infrastructure

Melbourne, Australia: A model for how cities can lead the energy transition

Over half of the world’s population lives in cities, and rates of urbanization continue to increase. In the Anthropocene, cities are significant players. Dense concentrations of people and resources, while sometimes environmentally taxing, are also fertile grounds for cooperation and models of sustainability. Melbourne, Australia started turning heads in 2015 when they put forward a simple, yet revolutionary, model for renewable energy transition. Thirteen of the largest institutions in the [...]

Anna Kusmer2017-05-12T15:32:34+00:00infrastructure|Comments Off

Students activating recycling awareness: Eco-savers in Marikina City, Philippines

How can a municipality create a waste recycling program where there is none? Yes, municipal recycling programs need bins, and trucks, and recycling plants, which money can buy. However, one of the most important ingredients needed is community buy-in. In the Philippines, recycling is not a very popular pastime. Many people are actively skeptical of recycling programs because they find waste separation messy and difficult. Recycling programs are often temporary, [...]

Anna Kusmer2017-05-03T18:30:20+00:00infrastructure|Comments Off

Yachay City of Knowledge: A New City of Technology, Research and Innovation

“New Cities” are planned cities, generally conceptualized and constructed in partnership between government and corporate actors. While this phenomenon has resulted in a mixed-bag of mostly non-sustainable boondoggles, there is no doubt that these cities represent a vision of the future – new ways of people living together and relating to one-another. While these visions of the future may not be shared by all, they are visions worth noticing. Yachay [...]

Anna Kusmer2017-02-14T21:40:54+00:00infrastructure, Urban|Comments Off

WOHA Architects – Buildings for high density tropical Garden Cities

WOHA is Singaporean architectural firm that aims to re-invent skyscrapers for dense urban living. Some of their influential projects are The Met Apartments in Bangkok, and the Singapore School of the Arts, and the Parkroyal on Pickering hotel in Singapore. School of the Arts, Singapore designed by WAHO. Photo by wikipedia user Katmorro. WOHA was founded in 1994 by architects Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell. It has designed projects [...]

Garry Peterson2016-12-12T13:55:18+00:00design, infrastructure, Technology, Urban, urban ecology|Comments Off

Indian Bend Wash – Resilient Safe Fail Urban Green Infrastructure

How can infrastructure protect urban areas from extreme weather, while providing other benefits when weather is non-extreme? Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale Arizona is a 17 km greenbelt that runs through the Phoenix metropolitan area in the SouthWest United States. It is "green infrastructure" designed to provide both flood protection and recreation. Indian Bend Wash is a historic floodplain, which was urbanized in the 20th century. In the late 1960s, development in the floodplain [...]

Garry Peterson2016-10-21T00:20:01+00:00infrastructure, United States, Urban, urban ecology|Comments Off

Lüneburg 2030+ Participatory Urban Sustainable Futures

How could the city of the future be designed and constructed to enable more sustainable pathways of development? City of the Future Lüneburg 2030+ is a project that aims to envision the future city of Lüneburg, Germany in a way that it turns into more sustainable, livable and fair place. The project has been jointly developed by the sustainability oriented University of Leuphana, the local government of the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg, [...]

bertamartinlopez2016-05-20T07:59:33+00:00community, europe, infrastructure, transdisciplinary research|Comments Off

Urban Office/Urban Farm

Using urban farming to grow food and promote a beautiful work environment in central city

Garry Peterson2016-05-16T08:01:53+00:00business, Food, infrastructure, Technology, urban ecology|Comments Off

Mandated Multi-functionality

Can mandated multi-functionality, supported by government at multiple scales, address multiple Anthropocene challenges while building social capital? Mandated multi-functionality is a concept being studied and implemented by researchers and partners in British Columbia, Canada developed through the Solutions Agenda Research Project. The general concept is to re-think spaces and land-use in ways that better accommodates multiple functions, and ultimately mandate the implementation of multi-functionality in communities. This can include interior spaces that [...]

ciararh2015-12-18T09:46:45+00:00infrastructure, Integrated social-environmental, Social-Ecological Seeds, sustainable living, transdisciplinary research, urban ecology|Comments Off

GIVEWATTS

Can aid that focuses on decreasing reliance on traditional energy sources be a sustainable solution? GIVEWATTS is a non-profit organisation / Social Enterprise bringing clean and safe energy to people in developing countries, starting with East Africa. GIVEWATTS distributes solar lamps and efficient stoves in places that would otherwise rely on daylight, firewood and kerosene. The GIVEWATTS vision is to make renewable energy available to all households across the off-grid [...]

ciararh2015-12-02T21:10:50+00:00climate change, community, Conservation, Education, health, infrastructure, Integrated social-environmental, sustainable living, Technology|Comments Off

Intentional Community in Gaviotas, Colombia

Can a thriving community be created in a harsh, socially hostile environment, and can it last? What lessons can be learned from Gaviotas, Colombia? Gaviotas is an intentional community in eastern Columbia established by Paulo Lugari in the mid 60’s. The ecosystem consisted of “llanos”, savannas that seasonally flood. The intent of the community was to find ways to make the region more habitable. Through Colombian and UNDP grants in the 70’s [...]

ciararh2015-10-30T15:40:00+00:00Food, health, infrastructure, Integrated social-environmental, Project information or update, Skills Development, Social-Ecological Seeds, stop destructive action, sustainable living|Comments Off

Seeds are existing initiatives which hold potential to shape the future. They are likely not widespread nor well-known. They can be social initiatives, new technologies, economic tools, or social-ecological projects, or organisations, movements or new ways of acting that have that appear to be making a substantial contribution towards creating a future that is just, prosperous, and sustainable.

We gather seeds from diverse research disciplines, communities of practice, and individuals that have different world-views, values, and problems. This diversity means that not everyone will agree on the importance or value of every seed.