Thursday, January 17, 2013

The New American Dream: Walkable Urban Neighborhoods

      
The New American Dream: Walkable Urban Neighborhoods

By Fernando Pages Ruiz


By 2020 you’ll be living in a more sustainable community, even if you don’t know it. Market forces more powerful than eco-ethics or energy policies will drive the makeover of our towns and cities into pockets of walkable neighborhoods with varied retail and residential uses in close proximity, transforming both urban and suburban landscapes.

In short, suburban dormitory neighborhoods have become less desirable and downtown neighborhoods are the new American dream.

To compete with resurgent inner cities, the suburbs are developing their own versions of downtown where park-and-shop malls once stood. By 2020 this urban retrofit will be under construction throughout the U.S., even rural towns in regions as unlikely as the Bible Belt have started moving in this direction. By 2030, most of us will live in places that look a lot like Europe, with discernible local character and a defined center of commerce that serves as the nexus for community life.
Sure, the notion of walkable communities has become a political issue pitting rural conservatives against urban progressives. But by and large, the argument has been won through the economic success of walkable urban centers, which has motivated cash-strapped cities everywhere to support the creation of new, so-called lifestyle centers that recreate the urban experience.

The first towns to turn toward urban retrofit for tax revenue include neighborhoods in what Christopher Leinberger, Vision 2020 research chair for Sustainable Communities, would describe as the primary concentric ring of suburban development. Areas immediately adjacent to a competing metropolis, such as Wheat Ridge, just outside of Denver, which has recently undertaken the transformation of a major traffic artery lined with vacant storefronts and narrow sidewalks into a revived Main Street that draws commuters to--rather than through--the heart of town.

They began with a vision, “In the year 2030, people of all ages and abilities live, work, learn, shop, and play along 38th Avenue,” asserted the city’s planning document for the 38th Avenue Corridor Plan, adopted in October 2011. Then, using a low-cost approach, the City put the corridor on a “road diet” in the summer of 2012 by reducing the number of thru-traffic lanes from four to two. The diet created several benefits to the corridor, including a more attractive, pedestrian-friendly environment, reduced traffic speeds, increased safety, and the sought-for economic benefits, including the attraction of new businesses. The project has become the catalyst for a wider revitalization strategy strongly focused on creating multiple, community-focused hubs--or mini downtowns within what was once a sprawling Denver suburb.

Along the same lines, a recent USA Today article profiled several small cities that are becoming more cosmopolitan through similar redevelopment efforts. The article’s flagship was Carmel, a Midwestern suburb 20 miles north of Indianapolis. The town’s self-described European-style redevelopment effort has paid off handsomely: This year Money magazine ranked Carmel the No. 1 best place to live, with low unemployment, excellent schools, arts and culture, nature trails, and a huge community recreation complex. Other urban redevelopment efforts highlighted in the front-page feature included towns in Texas, Utah, and Colorado.

I have personally seen the transformation in the most unlikely place, rural Nebraska, where I lived and worked for nearly 20 years. The town of Ashland, between Lincoln and Omaha, revived its main street with cobblestone crosswalks and lured New York artists with promises of cheap studio space to create an attractive art district that now lures tourists off Interstate 80, and attracts a growing population of retired farmers wanting an urban, but not-so-big city experience. Meanwhile, following the lead of Omaha, which has become a national example of successful redevelopment, Lincoln recently doubled its efforts with a 2020 Vision of its own, in short order creating a vital downtown with ample residential, restaurant, retail, and office development. The result is palpable in the new vitality of downtown Lincoln, and the fact more college graduates now remain as permanent residents after graduation, in fact, Lincoln made the list at the Daily Beast among Richard Florida’s 25 best towns for college graduates, ranked above places like San Diego and Seattle.

The potency of this national shift toward walkable, non- automobile-centered life is both dramatic and historic. Car and single-family home sales have plummeted among people in the 21-to-34 year age group, a demographic that predicts trends likely to survive the next two decades. Auto makers have had to adjust sales to accommodate fleets of car-sharing services, instead of new car dealerships, and single-family home builders are becoming multifamily developers because this cohort of would-be first-time home buyers seems to prefer a small apartment in the high-rent district to a discounted mortgage in the suburbs, according to a recent Federal Reserve study.

I confess to a quiet skepticism about the power of the sustainable community movement at the outset of EcoHome’s Vision 2020 venture. But witnessing the quick conversion of places as far from urban fads as rural Nebraska in the light of all we have discussed during this first year of Vision 2020 has convinced me that Leinberger’s theory of demand-side transformation is indeed the most powerful force working to reduce our nation’s dependence on carbon-based energy. It is perhaps the only force potent enough to make a difference because it is based on human preferences, on what we want to do, vs. what we ought to do. The market, or demand-side strategy works despite political swings and has the self-determining economic muscle that makes things happen. There’s no need to set milestones and struggle to achieve them when social trends take over, as proven dramatically in the state of Florida, where Republican Governor Rick Scott turned down $2.4 billion in federal stimulus funding for a high-speed-rail line, only for private investors to step up and build the line themselves. Why? Because the market demands it.

I would not be surprised to see a similar result in Nebraska, with high-speed rail connecting Lincoln to Ashland and Omaha by 2030. Communities throughout the U.S. will become sustainable precisely because the elements that make them so coincide with the key ingredients of desirable living: a close-knit community, ready access to social engagement, and public amenities that provide recreational opportunities for all. The reduction in carbon will be a by-product of Americans pursuing their American dream.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Take precations in this cold Sacramento weather

With the nightly low temperatures dropping below freezing, take precautions.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

 

Protect your home

• Insulate exposed pipes and those in your home's crawl space and attic.
• Allow faucets to drip during cold weather to avoid freezing.
• Learn how to shut off water valves (in case a pipe bursts).
• If your pipes freeze, leave the faucets turned on and call a plumber. If pipes are frozen and burst, turn water off at the main shut-off valve; leave water faucets turned on.
• If you turn on your faucets and nothing comes out, leave the faucets turned on and call a plumber. If you detect that your water pipes have frozen and burst, turn off the water at the main shut-off valve and leave faucets turned on.
• Get pets out of the elements.  

Protect your yard

• Water plants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.
• If overnight frost is expected, move potted plants to protected areas indoors or onto a covered patio.
• Cover sensitive plants such as succulents, tropical natives and citrus. Cloth sheets work better than clear plastic and can increase the temperature 5 degrees. Allow a little room for air circulation under the cover; that helps keep in the warmth. Remember to remove the covers by midmorning or risk suffocating the plant.• Create mini-greenhouses for tender vegetable transplants such as lettuce. Cut the bottom out of milk cartons or plastic jugs (discard the caps). Slip these shelters over the plants. (If using paper cartons, remove them during the day. The plastic jugs can stay in place until warmer weather.)
• Plants in raised beds or on mounds stay warmer than plants in sunken areas.
• String Christmas lights (the ones that get hot, not LEDs) on the trunks and limbs of citrus, avocado and other frost-prone trees and bushes. Big lights give out more heat than mini-lights.
• If plants show frost burn, don't cut off the damaged foliage. It will help protect the plant from further harm. Remove the burned leaves in spring after all danger of frost has passed -- usually after March 23 in Sacramento.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

Rea• Create mini-greenhouses for tender vegetable transplants such as lettuce. Cut the bottom out of milk cartons or plastic jugs (discard the caps). Slip these shelters over the plants. (If using paper cartons, remove them during the day. The plastic jugs can stay in place until warmer weather.) You also can make shelters out of waxed paper. Roll a 12-inch piece of waxed paper into a cone shape, secure with tape, then place it like a teepee over the transplant.
• Plants in raised beds or on mounds stay warmer than plants in sunken areas.
• String Christmas lights (the ones that get hot, not LEDs) on the trunks and limbs of citrus, avocado and other frost-prone trees and bushes. Big lights give out more heat than mini-lights.
• If plants show frost burn, don't cut off the damaged foliage. It will help protect the plant from further harm. Remove the burned leaves in spring after all danger of frost has passed -- usually after March 23 in Sacramento. d more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy
 

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

Protect your yard


• Water plants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.
• If overnight frost is expected, move potted plants to protected areas indoors or onto a covered patio.
• Cover sensitive plants such as succulents, tropical natives and citrus. Cloth sheets or blankets work better than clear plastic and can increase the temperature 5 degrees. Allow a little room for air circulation under the cover; that helps keep in the warmth. Remember to remove the covers by midmorning or risk suffocating the plant.
• Create mini-greenhouses for tender vegetable transplants such as lettuce. Cut the bottom out of milk cartons or plastic jugs (discard the caps). Slip these shelters over the plants. (If using paper cartons, remove them during the day. The plastic jugs can stay in place until warmer weather.) You also can make shelters out of waxed paper. Roll a 12-inch piece of waxed paper into a cone shape, secure with tape, then place it like a teepee over the transplant.
• Plants in raised beds or on mounds stay warmer than plants in sunken areas.
• String Christmas lights (the ones that get hot, not LEDs) on the trunks and limbs of citrus, avocado and other frost-prone trees and bushes. Big lights give out more heat than mini-lights.
• If plants show frost burn, don't cut off the damaged foliage. It will help protect the plant from further harm. Remove the burned leaves in spring after all danger of frost has passed -- usually after March 23 in Sacram

Protect your yard


• Water plants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.
• If overnight frost is expected, move potted plants to protected areas indoors or onto a covered patio.
• Cover sensitive plants such as succulents, tropical natives and citrus. Cloth sheets or blankets work better than clear plastic and can increase the temperature 5 degrees. Allow a little room for air circulation under the cover; that helps keep in the warmth. Remember to remove the covers by midmorning or risk suffocating the plant.
• Create mini-greenhouses for tender vegetable transplants such as lettuce. Cut the bottom out of milk cartons or plastic jugs (discard the caps). Slip these shelters over the plants. (If using paper cartons, remove them during the day. The plastic jugs can stay in place until warmer weather.) You also can make shelters out of waxed paper. Roll a 12-inch piece of waxed paper into a cone shape, secure with tape, then place it like a teepee over the transplant.
• Plants in raised beds or on mounds stay warmer than plants in sunken areas.
• String Christmas lights (the ones that get hot, not LEDs) on the trunks and limbs of citrus, avocado and other frost-prone trees and bushes. Big lights give out more heat than mini-lights.
• If plants show frost burn, don't cut off the damaged foliage. It will help protect the plant from further harm. Remove the burned leaves in spring after all danger of frost has passed -- usually after March 23 in Sacr

Protect your yard


• Water plants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.amen• Water plants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.
• If overnight frost is expected, move potted plants to protected areas indoors or onto a covered patio.
• Cover sensitive plants such as succulents, tropical natives and citrus. Cloth sheets or blankets work better than clear plastic and can increase the temperature 5 degrees. Allow a little room for air circulation under the cover; that helps keep in the warmth. Remember to remove the covers by midmorning or risk suffoc• Create mini-greenhouses for tender vegetable transplants such as lettuce. Cut the bottom out of milk cartons or plastic jugs (discard the caps). Slip these shelters over the plants. (If using paper cartons, remove them during the day. The plastic jugs can stay in place until warmer weather.) You also can make shelters out of waxed paper. Roll a 12-inch piece of waxed paper into a cone shape, secure with tape, then place it like a teepee over the transplant.
• Plants in raised beds or on mounds stay warmer than plants in sunken areas.
• String Christmas lights (the ones that get hot, not LEDs) on the trunks and limbs of citrus, avocado and other frost-prone trees and bushes. Big lights give out more heat than mini-lights.
• If plants show frost burn, don't cut off the damaged foliage. It will help protect the plant from further harm. Remove the burned leaves in spring after all danger of frost has passed -- usually after March 23 in Sacramento.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy
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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy
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Protect your yard


• WateProtect your yardrplants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy
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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy
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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

Monday, January 7, 2013

Grass - real vs. synthetic

Grass – real vs. synthetic lawns and the environment


I’d be the first to admit that a well manicured lawn is a pleasing sight, but I hate to think how many hours of my life I used to spend mowing grass and other related activities. Often maintaining the average lawn is not only time intensive, it can also have a considerable environmental impact.

So is synthetic grass the way to go? Surely it couldn’t be, after all synthetic grass is made from plastic?

It really depends on who you ask and there are all sorts of compelling arguments for both. So let’s take a look at some of those:
 

 Advantages of natural grass
  • Supports an ecosystem of organisms that break down pathogens
  • Acts as a food source for some insect and animals
  • Acts as a carbon sink and produces oxygen
  • Has “air conditioning” properties, helping to cool an area
  • Grass can act as a filter, preventing contaminants reaching the water table
Disadvantages of natural lawn
  • Maintenance is water intensive
  • Pesticides, fungicide and herbicides may be required
  • Greenhouse gas emissions associated with mowing and other maintenance equipment.
  • May require additional inputs such as fertilizer; which could be fossil fuel based.
  • Often lawns are not made up of grass species native to an area. The grasses can then take hold in the wider local environment, crowding out native species.
Advantages of synthetic lawn
  • Can be made from recycled (more accurately, upcycled or downcycled) and recyclable (?) materials such as polypropylene or polyethylene
  • No watering required
  • No fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides or herbicides need to be used
  • Few greenhouse gas emissions in maintenance (no mowing, edging etc.)
Disadvantages of synthetic grass
  • Fossil fuel and other synthetic chemicals are used in its production
  • Pathogens may not be broken down. Some artificial lawns are treated with anti-bacterial chemicals to perform this action, and those can have their own negative environmental implications.
  • Other contaminants may pass through to the water table
  • Can contribute to the urban heat island effect
The above points are just in relation to the environment – when you start getting into costs, aesthetics, time and other issues, it becomes even more complex.

Note that with natural lawns though that some of the disadvantages listed can be negated or minimized through various techniques, such as water saving practices, manual push mowers, the usage of natural fertilizers and composts etc. However, often these more eco-friendly strategies can also mean more manual labor.

Given synthetic grass also has some powerful benefits, the decision of real vs. fake can still be very confusing; but here’s an important point:
Remember that having a lawn isn’t compulsory – native trees, flowers and shrubberies in the midst of mulch beds in place of a lawn are also an option and can help get around most of the issues associated with both synthetic and natural grass options; while offering the benefits of each. They also look great and also provide a habitat for other creatures.

Michael Bloch
Green Living Tips.com
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