Archive for the ‘sustainability’ Category

September 10, 2013

Phoenix is Making Way for Bicyclists

by: Paul Loomans

Tweet Today’s post is by guest writer Paul Loomans. Paul was raised in a small town in Wisconsin and got his MBA at UW-Madison. He helped design new products for John Deere in the Midwest and then moved to Phoenix in 1998. Paul is a LEED accredited marketing and development professional , with a focus on community and seniors. He serves on the Administrative and Strategic Planning Committee and the Research and Legislative Committee of the Phoenix Spokes People, a bike advocacy organization. He is car-free, relying mostly on his bike and transit to get around town and he wants to help build…

August 28, 2013

Why Portland’s Visionary Olmsted Park Plan of 1903 Yields Big Benefits Today

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet When you hear the name Olmsted, you typically think of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park in New York City. But another set of Olmsteds played a big part in the open space planning of Portland in the turn of the century – Frederick’s sons, John and Charles Olmsted. Between 1885 and 1915, Portland’s population grew by 300%. Due to concerns over this astronomic growth, and also because of the City Beautiful Movement of the time, the Olmsted brothers were commissioned to come up with a long range open space plan in the early 1900s. The City Beautiful…

August 21, 2013

12 Reasons I’m Still in Love with Portland After 6 Months of Living Here

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet I moved to Portland from Phoenix about 6 months ago because I fell in love with this city and I was in need to of a fresh start. Portland hasn’t let me down. I’m still in love with it and here are the reasons why: 1. I love that I can be outside almost all year round I just returned from a visit to Phoenix. Because it is August, you can’t really spend any time outside, since it’s too hot. You’re relegated to going from your air-conditioned home to your air-conditioned car to the air-conditioned store. The blazing sun…

July 22, 2013

Can we Keep Earth from being the Next Krypton? Sustainability Lessons from Man of Steel

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Lucky Sharma: It is summer, and when I am in Phoenix I find myself looking for things to do indoors. Last weekend, when I stood in line to buy tickets for a movie, I was not sure which of the summer blockbusters would entertain me. A split second decision led me to choose “Man of Steel”. I have always loved Superman, the Marvel Comics character from Krypton, and I thought it would be the perfect movie to watch. The theater was packed and I was early enough to grab a good seat. Little did…

July 09, 2013

Bike Share in Phoenix: This is going to be big!

by: James Gardner

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer James Gardner. Check out James’s new blog about health and the built environment called Healthy Cities International. The City of Phoenix recently announced its next (baby) step toward a sustainable future city: a bike share program, and has awarded a contract to a vendor, Cyclehop, LLC, for the bikes to be shared. Cyclehop’s website states that the bikes will be state-of-the-art, with an integrated GPS system, allowing each bike to be tracked, and the bicycles can be custom built for each bike share program. According to Colin Tetreault from the Mayor’s office, as early…

July 03, 2013

Leslie Lindo Instills Sustainable Practices in the Business World Through Education

by: Nichole Reber

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Nichole Reber. After four years of traveling the globe Nichole has repatriated to Phoenix. There she is following her two passions: writing and the built environment. During the day she does marketing communications, social media, and journalism for those in AEC. At night she’s at work on her first book, a travel memoir about deportation, near kidnappings, hospitalizations, and the harsh realities behind travel’s glamour. Find her on her literary blog, and check out her portfolio. Leslie Lindo doesn’t see sustainability as just a buzzword. She sees it as a means to a better community. Working for…

June 07, 2013

The City of Flagstaff Shows Real Leadership in Sustainability

by: James Gardner

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer James Gardner: In 2011, the City of Flagstaff, a university town, home to about 50,000 permanent residents and 15,000 students, launched its official sustainability initiative, the Municipal Sustainability Plan (MSP), taking a public step in the direction toward sustainability as a city. There were many initiatives within their departments prior to 2011, but its first Municipal Sustainability Plan was published in 2011, marking a clear intent to operate sustainably, and distance itself from some nearby cities and towns, who have shunned the idea of sustainability. The City’s MSP focuses primarily on the operations…

June 05, 2013

How to Vacation with a Low Carbon Footprint

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet It was February 4, 2013 and Memorial Day Weekend was coming soon (just four months out). The age old question haunted me – where should I visit next? Planning for the three-day weekend started a little over four months out because I did not want to pay tons of money in airfares and hotels. I thought, “Why plan a vacation that will not only be expensive but will also generate a high carbon footprint?” So I started thinking about what plan would work for me and also be good for the planet. This question has never had many good…

May 29, 2013

Why We Need to Think About Infrastructure as More than Just Roads and Bridges

by: Kirby Hoyt

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Kirby Hoyt: A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of sitting in as a juror for a graduate-level design studio’s final presentation at Arizona State University. The topic of the class was landscape as infrastructure, something I have been interested for a long time. What intrigued me the most, I think, was not so much the work, but the interpretation of the concept of ‘infrastructure.’ While most people think of infrastructure as roads, bridges, utilities and the like, some of the class took the concept further to include other realms. This was…

May 28, 2013

World Naked Bike Ride!

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet The World Naked Bike Ride in Portland is just a few short weeks away, taking place on Saturday, June 8th. Yes, people will be riding naked on their bikes, but for a good cause. The worldwide bike ride highlights “the vulnerability of cyclists everywhere and decries society’s dependence on pollution-based transport” and is meant to bring people together in support and celebration of cycling. A little bit of background: The first World Naked Bike ride took place in 2004, but before that, a lot of different organizations put on smaller naked bike rides around the world. In Germany, naked…