Urban - Haggard Earth

Details: Written by: Glenn and Rick; Category: Urban; Hits: 119

Metro Vancouver‘- Social Housing’ Is Leaving Low-Income People Out in the Cold. When you think of that term, are you picturing a person earning $85,000?Jean Swanson, a former Vancouver city councillor.10 Sep 2024The Tyee In May, Victoria’s Housing Justice Project released a report that supported what low-income folks have been telling us directly: when you’re low-income, you cannot afford to rent most new social housing. Single mother of two Toni Love spoke at the project’s May 9 news conference at the legislature, pointing out that housing rules require her to rent a three-bedroom unit and make $85,000 a year to qualify for that unit.

When most people hear the words “social housing,” they imagine housing for low-income people. But now the province — and many municipalities — don’t mandate affordability in social housing. B.C.’s current definition of social housing is “a housing development that the government subsidizes and that either government or a non-profit housing partner owns and/or operates.” In Vancouver, before 2015, social housing was defined as “residential units bought by the government or a non-profit using government funding in order to house seniors, disabled people and low-income families or individuals.” Now, it’s defined as housing owned by a government or non-profit that has 30 percent of the units with rent below BC Housing’s housing income limits, or HILs, meaning your income should be between about $40,000 and $58,000 if you rent a one-bedroom or bachelor apartment, and more for bigger units.

The other 70 per cent of social housing units are generally rented at what’s called “low end of market” — about 10 per cent below market rents. Average market for a two-bedroom apartment in purpose-built rental housing in Vancouver in 2023, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., was $2,181 a month. Low end of market is around $2,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment, which is more than the total monthly income of a person on social assistance, disability or basic pension, about 74 per cent of the total income of a person earning minimum wage and 57 per cent of the income of a single person earning the median Vancouver income.As a result, many social housing buildings in Vancouver actually exclude low-income people.Except in the Downtown Eastside. There, back in 2014, low-income people on the city’s Local Area Planning Committee fought tooth and nail for a definition of social housing that would include them. They didn’t get all they wanted, but they did get a definition in the Downtown Eastside Official Development Plan that says one-third of social housing has to be “rented at rates no higher than the shelter component of Income Assistance,” which is $500 a month today. But a city council motion passed last year has asked Vancouver city staff to report back on aligning the city’s definition of affordability with the province’s.This is backwards. Instead, the city and province should align their definition and funding of social housing with the Downtown Eastside definition, not the provincial one.

In July, the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction told me via email that there are about 3,530 people in Vancouver with no fixed address. That number represents homeless people on social assistance. Some homeless people, including seniors and people who do not receive social assistance, aren’t counted in that number. We desperately need housing for them, but it doesn’t exist. Vancouver doesn’t even have enough temporary shelter beds for everyone who is homeless......read on https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2024/09/10/Social-Housing-Low-Income-People/

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The city of sustainable skyscrapers. BBC 9 February 2021 Matthew Keegan Hong Kong, the world's capital of tall buildings, is turning up the dial on high-rise sustainable design, as the city aims for net-zero emissions by 2050. Looking out over Hong Kong's iconic skyline from the viewing deck of its tallest skyscraper, the 118-storey International Commerce Centre (ICC), it's clear why Hong Kong is known as the world's most vertical city. In every direction you look, countless high-rise buildings are stacked side by side, clustered together, like a real-world version of the game Tetris. In fact, Hong Kong is home to more skyscrapers than anywhere else. While many are impressive feats of construction and have become iconic features of the skyline, the city's 42,000 buildings – including about 8,000 high-rises, of which more than 1,500 are skyscrapers exceeding 100m (328ft) in height – consume up to 90% of the city's electricity and contribute to 60% of the city's greenhouse gas emissions. With limited land supply, building upwards is Hong Kong's only option. But in a world responding to the climate crisis, towering skyscrapers that use massive amounts of energy and materials to construct and operate may look increasingly out of place – particularly given that Hong Kong itself has set a target to be carbon neutral by 2050.

The problem leaves many asking how sustainable skyscrapers can really be. But there are signs of hope in Hong Kong, which has a thriving green building movement and is committed to making its vast number of skyscrapers more energy efficient. You need look no further than ICC, which at 484m (1,590ft) is the city's tallest skyscraper and also its tallest green building. Making use of the latest smart technologies to be more energy efficient, the ICC is recognised in the top 3% of green buildings around the globe. Inside the 118-storey building, a network of sensors is installed, often wirelessly, across different facilities and equipment, including lighting, elevators, escalators and air-conditioning units. This network provides large quantities of data that enable real-time energy consumption monitoring. Informed by the data, the property management team is able to shut down certain facilities, including lights, lifts and escalators when they are not needed, in order to save energy. "We use Internet of Things (IoT) technology to analyse big data collected through a mobile digital system for energy efficiency optimisation in the building," says Edward Tsui, managing director of Intelligent Technologies, which oversees the ICC's IoT data system. "We can see the energy performance across every zone in the building and optimise the system to perform better.

"It's like a body check, if you like, of the building," says Tsui. "Every single day we can monitor what the energy savings are. If we see any abnormal activities we can reset or we can do some quick maintenance before it really wastes any energy."The data collected is also used to prioritise any maintenance they do on the building in addition to retro-commissioning – a process to improve the efficiency of an existing building's equipment and systems by fine-tuning it rather than replacing it. Keeping skyscrapers cool is perhaps the most difficult challenge, especially since most are covered in glass. While floor-to-ceiling windows enable better views and natural light, this can also create a greenhouse effect caused by solar radiation, and air-conditioning systems require huge amounts of energy to operate. At ICC, air-con consumes a staggering 70% of the building's total energy. But with smart IoT devices built into the building's air-handling systems, the building's team is able to monitor each floor in real-time to see the temperature, levels of pollutants, and how much cooling energy is being used. It also means they can control the air distribution to different office floors in order to further optimise the energy usage of the building.

Since 2012, through various energy saving measures, ICC has conserved 15 million kWh of energy, equivalent to the total annual electricity consumption of more than 4,500 three-member households, and a reduction of 10,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. And the team is committed to achieving the net zero carbon emissions by 2050 target set by the government. Among their plans to reach this ambitious goal is to make better use of the building's glass-covered exterior by installing solar panels to generate renewable solar energy. They also plan to utilise the winds that whip past such a tall building by installing wind turbines on the roof and podium to generate renewable energy. To further work towards zero carbon emissions, the team is looking into a battery system to store this renewable power. "There are many possibilities lying ahead and we are hopeful, especially when we talk about battery technologies," says Lewis Lam, deputy general manager of property management at ICC. "We are very certain that in the not-too-distant future we will be seeing the mass application of batteries to even conventional homes, not only large commercial buildings like ICC.

Another pioneer of Hong Kong's green building movement is One Taikoo Place. This 48-storey skyscraper, completed in 2018, was designed and constructed according to the highest green building and human health standards." The building's energy intensity is about 29% lower than a typical Hong Kong high-rise office building. This, in part, is achieved by a state-of-the-art, AI-enabled building management system called Neuron, which performs a similar role to the ICC's team but uses a type of AI called machine learning. Neuron analyses and learns from large historical datasets to automatically optimise building systems and improve energy efficiency. Among other features, the system enables optimal performance of the building's heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems by forecasting when to switch on and off the chillers and cooling towers, which reduces the total building energy consumption. It can also detect, in real-time, if the building has any abnormalities, which helps prevent excessive energy consumption and operational inefficiency, while identifying when and where critical equipment needs service.....read on https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210209-hong-kong-

Details: Written by: Glenn and Rick; Category: Urban; Hits: 119

As part of Dezeen's Social Housing Revival series, we look at how one county in Maryland is leading the way in the US after devising a novel public-development strategy to help combat its housing crisis. Montgomery is a growing county on the outskirts of the Washington DC metropolitan area that has come up with a method for addressing the diminished role of social housing in America. Like much of the rest of the country, it is in dire need of more affordable housing. While an absence eed is a rarity in the US, Montgomery's county government has conceived a way to deliver high-quality homes on its own. Its Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), an agency founded in the 1970s to deliver federally funded public housing, has recently developed a strategy that it calls the public developer model. In 2021, it established the Housing Production Fund (HPF) to fund mixed-income social housing. Its first completed project using the model is The Laureate, a 268-home scheme designed by US architecture studio KTGY that features thousands of square feet of amenities and even has an outdoor heated pool and spa.
"We believe this should be the standard" "HOC is proud that when you walk into The Laureate you experience a high-quality, high-calibre, and beautifully designed community that offers a resort-like living experience," HOC executive director Chelsea Andrews told Dezeen. "We are equally proud that if you're standing in an affordable home or one that rents at market rate, the two are completely indistinguishable." "We believe this should be the standard for all new affordable housing development." In most parts of the US, cities use tax breaks to encourage developers to deliver mixed-income housing. The HOC takes a more direct approach, using federal subsidies to accommodate the poorest groups while taking out loans to fund other HOC projects. Building federally subsidised housing often requires the involvement of private investors to fund the full cost of construction – which can mean build quality is compromised to protect profit margins. By acting as a public developer and delivering housing for people on a range of incomes, the Montgomery County hopes HOC can build better housing and break down stigmas attached to social housing. The model also allows the county to create housing for people in need of affordable housing but who do not qualify for Section 8 housing vouchers. The buildings are managed by the HOC, which closely monitors the residents' incomes. Rents from people in higher income brackets help to contribute to poorer tenants' costs.......read on
https://www.dezeen.com/2024/04/01/montgomery-county-maryland-social-housing-revival/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=271224%20Dezeen%20In%20Depth&utm_content=271224%20Dezeen%20In%20Depth+CID_d87846bd149b87b78c444ec7f2429f84&utm_source=Dezeen%20Mail&utm_term=Read%20the%20full%20story ..........AND CHECKOUT....... Social housing is America's "missing tool" to solve housing crisis says Alex Lee......and most other countries

Details: Written by: Glenn and Rick; Category: Urban; Hits: 114

Healthy, Zero-Carbon Cities- Climate change threatens not only our environment, but also our health. Poor indoor and outdoor air quality is a direct result of the fossil fuels we burn. But with the right changes and actions today, we can have cleaner air for our families to breathe and more vibrant outdoor spaces in which to play. And, as the world population continues to urbanize, cities and communities are at the forefront of setting a path for a better climate future to benefit the health and wellbeing of their citizens.

Overview' This is a detailed guide for cities on the considerations and steps involved for a city to procure different types of renewable energy. The procurement guidance provided here is designed to help city governments effectively and efficiently understand associated processes, tools, and best practices in order to facilitate successful implementation of municipal renewable energy projects. The guidance is broken down into two distinct stages: Developing a Strategy and Executing a Project.

Overview......This is a detailed guide for cities on the considerations and steps involved for a city to procure different types of renewable energy......The procurement guidance provided here is designed to help city governments effectively and efficiently understand associated processes, tools, and best practices in order to facilitate successful implementation of municipal renewable energy projects. The guidance is broken down into two distinct stages: Developing a Strategy and Executing a Project.

Developing a Strategy.......Procuring renewable energy for a city requires clearly defined goals and strategy. The first stage of this procurement guidance, Developing a Strategy, provides a framework to evaluate what your city’s goals should be and identify which types of renewable energy projects or transactions will best meet your community’s needs. For cities that are new to renewable energy procurement or are considering adding some new elements to their renewable energy portfolios, this is the place to start......explore all the many strategies https://cityrenewables.org/overview/

Details: Written by: Glenn and Rick; Category: Urban; Hits: 92

What Can US Cities and States Do for the Climate Under Trump? Plenty. Federal progress on climate may stall, but city halls and statehouses are in a good position to build on recent gains. Bloomberg Kendra Pierre-Louis November 27, 2024 Sharon Lavigne’s life has been cloaked in pollution. Lavigne is a retired special education teacher from St. James Parish, a region within Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, nicknamed for its high concentration of polluting industries. But that wasn’t on Lavigne’s mind when she went to a community meeting in 2015. A teacher friend had been passed over for a promotion, and she wanted to find out why. She didn’t get an answer — but she kept going to meetings. Then in 2018, a plastics company announced it would build a large complex near Lavigne’s home. A community-based health committee “said they couldn’t fight it because the governor approved it. It was a done deal,” said Lavigne, who disagreed with their assessment. So she founded RISE St. James, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting against the expansion of the petrochemical industry in the region. In 2022, partly due to RISE’s efforts, a district court vacated the project’s air permits, putting it on hold. At first blush Lavigne’s efforts might seem small compared to sweeping federal policies on climate change like the Inflation Reduction Act.

But grassroots, local and state actions are critical to driving down US emissions. It’s a power that is likely to take center stage after the reelection of Donald Trump, who campaigned on repealing the IRA and expanding fossil fuel extraction. State and local governments can model change that’s later scaled up. For example, Washington State tax credits passed during Trump’s first administration helped inform how the IRA was structured. They can also push the needle on the clean energy transition in their own right, such as in 2021 when North Carolina passed a bill mandating that Duke Energy Corp., the state’s largest utility, reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

According to Justin Balik, the senior state program director for Evergreen Action, a climate policy think tank, US states not only made considerable progress during Trump’s first term, “they’re even more poised to lead and in some ways better prepared” than they were in 2017. Now, 24 states and Washington, DC, have targets for either net-zero carbon emissions, 100% renewable or carbon-free electricity, or both.

Bipartisan action is possible......North Carolina’s clean energy bill emerged from negotiations between the Democratic governor’s office and the Republican legislature. That happened, in part, because previous policies had led to a “tremendous influx of clean-energy investment job growth,” said Matt Abel, executive director of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, which was privy to the negotiations. Defending existing climate regulations will be one priority. On election day, Washington State voters rejected a ballot measure to rescind its cap-and-trade program. Even red states will likely try to safeguard incentives in the IRA, since they are reaping most of the investment unlocked by the law. States can also deploy new policies and funds: California residents voted in favor of a $10 billion climate resilience bond in November. California has also set its own tighter fuel standards for cars, which others can choose to follow (and many have); similarly, states can act independently to reduce emissions from the power sector, as North Carolina did....... read on https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-27/what-can-us-citie

Metro Vancouver‘- Social Housing’ Is Leaving Low-Income People Out in the Cold.

Hong Kong - The City of Sustainable Skyscrapers.

A US City becomes a Public Developer and Delivering Housing for People on a Range of Incomes, t

Healthy, Zero-Carbon Cities- Climate change threatens not only our environment, but also our health.

What Can US Cities and States Do for the Climate Under Trump? Plenty.

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