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Great City: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Unveil Plans For China's First Self-Sufficient, Carless City

Thu, 2012-10-25 23:19 — Maeryn Obley

Design mock-up of the self-sufficient carless city.

Image: Design mock-up of the self-sufficient carless city.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

inhabitat.com - October 25th, 2012 - Beth Buczynski

Many may perceive China as a crowded, polluted country, but that legacy is changing. Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture just unveiled its master plan for Chengdu Tianfu District Great City, a self-sustaining satellite city that offers a solution to the problems of overburdened infrastructure and high pollution levels that assail many of China’s major urban centers.

The project envisions a city that avoids the high energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with suburban sprawl. According to the architects, Great City will be developed by Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co., Ltd. over the next eight years. When completed, it will be home to about 30,000 families totaling 80,000 people.

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The ‘Avon Ladies’ of Africa

Thu, 2012-10-11 23:39 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Tine Frank… Living Goods managers explained business opportunities to new recruits in Masaka, Uganda.

submitted by Alisa Keesey

The New York Times
by Tina Rosenberg
October 10, 2012

Living Goods, which operates in Uganda, has a very promising model.  It brings goods the poor need to their doorsteps, at below-market prices.  Most important, Living Goods is building a business with the potential to sustain itself — it has already hit some important milestones.  That’s the key to a long life and wide growth — to helping vast numbers of people.

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Living Goods
http://livinggoods.org/

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2012 Innovation to Inspiration - i2i Awardees

Sun, 2012-09-23 23:18 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Albert Gomez

techconnect.org

Congratulations to the 2012 i2i Awardees. Over 150 high quality submissions were vetted by the joint Investment & Corporate review committee based on the potential positive impact of the submitted innovations for the planet and society. Join us as these leading companies present their inspiring technologies to the SXSW Eco community, October 3-5, in Austin Texas!

http://www.techconnect.org/i2i/awardees.html

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Moscow Agglomeration Competition Unveils Sustainable Master Plans for the City of the Future

Sun, 2012-09-16 00:26 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Samuel Bendett

              

inhabitat.com - by Lidija Grozdanic - September 12, 2012

Moscow authorities recently announced the results of the Moscow Agglomeration Competition for the Moscow metropolitan area. The 3-stage international competition called for master plan designs for the city that include the existing city development and the design of new city districts (Federal City, Innovation City, Logistics City and Science City). Entrants responded with ambitious urban planning proposals that include massive green belts, high-speed transportation systems and zero-waste, zero-emission buidlings - read on for a closer look!

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Japan's Omotenashi House to Promote a Self-Sufficient Lifestyle at 2012 Solar Decathlon Europe

Thu, 2012-09-06 01:44 — Maeryn Obley

A render of the low-carbon Omotenashi House.

Image: A render of the low-carbon Omotenashi House.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

inhabit.com - September 5th, 2012 - Peter Leah

Later this month the Madrid Solar Decathlon will welcome the only Japanese entrant, the Omotenashi House designed by students from Chiba University. The house has been designed for two people to lead a self-sufficient lifestyle, incorporating modern technology with inspiration from—and respect for—traditional Japanese architectural practices. Following the earthquake and subsequent Fukushima disaster, Japan has been looking for inspiration to create a low-carbon future.

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No Base in Paradise

Tue, 2012-09-04 13:42 — Maeryn Obley

Actor, filmmaker and environmental advocate Robert Redford. (photo: Contour/Getty Images) go to original article

Image: Actor, filmmaker and environmental advocate Robert Redford. (photo: Contour/Getty Images)

readersupportednews.org - Robert Redford - September 3rd, 2012

From September 6-15, some 10,000 environmentalists will converge on Jeju Island to attend the World Conservation Congress (WCC), organized by the oldest environmental organization, the International Union of the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN's slogan is that it promotes "a just world that values and conserves nature." If recent actions are any indication, nothing could be further from the truth.

The WCC will take place only a few minutes away from Gangjeong, where the construction of a naval base is threatening one of the planet's most spectacular soft coral forests and other coastal treasures, assaulting numerous endangered species and destroying a 400-year-old sustainable community of local farmers and fishers.

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MSN's The Cities Issue

Sat, 2012-08-25 11:57 — Maeryn Obley

cities issue logo

Image: The Cities Issue logo.

foreignpolicy.com


Our special issue dedicated to the cities of the future has its eye squarely toward China, because the cities of the future are increasingly going to be speaking Mandarin -- even more than you realize. It's no longer news that China has embarked on the largest mass urbanization in history, a monumental migration from country to city that will leave China with nearly a billion urbanites by 2025 and an astonishing 221 cities with populations over 1 million. But this isn't just about size: It's about global heft.

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UN Launches Sustainable Development Network to Help Find Solutions to Global Problems

Sun, 2012-08-12 17:50 — Kathy Gilbeaux

 

 

 UN News Centre

 

Sustainable development is about people. Photo: UNDP/Zak Mulligan

9 August 2012 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today launched a new independent global network of research centres, universities and technical institutions to help find solutions for some of the world’s most pressing environmental, social and economic problems.

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) will work with stakeholders including business, civil society, UN agencies and other international organizations to identify and share the best pathways to achieve sustainable development, according to a UN news release.

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Business for Good Map

Tue, 2012-08-07 10:48 — Maeryn Obley

submitted by Samuel Bendett


Map: The above map shows the work of individual companies, as well as the collective impact of business on communities when points are clicked.


At BCLC, we know businesses make a positive difference around the globe. Our knowledge is now yours. The Business for Good Map is your tool to learn where and how companies invest in creating a better, more sustainable world.

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Ecocities Emerging

Fri, 2012-08-03 23:27 — Kathy Gilbeaux

 

submitted by Jerry Erbach

Ecocity Builders

Mission and Vision

Ecocity Builders reshapes cities for the long-term health of human and natural systems.

We develop and implement policy, design and educational tools and strategies to build thriving urban centers based on “access by proximity” and to reverse patterns of sprawl and excessive consumption.

Ecocity Builders and associates’ definition of “ecocity” is conditional upon a healthy relationship of the city’s parts and functions, similar to the relationship of organs in living complex organism. We are concerned with city design, planning, building, and operations in an integral way and in relation to the surrounding environment and natural resources of the region, utilizing organic, ecological and whole-systems lessons to actually reverse the negative impacts of climate change, species extinction and the destruction of the biosphere.

We believe the form of the city matters, that it is within our ability, and indeed crucial, to reshape and restructure cities to address global environmental challenges.

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