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Archive for May, 2009

Global Warming Causing 300,000 Deaths per Year, Says Kofi Annan, Former U.N. Chief

Posted in Climate Change, Policy and Regulation on 05/29/2009 | Leave a Comment »

In one of the first major studies on the impact of climate change on people, Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary-General and his Global Humanitarian Forum, have issued a report arguing that climate change is already responsible for 300,000 deaths a year and affecting 300 million people. Heatwaves, floods, storms and forest fires will be responsible for as many as half [...]

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Green the U.S. Capitol

Posted in Green Buildings, Green Roofs, Policy and Regulation, Sustainable Design on 05/28/2009 | Leave a Comment »

During a briefing of the High Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition, Dan Beard, Chief Administrative Officer, U.S. House of Representatives, outlined progress on the Green the Capitol campaign, which has been underway for more than two years. The campaign has two goals: carbon-neutrality for the U.S. House, and reducing energy consumption by 50 percent over 10 years.  Beard explained the U.S. House [...]

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Increasing the Social and Economic Sustainability of Green Roofs

Posted in Green Roofs, Landscape Architecture, Policy and Regulation, Sustainable Design on 05/27/2009 | 2 Comments »

Verlyn Klinkenborg, a noted non-fiction writer and member of The New York Times editorial board, wrote about green roofs for National Geographic. The typical roofscape for an urban building, says Klinkenborg, is “a little like hell—a lifeless place of bituminous surfaces, violent temperature contrasts, bitter winds, and an antipathy to water.” Klinkenborg says green roofs [...]

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Pediatricians Issue Policy Linking Design and Public Health

Posted in Education, Smart Growth on 05/26/2009 | Leave a Comment »

The American Academy of Pediatrics has released a policy statement strongly supporting the need to encourage outdoor play and mobility among children. “The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children” documents the trends in community development that have contributed to the sharp decline in physical activity among children and adolescents, thus contributing to the [...]

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Cities Move from Sustainable to ‘Climate Positive’ Development

Posted in Green Buildings, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Design on 05/22/2009 | 8 Comments »

During a National Building Museum symposium on the state of planning in the U.S., Professor David Godschalk, Professor, City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, discussed the need to initiate “positive development” strategies in cities in the near future. Godschalk argued that the U.S. must initiate a “visionary positive development strategy” through which cities contribute energy [...]

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Future Competitiveness and Sustainability of U.S. Cities

Posted in Climate Change, Policy and Regulation, Urban Design on 05/22/2009 | 2 Comments »

The Penn Institute for Urban Research at the University of Pennsylvania held an event at the National Building Museum. In a full day of planning-related events, which included a half-day symposium on the hundred years of U.S. planning (1909-2009), planners, architects and key policymakers discussed the range of factors that will determine the future competitiveness and sustainability of [...]

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Consumers in India, Brazil, and China Are the “Greenest”

Posted in Environment on 05/20/2009 | 2 Comments »

According to a new survey conducted by National Geographic and Globescan, consumers in India, Brazil, and China scored the highest (and those in the U.S. the lowest) for green behavior. The survey polled 17,000 adults in 17 countries, and included a mix of developed and developing countries. National Geographic writes on the survey design: “This [...]

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NYC’s New Street Design Manual

Posted in Public Spaces, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization on 05/20/2009 | Leave a Comment »

The Bloomberg Administration issued a new street design manual today in an effort to make over the city’s “utilitarian 1970′s-style streetscape.” According to The New York Times, New York City’s Department of Transportation will now review development plans to see whether they align with the 232-page manual’s guidelines. In comments to The New York Times, Janette Sadik-Khan, the city’s [...]

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Charles Waldheim, Coiner of “Landscape Urbanism,” to Become New Chair of Landscape Architecture Department, Harvard GSD

Posted in Education, Landscape Architecture on 05/19/2009 | 2 Comments »

Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design, announced that Charles Waldheim will become Professor of Landscape Architecture and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. “I very much look forward to working with Charles and the Landscape faculty in defining the future direction [...]

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Developing Countries and Climate Change Adaptation

Posted in Climate Change, Environment on 05/18/2009 | Leave a Comment »

The Commission on Climate Change and Development presented its findings in Washington, D.C. late last week. Chaired by Sweden’s international development minister, Gunilla Carlsson, the commission includes experts such as Mohamed El-Ashry, formerly head of the Global Environment Facility (GEF); Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and re-forestation activist; and Jonathan Lash, President of the World [...]

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