Archive for the ‘sustainability’ Category

May 24, 2013

How San Francisco’s Mission District Leverages Cultural Diversity to Create a Sustainable Lifestyle

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Lucky Sharma: The Mission neighborhood in San Francisco has always amazed me in all its existential aspects. Whether it is its history of drugs and shootings or its current day hipster culture emphasized by the vintage stores and rogue bicyclists, I have been truly enamored by how much cultural inclusion this few blocks has to offer. Mission Street, also called as the “Mission Miracle Mile”, has historically been one of the largest and most active of the area’s shopping corridors. It runs north-south through the full length of the district. A diverse crowd…

May 21, 2013

A City with a Variety of Modes of Transportation is a City with Better Public Health

by: Phil Allsopp

Tweet Today’s post is by guest writer Phil Allsopp. Phil is a writer, activist and speaker about reshaping human habitat to restore the unmet needs of people and community, supporting vibrant economies and responding more effectively to the climatic conditions where people live. By re-thinking design and the policies that shape the form and the performance of the places we inhabit, he believes that it is possible to create a future in which everyone can live healthier and more abundant lives without plundering and polluting the planet on which we depend. Phil’s diverse career in design, public policy and business…

May 15, 2013

From San Francisco to Tempe – Attempting to Live a Life with a Low Carbon Footprint

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Lucky Sharma and is part of her series talking about her experiences trying to live a sustainable lifestyle in two cities – San Francisco and Tempe. In 2010 my husband and I moved from the hundred year old Victorian San Francisco apartment to an apartment complex in Tempe, AZ. I had heard horror stories about the heat in the valley, but I did not pay them much heed. My friends told me that I could easily get a house with a yard for real cheap. But I knew I didn’t want to increase…

May 15, 2013

The Dalai Lama Highlights the Spiritual Dimension of Saving the Planet at the Environmental Summit in Portland

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet The earth is our home. There is no other place for us to go. We can’t settle on the moon. So we must take care of it, not only for this generation, but for future generations. – His Holiness the Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama is very down to earth, laughs easily, and makes jokes even when he is talking about the gravest things like global warming or humanity’s tendency to deviate from its natural benevolence. I count myself fortunate to have gotten to see the Dalai Lama speak at the Environmental Summit at the Rose Quarter last Saturday,…

May 10, 2013

Dear City of Phoenix, this is Why You Should Invest in Bicycle Infrastructure

by: Robert Diehl

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Robert Diehl. Bob was born and raised in New York City. In college he published a literary magazine and produced performance art in the slowly re-filling area that came to be known as SoHo. His first 16 careerist years were spent in global finance and travel related services until he moved to Dallas with JCPenney. Warding off terminal boredom, a ‘when in Rome’ epiphany led to owning and breeding horses which brought him to the Valley of the Sun in 1990. He moved to a small horse ranch nestled in a desert landscape along…

May 08, 2013

Tim Beatley Defends Phoenix from Andrew Ross, Citing Conservation

by: James Gardner

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer James Gardner. James is a graduate student in Urban and Environmental Planning at Arizona State University. Having grown up in a small town in Arizona, James become attracted to the field of planning and urban design by taking a critical look at his surroundings. James has an interest in the integration of health, sustainability, and urban design, and how we can create communities that have access to a healthy lifestyle, be it through access to nature, or just a healthier built environment. Tim Beatley visited Arizona State University on April 10th and gave…

May 07, 2013

Musings on a Sustainable Urban Lifestyle in San Francisco Part II

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer, Lucky Sharma. Lucky lives in two cities – San Francisco and Tempe. She’ll be sharing her observations of both cities in a series of posts about the sustainable urban lifestyle. This post will be published in two parts. If you missed part I, which was published yesterday, check it out here. Below is part II: My train of thought was broken by the ding-ding of a bus. I smiled because the bus reminded of the bus rides I took with my parents when I was younger, and it reminded me of how I could…

May 06, 2013

Musings on a Sustainable Urban Lifestyle in San Francisco

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer, Lucky Sharma. Lucky is a sustainability professional, supply-chain consultant, product manager, innovations scout, bad-ass scientist, marathon runner, long-distance cyclist, and a poet. Lucky lives in two cities – San Francisco and Tempe. She’ll be sharing her observations of both cities in a series of posts about the sustainable urban lifestyle. This post will be published in two parts. Below is part I: Coffee is a BIG DEAL in San Francisco. I knew this pretty much as soon as my husband and I moved into our third floor apartment in the Pacific Heights neighborhood…

April 27, 2013

Why You Should Go Watch “Paolo Soleri: Beyond Form” Tomorrow…

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet When I asked a few of my friends here in Portland if they knew who Paolo Soleri is, they said no. When I tried to jog their memory by mentioning Arcosanti, I was met with a blank stare and still had no luck. Some of these friends were even architects or in the building industry and they didn’t know Paolo Soleri. I found this to be tragic. I think everyone should know who Paolo Soleri is, not just in Arizona, but all over the world. He was such a visionary and an uncompromising original. Yes, he worked under Frank…

April 11, 2013

In Memoriam: A Timeline of the Amazing Life and Work of Paolo Soleri

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet The legendary thought leader, architect, urban planner, author, lecturer, teacher and craftsman, Paolo Soleri died yesterday, April 9, 2013, at his home in Paradise Valley. In honor of his memory and achievements, below is a timeline of his inspiring life and work that spanned the globe and influenced many people, movements, aesthetics and ways of making. 1919 – Paolo Soleri is born in Turin, Italy 1946 – Soleri moves to the U.S. after receiving a doctorate with the highest honors from the Polytechnic University of Turin 1947 – Soleri enters into apprenticeship with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West 1948…