Blueriders

HOME, a beautiful film about the world and carbon

2010-03-22T07:18:00.001-07:00

HOME is the most compelling movie about climate change that I have seen, much more informative, realistic, and beautiful than Inconvenient Truth or Age of Stupid. It is shot in beautiful HD with narration, mostly from the air in well-chosen locations. I can highly suggest a viewing. It is available on YouTube in HD.

Biogas from kitchen waste

2010-02-23T02:28:00.001-08:00

From the trash collecting society in Cairo, one man is making 2 hours worth of biogas for cooking each day from his kitchen organic waste. A good short from CNN about how he does it.

1937 Copenhagen

2010-02-22T06:32:00.001-08:00

James A. Fitzpatrick's Traveltalks The Voice of the Globe 1937 Copenhagen. Skip ahead to 6:15 for a great segment about bikes in the city.

Dipping into Deepsea

2010-02-16T23:01:00.001-08:00

Informal settlement on 5 private plots in Muthaiga; wealthy neighborhood where former Presidential families, Embassay workers and the Nakumatt supermarket owners reside.
Estimated 12,000 squatters

Guides: David Odiambo, human rights activists for Nairobi People Settlement Network(NPSN) and Janifer, also an anti-evictions activist, recently spoke at Amnesty in the UK (http://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=508), were are guides for the afternoon.

First stop: Chief/Governor Justus A. Malunda. A chief is not a traditional landowner, but he is a Government representative, who under the Provincial Administration organises squatters (registration, education, etc). Criticism has it, that in the Metropolitan area of Nairobi, the Provincial Administration has little power. Nevertheless, Chief Malunda seems to be a rare, pro-active Government worker. E.g. He recently organised a barassa - a community meeting to discuss waste management. Now, at 10ksh a week per household, NCC collects the settlement’s solid waste…

Chief Justus A. Malunda on drug abuse, Nicole Galletta and Luisa Stemmler (housemate), forced to read aloud.

Lecture on Drugs: When Chief Malunda realised that Nicole (talented mapper from Italy), was a smoker, he began a lengthy, animated lecture on drug abuse. “Drug are bad because you can sleep with your children…” We learnt about Mira, Mari..mari..marijuana, and hair-oin. He even showed us a stash of special cigarettes that were taken from an Indian man… Chief had noticed his “superior” attitude.

Second stop: Local pub for a soda. The pub is on a bend, and blends in with other large plotted gated homes. A path around the back takes us into an informal pub that smells strongly of potent homebrew. Duck around the corner to find a daycare center, 30ksh per child per day. Just a dark room, food is cooked when there is money to spare.

One access road cuts through the settlement. NCC plans to construct a formalized tarmac road to improve road connection within the city. As such, the case is in court: the squatters face eviction. Will it be kind? Eviction by daylight? A notice? Compensation? (The latter is predicted to be peanuts).

Greens amongst tin cans. Recent rains and leaking roofs: bedding hung out to dry.

Interestingly, there are no NGOs, no CBOs, just one FBO. The settlement is a community, with its own Governing Council. Through participatory approach, a donor’s proposal is reviewed… They don’t want to be no charity.

The great divide. School and sanitation kiosk amongst funded by FBO, Deepsea left.

The Faith-based-organisation supports a formal primary school, and has constructed a well-functioning public sanitation kiosk, with a number of showers, toilets and a large open area for washing clothes. There is plentiful water; connection is to main waterlines.

Located on a steep slope, shelters are held up by wood foundations and sandbags. Some shelters are sinking slowly. Erosion and flash floods scar the settlement.

It rained a few days ago… paths muddy and slippery… our unsteady steps prove we are ‘estrangers’.

The steep valley carries a black stream, on the other side: well-manicured lawns. The great divide is shocking.

Sandbag: resist flash flooding. Drainage constructed by the FBO. For over 40 years, she has lived in Deepsea; her children and grandchildren reside here; she recently lost ability to walk due to an illness; she is stuck here in Deepsea; slopes to steep to carry her up and out…

Still, Deepsea seems to benefit from being situated in amongst wealthy families, compared to e.g. Galole: the slum of no hope in Eastleigh. Deepsea can access formal services, there is significantly less visible solid waste pollution and safe, running water 24-hours a day; enough for showers!

Furthermore, in Deepsea, there seems to be better opportunity for informal employment in neighbouring homes, as well as three formal primary schools, although students from Deepsea find it impossible to compete against well-supported students. All but one student from Deepsea passed her final exams…

Fighting corruption

2010-02-09T04:44:00.001-08:00

Peter Eigen is the founder of Transparency International and was the World Bank manager of programs in Africa and Latin America. He spins an interesting tale about corruption in development aid, for example how foreign bribes were tax deductable in Germany.

Art infection

2010-02-08T08:03:00.001-08:00

Art Rotterdam 2010 infected Rotterdam this new year, with gallery openings and happenings across the city (in fact, the majority of the action was across the Maas River on the notorious R’Dam southside, does that make us like Brooklyn?). ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ showed the dark side of the hedonistic lifestyle in Mama Gallery. In the Charlois neighborhood, SOUTH TOUR invited the art community to a night out with free food, beer, and live music (with some art as well) through 20 galleries and studios. The main event of the urban festation was in the Cruise Terminal, a dizzying catalogue of 74 galleries from 11 countries, from within which I wrote down the names of three artists:

Bas Princen (Van Kranendonk) amazing urban landscapes from countries in transition. He will be famous I think.

Mokattam ridge (garbage city) Cairo 2009

Eric Sep (Gist Gallery) installed an infrastructural sculpture of a layer cake infrastructure urban monolith, playfully constructed from miniature models complete with miniature graffiti.

‘favellatower’

It was also fantastic to see the new-classic by Sergey Maximishin.

‘Ferry transportation through Irtysh river, Tobolsk’

NL not so wet as some say

2010-02-05T07:38:00.001-08:00

Two interesting quotes from this article about sea level:

“A United Nations report wrongly claimed that more than half of the Netherlands is currently below sea level. In fact, just 20 percent of the country consists of polders that are pumped dry, and which are at risk of flooding if global warming causes rising sea levels…”

“Dutch researchers reporting to Minister Cramer on Wednesday said that global warming appears to be slower than had been assumed. In a brochure published by the Dutch Platform for Communication on Climate Change (PCCC) the academics say that sunspot activity was relatively low over the past decade and will continue to be low for the foreseeable future. The lower the solar activity, the smaller the warming effect. According to the PCCC, the average temperature may even decrease by between 0.2 and 0.4 degrees...”

Dutch participatory planning

2010-02-02T09:14:00.001-08:00

“An ecological living quarter was built in Amsterdam in 1998. Ten years later this film was made to evaluate.”

A well-captured overview of the planning process and outcomes for the GWL neighborhood in Amsterdam with interviews from the community leaders, consultants, and architects.

GWL site 10th anniversary: birth of an eco-area from Diego Pos on Vimeo.

Evictions in Mukuru

2010-01-27T04:43:00.001-08:00

• A settlement covering an area larger than Kibera, enumeration probably not so dissimilar
• Hugging Kenya Rail and Ngong River make it both vulnerable to evictions and flooding
• Area is called “Pipeline” – for there is an oil line connecting Nairobi and Kisumu
• Mukuru, made up of 13 villages, is c.o.v.e.r.e.d. i.n. t.r.a.s.h.

Main road in Sinai Village, Ngong River dividing Sinai and Kwa Reuben Village.

Eviction Recount 1: Just before Christmas 15/12/2009, at 2am, evictions began with the bulldozering of the informal primary school for deaf students (marginalization of a societal group). Bulldozer and 100+ police evicted without notice; the reason: new pipeline. Shelters hug the tracks kilometers on end, evictions began at the very end/start of the village, and halted when villagers revolted and cut off the fingers of the driver of the bulldozer…

Ngong River separates Sinai Village with Kwa Reuben Village. The two are characteristically different, while Sinai is rusty and disorganized, hugging the railroad, Kwa Reuben shows evidence of parallel roofing; plotting. Although there is a row of Railway Hawkers, the settlement starts from a safe 30m from the tracks. The 20+m between hawkers and settlement provide a public space where a hawker has laid out all of the (washing) tubs he sells for display. He also sells home-made oil-lamps, constructed from light-bulbs turned upside down.

In Kwa Reuben, rooms cost 1000KSH +20KSH for ‘protection’, if you are a shop-owner. Protection is provided by Masai Warriors.

Railway tracks along which the 13 Mukuru villages are situated, a footbridge.

In Mukuru, settlement squatting seems to work like this: there is a local area chief (though he may not necessarily be a traditional landowner – he might just be some guy from the country). He has his Vice-chairman; his right-hand man; his wingman. (He, too, needs not be a traditional owner; he is just some guy; a middleman). To receive a plot or a shelter, one must make an offer to both the Chief and the Vice-Chairman, neither is a representative of the Government; and both will disappear come eviction time, which is exactly what happened in the Gateway Zone.

Eviction Recount 2: At 9am, on 27.07.2007, 300 policeman evicted over 25,000 people at the Gateway Zone. A developer had been in negotiations with the area chiefs; the court granted eviction papers; only to discover that after the developer mounted a 7+m high wall around the entire perimeter; he had no more right to the land than the squatters… or did he?

Informal primary school wall-paintings, with squatter kids in front of a biogas sanitation kiosk “Biocenter”, the quarry: now both a bathing and dumpsite, eviction area 3.

Eviction Recount 3: The 3km wide area was privately owned; the owner allowed settlers to lease a plot of land for an initial fee, and a monthly 100KSH rent- to re-enforce the temporary contract. After the owner’s death, the son sold the plot to a developer: Safaricom, who demanded an empty plot. As such, the son hired a gang, who brought in a gas tank, set it alight and forced settlers out of their homes through a violent rampage.

Mukuru is located on industrial land; this is highly evident, it surrounds a quarry. The quarry has filled with water, at the same time as trash is dumped into the quarry, there are those who are washing themselves.

Discussion with members of Mukuru CBO Alliance and left, David from the Nairobi People’s Settlement Network, “my container.”

To guarentee my return to the neighborhood, the Mukuru CBO Alliance presented me with a gift... Not a goat nor a dance performance, but a shipping container with a large water storage tank as a hat. The container has been unused and remained closed for 5 years… Wild ideas are very welcome!

People Settlements in Eastleigh

2010-01-19T05:37:00.001-08:00

The Eastleigh district of Nairobi is infamous for hostility, crime, and Somalis (reportedly, when an oil tanker is pirated, new buildings spring up in Eastleigh). The youth group Den of Hope kindly toured us through with a four-man protection crew. The first stop was the free primary education school, a concrete building complex on a plot of open land, typical class size eighty students. Den of Hope is cooperating with the local government to plant 500 seedling trees, including several on school grounds, as a local climate change action.

The leader of our tour is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable member of the Nairobi People’s Settlement Network, a no-nonsense grassroots organization dedicated to “giving people the tools of knowledge to agitate for their rights”, namely about eviction policies and humanitarian issues. They also author shadow reports to contradict official state reports. More about the Nairobi People’s Settlement Network (IRIN News).

Eastleigh primary school, Den of Hope tree planting, Eastleigh wall painting, Eastleigh streets

There is no waste management in Eastleigh, resulting in massive piles of garbage in many streets. Once in a long while, the government may remove the piles, but they are immediately replaced.

Our tour extended to two informal settlements within Eastleigh, Kitui Village and Galole.

Galole open water where demolished homes stood, inner Galole, visiting a family, father and child in Galole

The characteristics of informal settlements are insecurity of tenure, poor durability of structures, lack of running water, lack of sanitation facilities, lack of electricity, and lack of improved roads. Galole is the worst in all categories we witnessed.

We were taken through the neighborhood, which the inhabitants refer to as the Ghetto, by members of Faasik, the only NGO in the area, focused on HIV/AIDS issues, such as awareness and providing food for bed-ridden members. There are about fifty openly HIV positive members in Galole.

600 Galole families live in small (3 by 4 meter) shanties with muddy floors, no toilets, no water (the closest tap is 1km away, costs 5KSH per jerry can), no drainage, and no washing space. The structures, re-used patchworks of corrugated sheets, were built by “slum lords” who charge 800KSH per month (8 Euro) rent plus 200KSH security to the local slum gang. The huts are jokingly referred to as “self-confused rooms” because one tiny, low room represents the bedroom, kitchen, toilet, bathing, etc. The low rooftops collect trash bags, presumably from flying toilets.

The neighborhood squats on privately owned land. Recently, the land owner had a part of the neighborhood demolished without any warning to the inhabitants and without replacement dwellings. The demolished plot is now filled with open water, and is feared to be a breeding ground for malaria.

Galole is figuratively and literally a dead end (the dirty narrow pathways terminate abruptly). The tenants have little hope of upgrading their lives. The slum lords will not upgrade their structures. The government has no interest in upgrading their infrastructure. When the land owner decides to develop, the inhabitants will simply lose what little they have.

Informal Settlements in Lilongwe, Malawi

2010-01-16T07:45:00.001-08:00

Informal settlements in Malawi have been dictated by the country’s political history. From the 1970’s to 1994, dictator Banda forcefully evicted squatters but also built so-called Service Plots for urban poor. The Service Plots were planned areas with roads, community water points, and pit latrines. After 1994, with the advent of multiparty democracy, informal settlements were allowed to grow as government turned a blind eye, in part to remain popular. The contemporary policy is to recognize and upgrade informal settlements by investing in infrastructure and improving security of tenure.

Lilongwe was planned in 1975 when the government capital moved to the area from Zomba after independence (it has the sprawled, overly planned feeling of Canberra, Australia). In the beginning, the government housing authority was actively planning and creating Service Plots, but ceased completely in the 1980’s. Today, about two thirds of Lilongwe citizens reside in informal settlements. The Malawi government, with a national budget comprised of 40-60% foreign aid, has little money to spend on thorough urban upgrading.

Mtandile informal settlement bicycle repair, streets of the informal settlement, primary school from the government

The informal settlements of Lilongwe are benign compared to those of Nairobi. As population increases, the settlements sprawl unabated into the open fields surrounding the city. While residents have no formal tenure security, there is no risk of government eradication.

There is the beginning of a public-private partnership for waste collection. A group of women is working to collect and sort waste. Organic waste is sold to a company. Bottles and plastics will also be separated and sold.

Land ownership is managed through the traditional chief who keeps his own land register. This has many advantages for residents: children keep land rights after parental death, chiefs control the cemetery and burial rights, and chiefs settle boundary disputes. In Malawi, the local chief has more authority than the government, so much so that the UN uses the chiefs to implement new programs, such as waste collection, rather than the government.

Participatory planning in Mathare slum, Nairobi, Kenya

2010-01-16T05:51:00.001-08:00

I had the opportunity to take a brief glimpse into a participatory planning meeting between Maratini, a community in the Mathare slum of Nairobi, and Babu, a young urban planner working with a non-profit group that specializes in assisting communities upgrade their plots within informal settlements.

Babu recently finished an undergraduate degree in urban planning with the University of Nairobi, a course that until recently was reserved for masters level students. He was kind enough to give a short tour of the Mathare slum, a valley on the east side of Nairobi densely packed with mud and steel sheeting dwellings with interspaced concrete apartment buildings. Land ownership and land rights are a complicated issue in Kenyan slums. Most parcels are government owned while some are privately owned and have been developed into the afore mentioned housing blocks or churches.

The planning meeting was held in a corrugated steel church at the entrance of the Maratini community. The Maratini community exists on about 1.5 acres of land and has an estimated population of 3000. The land is government owned, but is being considered for transition to the community under a progressive slum upgrading policy facilitated by Babu’s NGO. The goal is for the community to take control of the land and build new dwellings with their own money. The main obstacle is negotiations with the owner of the current building structures from whom the community is renting. These ‘slum lords’, who build shanties on squatted land for renting to urban poor, are often also involved in politics and have a tight grip over their domain. It is this system of tenancy which causes some of the worst slum conditions, as the renters are not incentivized to invest in their houses and the shadowy owner collects profit without reinvestment either.

The meeting that I attended was focused on the spatial planning of the new community. About fifty of the community members along with Babu and two UN-HABITAT interns were in attendance. After formal introductions, Babu presented hand-drawn maps of the land parcel depicting possible layouts of the building structures. The new buildings will be two-to-three stories from concrete and steel, an upgrade from the current situation of single level steel and mud shacks but shy of the tall concrete housing blocks which have been shown to cause further problems. The plan calls for rows of about ten houses back-to-back with narrow alleys between the blocks, a few wider roads through the community, and an open space in the center. Open space is a rare but welcome privilege, as any open parcel is otherwise built upon, further congesting the environment.

To inhibit land grabbing in the transition process, Babu suggested photographing the population of the community and laminating the results with names to have a complete registrar of future inhabitants. Some elderly community members criticized the spatial plan because they wanted wider alleys between the houses for sitting outside their house. A workman complained that in the prospective residential community no space is made for workshops which exist in the current community. He suggested that either space be made for workshops in the community or the government builds another space for workshops nearby on the major road.

It was inspiring to witness such participatory planning in action under such careful and prepared consideration by a young urban planner. The community was very receptive and engaged in the process. I wish the people of the Maratini neighborhood the best on their path towards a new home!

Informal Settlements in Blantyre, Malawi

2010-01-16T05:50:00.001-08:00

Blantyre City Assembly’s Planning Department was kind enough to grant us an interview and settlement tour on very short notice. The most striking aspect of informal settlements in Malawi is recognition by the current government and progressive efforts to upgrade the settlements.

Squatters on government land have an opportunity to gain ownership under a lease agreement and title deed. The length of the lease depends upon the quality of the structure, varying from 33, 66 or 99 years, as judged by an inspector. The goal is to gain land tenure security so that citizens can use the value to get loans.

Upgrading pilot project, Mbayani settlement viewed from nearby hill, upgraded main road

The government wants to improve infrastructure, provide access roads, water, electricity, hospitals, schools, waste management, and sewers within informal settlements. In Malawi’s new multi-party democracy, an inclusive policy for informal settlement dwellers may be a political move to remain popular with all levels of society. The first slum upgrading project in Blantyre is in Mbayani, the oldest settlement from around 1954. In 2008 a paved access road was built into the area and up the hill to a new government school.

urban agriculture on every possible piece of land

this gentleman has a house with a view over the settlement and community pit latrines in his backyard

Brian from the City Assembly leads Eline through the settlement, the upgraded road is the main artery for life in the settlement

To learn more, seek the Situation Analysis of Informal Settlements. Blantyre City Assembly. Prepared under ‘Cities without slums initiative’ (UN Habitat). 2005. Survey analysis by CCODE consultants.

Informal Settlements in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

2010-01-16T05:46:00.001-08:00

On Christmas Day we received a tour of two informal settlements in Tanzania from a local urban planning student, Martin, who participated in a previous UN-HABITAT workshop. The informal settlements in Tanzania differ from Kenyan settlements in that most if not all inhabitants own their structures rather than rent. Tanzania is also not plagued by tribalism or regionalism which adds conflict and violence in Kenyan settlements.

Jangwani plastic recycling, water supply, pit latrine, pollution

This settlement is squatted on government-owned land which is flooded in the rainy season most years. The stream running through the area is highly polluted with human waste and industrial runoff. It is a low density area with a lot of space between structures. The structures are mostly of durable materials. Drinking water is stolen off the city network and available for free to the inhabitants. The principle industry in the neighborhood is plastic recycling. A large bag of plastic bottles is worth TZS200 (about .10 Euro) which is purchased by a Chinese recycling company.

Kigogo discussion between Eline and Martin, urban space

This area has been squatted upon since at least the 1970’s although it has never been officially condoned or mapped. The citizens seem to have a feeling of secure tenure, as they have invested in durable structures. Though informal, the neighborhood is well planned with a livable density of low-rise structures, urban agriculture and even a grazing space for animals. The in-between spaces are well landscaped and upgraded with concrete staircases.

Kibera Community Youth Program’s Solar Project

2010-01-16T05:43:00.001-08:00

Wycliffe Sande of the Kibera Community Youth Program, shown here in his office with me, is organizing a solar energy program within the infamous Kibera slum of Nairobi. The program offers consultation and installation service for household PV panels and also builds small PV units to be sold within the community aimed at the target group of citizens without access to the electricity grid.

One of the products being developed is an integrated PV light system. The components are a hard crystalline PV panel (5.3 x 13.3cm) connected to a tray of three AA rechargeable batteries and then ten LED bulbs inside an FSC-certified hardwood case.

The advantages of this design are that it can be assembled within the slum and the product is reasonably durable. The disadvantage are that it is too expensive to be purchased by slum dwellers (~30 Euro, equivalent to three months rent), it is not water resistant, and a few design flaws limit its practicality. The high cost is resultant from the PV panel, which is of Swiss make and costs over 6 Euro, and the FSC wood, which was recommended by Greenpeace. The light beam is quite focused (due to the deep inset of the LED bulbs) which limits the product’s ability to offer diffuse light in a room.

If you are a product designer with an inclusive worldview, I challenge you to redesign the product to reduce the price and improve functionality. I would consider using a less expensive PV panel, such as a flexible thin-film cell and replacing the wood with locally available recycled material, such as plastic packaging or rubber from tires or inner tubes. I would keep the idea of using recharchable AA batteries because it extends the use of the product to battery charging. The dream product should be able to illuminate a small shop window or a living room for at least four hours, offer water protection, cost less than 5 Euro, be able to be assembled within a slum workshop, use recycled or renewable materials for the casing, and last for many years.

Sande would love for you to offer a new design. Comment on this post and I can put you in touch with him.

Deter Thieves By Uglifying Your Camera

2009-12-10T08:02:00.000-08:00

Deter Thieves By Uglifying Your Camera

I am thinking about doing this for traveling in Kenya. Seems like a good idea since Eline said that she wanted disposable cameras, since they are not objects of desire for thieves. Yet, I must admit that I will still want to shoot digital.

Legalized squatting in The Netherlands: in action

2009-12-03T08:19:00.001-08:00

For several decades, squatting has been legal in The Netherlands. A building or flat can be squatted which has been vacant for more than one year and if there is no building or renovation permit signed.

However, legalized squatting is probably in its twilight, as the Christian-conservative party (VVD) hopes to pass an anti-squatting bill this year. Before the bill passes, two foreigners partook in this Dutch social experiment, and this is how they did it.

The first step was education about squatting laws and searching for a vacant building. Education about squatting was taught by practicing squatters and the man behind Squatnet Rotterdam and the Autonomous Library, which yielded the best and most reliable information. After spending many weekends scouting vacant buildings by bicycle, two or three buildings were recommended to us by Rotterdam natives. The difficulty in finding a suitable building is not finding just an empty place, but having proof that it has been empty for at least one year.

The building we finally decided upon was very low-risk; it had already been squatted once before (though when abandoned it was reclosed), the owner was known for being respectful of squatters, and there were no redevelopment plans (in fact the final destination is demolition). Additionally, a friend provided documents proving that it had been empty for more than one year. For other buildings we looked at, we used the free resource at the City Information Point wherein the owner of any building can be ascertained.

When it comes to squatting, the only illegal activity is breaking and entering. Dutch law states that once inside the building, if no damage from breaking and entering can be seen, and there is a bed, table and chair present and the door can be locked from inside and out, the occupants of the building have what is called House Peace. Once House Peace has been established, the occupants become tenants of the building and assume the appropriate rights.

In our case, an open window provided the opportunity to enter without breaking. Once inside the building, we removed the metal security door and built a new front door lock and installed our appropriate furniture. After this, it is advisable to inform the police so that they can document the House Peace, after which anyone else coming into the house is trespassing, including the owner. The police took about five days before they finally visited our squat, before which at least one person was always inside the building, should any mischief arise. When the police finally arrived, they checked to make sure that the house was livable and that we seemed like decent people. On their way out, one officer said, “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

We were lucky with the house we chose because it still had running water, electricity and gas. The power company was happy to transfer the bills to our names, without asking anything about the legal status of the building (money talks).

The final step towards total legitimacy was registering to live in the squat with the municipality. At some point this was frowned upon by the bureaucrats, but hard work by one particular lawyer gave squatters their full legal rights. But it still took over two hours in city hall to work through the system, much like a typical DMV in America. We were able to register after the municipality sent a control team to make sure we actually inhabited the building.

In the meantime, we have been cleaning up after the previous squatter’s mess, improving the infrastructure, such as electrical wiring and plumbing, and applying a fresh coat of paint to the 75+ year old house.

What benefits does The Netherlands have from legalized squatting?

Reduced speculation on property
Inexpensive housing
High space-use efficiency
Thriving anti-squat* industry

*Anti-squatters are people who live in vacant buildings under a contract with the owner. The anti-squatting tenants have the benefit of large spaces for cheap rent while the owner keeps the buildings occupied to resist squatters and can evict the anti-squatters with two weeks notice.

It has been rewarding to participate in this Dutch social experiment while the doors are still open, so to say. Our rent has been reduced to only the utility bills. We have learned about the Dutch legal system. And, it has been great fun to put our hands to work on building a new creative home, free of rental contracts and landlords.

More information about squatting in The Netherlands.

Photos from our house:

Solar-Powered Camel Clinics Carry Medicine Across the Desert

2009-12-03T06:08:00.000-08:00

New eco-friendly project to transport medicines and vaccines to rural communities in Kenya and Ethiopia. Do camels make the idea mobile health clinics? Cheap, reliable and it will go the distance...

Hard Lessons. Education in one of Nairobi's slums

2009-11-27T02:17:00.001-08:00

Dilbert's internship at the UN...

2009-11-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

COP15: The Issues

2009-11-18T01:59:00.001-08:00

What’s on the table at Copenhagen? Read at Good.is

Stop dumping death on us

2009-11-15T11:19:00.001-08:00

Informational video about the terrible conditions of the solid waste dump in Nairobi, check it out and spread the word.

Dandora Dumpsite

2009-11-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

Kraak game under fire

2009-10-16T02:20:00.001-07:00

Yesterday the lower house of the Dutch parliament approved a bill which would illegalize squatting in The Netherlands, whereas now a “peace house” can be established in a building which has been empty for more than one year and also has no immediate redevelopment plans. The bill will not be a law until the upper house votes upon the issue.

The bill, proposed by the Christian Democrats, the liberal VVD and the Christian Union, would make squatting punishable by up to a year behind bars, or two in the case of violence.

In protest, the kraak (squat) community pitched a tent village in Den Haag. After the news that the bill had passed in the lower house, an uproar broke out in the tent village causing the parliament to take a recess and several arrests were made.

“Squatting is still a solution; Politics are still corrupt” From the squat community in Den Haag protesting against the bill to ban squatting.

The benefits of squatting in The Netherlands are many, including: a thriving anti-squatting industry, an end to speculation on property, maximization of space usage, and affordable housing for students (and anti-capitalists).

See more of the tent village

Tour de France 2010 in Rotterdam

2009-10-14T14:43:00.001-07:00

The Tour de France will begin in Rotterdam next July, and if that is not amazing enough, the race will actually go through the building I am currently residing in, Het Poortgebouw!

Here is information about the route of the tour, in particular the grand depart in Rotterdam. The mayor of Rotterdam, Ivo W. Opstelten, wrote:

The Grand Départ of the Tour de France also gives us an opportunity to draw attention to another of the city’s ambitions. Under the motto “New Energy”, we are creating a link between sustainability, exercise, health and youth and the sport of cycling. The world needs new energy – sustainable energy that emits less CO2; new energy from cycling for and by the youth of Rotterdam.

That is right up my alley. Check out the pretty sweet flyover of the Tour’s route:

Expect to see big things on the roof of Het Poortgebouw on the 3rd of July in 2010!

Two Succumb to Hunger

2009-10-09T05:38:00.000-07:00

From Kenya National TV, reasons for increased urban migration:

Economic Crisis Hits the Urban Poor Hardest

2009-10-09T05:05:00.000-07:00

Some of us may not feel the effects of the economic recession much, we can continue our schooling, buy groceries and afford small trips. Last night, I cooked a lentil soup for 7 persons, all the veggies (carrots, lentils, onions and potatoes) and spices added up to KSH180, approx €1.80. Little costs, unfortunately, still too great for some.

More than 80% of Nairobi’s slum population lives below the poverty line and cannot afford to put food on the table. Kenya’s slum dwellers have been hit hard by the food price crisis. Slum dwellers in Central Kenya are faced with extreme poverty (starvation), and are resorting to eating animal feed (24 August 2009, Concern).

The economic crisis is harsh on casual workers employed in the formal sector, informal sector workers and international and domestic migrant workers. As last reserves are used, the risks is exorbitantly high for the poor to rejoin the ranks of ‘extreme poverty’. Industries (especially the garment industry) are back to offering sweat shop conditions to the desperate (Voices of the Vulnerable).

Urban migration has increased in the recent months; due to aggravated environmental conditions (extreme drought). Migration is out of complete desperation, for a ray of hope. Funds only for a one-way bus fare. There is an urban humanitarian disaster at hand.

Sunday Morning Video

2009-09-27T05:40:00.001-07:00

About 20 minutes of footage of an experienced bike building master in Amsterdam under the flag RIH.

The video is what my old photography teacher would call “quiet”. It is relaxing to watch this man’s tempered patience as he conducts his craft.

Ambroseli National Park

2009-09-25T14:11:00.001-07:00

Although only 240km southeast of Nairobi, there is a 50km stretch that took almost three hours. Blame the tourist industry, for the overloaded trucks carry the luxurious comforts requested the wealthy tourists and road with deepening ridges.
We camped, down and dirty in the sand, under Mt. Kili’s air (heir). Unlike all other camping experiences, all trash (cans, wrappers, etc) is burned, so that the smell doesn’t attract wildlife. Nevertheless, a couple of hyenas paid visit during the night, they are harmless scavengers, but the roaring lion 2kms away is not.
The National Park hasn’t received rain in over two years, Ambroseli lake has dried up almost completely. The grazers and hippos hang out in the small patch of swamp, and carcasses lie in every direction; the area stinks of death.
Mt. Kili has little snow left. It seems to live in its own biosphere; even at a distance one can notice/admire Mt. Kili’s unique environment.
Giraffes, zebras, gazellies, wildebeests, weaverbirds, ele’s, warthogs, hippo’s, and even two lions mating on the early morning, birthday game-drive.
Africa’s beautiful landscape suffers from the lack of rain.

~Eline Bakker

Karibu Kenya

2009-09-18T04:13:00.000-07:00

East Africa brings a whole new way of life. Nairobi is located at 1700m, chilly temperatures at dawn and dusk with a blazing sun at noon. Everything is dry. It hasn’t rained since May, and so the dams are empty and the water company is struggling to provide water. In fact, it hardly succeeds. Water tanks on rooftops are refilled every three days (although im counting 6 at my place) . During the day, electricity is provided to the industry, and at night to residences. Red soil dusts the air. Exotic flowers and bright birds line the streets; species that are similar to those found in Australia, like the , birds of paradise.
I live in what the interns have dubbed ‘slum gardens,’ for these plastic model homes find themselves amongst UN and embassy villas. Run by a thieving Indian woman, who doesn’t declare taxes, but happily rents out rooms for 200,00ksh +. Remove two zeros and that equals Euros. The homes model Dubai’s vision of upgraded slum houses, simple plastic structures, but the beautiful well-manicured garden makes up for the discomforts of woodworms and a grave-sunk mattress.
Otherwise, these are my observations:
• Traffic in Nairobi is a nightmare. No practical xeoms to catch a ride with, bicycle riding is out of the question (although there supposedly is one fixed gear rider...). Instead, the informal system of matatus (mini vans) takes ownership of the road. Doors fly open, hip music welcomes in a road side passenger, and at the sound of whistle sung by the man hanging out the vehicle, the matatu speeds away.
• Roads throughout the city are pott-holed.
• When El Nino comes, there is going to be a lot of trouble!! (The Urban Poor living along the major rivers are in dire straits!)
• There is no real center of town, instead there are areas.
• Most expat folk live in well-secured, high-fenced estates.
• Tribal hierarchy governs life (more on this topic later)
• Internet sucks here, but avocadoes cost 15ksh a piece!
• The Sunday hike up Ol Donyo (Buffalo) Mountain revealed no buffalos, but many baboons and blue headed monkeys crossed the path.

Rotterdam

2009-09-13T16:21:00.001-07:00

Statue in the center

The Poortgebouw

Off of the Erasmusbrug

NileDutch Kwanza

2009-09-13T15:16:00.001-07:00

“Hotel Kwanza”, a project with NileDutch (shipping company) and Bier en Brood (art collective). Cool video on instillation in Black 10 gallery in Rotterdam.

Next new future soon to come

2009-09-06T09:34:00.001-07:00

The year of the fixed gear bicycle has come and gone as far as the fad is concerned. I will continue riding mine, as will many others, for the geometry and simplicity of the bicycle form. But there is something else on the horizon… Chop Bikes!

Surly’s chopper ‘Mephechopoles’ from Rat Patrol

Ed "Twisted" Santana: Kustom Chopper

With a plethora of old bicycles and parts lying around The Netherlands, it shouldn’t be hard to start putting on these together…

Playing for Change: Chanda Mama

2009-08-13T15:15:00.001-07:00

You’ve got to check out Playing for Change (peace through music). This outfit has people from all over the world playing on a single track!

Here is some info about this song:

“This Song Around The World is a folk tune from Chennai, India. We started the track in New Orleans and added musicians from the across the globe before finally delivering it the people of it’s origin. We ended up in Chennai recording and filming the vocals from the Oneness Choir. The track has a feeling of perseverance and joy and features vocalists from four continents.”

Listen to the song!

Cambodian Visa Issued

2009-08-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

Dad, Nico, recently had his new Cambodian Work Visa extended.

I spy, I spy with my little eye, something so hilarious...

The visa is issued to a "Husband of Bakker."

The Longest Way 1.0

2009-07-24T08:44:00.001-07:00

A man walks for 1 year across China and makes a website and a video. Both are terrific, the inspiring video is below, and you should take the time to check it out:

The Longest Way 1.0 - one year walk/beard grow time lapse from Christoph Rehage on Vimeo.

5 Days in NYC

2009-07-23T21:50:00.001-07:00

Thank you to my friends for showing me a great time NYC earlier this week… I had a great time enjoying the following activities:

I saw Dirty Projectors beside the Hudson River in Brooklyn with a crowd of beautiful people / the Williamsburg population.

Williamsburg waterfront | Dirty Projectors

I broke New York’s Open Container Law in McCarren Park, Brooklyn until after dark and then was taken to a Manhattan hotel roof bar by an off-duty homosexual bartender for free drinks with a great view of the NY night skyline.

I crashed on David Rosenzweig’s couch on the corner of Driggs and Metropolitan in Williamsburg in his illegally-occupied windowless warehouse apartment, but a photo studio to make up for it. He showed me his neighborhood in all its’ Hipstery goodness (been living under a rock? hipsterrunoff, hipster olympics); a barrage of tattoos (ironic or otherwise), fixed gear bicycles, interesting graffiti, ‘fashion’, coffee shops, bookstores, thrift shops, and creative industries.

Williamsburg | Random hipster photo

I rode my 1970’s road bike up Manhattan on a beautiful sunny day to Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art where I saw Francis Bacon’s retrospective. I also learned that the safest way to ride bikes in traffic in NYC is to go fast along with the traffic.

My bike at the MET | Francis Bacon paintings

I also chilled in Union Sq., slept at an undisclosed recording studio on sound-proofing pads, avoided bedbugs, rode a mountain bike at sunrise through Prospect Park, climbed a statue, and modeled in a magazine photo shoot (kind of).

Golden Triangle

2009-07-22T03:25:00.000-07:00

Where Thai Buddha meets Burma and Laos. Tollway (deepest point of the river) marks the borders. Borders always shifting…

Big Buddha, marking Thailand's territory.

While Nels has joined the hipster movement in Brooklyn, USA, Eline enjoys a family holiday through Northern Thailand. Travel by Mitsubishi Pajero, MRC Mekong Nico at the wheel, Susan the guiding GPS.

In Chiang Saen, we visit the Hall of Opium. Poppy plant, a long time ago grown solely for medicinal purposes, now a means to buy weapons and feed wars.

Just south of the Golden Triangle, we visit a Union of Hilltribes. An impressive fortress-wall gate leads to a collection of five hilltribes: Yao, Akha, Lahu, Lisu and Long-Neck Karen. Among a rich green jungle there is sadness, although the customs and traditional lifestyle is attempting survival, it is poisoned.

By the sound of foreign footsteps, hilltribe persons emerge from their huts, fixing their traditional dress, putting on their headdresses, and welcome with '50 baht', '100 baht' for handmade wares. Drum and dance is performed for those tourists wanting a show.

The Akha people believe that spirit and man once lived together until a spirit stole a tomato from man, and man a cucumber from a spirit. Since then, distinct differentiation is made between the spirit and human world. One enters an Akha village through a cleansing gate; when spirits one may have attracted during the jungle walk are sent back to the jungle. The Akha enjoy see-sawing and swinging on a four way parasol swing.

The Yao people enjoy a beautiful stature with their puffy red collars, like a European fur collar. They are from the Western Thailand. Here we met Leuh Kwauh, an older lady with a young spirit who specialised in embroidery patterns. To start interaction, I pull out my decade-long attempt to finishing a piece of embroidery. Yao women wear embroidered pants. With an opportunity to buy from the creator, I bought a piece and paid her well (say 'No' the Middle Man's gross profits). She presented a gift; a small photo of her AMONGST THE POPPY FIELDS. UNIQUE!

Leuh Kwauh in a poppy field, taken outside of her home village.

The Long-Neck Karen people seem to receive most of the attention. Their neckware is not light:

4 kg of neckware for an average Long Neck Karen woman

http://picasaweb.google.com/elinebakker/Thailand2009?feat=directlink

Portrait of Amsterdam

2009-07-16T06:25:00.001-07:00

This is what happens you add up: tilt-shift photography + stop motion video + Nike footwear's production budget + I AMsterdam + a Blogger named Nalden + a look into the creative city = a very cool portrait of Amsterdam, well worth watching!

The IAM1 Amsterdam Journey from Nalden on Vimeo.

Daedelus at the Meet Factory

2009-06-07T05:59:00.001-07:00

3 June, 2009, awesome concert!

Daedelus with visual artist friend TOHYTO rocked the Meet Factory in Prague. The Meet Factory is a squatted post-industrial building on a Prague brownfield.

Daedelus in the Meet Factory

Gig information on Lunchmeat.cz

Meet Factory

Daedelus at the Meet Factory

Daedelus playing his Menome, an interesting instrument created by Brian Crabtree. Watch a video of Daedelus explaining how it works. Watch an artist interview video with Daedelus.

World Games Solar Stadium

2009-05-14T03:52:00.001-07:00

The World Games Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan was completed in January for the upcoming 2009 games. The astonishing feature of the stadium is the 14,155 m2 solar PV roof which will produce 1.14 gigawatt hours of electricity a year. Furthermore, all materials are local to Taiwan and reusable.

From the World Games website:

The whole construction of the Main Stadium, with a capacity of 40,000 seats, designed by Toyo Ito… an international standard soccer field and facility, ensuring that it is the perfect venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the Rugby 7s and Flying Disc events. The City of Kaohsiung is particularly proud of this project. During the construction period, no site accidents occurred, while the construction crew successfully overcame the technical difficulties presented by installing spiral steel girders and 8,844 solar panels on the roof.

That’s right, Ultimate is one of the many fringe sports that are part of the World Games, and it will be played in this amazing new stadium! Check out this short promotional video for the new stadium, which opens with a disc being tossed:

I must confess this is the first I have heard of the World Games, which consists of 30 eccentric sports such as water skiing (including water ski jumping), surfing, life saving, tug of war, and bowling… see the entire list. Hopefully this incredible new stadium will increase the event’s visibility.

Stadium under construction via

1605 Streaming Music

2009-05-13T13:44:00.001-07:00

This website is currently streaming some really great electronic music tracks. I don’t know how much longer the site will be up, so go listen now! 1605

The visual design team for their website is here

Fontainebleau weekend

2009-05-12T06:00:00.001-07:00

We got away from Wagstag for a weekend down to Fontainebleau, France for some bouldering in the famous forests. It rained most of the time we were there, but we still got in a couple of problems and some nice hikes through the woods.

Nels on top of a boulder in the Troi Pignon (Three Pigeon) forest.

Camping near the racetrack.

Coming home to the camp site after a night out in Fontainebleau.

Fog over the racetrack.

Making fire in a cave. Photo by Julia.

Bevrijdingsfestival (Liberation Day Party)

2009-05-06T02:07:00.001-07:00

Liberation Day in Wageningen this year was an amazing event; the whole city was a giant music festival. There were 19 music stages playing music from 13.00-midnight, each with its own genre including a terrific world music lineup, hip hop, electro, pop, rock & roll, and even a tent for old-people-music. The normally sleepy city was transformed…

From our apartment window I took a 12 hour time-lapse video of the Wageningen Bus Station and compiled this video. While the bus station was not the center of the action, there was a good view of the Veterans Parade and of the masses trying to leave around 23.00. I set the camera up to take a photo each 30 seconds. At night, an interesting effect occurred when the shutter speed was 30 seconds itself, resulting in continuous shooting and streaky light, check it out at the end of the short 2 minute movie:

YGTBKM

2009-04-28T09:21:00.001-07:00

~~man bear pig~~ man bird pig ok.

Its light until past 9pm now

2009-04-26T03:34:00.001-07:00

David is Wageningen.

Eline with the tulips.

Two operational road bikes on the dike road.

Decoupling economic growth from consumption

2009-04-22T04:18:00.000-07:00

"The relation between economic growth, consumption of natural resources and the
generation of waste must change. Strong economic performance must go hand in
hand with sustainable use of natural resources and levels of waste, maintaining
biodiversity, preserving ecosystems and avoiding desertification…."

- The EU agenda on Sustainable development
(Gotheburg 2001)

Amen.

Paganello 2009

2009-04-08T02:38:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow Eline and I ship off to Italy’s Rimini Beach for Paganello 2009. We’ll be playing for Girl Drink Drunk, a team of internationals rounded up by a friend from the Bangkok Hat Tournament.

“Held for the first time in 1991, Paganello has become one of the world's biggest Ultimate event and one of the most popular tournaments internationally. Many of the best European teams as well as many competitive American teams attend Paganello. More than 1,200 athletes from 25 countries attend play almost 500 games. The tournament takes place throughout four days which end on Monday afternoon with the finals of the four divisions: juniors, mixed, women's and men's being played in front of about 10,000 spectators.” [wiki]

Paganello 2008 highlights:

American Nostalgia

2009-03-23T11:04:00.001-07:00

‘Been watching some movies lately that have stirred up some American nostalgia in my blood.

"The highways are crowded with people who drive as if their sole purpose in getting behind the wheel is to avenge every wrong done them by man, beast or fate. The only thing that keeps them in line is their fear of death, jail and lawsuits."
— Hunter S. Thompson (Hell's Angels)

Mural action

2009-03-17T09:39:00.001-07:00

Thanks, Max, for letting us paint your wall.

Darwin Birdy Nam Nam

2009-03-15T10:35:00.001-07:00

We got a parakeet (budgie) bird yesterday. Its 3 months old and very curious.

His favorite music is by dominik eulberg, to which he sings along. Favorite album: flora & fauna.

Over the next few weeks we hope to get it trained to perch on a finger and eventually leave its cage.

nelsonelson.com

2009-03-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

nelsonelson.com has had a makeover with a design by me and code by Ben Heller (leakybean.com). There can you find a projects page, my resume, and yet another weblog, which I will transition to from Blue Riders, so update your RSS reader!

Photoshop remixed my project

2009-03-02T12:40:00.001-08:00

I had been over-taxing photoshop for a few hours when it spat out this wildly mis-compressed image when I asked it to crop a larger picture. I sort of like the way it looks!

This is why I love urbanism

2009-02-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

Cities are more interesting.

360+1: Model City

2009-02-24T06:15:00.001-08:00

Just a couple more days now until the SASBE09 entries are due. We are scrambling to clean up the lighting on the 3D model, but other than that feel good about the entry. The image is for printing A2.

Langlaufen in Germany

2009-02-09T13:48:00.000-08:00

I took a study break this weekend with the Wageningen IBEX chapter (alpine club) and did some Langlaufen (cross country skiing) in Germany's Sauerland (as in Sauerkraut). Under the direction of our professional meteorologist, Bert, we skied 32 km across the landscape of rolling hills.

The last 12 km were after dark on a snowy night with the full moon palely shining though. Despite starting in the rain and the marginal snow conditions, it was a lovely trip and the fresh air did this student well. The best part was flying down skinny logging roads on ice after dark.

From Langlaufen

Bert on the GPS. "I like the atmosphere, especially at night."

From Langlaufen

Joost getting through the woods in the dark.

From Langlaufen

Roemer looking serious in the twilight. "We are extremely far from the cars."

From Langlaufen

The summit at 3pm. Glorious view.

From Langlaufen

The crew on the summit.

Energy Producing Greenhouse

2009-02-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

Technical scheme of the "energy producing greenhouse". It has not been fully realized. Hooking together homes and greenhouses has so far proved difficult due to housing project managers who are somewhat stuck in their ways. Also, the greenhouses are "energy producing" as they still use natural gas for electricity and heating.

Hydro Huisman's tropical greenhouse.

The SASBE2009 team: Chris (NL), Nels & Julia (Costa Rica).

ReGeo progess

2009-02-05T05:18:00.000-08:00

Padma is out, perhaps ReGeo is in. Moving into the phase of trying to display the system's flows in an easily readable way. What do you think of the "flow hexagon"?

Another day in Wageningen

2009-01-31T16:45:00.000-08:00

Rising and setting sun in the apartment.

The winter sun hangs low in the Netherlands.

Padma Mock-Up

2009-01-29T15:29:00.001-08:00

29 days to go until SASBE2009 entries are due. Two sides of A3 and 500 words is a tight space for a project such as this. This is a mock-up of how we might fill the area with information.

Obama interviewed by Arab TV

2009-01-28T02:23:00.000-08:00

President Obama's interview with Al-Arabiya Arab TV Network full text

"...what I've come to understand is that regardless of your faith -- and America is a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers -- regardless of your faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams."

I got the same feeling in Indonesia and Turkey. The petty differences which divide the world are much smaller than the common ground, basic needs and desires we share.

~~Change we can believe in.~~
Change we are believing in!

Padma

2009-01-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

Padma
[Sanskrit for Sacred Lotus]

The lotus in both Egypt and India symbolizes the union of the four elements; earth, air, fire, and water. The roots are in the earth, it grows in and by means of water, its leaves are nourished by air, and it blooms through the power of the sun's fire.

The name for our SASBE2009 competition entry?

5 km2
50,000 inhabitants

Unfinished street pattern

Concept for energy & material systems

Anaerobic Digestion: Marsian Expedition

2009-01-22T13:36:00.000-08:00

An excursion to Lelystad, capital of Flevoland polder, led the Urban Waste Treatment class to an organic waste treatment plant: Biocel Fermentation Ltd. The excursion reminded the author of the silly comic by the Marsian author: Marsian Adventures to Stinkworld!! Ever read it?

Marsians walking down Reactor Hall of Fame

Orgaworld, like all other in the industry, claims to be a leader in fermentation of organic wastes and capture of methane. Biocel accepts green, over-date supermarket waste and industrial sludge and collects biogas from anaerobic decomposition of the organic wastes. 400,000 tonnes of organic wastes are converted into biogas, heat and compost per year.

In batches, organic waste is dumped in large reactors that operate a month at a time. A gi-normous door seals the deal, and allows for wastes to brew and ferment under deliciously stinky, oxygen-free conditions. Leachate is filtered from debris and recycled, retaining heat and nutrients for more deliciousness. Biogas is captured and converted into green power and heat (co-generation). The entire plant is run on electricity generated from this combustion, as well as 3000 more households.

The fermented material from the reactor is converted into compost via aerobic digestion. After a week, the compost passes through a drum, separating remaining plastics and solid debris from compost. Compost is mixed with a purchased high grade compost to upgrade the no-longer-stinky compost to a higher quality soil conditioner.

Digestate Waiting Room, heading for aerobic digestion

On a side-note, Albert Heijn is a top customer, and the supermarket chain dumps its over-date products at the plant. AH pays the plant to unwrap, because it be would unlawful to have fourteen year-olds unwrap molding food until 12pm? Besides, the plant is at an ideal location; far enough from civilization that the stench only affects the workers and the idiots who choose to visit.

Albert Heijn's supermarket wastes, and Prof Joost van Buuren taking care not to slip on slimy fermenting food.

Internship applications will not be submitted to anaerobic digestion plants.

Take my friends and me to Mars.

Nieuwland, Amersfort, the Netherlands: Win? Fail?

2009-01-19T11:40:00.001-08:00

Nieuwland is a housing development in the Netherlands of 5000 homes on about 75 hectares of greenfield. After being conceived in the 1980's as a sustainable community, it took many years to plan and is still expanding. "Sustainability" was achieved by a strong building code policy which enforces low-energy construction and necessitates solar panels. I had the chance to take a tour of the town during which I developed some strong reactions.

Win:
- Each section of the city is designed by one or more architects; each of whom took a very different approach to applying their mandatory solar panels. The result is a sort of solar panel design test facility. Some of the buildings look awful while others pull off the feat with charm.
- The radial street plan is walking and bicycling friendly.
- Canals and a small lake are great landscape elements.

Fail:
- Yuppy takover. Nieuwland fails to reach any socio-economic class other than middle-class families who are drawn to the quiet community for its safety and schools. "Everybody has two kids and two cars," said the tour guide. Boredom lays heavily in the air.
- A three meter earthen wall surrounds the entire community for "sound protection" but feels more like an attempt to make a gated community. By walling themselves in, connectivity is lost and further dependence on automobiles is created.
- The city center is literally a parking lot, depriving the inhabitants of a community feel.
- The one shopping center feels like Disney Land and lacks store variety. There are no street cafes or smaller shops interspersed in the community.
- There is too much street parking and personal garages. People drive into town center despite the bicycle lanes.

Nieuwland is relevant because it is a testing ground for sustainable building and a showcase for what can go wrong in city planning when mixed-use and mixed-economic class issues are not accounted for.

Energy Storing Kinetic Monument

2009-01-17T12:39:00.000-08:00

Store energy during peak production times. Extra power is used by a winch to elevate a monument in an urban setting.
Release green electricity on demand. As the monument is lowered, the energy is captured by a turbine.

Create awareness for energy issues. The physicality of the monument allows the onlooker to put abstract notions of electricity use and kilowatt hours into a tangible object. The monument also adds a dynamic element to its setting by gently rising and lowering with the electricity supply and demand.

Specifications: (scalable to other situations)
3m x 3m x 15m concrete obelisk
324,000 kg
Storage capacity:
8.83 kWh
Equivalent to:
15 street lights (50 watts) for 12 hours

Post-Oil Wells of Opportunity

2009-01-17T09:42:00.000-08:00

click to view larger

This generation has the great honor to transition from the Fossil Fuel Age to renewable resources. During this development, it would be fruitful to reuse oil and gas wells as geothermal energy plants.

Adaptive reuse of society's legacy from previous economic regimes can lead to low-cost and highly sustainable future. No one knows exactly how many oil and natural gas wells there are in the world, but the value is in the tens of millions.

The geothermal activity varies from well to well depending upon factors such as well depth, the thickness of the Earth's crust in that area, and local subterranean temperature. Many of these wells were drilled deep into the earths crust, even as far as 11 km deep.

While a well with a temperature of 200°C can power a city, even wells which produce 37°C can power a neighborhood. Several smaller wells in close proximity can also be combined into one system.

An oil or gas well does not have to be empty to harness geothermal energy: even operating wells can use the heat of rising water or petroleum for geothermal power. In the case of depleted wells, often hot water can be brought to the surface. If a well is hot dry rock, Enhanced Geothermal Systems can be used.

Texas is leading the way towards capturing geothermal power from active and empty oil wells ("Stripper fields" is the Texas lingo for depleted oil and gas wells) of which the state has over 1,000,000. Building off abundant existing oil and gas infrastructure, several transformation studies have been completed with promising results. They have shown that existing oil and gas wells posses temperatures within the range for electrical power production [pdf].

"There are 5,000 megawatts of geothermal power in hot water coming up from abandoned oil wells in West Texas," says Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association, a trade consortium. "All that energy is just being wasted." [link]

Geothermal energy provides clean, renewable baseload electricity available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unlike the inherent uncertainty with wind or solar energy. Geothermal heat as low as 37°C can be used to make electricity in a binary power plant. This method of power generation is very environmentally-friends as binary plants use a self-contained cycle. Nothing from the process is emitted, including "greenhouse gases".

To take advantage of the Fossile Fuel Age's legacy resources, oil and gas wells throughout the world should be evaluated for their geothermal potential. However, I would like to offer a further consideration.

Cities in the temperate regions of the earth not only have a high demand for electricity, but also heat. Geothermal wells cogenerate electricity and heat. In order to effectively use the heat resource, which has a low transmission distance, future communities could be stragetically located on post-oil well sites. Heat accounts for a large percentage of building upkeep costs. It has already been shown that cascading heat from natural resources and industry in places like Denmark and Iceland works.

The energy (and exergy) from the well would then be used several times. Heat would cascade from power generation, to heavy industry, to greenhouses, and finally to dwellings, which only require 40*C.

The vision is for a city which blooms around the geothermal hotspot as desert life is centered around an oasis.

Beautiful Folding Bicycle

2009-01-14T03:30:00.001-08:00

Bicycling has its limitations, even in the Netherlands. From Wageningen, it is 9km to Ede, where one can hop on the frequent intercity trains, but to carry a full sized bike, it is an additional 6 Euros charge. However, folding bicycles are free. Also, folding bikes are allowed on subways, trams, and buses while normal bicycles are not.

The problem is that folding bicycles typically have tiny little tires and silly geometry. Until now. Check out the IF Mode from Pacific Bicycles. I would like to take one and transform it into a fixed gear.

I like the full sized tires which 'swivel' together in the folded mode. It appears that when folded, the user can happily roll it along with them instead of carrying it, which is another advantage over some other folding bicycles.

Living Artefact

2009-01-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

After much creative brainstorming today, the SASBE2009 team has decided to use the human body as a metaphor for our built environment. Shown here is one way in which it could look; a person in the Child's Pose of yoga facing south. This diagram shows buildings with mixed-uses and passive and active solar gain. In the north (where the butt is) there will be space planned for renewable infrastructure, such as an anaerobic digestor and CHP plant.

Energy Collecting Mixed-Use Building

2009-01-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

7 weeks to go until our entry for the SASBE2009 competition is due. This is a personal brainstorm for a large building which utilizes many renewable infrastructure technologies.

The building is designed to capture as much sun as possible for passive solar gain, growing food, and improved living conditions.

The north facing side will be utilized by functions which do not require direct sun, such as rainwater storage, food storage, and retail.

The structure's first level will be a series of archways allowing for open transportation and easy connectivity. In the northern portion of the building, a hole is cut through to create a public square and allow more light to fall into the living and working spaces.

Storage of Solar PV electricity in potential energy of structure

2009-01-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

This idea came to me the other day when thinking about the inherent problems of solar PV electricity; namely, its only there when the sun is out.

I had read about storing solar energy by pumping water up into higher reservoirs. To apply this same concept in an urban setting, I first thought about putting reservoirs on buildings, but then decided that it would require too much supporting structure. Instead, utilizing the mass of the building itself struck me as an alternative.

In this concept, a series of racks and pinions are used in conjunction with electric motors to actually raise the structure using excess electricity from solar PV. Then, to meet evening demands, the structure is slowly lowered, and the energy is harnessed. I imagine that if a system like this were perfected, then it would have an acceptably high efficiency rate. Also, a row of gently oscillating buildings would be aesthetically pleasing, like the motion of tides.

Some difficulties will need to be overcome. A safety mechanism would need to be created in case the motor fails such that the building does not suddenly fall some meters. Also, infrastructure such as plumbing, electricity, and entrance ways would have to be flexible.

Are there any reactions to this concept?

Student Occupation of the University of Barcelona

2009-01-07T04:12:00.000-08:00

We stumbled upon the occupation of the Universitat de Barcelona by a student group. They had already been occupying the main campus building for more than a month with the aim of transforming higher education. Their press release from their blog (translated version) reads:

We are committed morally to be the new martyrs of the transformation of higher education, and we are prepared to suffer the consequences of the new titles of their degree and devaluation in the world of work.

There was a feeling of change in the air as the students slowly came to life from their mattresses cluttered across the foyer around noon, the typical wake up time in Catalonia. One British exchange student spoke to us about how education should be free, since the graduate will spend the rest of his or her life in service and paying taxes anyway.

Squatting the school. And perhaps a fun way to be with your friends over the holidays?

The computer is the tool of choice for activists. Blogging, press releasing, and facebooking get the message out.

SASBE 2009 Student Competition

2009-01-07T03:07:00.000-08:00

Three students, an Architect Julia Hidalgo Casanueva of Costa Rica, an Environmentalist Chris-Marije Westerink of the Netherlands, and myself will spend the next 8 weeks preparing an entry into the SASBE2009 Student Compition hosted by the 3rd CIB International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environments.

The challenge is quite broad:

Propose a concept for a living area or single home that produces sustainable energy that equals out energy consumption. This includes energy for mobility, operation of buildings, product and food production, etcetera. We would like you to address the following topics:
* Concept of an energy-producing urban environment or solitary house and all its features
* A vision on the different energy sources
* Energy supply, demand, exchange and storage in time and space
* Integration of the latest available technology and ideas on sustainability
* The scale of being self-supporting
The setting is an urban environment with different means of transport (private and public). You may chose to combine urban functions or make a proposal for a mono-functional setting.

We are choosing to work at the 'living area' scale, perhaps about one square kilometer. It will be a very exciting time of research and creativity!

Here is some inspiration from across the blogosphere:

Eco•Laboratory in Seattle

Milano Santa Monica

Gwanggyo Green Power Center

Energy Producing Greenhouse

Hitchhiking trip report

2009-01-07T02:38:00.000-08:00

We are back home in Wageningen safe and sound after spending about 2 weeks hitchhiking through France, down to Spain, and around the Pyrenees mountains. We spent most of our time in 'Spain' in the Catalonia and Basque regions which have their own languages and seek independence. Nevertheless, I was able to happily practice my dusty high school Spanish. For a while, we followed the Camino de Santiago through some of the pilgrimage towns of Jaca, Pamplona, Logrono, and Burgos which all had well persevered stone town centers and churches.

Once again, the generosity of the world and strangers has surrounded us on our travels. Special thanks to...
Sjef & Jose in Margraten for being great hosts
Willem for the ride from Limburg to Paris and the lavish supper you treated us to
Manu for hosting us in Paris over Christmas and showing us the fun Paris nightlife
Max Amosov for joining us to Paris with your guitar and good humor
Julian for hosting the Saint Jean-de-Monts frisbee tournament
Jerome & friends for driving us all the way to Barcelona from Pays-de-la-Loire
Chris Bentley for joining us in Barcelona from Australia with your mystic ways
The city of Barcelona for putting on a wild New Years Eve street party
Our Basque Angel for driving us to Jaca and for being beautiful
The owners of the La Casa del Arco in Jaca for giving us a room above the restaurant for cheap
Louise from Seattle for driving us from Jaca to Pamplona
Daya & family for hosting us in Burgos and making sure we had a way home

Winter Holiday 08-09

2008-12-21T03:40:00.000-08:00

Today we set out for a nice winter holiday. Stops along the way are Maastricht, Paris for Christmas where Eline has a friend, Saint-Jean-de-Monts for a frisbee tournament, and Barcelona where we meet another friend and enjoy New Years Eve!

Tonight in Rotterdam

2008-12-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

Exams are over, and we are off to Rotterdam's Maas Silo with...

Soulwax & 2ManyDjs

+ Justice!

Programma

Room 1
21:30- 22:30 DVD 'Part of the Weekend Never Dies'
22:30-23:00 L’Azizzi
23:00-23:45 Das Pop live
23:45-01:30 Aeroplane
01:30-02:30 Soulwax live
02:30-04:00 Erol Alkan
04:00-06.00 2 many dj's

Room 2
22:30-00:30 Riton
00:30-02:00 Tiga
02:00-03:30 Justice
03:30-05:30 Joost van bellen

Room 3
23:00-0:00 Hugo + George
01:00-02:00 Paul Chambers
02:00-03:30 Mickey Moonlight
03:30–05:30 The Walk & Roger Seventytwo

Room 4
Sepehr, BoomBap Soundsystem, Freshest Kids en Kid Rêve

UPDATE: Review of the show
The Maas Silo is in an old manufacturing building; there is so much gray poured concrete in primary shapes, I could not think of a better place to see a show like this. Enormous concrete pillars create well partitioned spaces. Hanging upside-down, concrete pyramids hover over the dance floor.

For the party, a huge crowd turned out with a wide age range. The actual shows were quite good. The best of the night was Justice; their set had a dynamic and eclectic feel to it which defeated the pulsing monotony syndrome that some of the other DJs fell into. We also saw Erol Alkan and Tiga, both of whom put on a nice set. The most disappointing of the shows was 2manyDJs, the headliners! They had some interesting effects with saw-shaped wave sounds which made the listener's brain feel like it was being put in a clamp, but all of their music had exactly the same non-evolving beat, a kind of 1:1 time or 2:2 but never 4:4 head nodding noise explosion.

Here is are some short videos from the crowd:

My President

2008-12-17T15:58:00.001-08:00

Looks like a pretty chill college dude.

Time's Obama: The College Years, long lost film from a photo student named Lisa Jack. Presidents 20 years from now will have it much worse; undoubtedly nothing is ever deleted from Facebook's servers.

The Streets

2008-12-17T05:13:00.000-08:00

The sustainable urban planning model is blowing up in NYC as reports are written about how to retrofit the city to be more friendly towards non-motorized transportation. Two amazing reports have been published recently about the streets of New York City:

World Class Streets a report for NYC from Danish urban planner Jan Gehl
Blueprint for the Upper West Side: A Roadmap for Truely Livable Streets from NYC Streets Renaissance

What Makes a Great Street? (nycsr.org)

Access & Linkages
* Easy to cross the street
* Sidewalks accommodate pedestrians and activity comfortably
* Multiple transportation options

Uses & Activities
* There are reasons to linger
* Ground floors are welcoming to passers-by
* Mix of restaurants, stores, and services

Comfort & Image
* Local and cultural identity is reflected
* Good seating, lighting, trees, and other amenities
* Clear signage with local information

Sociability
* People are inclined to gather
* Sense of pride and ownership
* Presence of children and seniors

European Indoor Ultimate Frisbee

2008-12-15T03:24:00.000-08:00

Short daylight hours in Northern Europe have lead to an indoor ultimate frisbee season running from November-February. I would like to shed some light on this variation of standard outdoor ultimate.

European indoor rule variations:

5 versus 5
40x20 meter handball court with 4 meter endzones
The stall count is reduced to 8 instead of 10
Bricks are taken on the sideline where they went out of play or on the endzone front line
Most other rules are the same as outdoor Ultimate.

In the Dutch indoor league, organized by Frisbeesport.nl, there are 6 divisions with 5 teams each. Each team has a maximum of 15 players. At the end of each competition day, the winningest team from each division moves up while the losingest team moves down.

Due to the tiny court size, the game is extraordinarily fast. The offensive team has a great advantage. Turnovers are severely punished and are usually the turning point of the game. Without any wind, throws are utilized which would rarely be used outdoors. Scoobers, blades, hammers, push passes, &c. are very common and very effective.

Here is some footage from the December division 3 competition day in the Hague, 2008. Seen in this video are Ultimus Prime (yellow) from the Hague, Force Electro (brown) from Delft, and Rest of the Netherlands (orange).

WAF, the Wageningen club, is still the easiest team on the eyes.

Book: Drosscape

2008-12-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

Drosscapes: Wasting Land in Urban America
Alan Berger
This book is exquisitely well crafted and tremendously revealing of the extend to which the American landscape is wasted.

Summary
Cities in the United States are characterized by wasted spaces in city center as well as in the periphery. The origins of these wasted spaces are the in-between areas left by aggressive horizontal development and areas left over from previous economic regimes (post-industrial landscape).

There are three archetypes of wasted space:

Waste: solid waste, scrap metal, landfill
Wasted: abandoned or contaminated
Wasteful: vast parking lots, buffer zones

Pro- and anti- sprawl ideals are obsolete, because sprawl is the reality planners must work with now. Rather than thinking negatively about rapid horizontal development (sprawl) it should be seen as an opportunity for redevelopment.

The Drosscape manifesto is then to reuse the waste. The stage is set for designing with waste landscape. Designers must look for the undervalued and overlooked margins and employ inventiveness to make their plans.

Important Themes

The production of waste landscape
Deindustrialization
Manufacturing in the United States has been on the decline since 1950 leaving relics of industry within the center city. The industrial core is thus devalued and slips into a derelict state. Adaptively reusing this waste landscape is now a great design challenge.

Furthermore, citizens no longer need to live in compact urban areas to be close to their factory job. With the internet, there is no geography; a citizen can work from anywhere. So, urbanization now is a choice instead of a necessity.

Fordism: Rationality of the car society
The United States' landscape is built on the scale of an automobile instead of a human. The effect is that while the population is growing and the urbanized area is growing, the urbanized area density of persons per area is decreasing. This means more surface area for fewer people.

From the ground, a pedestrian finds vacant strips, seas of parking lots, unused land, warehouses, and empty perimeters around development. It looks poorly planned, poorly maintained, and is not enticing to walk through.

Types of waste landscape

Waste Landscape of Dwelling: Voids of land designed into housing developments.
Waste Landscape of Transition: Developers' holding lots in new-growth regions, sometimes used as storage facilities.
Waste Landscape of Infrastructure: Areas associated with infrastructure such as between the highway lanes, under transmission lines, or around gas tanks.
Waste Landscape of Obsolescence: The landscape of where the products of a consumer society go to die, such as landfills, junkyards, and scrap yards.
Waste Landscape of Exchange: Dead shopping space, created by 'Demalling'. 440 regional indoor malls are abandoned or dying, leaving behind huge empty spaces and parking lots.
Waste Landscape of Contamination: Airports, dump sites, ammunition depots. 1,300 sites are awaiting Superfund cleanup and reclamation.

Role of the urban designer
There are profits and opportunities within the wasted landscape. Some businesses, such as Home Depot (a chain hardware store), actively seek contaminated sites to build new stores on because contaminated land has a higher rate of return than clean land.

Opportunities can be found in government incentives, such as the Federal Superfund, to clean up and reuse Brownfields. It should be noted that Brownfields are not systematically mapped, but are rather discovered in the early stages of development, so there are many more than are currently known.

Alan Berger contends that cities should claim the right to reclaim vacant and derelict lots for redevelopment.

Reflection

Push-pull out of the city: Rationality of the family unit
Many factors pushed families out of the cities and into the surrounding towns. These included inner-city low quality of education, high crime rates, high property taxes, few housing options, and greater amount of air pollution. These repellents must be addressed before revitalization of city centers can be attractive. Meanwhile, an opportunity for better quality of education, the 'garden city' suburban lifestyle, and quieter neighborhoods draw families into the country side.

Negative effects of wasted landscapes
The negative financial and health impacts of poor planning have been exposed by the 2008 credit crisis and high rates of depression and obesity in the suburban United States. In reaction, there has been a push action to slow down horizontal development, such as the New Urbanism Congress and Smart Growth legislation.

Urban sprawl is economically unsustainable. Suburban home purchases on barely qualified credit played no small role in the current global financial crisis. The epicenter of the U.S. foreclosure crisis can be found on the metro fringes. The home buyers who took on variable-rate or interest-only mortgages along with long commutes into their workplace by means of a car found themselves caught in a double bind of too much debt.

The government could save millions on public infrastructure, such as power, water, sewerage, schools and hospital services if development occurred close to central business districts rather than on the city’s fringe. Funding used to build additional infrastructure on the fringe is nothing more than a subsidy to developers.

Transportation costs are also on the rise. The old economy of car dependence is over; with rising oil prices it is not affordable to live in outer suburbs and drive to work.

Spreading cities creates a society dependent upon the automobile. This in turn creates pollution, injuries and death from traffic, mental stress, and a decrease in physical activity.

The US has the fewest percentage of trips in developed areas taken by walking and bicycling which leads to a decline in public health. One-third of US neighborhoods are without sidewalks and less than half of US children have a playground within walking distance of home.

“Most Americans live in suburban habitats that are isolating, disaggregated, and neurologically punishing… This pervasive situational loneliness, of being stuck alone in your car, alone in your work cubicle, alone in your apartment, alone at the supermarket, alone at the video rental shop – that’s how American daily life has come to be organized…” (Frumkin, 2004)

Sprawl not only reduces the opportunity of regular exercise, an important anti-depressant, it also limits opportunities of interpersonal contact, which aggravates social isolation.

Spatial planning policy in the Netherlands versus the United States
The planner's role in the Netherlands is a balancing act between different forces which seems to create an ongoing conversation. The National government, municipal government, stakeholders, environmentalists, businesses, and local citizens can play a part in shaping decisions. The planning process is highly legislated and thereby controlled. The results of this approach are easy to see. The cities remain compact, livable, and centered around public transportation hubs. Farmland and nature are preserved against market demands for increased housing. When new housing is required, the National government specifies the building location.

Conversely, in the United States, planning is only governed by the local town (municipality) with minimal overarching power from higher governments. The town planning boards are left to act withing their own self interest. In the resultant delegislated planning environment, towns are somewhat powerless against market forces; they must plan for economic survival. In many cases, planning for survival entails propagating leapfrog business parks and low-density housing on 1-2 acre lots.

An important piece of the this puzzle concerns local government funding, which is almost exclusively from property taxes. From the property taxes comes funding for all schools, including elementary, middle, and high schools. Compact housing and apartments are avoided because they create more children to be educated on less land than low density housing on more land.

The Boston Globe reported on the connection between spatial planning policy and house prices in an article “Priced Out”:

Local officials say the added property tax from a new house - particularly anything short of the supersized ''McMansions" that are in favor with so many zoning boards - does not cover the added education costs that come with children in those homes. That claim often lies at the root of the endless maneuvers by Massachusetts communities to keep out new residential development in general, and homes that could house schoolchildren in particular.

Local land-use policies ''have become very anti-child," says John Clifford, town administrator of Marshfield. ''The general consensus is, any subdivision that could bring children to town will negatively impact the town's finances. For a state that is losing population and losing younger population, that is a pretty damaging view."(Jonas, 2006)

Business parks and shopping are highly desirable by towns because they generate property tax revenue but produce no children. Located outside of city center, these business parks fuel non-metropolitan population growth, buffer zones, and car transportation.

Instead of a planning conversation like the Netherlands cultivates, the United States engages in a planning monologue in which the only actor speaking is money.

Power struggle
In the United States there is a three-tiered hierarchy of spatial planning power. First, the Federal Government has very limited control over the individual states. This power is only to maintain federally owned land and federal highways. Second, the States have some power such as building codes and lawmaking which can impact land use. Third, the town directly controls land use by means of the zoning board.

One single town on its own does not have the power to promote smart growth except at the town's own economic detriment. Due to this, some States have experimented with Smart Growth land use laws, such as educational subsidies provided for towns which zone for high density housing. For the town, this can be seen as either empowering the land use board to make positive decisions or stripping the town of its autonomy.

In Massachusetts, the Smart Growth land use laws (Code 40R, 2006) are too controversial to be effective and very little change has been inflicted on land use. The problem lies within the interpretation of the Smart Growth laws. The State interprets Smart Growth as an avenue towards sustainable growth. The Town planning boards interpret Smart Growth as an agent usurping power within town borders. For example, if a town in Massachusetts declares a Smart Growth area, any development which matches the Smart Growth codes has legal right to build, with or without the Town planner's consent. The result has been very little implementation of the 2006 Smart Code laws, despite the good will of the State. The following is an example the power struggle:

Framingham, for instance, has been very open to affordable housing, and several years ago approved zoning changes to allow residential development in the downtown business district. That would seem to make the community a perfect candidate for the new 40R zoning. But Framingham planning director Kathy Bartolini wants no part of it.

Her biggest objection is that once a smart-growth district is approved, any development proposal that conforms to 40R's guidelines on density and affordable housing can be built ''by right," with the local community given very little say over what happens within the district's boundaries. ''It's either their way or the highway," says Bartolini. ''I don't know of too many communities that will even contemplate this." (Jonas, 2006)

For any new Smart Growth regulation to seriously take hold and make progress, it must appease both the State power who desires more sustainable communities and the Town power which wants to maintain autonomy as well as high property tax revenue.

American cities are rotting from the inside while families and businesses look further into the countryside where land is still cheap. Factors limiting how far afield from the city development can reach long ago dissolved in the de-industrialized, Fordian environment. Town planners on their own are not powerful enough to stop the expansion. The State or even Federal government must create incentives and/or penalties strong enough to repair the inner-cities while preserving nature and productive land.

Critical Review

Interesting?
Drosscape is a to-do list for an aspiring urban planner. The waste landscapes presented in Drosscape represent holes in the city awaiting adaptive reuse. As a sustainable urban planner, these areas are the highest priority. The game is to find economically competitive ways to turn dead areas into lively communities.

Lessons learned?
Urban sprawl is not good or bad, for this generation it is a starting place.

Recommendable?
If you are interested in working in urban planning in the United States, it is a must read. Otherwise, it is a warning for the unwanted results of market based spatial planning.

References
Berger, A. (2006). Drosscapes.
Frumkin, H. (2004).Urban Sprawl and Public Health: Designing, Planning, and Building for Healthy Communities.
Jonas, M. (2006). Priced Out, The Boston Globe.

Is it too late?

2008-12-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

Is it too late to ask at least 2 of the 3 big automakers to make some bicycles? Or if not bikes, perhaps some railroad cars? There are already more automobiles in America than people. Even if they can produce 'green' cars, won't it be 'greener' not to throw away what we already have until its lifespan is over? My Suburu should still be running for years.

Modernism verus New Urbansim: Nobody has it right

2008-12-08T03:11:00.000-08:00

Different facets of Modernist planners and New Urbanist planners are completely correct and horribly wrong. Neither of them have struck a perfect balance of ideas.

Modernists, following Le Corbusier's legacy, have a sublime understanding of materials. Their strict adherence to 'form follows function' is their highest achievement. Their blunder, though, was in their use of landscape urbanism. Carrying this idea of an omnipotent Master Planner along with a tide of technology worship (automotive transport), their buildings are isolated from city; tombstones of concrete on greenfields. The result is urban wastelands.

New Urbanists follow a doctrine of neo-traditionalism wherein the compact city is embraced. Their strength lies in city planning which stimulates non-motorized transportation and "the good community". Their downfall is their clinging to traditional forms. New Urbanist towns are more kitsch than the tacky wall hangings of a chain restaurant. Jill Grant, a New Urbanist, faced these criticisms, "Others see these places [New Urban communities] as upgraded suburbs mired in the aesthetics of another time and place: cloyingly nostalgic anachronisms." I couldn't agree more.

While I admire the contributions of both Modernism and New Urbanism, I am reluctant to align myself completely with either group. A combination of the two, something like "Modern Urbanism" which uses Le Corbusier's philosophy that a home is a machine for living in and the New Urbanist blueprint for compact, mixed-use communities is a target worth shooting for.

Urban Harvest

2008-12-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

Urban Harvesting is a theory originating with the Urban Environmental Management group at Wageningen University. The focus is to change from linear to circular urban metabolic activity: All primary resources (solar energy, wind energy, rainwater) and secondary resources (wastewater, waste heat, household and business wastes) that become available inside an urban tissue are captured and used, ie ‘harvested.’

My team's assignment was to design an intervention plan for a neighborhood in Wageningen to transform it into a self-sustaining 'urban tissue'. This meant eliminating external supplies of energy, food, and water by producing them on site.

The project was very interesting. For the consumption information, we unfortunately had to base our assessment on many semi-dubious assumptions. The design we created is financially not feasible, but still a good conceptual model.

Enjoy a short infographic movie of the project. It was written, recorded, and edited in one day, so at times it is a bit rough.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T21:54:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is the special time in the United States when we take the time to be with our families and give thanks for all of our blessings. Ironically, the following day is the largest shopping event of the year, "Black Friday" or "Greedsgiving©" and even "Excessfest©". This year it is totally out-of-control...

Just before 5 this morning, a WalMart employee was trampled to death as the glass sliding doors were broken down by 2000 anxious WalMart deal-seekers [NYT] who had been waiting outside the store for opening time.

Later in the day, two men killed eachother in Toys'R'Us with handguns during an argument [AP].

Like my sister says, online shopping looks more appealing than ever. Check out eBay or Amazon or ReCellular for used stuff.

Converting kids' hyperactivity to useful energy: Sustainable playgrounds.

2008-11-24T11:59:00.000-08:00

Kids-these-days carry a burden on their shoulders: from melting ice caps and homeless polar bears to an “energy crisis.” Adult news paints a grim future for our children, but what if our children could play sustainably? Play on playgrounds that generate electricity, electricity that powers lights at school?

Carousel Design for Energy Generation

What about hopscotch with sensored-tiles? (Think along the lines of sustainable dancefloors and crowd-farming).

Urban Mandala

2008-11-23T06:18:00.000-08:00

A mandala is any plan/chart which metaphysically represents reality as a microcosm of the universe. An 'Urban Planning Mandala' may seem far fetched, but in India there is such a practice, called Vastu Shastra.

Vastu Shastra is the Indian science of direction, movements and architecture. It aims to balance the natural elements with man and materials. The five elements in Vastu Shastra are interpreted mystically, but also can be applied within the framework of sustainable technology. Lets have a look:

EARTH (Bhumi)
Indian: Its magnetic field and gravitational force has considerable effects on everything on the Earth, living and non-living.
Sustainable design: Earthen walls, heat storing aqueducts, and geothermal energy.

WATER (Jala)
Indian: Rain, river, sea and is in the form of liquid, solid (ice) and gas (steam, cloud). It forms part of every plant and animal. Our blood is mostly water.
Sustainable design: Smart water design in the form of rainwater collection, greywater reuse, and blackwater anaerobic digestion can improve the efficiency of buildings and cities.

AIR (Vayu)
Indian: As a life supporting element, air is very powerful life source. Human physical comfort values are directly and sensitively dependent on correct humidity, air flow, temperature of air, air pressure, air composition and its content.
Sustainable design: Ventilation is very important in a house to remove polluted air, however, smart design is needed to capture the temperature of the exiting air in the new air.

FIRE (Agni)
Indian: It represents light and heat without which the life will extinct. All the days and nights, seasons, energy, enthusiasm, passion, vigour is because of light and heat only.
Sustainable design: Heating and lighting can be improved by the use of LED bulbs and radiant subfloor heating.

SPACE/ETHER (Aakasha)
Indian: It is the shelter provider to all the above elements. It is also considered the primary conductor of all energy sources within the universal context - physical energies such as sound and light, social energies such as psychological and emotional, and cognitive energies such as intellect and intuition.
Sustainable design: This can be translated as planning on the human scale to promote healthier lifestyles.

Vastu Shastra claims an invisible and constant relation between all the five elements. Properly designing buildings by understanding the effectiveness of these five natural forces can improve the living conditions.

There are also cryptic meanings behind the cardinal directions which are applicable to urban planning with an emphasis on solar energy.

North: Wealth, prosperity
Translation: Storerooms and industry where there is less sun.

East: Progress, growth
Translation: Schools and businesses should receive the rising sun.

South: Sleep
Translation: Apartments in the south to receive the full sun.

West: Pleasure
Translation: Cafes and nightclubs should recieve the setting sun.

Movie: Vengo (2000)

2008-11-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

Vengo (2000) is a beautiful drama/musical about gypsy flamengo music with a Shakespearean family feud. The characters and acting are touching, the music is jaw dropping; seeing it made me even more excited to visit Spain this December. Watch this movie!

Here is a scene with Calle Del Aire singing "La Caita", what a voice:

Thanks, Chris!

Somali Pirates (AYBABTU)

2008-11-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

From left to right:
The Mechanic, The Gunner, The Cold-Blooded Killer / Right Hand Man, The Boss, The Driver, An Embedded NatGeo Photographer, The Inside Man (you can tell by his popped collar), and The Navigator.

The Cold-Blooded Killer's eyes send shivers down my spine. I love this photograph because they look like a team, kinda like Ocean's 11. I wonder how many boats they hijacked before being captured. Hopefully their stories of pirating on the red sea get written down.

On Tuesday these men were brought in, but the ship hijacking continued with a Hong Kong cargo ship and the 333-meter Sirius Star. The ships are hijacked in the Gulf of Aden from pirate 'mother ships' with the use of guns & grenades. Hijacked ships are then brought to the pirate den Harardhare, a town in Somalia's semi-autonomous northern Puntland region. From Google Earth Harardhare looks like an endless desert beach, but looks must be deceiving. According to Fox News, these are the ten most valuable ships still in pirate hands (November 19, 2008):

1. Sirius Star: Hijacked November 17
Cargo: 2 million barrels of oil, valued at $100 million

2. MV Karagol: Hijacked November 12
Cargo: 4,000 tons of chemicals

3. MV Stolt Strength: Hijacked November 10
Cargo: Phosphoric acid

4. CEC Future: Hijacked November 7
Cargo: Unknown (Uranium?)

5. MV Yasa Neslihan: Hijacked October 29
Cargo: Iron ore

6. MT African Sanderling: Hijacked October 15
Cargo: Unknown

7. MV Faina: Hijacked September 25
Cargo: 33 T-72 Russian battle tanks (!!)

8. MV Captain Stefanos: Hijacked September 21
Cargo: Unknown

9. Centauri: Hijacked September 18
Cargo: 17,000 tons of salt

10. MV Great Creation: Hijacked September 17
Cargo: Chemical fertilizer

Since January, at least 91 vessels have been attacked in the Gulf of Aden. Since then, both Indian and British naval ships have engaged pirates in combat and French commandos freed two nationals held by hijackers. What a romantic and adventurous life. The pirates probably view themselves as modern day Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich countries such as Saudi Arabia and bringing the wealth home.

AP Video concerning the pirates.

All your ship are belong to us...

Put an end to urban sprawl

2008-11-17T16:09:00.000-08:00

AP photo, California, 2008

Have yourself a merry (politically incorrect) Christmas

2008-11-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

Zwarte Piet. Blackfaced Dutch giving candy to children. It happens every year, so its normal.

Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) follows in a long tradition of racist darky icons which gained popularity in the 1840's. It seems that everywhere else in the world the fad wore off before 1950, but it still goes strong in Flandersville. I think its dangerous to racial stereotypes with subserviant roles (Zwarte Piet is Santa's servant) and little children.

Christmas decorations and Saint Nicolas

Photos from Wageningen, November 15, 2008.

Riding Bicyles is fun! But drawing bicycles is hard!

2008-11-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

www.zippythepinhead.com

Obama's Urban Policy

2008-11-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

Here at Blue Riders we are VERY excited about Obama's Urban Policy that the administration has been very transparent about. Here are some highlights:

STRENGTHEN LIVABILITY OF CITIES

Build More Livable and Sustainable Communities: Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars, to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives. As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account.
Control Superfund Sites and Data: As president, Obama will restore the strength of the Superfund program by requiring polluters to pay for the cleanup of contaminated sites they created.
Use Innovative Measures to Dramatically Improve Efficiency of Buildings: Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of carbon emissions in the United States today and carbon emissions from buildings are expected to grow faster than emissions from other major parts of our economy. It is expected that 15 million new buildings will be constructed between today and 2015. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will work with cities so that we make our new and existing buildings more efficient consumers of electricity.
Foster Healthy Communities: How a community is designed – including the layout of its roads, buildings and parks – has a huge impact on the health of its residents. For instance, nearly one-third of Americans live in neighborhoods without sidewalks and less than half of our country's children have a playground within walking distance of their homes. Barack Obama introduced the Healthy Places Act to help local governments assess the health impact of new policies and projects, like highways or shopping centers.

Other exciting parts...

Support Regional Innovation Clusters: Thriving innovation clusters across the country like the North Carolina Research Triangle Park and Nashville's thriving entertainment cluster prove that local stakeholders can successfully come together and help reshape their local economies. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will create a federal program to support "innovation clusters" - regional centers of innovation and next-generation industries. This innovation clusters program will provide $200 million in planning and matching grants for regional business, government and university leaders to collaborate on leveraging a region’s existing assets - from transportation infrastructure to universities - to enhance long-term regional growth.
Convert our Manufacturing Centers into Clean Technology Leaders: America boasts the highest-skilled manufacturing workforce in the world and advanced manufacturing facilities that have powered economic growth in America for decades. Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that America is at a competitive advantage when it comes to building the high-demand technologies of the future, and they will help nurture America's success in clean technology manufacturing by establishing a federal investment program to help manufacturing centers modernize.
Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing throughout Metropolitan Regions: Communities prosper when all families have access to affordable housing. Barack Obama and Joe Biden supported efforts to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to create thousands of new units of affordable housing every year. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will also restore cuts to public housing operating subsidies, and ensure that all Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs are restored to their original purpose.

Japan's Infographic Food Video

2008-11-11T07:21:00.000-08:00

The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) produced an infographic video about their domestic food production, which is the lowest of major developed nations. It is worth a look, especially since their problem (and solutions) can be applied elsewhere. And it is visually fun to watch, sort of like a Wii but politically minded.

[information aesthetics]

Wagstagger

2008-11-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

Wagstagger, the only fixie in Wageningen. 44/15 on a salvaged Peugeot frame from the bus stop.

and (kinda) the reason why I got it

Urban Sprawl and Public Health. AKA, Suburbia Kills

2008-11-06T03:18:00.000-08:00

In the past, the city would kill you with crowded situations, small spaces, poor ventilation, pathogens, and pollution. Suburbia was a place to “get away from it all”, be with nature, and take time at a more leisurely pace than in the city. However, do to poor planning and unforeseen consequences, suburbia might actually be killing its inhabitants.

A very accessible read, “Urban Sprawl and Public Health: Designing, Planning, and Building for Healthy Communities” by Howard Frumkin, Lawrence Frank, and Richard Jackson, 2004, addresses this problem directly by outlining the ways in which sprawl (suburbia) negatively affects public health.

Physical Activity
The US has the fewest percentage of trips in developed areas taken by walking and bicycling which leads to a decline in public health. (1) Higher density neighborhoods are associated with more walking and bicycling. (2) Mixed land use, such as shops and jobs near housing, contributes to healthy commuting while mono-culture single family homes does not. (3) Enjoyable scenery, eradicated by endless development, is a lost reason for walking and bicycling.

Injuries and Death from Traffic
“Strategies which reduce the need for car travel or substitute car travel with safer forms of transport would substantially reduce population death rates.” –I. Roberts, 1993

Water Quantity and Quality
Sprawl interferes with recharging of groundwater. While sprawling residential and commercial lots may each have a smaller proportion of impervious surface than lots in dense cities, the total impervious area across a community is increased with lower density. Leaking septic tanks, fertilizers for lawns, and a larger road network’s oil, gasoline and antifreeze drips collectively contaminate the water.

Mental Health
“Most Americans live in suburban habitats that are isolating, disaggregated, and neurologically punishing…This pervasive situational loneliness, of being stuck alone in your car, alone in your work cubicle, alone in your apartment, alone at the supermarket, alone at the video rental shop – that’s how American daily life has come to be organized…” –James Howard Kustler, 2003
Sprawl not only reduces the opportunity of regular exercise, an important anti-depressant, it also limits opportunities of interpersonal contact, which aggravates social isolation.

Social Capital
Social networks, trust, & reciprocity are undermined by the isolated nature of suburban homes and car transportation. Leapfrog development, strip malls, and low density are blamed.

Universal principles of perceptual organization

2008-11-05T09:33:00.000-08:00

I came upon a quite fascinating delineation of perceptual organization while reading about semiotics for my spatial planning course. This is a copied segment of the discussion from the website:

Universal principles of perceptual organization

Proximity

The principle of proximity can be demonstrated thus:

What you are likely to notice fairly quickly is that this is not just a square pattern of dots but rather is a series of columns of dots. The principle of proximity is that features which are close together are associated. Below is another example. Here we are likely to group the dots together in rows.

The principle also applies in the illustration below. We are more likely to associate the lines which are close together than those which are further apart. In this example we tend to see three pairs of lines which are fairly close together (and a lonely line on the far right) rather than three pairs of lines which are further apart (and a lonely line on the far left).

The significance of this principle on its own is likely to seem unclear initially; it is in their interaction that the principles become more apparent.

Similarity

So we will turn to a second major principle of perceptual organization - that of similarity. Look at the example below.

Here the little circles and squares are evenly spaced both horizontally and vertically so proximity does not come into play. However, we do tend to see alternating columns of circles and squares. This, the Gestalt psychologists would argue, is because of the principle of similarity - features which look similar are associated. Without the two different recurrent features we would see either rows or columns or both...

Continuity

A third principle of perceptual organization is that of good continuity. This principle is that contours based on smooth continuity are preferred to abrupt changes of direction. Here, for instance, we are more likely to identify lines a-b and c-d crossing than to identify a-d and c-b or a-c and d-b as lines.

Closure

Closure is a fourth principle of perceptual organization: interpretations which produce 'closed' rather than 'open' figures are favored.

Here we tend to see three broken rectangles (and a lonely shape on the far left) rather than three 'girder' profiles (and a lonely shape on the right). In this case the principle of closure cuts across the principle of proximity, since if we remove the bracket shapes, we return to an image used earlier to illustrate proximity...

Smallness

A fifth principle of perceptual organization is that of smallness. Smaller areas tend to be seen as figures against a larger background. In the figure below we are more likely to see a black cross rather than a white cross within the circle because of this principle.

As an illustration of this Gestalt principle, it has been argued that it is easier to see Rubin's vase when the area it occupies is smaller (Coren et al. 1994, 377). The lower portion of the illustration below offers negative image versions in case this may play a part. To avoid implicating the surroundedness principle I have removed the conventional broad borders from the four versions. The Gestalt principle of smallness would suggest that it should be easier to see the vase rather than the faces in the two versions on the left below.

Symmetry

The principle of symmetry is that symmetrical areas tend to be seen as figures against asymmetrical backgrounds.

Surroundedness

Then there is the principle of surroundedness, according to which areas which can be seen as surrounded by others tend to be perceived as figures.

Urban Planning Firms in the Netherlands

2008-11-04T05:55:00.000-08:00

The Dutch are cleaning up international design competitions for urban spaces. Two firms based in Rotterdam are worth taking a look at. I am interested in interning/working at one of these places, but they both require expert knowledge in AutoCAD software. So I think it is time to start some self-study!

OMA in Rotterdam ("The Office for Metropolitan Architecture" or in Dutch, Grandmother) is currently working heavily with rich middle-eastern countries to design amazing cities and ports. In its long history, the firm has done amazing work.

MVRDV in Rotterdam recently won a competition for a new high rise in Copenhagen, shown on the right and top-left. The firm has been around since 1991 and appears to be quite progressive. A recurring motif in their work is delightful green spaces within and on urban structures.

BEAR Architecten in Gouda does smaller scale work with a specific focus on sustainability and using the local environment in several ways, such as water landscaping, passive solar, and solar photovoltaics. They recently won a competition to design a sustainable development of 255 CO2 neutral houses in Lelystad-South.

Amazing New Miracle Diet, for Your Home!

2008-11-01T03:56:00.000-07:00

Best practices in Sustainable Housing, Coming soon.
Until then, check out Passivhaus

Eliminating Fossile Fuel Use: 2 Perspectives

2008-10-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

The WWF released their Living Planet Report 2008 today, October, 29. Besides good information about biodiversity and dubious conjectures about ecological footprinting, it demonstrated a scheme for the future of energy.

WWF's Living Planet Report 2008: The Energy Challenge

The graph contains a high level of detail concerning the different approaches to cleaning up our energy production and consumption.

Earlier this month, Google released another prescription in their Clean Energy 2030 report. This report only deals with the US, but is quite specific on the methodology of deconstructing the fossil fuel demand.

Google's Clean Energy 2030: US Electricity Generation

Both of these reports contain great information and inspiration for reforming society to be a more efficient super-organism. If the governments can step it to make renewable energy and energy efficiency a top priority, we should be able to swiftly clean up our act!

Absentee Balloting We Can Believe In

2008-10-28T05:16:00.000-07:00

Shibam

2008-10-28T03:46:00.000-07:00

Loam bricks, made of mud and sun dried, were used to build the first apartment high rises in Shibam, Yemen about 100 AD. The 500 tower apartments have 5 to 8 stories and are up to 100 feet tall. This type of construction is interesting because it is the first example of vertical development and the materials are all, by today's standards, sustainable, because the bricks were not fired and taken from the nearby river bed.

Although the town was rebuilt twice, most recently in the 16th century, the original plans, including door and window placement, were always upheld. The site is now in danger of being destroyed again after sustaining damage in the 2008 Yemen floods. While the city has been occupied through the ages, it increasingly became a ghost town as people left for more convenient housing. Less inhabitants were left to keep up the regular maintenance needed for the mud towers. The Shibam Urban Development Project has stepped in with resources to bring the city back to life as a place to live, not as a tourist attraction.

[ArchNet]
[ShibamOnline]
[Shibam Urban Development Project]