UK: Microgeneration is on!

Swift 1.5kW Rooftop Wind Turbine - BowZED Housing Development, London

An array of 5 Swifts, atop TESCO, in Diss, Norfolk

Two Proven 2.5 kW turbnines, integrated with PV panels and signage for Sainsbury's, Greenwich, London.

The Iskra AT5-1, 5 kW, turbine in Worksop, Nottinghamshire

A pair of AT5-1s powering the new Environmental Education Centre in Rushcliffe Country Park, Ruddington, near Nottingham

Phase 2 of the DTI’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) opens, it is the successor to the old Clear Skies program. Grants are available for the supply and installation of any combination of the following technologies:

• Solar photovoltaics
• Solar thermal hot water
• Wind turbines
• Ground source heat pumps
• Automated wood pellet stoves
• Wood fuelled boiler system

So hurry up and order your own home wind turbine, while supplies last!

Futures of Cities (and Pasts)

yr 2000 stats

The upcoming Futures of Cities World Congress - Impacts: Indicators: Implementations, has set up a cool website that you can check, it features a dynamically illustrated timeline regarding the transition from urban to rural living (1913-today & future projection). Some interesting architectural facts also provided.

Via: Sustainable Rotterdam

Unsafe is the new safe

(photo by Alon Brik)

I've been reading today (via The Spiegel, Gristmill, CSMonitor) on this really cool (but kinda risky) idea, that some progressive cities and towns, like many Dutch towns, Ejby in Denmark, Ipswich in the UK and Ostende in Belgium, have been experimenting with as a cure for traffic chaos. Basically it all has to do with removing the conventional road signs - traffic lights, white lines, sidewalks etc- and create a single "shared space" for everyone, motorized or not!

The Dutch traffic guru Hans Monderman says "The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We're losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior. The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people's sense of personal responsibility dwindles.".

You'd be suprised to hear that the number of accidents has declined dramatically and there's improved flow of traffic in these demo-cities. London is also entertaining this new idea of road anarchy, and its been currentlly tested in Kensington.

Hmm, this may very well work for the civilized parts of the world but just imagine if we tried this over here in Athens...fun times huh?!

Athens green spaces: degradation instead of regeneration

For every citizen of Athens there are only 2-3 m2 of green space*, the lowest percentage in all of the EU Member States.
But how is this possible, in a beautiful city that has been endowed with quite a number of green areas?

The reason is that very simply the Greek State itself has decided in the recent years to irreversibly degrade them, either by transferring them to private individuals, or with land use changes, or even uncontrolled commercial exploitation by Local Authority Organizations etc. All this, with the pretence that this is happening for the common public good.

Some shocking examples:

• The transfer of 5000 m2 from the Pedion tou Areos to the Panellinios gymnastics club (with very dodgy legal doings) that also entailed plans to cut down lots of trees and illegal building.
• The siting of the Metro station and the Contemporary Art Museum in the Rizari Park area (original area 115000 m2 – now only 50000 m2), that was mysteriously handed over from the Greek State to the Goulandris family.
• The expansion of the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron) at the expense of the Eleftherias Park.
• The transfer of a large part of the Nea Philadelphia Park to the AEK football club.
  
• Many illegal actions, like new buildings and destruction of existing greenhouses within the Syngrou Estate

And the list just goes on and on.
We are losing these priceless “lungs” of our city and apart from the local NGOs like the WWF and some, not many, concerned citizens, nobody else seems to give a damn.

*According to the Ministry of Environment, February 2004, there are 3,55 m2 for each citizen, that is the figure when adding the green on the traffic islands, the lawn on Attiki Odos and Ymittos Circular, but without considering the serious reductions in green space that occurred during their construction (e.g. Ymittos)

References/ useful links for further reading:

The WWFs assessment of Athens green spaces

Open Spaces Observatory

Athens Metropolitan Park - a dream come true?

Site of the proposed development

SW to NE boundary of the area

As some of you may already know, the Ministry of Environment, Planning and Public Works, and more specifically its agency Organization of Athens for Planning and Environmental Protection, announced the winners of the competition for the long-awaited proposed development, the French/US, DZO Architecture team. The Organization in turn asked us dudes over here at the Center for Renewable Energy Sources to contribute ideas for the Master Plan regarding environmental and energy issues. So, finally after some time filled mostly with boring projects, I have this really challenging one to work for!