Why Local Linkages Matter: Findings from the Local Food Economy Study

Sustainable Seattle has published its report, Why Local Linkages Matter: Findings from the Local Food Economy Study, for public comment. The report provides a new approach to analyzing the economics of the food system, new support for developing strong local linkages, and new strategies for taking action to grow the local food economy.
You are invited to read and comment on the report prior to its final publication, following the February 18th workshop. (details below)

The report can be downloaded at: www.sustainableseattle.org/Programs/localfoodeconomy

Filed under: community, economics , economy, local, planning, public, report, Seattle

Chinese eco-city. What?

Chinese eco-city heralds revolution in urban living

By Francesca de Châtel for CNN
Find this article here

LONDON, England (CNN) — On an island off the coast of the Chinese city of Shanghai, architects, engineers and contractors are preparing to build a new city later this year. In itself, this is nothing special one would think.

With 20 percent of the world population living in China and national population figures set to hit 1.47 billion by 2020, there is always demand for new housing.

But the city that is to be built on Chongming Island at the mouth of the Yangtze River is like no other in the world: Dongtan eco-city is planned to be first truly environmentally and economically sustainable city.

Situated on a plot of land that is around two-thirds the size of Manhattan, Dongtan is surrounded by wetlands and lies beside a bird sanctuary where hundreds of rare migratory birds seek refuge.

It was these unusual natural conditions that sparked the ambitious idea of creating a new urban concept for an entirely sustainable city that would minimally impact the surrounding environment.

Planning started in 2005, after the London-based engineering and design firm Arup signed a contract with the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC).

“We were asked to create an ‘eco-demonstrator’,” explains Roger Wood, Arup’s project coordinator for the Dongtan project since 2004, “a project that incorporated a number of ideas and design concepts that would increase the Chinese understanding of sustainability.

“China has known about sustainability for 20 years, but — like everyone else — it has just not been able to apply it as a concept.”

The project is to be implemented in several phases, starting with a one square-kilometer plot that is expected to be ready in time for Shanghai’s 2010 World Expo and that will house around 5,000 people. The 6.5 square kilometer start-up area will be developed to accommodate 80,000 people by 2020 and by 2050, the city is projected to cover an area of 30 square kilometers and have a population of half a million.

Building a community spirit

Filed under: building, economics, energy , architecture, China, city, community, eco-density, energy, population, Shanghai, sustainability, urban planning

Watch the End of Suburbia Documentary

THE END OF SUBURBIA: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream

Synopsis:

Since World War II North Americans have invested much of their newfound wealth in suburbia. It has promised a sense of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility. As the population of suburban sprawl has exploded in the past 50 years, so too has the suburban way of life become embedded in the American consciousness.

Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream.

But as we enter the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge about the sustainability of this way of life. With brutal honesty and a touch of irony, The End of Suburbia explores the American Way of Life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era, as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply. World Oil Peak and the inevitable decline of fossil fuels are upon us now, some scientists and policy makers argue in this documentary.

The consequences of inaction in the face of this global crisis are enormous. What does Oil Peak mean for North America? As energy prices skyrocket in the coming years, how will the populations of suburbia react to the collapse of their dream? Are today’s suburbs destined to become the slums of tomorrow? And what can be done NOW, individually and collectively, to avoid The End of Suburbia ?

Filed under: economics, energy, lifestyle, video