City Stories
A key challenge in this new Human Age is to lessen the ecological footprint of the world’s cities, even as their populations expand. The Anthropocene tells the stories about resilient urban coastal infrastructure, low carbon transportation systems, and nature-inspired architectural designs.
The rise of the carbon-negative building
Wooden structures that store more carbon than is emitted in their construction point to a flaw in green building schemes
Researchers have hit on a widely available solution for decarbonizing fertilizer production
On multiple environmental measures, “peecycling” almost always comes out ahead
Those lights aren’t just messing with your sleep. They’re bothering the trees.
Like humans trees have circadian clocks. A new study finds urban light pollution changes those clocks, causing trees to leaf out earlier and change color later.
Barcelona-style “superblocks” could make a surprising number of cities greener and less car-centric
Identify a handful of adjacent city blocks, restrict traffic to the perimeter, and make the interior for walking, biking, and green space. A new study finds it could work even in cities with an irregular street grid.
Greening the last mile of e-commerce
Could hubs, nudges, and EV night deliveries crack this surprisingly tough puzzle?
Amphibious Architecture
Amphibious structures are not static; they respond to floods like ships to a rising tide, floating on the water’s surface.
Cities have a green infrastructure blind spot
Carbon footprint standards exist for buildings, but not for the landscaping that surrounds them.
One Man’s Trash . . .
Mining landfills for metals and energy
Does driving an electric car help decarbonize the economy?
You would need to drive an electric car more than 50,000 km in Quebec and 150,000 km in Germany to outcompete a conventional car in terms of greenhouse gas emissions
Far-reaching study spells out how to drastically cut the energy footprint of buildings
The formula, which calls for a combination efficiency technology and peak load management, could eliminate need for one third of US coal and natural gas power plants
