local production

More focus on the production of goods would in my opinion go a long way to helping reduce pollution levels. Most of the fruits and vegetables that I consume are shipped in from British Columbia and California if not South America and Australia.

On a road trip to Toronto I drove through Chicago, and the number of trucks on the road was almost unbelievable. My small car was often surrounded on all sides by towering trailers full of goods being shipped, I presume, to all parts of North America. Also, shipping implies some form of storage or warehousing. I’ve seen warehouses far from city centres, usually from the air while flying into airports. Presumably goods from these warehouses must at some point be shipped out of the city or into the city for consumption.

It would be great if we could combine more local food production with more local storage to overall reduce the long energy intensive path that most goods currently take.

Shipping items by train I believe is a step in the right direction, but only takes some pressure off of part of the equation.

rooftop use

Rooftops in Calgary are typically bare on buildings of all sizes and natures. I’ve occasionally spotted a tree here or there, but it’s a rare phenomenon. I’ve heard that pavement and dark roof tops contribute to city heat island effects. I’m not sure why we don’t make better use of our rooftops.

In Zurich I’ve seen more rooftop use than here in Calgary. I’ve heard that some countries like Germany offer incentives for installing green roof tops, and have experienced much success in this area so far.

I think that private buildings of all sizes could open up their roof tops to restaurants, pubs and coffee shops, as well as parks and public attractions. In Japan, it is much more common for buildings to have observation decks and other amenities high up in the air, though not always on rooftops. I think that by greening rooftops, we could also help to integrate cities back into nature a bit.

I’m also reminded of the 179th Street Y in the movie “The Royal Tannenbaums”. The building had tennis courts on the roof. Why not?

leed

LEED certified buildings have started to become more common in cities around the world. I was surprised to learn that Calgary is home to a number of them as well, with more on the way. I’m pleased that there is this sustainable standardization (among others) to allow us to quantify, encourage and reward those qualities which help to create sustainable structures. I was a little surprised to discover that LEED buildings can still support space for large numbers of cars though – that negative effects can be traded away with the installation of other positive values.

Vancouver is making some excellent progress in its sustainable planning efforts. Their city has taken a positive stance on sustainable buildings, and it seems that developers have responded well. Calgary could learn from this model.

mixed uses

Calgary has done a great job of separating out building uses in newer areas. For example, residential areas are kept separated (for the most part) from commercial and industrial areas. This can be seen clearly from the air when taking off from or landing at the airport. It’s interesting that older areas of the city do not separate uses as much (except perhaps for industrial uses), and these are the same areas that attract more foot traffic and are more lively than any suburb around.

multi uses

It’s also struck me how many buildings in Calgary (and I’m sure most other cities) are built with only one use in mind, and that use does not typically extend around the clock. An excellent example of this can be seen driving down Centre street into downtown at night. The majority of the towers seen driving in are commercial towers, and are empty after six in the evening. The same applies to schools and churches and city buildings among others; they remain empty for large amounts of time each day, and continue to use energy while standing empty.

Perhaps we could devise a better building usage scheme.