4. Community Solar Power
There are plenty of ways to get green power into your home, but one way which I wish would be expanded actually comes not from civic leaders but from community organization. It's the One Block of the Grid model, and for homeowners looking to purchase their own solar panels it can lower the costs of ownership significantly.
This obviously won't work in areas built up with taller apartment buildings: The roof space of the building I live for example is far from sufficient to supply all 12 floors of apartments with enough power from the sun. But in places where rooftop solar power is appropriate—whether for homes or businesses the 1BOG is certainly worth expanding.
A number of US cities already are in on the act, with more expected soon; here's the photo: Ladywood Road Allotment via flickr
If you've got a backyard, even a small one then building your own compost bin is a perfectly feasible and very much green thing to do. But many urban dwellers simply have no space to do so, or despite their green intentions don't want to deal with composting themselves. Which is why I wish curbside or building-based composting programs were more prevalent.
In my building for example you already are bringing down all your recyclables to be brought out and dealt with by the building management, so why not just add compost waste to that as well? To be fair, a program such is this is starting in my building but this is the exception rather than the norm. It needs to be pushed and expanded to become as ordinary as separating recyclables from trash.
5. Good Covered Farmers Markets
photo: WikipediaThe virtues of good farmers markets are well established, and in those areas which already have a good local food network, what I'd like to see expanded is better infrastructure for farmers markets—spaces dedicated to this, at least to make them more established than just a collection of trucks with tarps and tents.
Not that I particularly mind buying my produce in this manner, and there are certainly virtues to this approach, but when I think of some of the wonderful indoor markets in London, or half a world away, some of the beautiful food centers in Singapore, which are roofs over collections of small-scale market stalls, these have an air of permanence that even something like the Union Square farmers market in New York just doesn't have.
6. Great Community Gardens & Green Spaces
While great large public green spaces within a city are wonderful, in dense areas that don't already have these spaces laid out small and frequent community gardens can really do wonders. All it takes is a vacant lot, some community organization, plus some action and encouragement on the part of the city...Sometimes just in the form of getting out of the way.
To use an example close to my home, the East Village and Lower East Side in New York have a growing number of great, small (sometimes even just twenty feet wide)community gardens and parks. Some streets have one on every block. They are all in vary states of upkeep, styling, and growth but that's the joy in them. Even the most basic of them (and some truly are pretty basic) offers a break from the ordinary street and chance to reconnect with soil and greenery.
The city doesn't even have to get involved except at the most simple level: Providing a framework for them to protect them from being usurped by developers. Everything else can and should be a natural outgrowth of the micro-locality surrounding the park or garden.
From http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/7-things-i-wish-every-city-would...
Comments
A covered market area at
A covered market area at Britomart would be great. The farmers market there is brilliant; I get all my fruit, veg, eggs etc. from the market on Saturday mornings. Wouldn't it be great if there was some protection from the rain/sun over the market area? This would also allow for some undercover seating and perhaps a coffee cart, buskers etc. when the market wasn't on - or indeed there could be a range of different markets on different days, this would certainly bring some life and foot traffic to this area – I’m sure the establishments around the Britomart square would welcome this. Some trees would also be nice. At present there is a carpark ... more cars! This, I don't understand - Britomart is a transport centre with buses and trains and bicycle racks –
Do people drive to Britomart to get a train out of town? No.
If people are coming into the city should they not be encouraged to use the transport system - either take a bus or train from their homes into the city or drive to the nearest out-of-town terminus and then take public transport - after all their destination appears to be Britomart?
Are the cars from people that work in the establishments around the Britomart square? Should they not be encouraged to use the public transport system (see point above)?
Do the cars belong to shoppers? See point above.
Are the owners of the cars picking up heavy goods? Should there not be a couple of dedicated parks with 10 minute time limits near the shops for this purpose?
Why are there car parks at Britomart?
Unity
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