The "cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in the world" in Copenhagen, Denmark, which is topped by an artificial ski slope that is open all year round. CopenHill, also known as Amager Bakke, is a power plant located on an industrial waterfront that is capable of converting 440,000 tons of waste into clean energy annually. It was designed by BIG to double as public infrastructure, and is complete with tree-lined hiking trails and ski slopes on its roof along with the "tallest artificial climbing wall in the world" on its facade. CopenHill is a blatant architectural expression of something that would otherwise have remained invisible: that it is the cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in the world," said Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG. "As a power plant, CopenHill is so clean that we have been able to turn its building mass into the bedrock of the social life of the city – its facade is climbable, its roof is hikeable and its slopes are skiable" he continued."A crystal clear example of hedonistic sustainability – that a sustainable city is not only better for the environment – it is also more enjoyable for the lives of its citizens." CopenHill is a blatant architectural expression of something that would otherwise have remained invisible: that it is the cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in the world," said Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG. "As a power plant, CopenHill is so clean that we have been able to turn its building mass into the bedrock of the social life of the city – its facade is climbable, its roof is hikeable and its slopes are skiable" he continued. "A crystal clear example of hedonistic sustainability – that a sustainable city is not only better for the environment – it is also more enjoyable for the lives of its citizens."  The design for the 41,0000-square-metre CopenHill "ski plant" won an international competition in 2011, with the building breaking ground two years later. It is hoped the building will help Copenhagen meet its goal of becoming the world's first carbon-neutral city by 2025. Copenhill is distinguished by its wedge-shaped form, sloped green roof and blocky facade composed of 1.2-metre-tall and 3.3-metre-wide aluminium bricks that are stacked like gigantic bricks. Inside it is filled with "the latest technologies in waste treatment and energy production", capable of incinerating 440,000 tons of waste to make clean energy that will deliver electricity and district heating for 150,000 homes annually.This machinery is all arranged in height order, which forms the building's sloped rooftop and resulting 9,000-metre-squared ski terrain........fascinating- read on                      https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/08/big-copenhill-power-plant-ski-slope-copenhagen/                  WATCH THE VIDEO!   VIDEO-2023-09-24-15-22-36 (6).mp4

CANADA....Housing is a foundational pillar of society. It represents not just a home but a living space and a fundamental element of a city’s physical, social and economic fabric. Yet most of the proposed solutions to Canada’s housing crisis rely on a simple economic principle: matching housing supply with demand to stabilize the market.   Recent policy strategies aim to adjust the rental vacancy rate in Canada from the current 1.9 per cent to a desired three or four per cent. But with this tight focus, we might be addressing merely the surface issues of the crisis. The deeper problem lies in the tendency of modern society and policies to treat homes primarily as tradable commodities similar to stocks or goods, rather than recognizing their social value as vital living spaces that enable cities and businesses to thrive. Housing’s social value surpasses its market value, with direct implications for access to services and employment locations, the stability of the urban population, urban attractiveness and physical and mental health, as well as the competitiveness of local businesses.  The mercantile view of property has eroded the social value of real estate, transforming what was once a dream into a mere investment tool: buy, renovate, set rent according to the investment and compete to attract wealthier households.

To help solve this crisis, we need to redefine the social value of housing and see it as an essential social service. The proposed solutions.......In September, the federal government rolled out a GST exemption for new rental construction, complementing the ambitious $82-billion national housing strategy introduced in 2018, championing affordable housing and home renovations and supporting research and the community housing sector. Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia are launching diverse strategies, from financial incentives to specific construction targets. Meanwhile, Toronto, Vancouverand Montreal are overhauling their zoning laws and amplifying social housing initiatives, collaborating closely with local community organizations.Competition for housing is fiercer for those most exposed to the crisis First, beyond an absolute housing shortage, we especially see a relative shortage of options matching most local workers’ incomes. For example, in Montreal, recent vacancy rates have hit one per cent for affordable apartments for the 40 percent of least-wealthy tenant households, those with an income under $43,000. In contrast, apartments affordable for households earning between $63,000 and $97,000 a year had a vacancy rate of 5.4 per cent. In other words, competition for housing is fiercer for households most exposed to the crisis. Second, property prices have risen and turned many people into long-term renters, pushing away the dream of home ownership. This has put extra pressure on the available rental housing stock, particularly for newcomers to the market such as students and new residences, Additionally, the gap between rents for vacant and occupied housing slows turnover. It prevents, for example, workers from moving closer to their workplace or new families from having a larger living space. In Toronto, in the same building, the average rent for two-bedroom apartments in 2021 was 29 per cent higher for units that had changed tenants than for those where the tenants remained the same. Third, the consequences are more severe for socially and economically vulnerable populations because they are forced to choose housing based not on their needs but on their financial capacity. This reality has reduced the quality of life, added longer commutes to potential workplaces and increased transportation costs. Finally, local economic development is threatened as housing becomes a pressing concern for modern businesses: a growing mismatch arises because affordable housing, based on offered salaries, is often distant from business operating locations. High rents relative to salaries impede local business competitiveness amid a labour shortage, endangering labour productivity due to employees’ financial stress and lengthening commutes. Furthermore, it hinders regional innovation by discouraging potential entrepreneurs from setting up and pushing talent toward more affordable regions. Businesses aren’t blameless in this situation; real wage growth has slowed since the 1970s. Given their role, businesses are uniquely positioned to be part of the solution.      How to redefine the social value of housing.......So, how do we redefine the social value of housing and address this crisis? Housing must first and foremost be viewed as an essential social service, not just a building to shelter people or a mere commodity. Four potential solutions can complement the current government measures. First, we need to adjust rents according to local economic realities............and there's four more, as well as Co-Op Housing                 https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2023/11/10/Housing-Social-Value/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=101123   

The 15-minute city concept has repeatedly made the news this year. Here, we explain what the urbanism concept is and why it has become so controversial. What are 15-minute cities?  The 15-minute city is an urban planning concept that, as its name suggests, aims to create communities where people can access key amenities by travelling no more than 15 minutes on foot or by bike. The concept encourages the development of cities with multiple centres, with offices, shops, restaurants and entertainment placed locally, reducing the need to drive. It does this through policy and urban interventions. By reducing dependency on vehicles and encouraging active travel, it aims to both help reduce carbon emissions and air pollution and improve the health of people.  Who invented the 15-minute city? Although many of the ideas contained within 15-minute cities have existed for a long time, the concept was created by French-Colombian urbanist Carlos Moreno. He has been an associate professor at Sorbonne University in Paris since 2017. In 2021, Moreno wasawarded the Obel Award for creating the concept.  When was the 15-minute city invented? Following five years of research, Moreno unveiled the concept, named ville du quart d'heure in French, at the Paris United Nations Climate Change (COP21) Conference in 2015. It was popularised after Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo embraced the concept in 2019 and then used it during her re-election campaign in 2020, for which Moreno acted as scientific advisor.  Why are 15-minute cities controversial?  In a development that Moreno told Dezeen was "shocking", the concept has become the basis of a conspiracy theory that 15-minute cities form part of a wider plan to restrict people's movement. Conspiracy theorists believe the proposals could be used to prevent people from travelling more than 15 minutes from their homes.   This theory gained traction last year following a plan by Oxford council to restrict travel on six roads during certain times of the day to reduce congestion. A well-shared article suggested that the plan would "lock residents into one of six zones" and an estimated 2,000 anti-15-minute city demonstrators took to the streets in protest of the council's plans.     https://www.dezeen.com/2023/10/16/15-minute-city-guide/

 Growing to Its Potential.....The Value of Urban Nature for Communities, Investors, and the Climate  By Julia Meisel,  Mia Reback,  Michael Donatti,  Zach Clayton,  Emma Loewen,  Lindsay Rasmussen,  Jacob Korn,  Rushad Global challenges are pushing cities to their breaking point. With cities expected to house 68 percent of the world’s population by 2050, warming twice as fast as the global average, and disproportionately affected by extreme weather, we need to use every tool at our disposal to ensure a low-carbon, livable, resilient, and equitable urban future. One frequently overlooked tool with great potential is urban nature — cities’ forests, parks, street trees, green stormwater infrastructure, and bodies of water. Many benefits of nature are well known, like recreation, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. But urban nature delivers countless additional benefits for cities including lower energy use and emissions, jobs, community connectedness, pollution mitigation, and heat mitigation. In economic terms, these benefits add up. This new report quantifies the overall value of nature’s benefits in cities and — for the first time — specifically quantifies urban nature’s potential to reduce energy consumption and emissions at the city level. Our report finds that globally, the value of urban nature’s benefits is nine times the costs, delivering tremendous value for cities, communities, and investors.      https://rmi.org/insight/growing-to-its-potential/            DOWNLOAD THE REPORT