Design Observer :: Join the Discussion http://places.designobserver.com/feature/infrastructural-ecologies-principles-for-post-industrial-public-works/15568/ en-us Design Observer Group 2010-11-18T22:54:55-05:00 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0 Daniel erwin http://places.designobserver.com/feature/infrastructural-ecologies-principles-for-post-industrial-public-works/15568/#comments 2010-11-18T22:54:55-05:00 The problem with all this is this!

Where is the investment going to come from if some, or many of these green building projects are partly, or wholly "non-viable" from a commercial point of view? The answer could come from facilitation finance in which (monitored) new non-repayable money could be created electronically as a stimulus. This would not be inflationary to any serious degree simply because the campacity of the relevant companies of such facilitation contracts would be taken into account. In other words, it would be like Advanced Market Commitment, or AMCs.

See my evolving project.

http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Transfinancial_Economics]]> Robert Searle http://places.designobserver.com/feature/infrastructural-ecologies-principles-for-post-industrial-public-works/15568/#comments 2010-11-18T05:52:09-05:00

http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=127810849697704800]]> billb http://places.designobserver.com/feature/infrastructural-ecologies-principles-for-post-industrial-public-works/15568/#comments 2010-10-31T14:31:08-05:00
In this regard, our "dysfunctional government" can be seen as an apt reflection (and predictable outcome) of representing a populace that cries crocodile tears about the environment while at the wheel of their 4,000lb, hydrocarbon-powered personal slave devices.

Education will be an important component to any true change, but may not be sufficient.

It took a war to liberate slaves and slaveholder from the horrific bondage and gross entitlements of treating humans like chattel; to the degree that our private automobiles come at a similar cost to the rest of the planet we might expect no less.
]]> Mr. Downer http://places.designobserver.com/feature/infrastructural-ecologies-principles-for-post-industrial-public-works/15568/#comments 2010-10-26T22:11:20-05:00
The question it raises for me is brought to a head in the last paragraph- presenting the infrastructure issues as "dauntingly large, complex, and urgent"; might that be a bit hyperbolic, therefore lending itself to the histrionics and hysteria surrounding many of our public debates today? For me, the beauty of the article is that the author articulates a number of issues and cases where solutions have been found and ideas are being tested with current technologies and theories. Then you end with a beautiful proposal for a simple way to get started. It is the same as the "stabilization wedges" proposal, in many respects. There would be issues regarding the scaling of these solutions/systems (both in funding them, and in their function) but always presenting them as almost-intractable and overwhelmingly "complex" seems self-defeating and may be disingenuous.

Also, it is striking that whenever landscape architects are involved in making multi-functional infrastructures or whatever, the contribution seems to be "umm... i don't know... we could make a park... yes, we need a park there by the nuclear cooling towers!" and then renderings are produced with lots of lawn and cyclists. yikes.]]> faslanyc http://places.designobserver.com/feature/infrastructural-ecologies-principles-for-post-industrial-public-works/15568/#comments 2010-10-26T14:50:45-05:00
I am glad that you mentioned the urban forest-stormwater management project in the Bronx and would like to mention a project that illustrates principles 1. The Circle at Uptown Normal combines stormwater capture and treatment with traffic calming. http://www.hoerrschaudt.com/civic/uptown-normal-circle.php]]> Georgia http://places.designobserver.com/feature/infrastructural-ecologies-principles-for-post-industrial-public-works/15568/#comments 2010-10-25T21:23:52-05:00