Seminar 2: Sustainable Resources: Sustainable Site Planning

Date: February 7, 2013
Names: Erns Wieler, Madeline Sweetland, Claire Davis, Elyssa Woods, Tony Jiao, and Jody Miller
Readings: Naess, Petter, and Nina Vogel. "Sustainable Urban Development and the Multi-level Transition Perspective." Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010.
Sarte, S. Bry, Sustainable Infrastructure: The Guide to Engineering and Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010.
Summary of Readings: 
Sustainable Urban Development and the Multi-level Transition Perspective:

Image 1: An example of multi-family housing

This article discussed urban development in terms of urban land use and transport infrastructure. They explained how the transition to sustainable urban development is a matter of changing composition of the existing urban development that is already in place rather than starting from scratch. Spatiality as an object rather than just as a context is an important mind set to have when redesigning an urban development. Another important aspect of designing an urban development is allowing for sustainable mobility. They mentioned in the article that making 'clean cars' will not solve some of the other issues relating to urban car traffic such as accidents, noise, and pollution. If a compact city is going to be designed, cars must be less dependant and other modes of transportation should be encouraged. Another area that was discussed in this article is the multi-leveled perspective. This perspective is a transition method that focuses on the changes in ways that urban structures change. Changes in housing is an example. Designing housing to be more environmentally friendly requires that less energy is being used. An approach to solve this issue is designing multi-family homes, using less energy. An example of a well designed area is Fredericia, Denmark. In this area, traffic is completely banned in plans to reduces CO2 emissions by 25% by 2015. 

Image 2: Site Plan for Fredericia, Denmark

Sustainable Infrastructure: The Guide To Green Engineering and Design

 This article focused on incorporating site design and natural patterns when designing. It is important that designers understand the site as a living system before they start building and designing. There are many aspects to consider when creating a sustainable design, such as inventory maps which help understand the contextual analysis of physical and living systems. Also, it is important to understand the geological conditions and soil health. Also, wetlands, open water bodies, plant species in a region, native vegetation, topography, climate analysis such as wind, solar, shade...etc., and built system inventories such as transportation and water/waste water infrastructure. It is not until all of these factors are recognized that one can start understanding the natural side of the site and incorporating a sustainable design into the natural setting.

Minutes of Seminar discussion: The seminar group members asked questions for each article, for example:
Do you have any ideas or suggestions for existing sites in Winnipeg and how can they be planned or designed in a more sustainable way?
-The class discussed the downtown area of Winnipeg and whether or not it should be a more family oriented place and more attractive for people to live. There were many opinions on this issue as some people believed that instead of urban sprawl, we should be designing more sustainably in the downtown area. However, some individuals believed that it may be a good idea to use the space outside of Winnipeg. An interesting way to introduce the topic to the public is to mention the benefits of living inside the city instead of urban sprawl because it will make the idea sound attractive and draw more individuals to the city centre.
Reflections: I was very interested in this topic as I live in a suburb far away from the downtown area and it made me rethink the way cities can be designed. It makes more sense for us to live in a smaller vicinity, but in a sustainable way. However, I also like the idea of suburbs and being away from the 'city life', which lead me to another question: is there a way we can design sustainable city areas while maintaining the escape of 'city life' that some people long for in a community? When we start to pose these questions it leads to more design possibilities for the future.

Image 1: "More Multi-Family Housing" Eugene. http://www.eugene-or.gov/index.aspx?NID=2073 accessed March 22, 2013.Image 2: "Fredricia Masterplan"e-architect. http://www.e-architect.co.uk/denmark/fredericia_masterplan.htm accessed March 22, 2013.