From PESWiki

Directory of clean, renewable community projects around the world.

Overviews

• Rise of the Carbon-Neutral City (http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/feb2008/id20080211_503795.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily) - Several ambitious plans around the world envision green cities, but such projects raise as many questions as they promise to answer. Perhaps the mother of all sustainable architecture projects, Dongtan on Chongming Island in China will be powered by wind, biofuels, and solar energy. (BusinessWeek; Feb. 11, 2008)
  

• "The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review" (http://www.greenbiz.com/toolbox/reports_third.cfm?LinkAdvID=97420) - (48-page PDF) Guidelines for Identifying Business Risks and Opportunities Arising from Ecosystem Change accompanied by case studies from five businesses, explains the steps a business should take to identify what ecosystems it depends on and the risks and opportunities related to changes in those ecosystems. (GreenBiz; March 17, 2008)

Projects

• Clean Energy Road Show Launch Imminent (http://pesn.com/2008/06/23/9500485_Clean_Energy_Road_Show/) - Laurel White's year-long road show will educate people about easy-to-implement clean energy solutions available now, many of which can actually save money; and to give hope about the future by reviewing some of the most promising clean emerging technologies. (PESN; June 23, 2008)
  

Events

• Autodesk Sustainable Design Webcast Series (http://offers.autodesk.com/8/88006/?mktvar001=91182) - The webcasts feature the principles of sustainable design, methods for sustainable building techniques, and building information modeling (BIM) (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?id=10262483&siteID=123112) as a means for multi-disciplinary project teams to design, analyze, coordinate and build high-performance, sustainable buildings. (Autodesk; July 2, 2008)
  

• Eco City World Summit 2008 (http://www.ecocityworldsummit.org/index2.htm)

Isolationists

• Living off the Grid (http://www.emagazine.com/view/?2650) - Many of today’s back-to-the-landers are building more comfortable retreats from civilization, complete with electricity courtesy of solar panels and windmills. (EMagazine; July 19, 2005)
  

Building Projects

• Retreat to an Ewok Eco Sphere in the Trees (http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/07/25/our-planet-retreats-building-eco-spheres-in-trees/) - Our Planet Retreats (http://ourplanet-retreats.com/), an innovative UK-based company, is building eco-resorts in gorgeous pristine locations like the Phillipines, Vanatu, and Papua New Guinea. Visiting guests stay in simple floating spheres in the trees, reached by spiral stairs. (Inhabitat; July 25, 2008)
  

Geos Neighborhood, Arvada, Colorado

• 'Net Zero' Energy Community Planned For Arvada (http://cbs4denver.com/green/arvada.Geos.Neighborhood.2.791317.html) - Imagine living in a community where the sun and earth produce all the energy in the Geos Neighborhood (http://www.discovergeos.com/index.php) after October 2008 near 69th Ave and Joyce Street in Arvada, Colorado. Google Map (http://maps.google.com/). "The utility bill will come out essentially zero each month," said prospective home buyer, Tim Sullivan. (CBS4 Denver; August 8, 2008)
  

Ecobay, Estonia

• ECOBAY: New Sustainable City for Estonia (http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/07/17/schmidt-hammer-lass-architects-ecobay/) - Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects won first place in an international competition to create a new sustainable city "Ecobay", set on the Paljassaare Peninsula in Estonia. Situated serenely overlooking the Baltic Sea, the new city will benefit from a diverse portfolio of clean energy sources and will house up to 6,000 citizens as it is completed over the next 15-20 years. (Inhabitat; July 17, 2008)
  

Freiburg, Germany

• Green Energy Projects Making a Splash in Germany May Soon Be Coming to U.S. (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,382322,00.html)' - FREIBURG, Germany — Tucked away in Germany's southwest corner lies the country's throughly modern "environmental capital" (http://vorort.bund.net/suedlicher-oberrhein/freiburg-environment-ecology.html) of Freiburg, where residents are embracing a number of green energy projects that may soon be running in the United States. (Fox News; July 14, 2008)
  

Abu Dhabi

• Building the Zero-Emissions City (http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20740/?nlid=1058&a=f) - Recently, in the harsh desert climate of Abu Dhabi, construction started on Masdar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masdar_City), a city that will house 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses but use extremely little energy, and what it does use will come from renewable sources. (MIT Technology Review; May 08, 2008)
  

World's Nest, Taos, New Mexico

• http://worldsnest.com - pioneering various sustainable living systems for complete autonomy.

- - - -

Rivendell Village, The Northern Rivers, Australia

• http://www.rivendellvillage.com - "this is my favorite sustainable community design" -- User:Itopea (Feb. 19, 2008)

The masterplan shows clustered housing set amongst ample green open space, incorporating four concentric rings:- a green buffer zone around the entire periphery a ring road for use by residents and their visitors Rivendell's houses the central park

Dongtan, Chongming Island, People's Republic of China

"Perhaps the mother of all sustainable architecture projects, Dongtan on Chongming Island in China will be powered by wind, biofuels, and solar energy." [1] (http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/feb2008/id20080211_503795.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily)

Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China

Striving to maximize social engagement, the plan creates an urban structure that promotes walking and healthy activities in its multitude of parks, paths and trails. The development will also preserve existing stream and wetland communities, returning clean, healthy water to the ecosystem at equal rates and in the same patterns of the undeveleped site through the use of integrated strategies. Befitting its designation as a demonstration project, the plan demonstrates what is possible in Liuzhou, in China, and in communities around the globe. Guantang Chuangye Sustainable Conceptual Master Plan (http://www.mcdonoughpartners.com/projects/liuzhou/default.asp?projID=liuzhou) (Slashdot (http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/17/2136245); Jul.17, 2005)

Treasure Island, San Francisco, California

• Treasure Island Project in the San Francisco Bay area (http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/treasure-island-plan-most-sust-002769.php) - Treasure Island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Island,_California)

In 2009, Treasure Island will begin the initial phases of construction and the little known city will suddenly blossom as a hot-bed and laboratory of “green” development. The latest in water conservation, energy efficiency, waste management and low-impact living will be implemented. The goal: to create the most ecological city in the world, a shining example of what the future holds.

Califia Eco City, San Francisco, California

• Califia Eco City Project San Francisco (http://www.greencenturyinstitute.org/califia.htm)

Key to the design will be the innovative social meshwork underlying it, which will be implemented in a flexible mixed-use project combining traditional and cohousing-style residential development – a full suite of community, commercial, and social spaces to maximize human potential and group interactions.

EcoVillage, Berea, Kentucky

• [http://www.berea.edu/sens/ecovillage/ -

With its state-of-the-art wastewater treatment system, recycled wood cabinets, and low-energy fluorescent lighting, Berea's $10 million Ecological Village" represents the cutting edge of environmental architecture. (Less is more as colleges turn eco-friendly (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/07/03/less_is_more_as_colleges_turn_eco_friendly/) Boston Globe]; July 3, 2005)

On-site treatment of waste is accomplished through the Ecological Machine (http://www.berea.edu/sens/ecovillage/ecomachine/default.asp), which converts sewage to swimmable quality water, and through a composting toilet in the SENS house. Roof-top capture of rainwater contributes to landscape irrigation and production of fruits and vegetables.

Centennial, California

• Tejon Ranch Sustainable community Project (http://www.centennialca.com/specific_plan.html)

Guidelines for the development and design of eight village-style communities offering a wide range of housing, retail, community services, parks and recreational amenities. Provision of necessary services such as gas, water, electricity, telephone and fiber optic cable.Preservation of natural resources - nearly half of the land will be dedicated as open space, greenways, trails or parks. Scope of public services to be provided including emergency and police, fire stations, a public library and 18 parks. Green development program for residential and commercial buildings to ensure the use of sustainable design practices. Multi-modal transportation plan incorporating alternative systems for pedestrians, bicycles and small neighborhood electric vehicles, with an internal roadway to facilitate circulation among communities and future rail transit. Eight elementary schools and two high schools. Water conservation, recycling and reclamation, along with state-of-the-art drainage system.

Port Austin, Michigan

• Off-Grid College and Retirement Community in the Works (http://pesn.com/2004/05/17/off-grid_college/index.html) - "We are now just setting the campus up," said Frankford. "It has been unused for the past 5 to 10 years. There is a lot of work that is being done. We are needing to replace most of the heating, cooling, and power to the buildings. While doing this, we want to use renewable solutions to manage our total energy requirements. We are seeking all forms of non-poluting, natural, inexpensive, highly efficient technologies that will become a model for other institutions." (PESN; May 17, 2004)

Jeju Island, South Korean

• South Korean Solar System Community on Jeju Island a Brilliant Idea (http://ecoworldly.com/2008/05/09/south-korean-solar-system-community-on-jeju-island-a-brilliant-idea/) - On the roof of each of the 40 houses in Donggwang lies a large beds of solar panels. Even the small, local elementary school runs on free electric energy from the sun. The photovoltaic panels produce enough energy to power the entire area. Amidst cattle and fields, Donggwang is a state-of-the-art renewable energy village. (EcoWorld; May 9, 2008)
  

User Groups

• Alternative Energy User Group (http://maccompanion.com/RenewableEnergy/altenergyusergroup.htm) - The non-profit organization meets the first Wednesday of each month in RIchland, WA. Speakers and Presenters come and provide information to the group on all kinds of alternative energy topics.
  

Virtual Communities

Newly Starting

• https://www.earthflag.net/community.htm

Media

• Sustainable Urbanism (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/047177751X/pureenergysys-20) - This manual designates the human settlement pattern—and not just the dwelling—as the crucial variable in the environmental equation. This makes a great deal of difference, as the absence of community scale in the environmental literature has been masked by the recent obsession with “green” building—the latest of the silver bullets. (FarrSide (http://www.farrside.com))
  

Humor

• Google Gives Up On Earth: Will Colonize Mars (http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1494/85/) - While Google and Virgin have both been outspoken and dedicated supports of the Environment, it looks as if their founders are just sick of dealing with this mess. (EcoGeek; April 1, 2008)
  

Directories

• Automated Buildings.com (http://www.automatedbuildings.com/) - "We are extremely pleased to bring the thoughts and opinions of the change agents that are working hard to create our new convergence communities."
• Smart Grid News (http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/index.html) - Discusses Green Building and smart electrical grid systems.
• http://www.ecocitybuilders.org/ - Premier Leaders in sustainable city development.
• http://weearth.com/ WeEarth is a network of resources enabling us to explore our connectedness with each other and with our changing world.

Discussion

See Discussion page

• Advantages of Community Energy Projects (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/recolumnists/story?id=51709) (Renewable Energy World; March 4, 2008)

See also

• Beijing 2008 "Green" Olympics - We take a look at the environmental theme around the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing China. August 08-24, 2008.
  
• Communities (http://www.freeenergynews.com/Directory/Communities/index.html)
• Directory:Building
• Directory:Home Generation:Geometric Designs
• Community

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