin the U.S. today. Cost-efficient and accessible public transportation takes cars off the road, reducing harmful emissions generated by daily driving commutes and errands. Here are some public transit examples sustainable cities have enacted: - Electric trolleybuses - Metro systems - Underground railways - Maglev trains. Another great way to improve public transportation and encourage greener practices is to incentivize alternative travel by reserving certain lanes for buses, electric cars and carpooling. The future of transportation is tackling greener public transit with new technology such as hyperloop and smart roads.  2. Walkable and bikeable neighborhoods.......One of the best ways to reduce carbon emissions throughout a community is to have citizens ditch transit altogether. Walking and biking are great alternatives to encourage, and city leaders can do so by approving infrastructure changes, passing laws to protect cyclists and making smart urban planning decisions. Take Copenhagen, where bicycles outnumber cars more than five to one, and 42% of residents bike to work. This bike culture was achieved through city management: Cycling superhighways were created across the city by a series of paths and bridges designed specifically for bikers. Walk and bike-friendly infrastructure includes - Pedestrian bridges - Bike path networks - Connected urban grids - Shared micromobility.           3. Vehicle charging stations - An electric vehicleproduces zero tailpipe emissions compared to a typical passenger vehicle, which produces 4.6 metric tons annually.For cities hoping to become carbon-neutral, vehicle charging stations for electric or other alternatives must become commonplace......and there's eight more!              https://www.thezebra.com/resources/home/what-is-a-sustainable-city/

MAJOR PLAYER" IN THE FUTURE OF ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING MATERIALS.....THE STRENGTH AND AVAILABILITY OF BAMBOO GIVE IT THE POTENTIAL TO BE AS DOMINANT IN CONSTRUCTION AS CONCRETE AND STEEL, ARGUES ATELIER ONE ENGINEER CHRIS MATTHEWS IN THIS INTERVIEW. "THIS IDEA THAT WE HAVE A SHEET OF RIGID, EXTREMELY POLISHED BUILDINGS, BUILT FROM ALL KINDS OF STEEL AND CONCRETE, HAS TO CHANGE," MATTHEWS TOLD DEZEEN. "BAMBOO HAS A REAL PART TO PLAY AS A LOW-CARBON MATERIAL, AND IT NEEDS TO BE PART OF THE TOOLKIT THAT WE HAVE MOVING FORWARD," HE CONTINUED. "IT'S GOING TO BE A MAJOR PLAYER."

This efficient, environmentally friendly way to build could increase quality while reducing labor costs.  The shortage of construction workers in America has continued to intensify and building material costs are rising, leaving architects with the difficult task of completing projects that can meet demanding budgets. To remain profitable and meet project deadlines, architects and the industry at large must find creative methods to improve processes, increase return on investment (ROI) and introduce more efficient ways to source construction materials. The University of Arkansas, in partnership with Leers Weinzapfel Associates, found an innovative solution to these challenges. The university used prefabricated wood construction to build the nation’s first large-scale mass timber residence hall project and living/learning setting, the Stadium Drive Residence Halls. The 202,027-square-foot project — envisioned as a creative learning environment within a relaxed, informal, tree-lined landscape — is being built fime and labor. Prefabrication Explained In the prefabrication (prefab) process, building materials are created off-site, typically using three-dimensional digital modeling technologies along with computer numeric control (CNC) machines that allow for complete precision. There are two types of industrialized approaches to prefabricated buildings: building kits and finished modules. Building kits include prefabricated elements or sections that are delivered and assembled on-site. Typically, the construction of prefab midrise wood buildings is characterized by panelization, in which walls that have been prebuilt in sections are delivered to a jobsite ready to be lifted into place. Finished modules are built in a factory, transported to the construction site and assembled into a single building. The modules can be placed side by side, end to end or stacked, allowing a wide variety of configurations and styles in the building layout.  Why Prefab? Prefab is used in multifamily and commercial construction for a variety of reasons, including:   Efficiency. Prefabricated wood panels have precut openings for doors, windows, stairs, service channels and ducts. This allows them to be quickly and efficiently lifted into place, which can shave weeks and even months off of the construction schedule. In an industry with aggressive deadlines, this is a key benefit for developers and builders. This process also improves construction sequencing and scheduling, since materials are sorted and loaded onto trucks in a project-specific order to minimize on-site handling. Safety and Productivity. The efficiency of prefabrication also improves worker safety and productivity. Construction time is shorter; that means crews spend less time on site, fewer workers are needed to climb high on scaffolding, and projects are less likely to experience weather conditions that can delay construction or make it more dangerous. Quality and Precision. Prefabricated components are created in advance using sophisticated technology, which improves the quality and precision of materials. ROI. Prefabrication means less time spent on construction, fewer redundancies and less waste — all of which reduce project costs. Using wood can further reduce costs since lumber is sourced locally and is often not as costly as competing building materials. Environmental Impact. Creating building material sizes and dimensions in advance results in lower environmental impact by minimizing waste on- and off-site. Additionally, using wood in prefab projects helps to improve the building’s environmental impact. Wood is a sustainable resource that, along with a smaller embodied energy, sequesters carbon. That means it captures and stores atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Additionally, global life-cycle assessment studies have proven that wood can offer lower greenhouse gas emissions, less air and water pollution, lower volumes of solid waste and less ecological resource use than other materials. What’s more, wood’s strength and durability help it withstand high winds and seismic activities.    https://www.naiop.org/research-and-publications/magazine/2019/spring-2019/business-trends/prefabricated-wood-construction-shows-promise/              

The Climate Solutions We Can’t Live Without. The climate crisis is full of interconnected problems—but some are more connected than others.April 24, 2023 By Daniel A. Gross One such area is the grid itself. There still aren’t enough lines connecting windy, sunny places to locales that need the most electricity; meanwhile, the grid is so delicately balanced that many clean-energy projects now wait about four years, in an “interconnection queue,” simply to be plugged in. The grid has become a bottleneck in the fight to protect the climate. Other bottlenecks can be found in our daily lives and our global economy. Bottlenecks, according to the report, are often the places where targeted efforts can make the most difference. Turn this lens onto the energy system and new insights may come into view. In many parts of the U.S., it’s clear from the line to join the grid that there’s an abundance of wind and solar and battery projects. For that reason, a million dollars might be better spent on electrical-system upgrades than on new subsidies to incentivize clean-energy projects. A subsidy primarily benefits the project that receives it, but even a small improvement in the interconnection queue could benefit all the projects that are waiting in line. The basic principle is to look for the sources of gridlock in the system, and to focus on restoring flow before worrying about individual cars. The interventions considered in these stories reveal something about the architecture of our global problem.                   https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/the-climate-solutions-we-cant-live-without