SPUDS = Sustainable Planning and Urban Development Sightseers
A high impact learning experience for EcoVillage students to learn about sustainable planning and urban development by visiting a city within the United States.
2015 Sightseers Include:
Hannah Veater // Environmental Design in Architecture
Austin Bowman // Chemistry + Landscape Architecture
Will Casola // Fisheries and Wildlife Management, Conservation Biology
Ben Sterling // Civil Engineering
Greg Sheets // Ag Technology, Soil Science (Minor)
Andrew Harrell // Biological Engineering, Landscape Architecture
Andy Yeh // First Year College--Chemical/Environmental Engineering
Maddison Hightower // Environmental Science, Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management
Daniel Marulanda // Environmental Science
A high impact learning experience for EcoVillage students to learn about sustainable planning and urban development by visiting a city within the United States.
2015 Sightseers Include:
Hannah Veater // Environmental Design in Architecture
Austin Bowman // Chemistry + Landscape Architecture
Will Casola // Fisheries and Wildlife Management, Conservation Biology
Ben Sterling // Civil Engineering
Greg Sheets // Ag Technology, Soil Science (Minor)
Andrew Harrell // Biological Engineering, Landscape Architecture
Andy Yeh // First Year College--Chemical/Environmental Engineering
Maddison Hightower // Environmental Science, Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management
Daniel Marulanda // Environmental Science
Trip Schedule:
Saturday, March 7, 2015 - Arrival in San Francisco, CA
Sunday, March 8, 2015 - Dylan's Tour of San Francisco & Muir Woods 9AM-3PM, Cable Car Museum 4-5PM
Monday, March 9, 2015 - Alcatraz Tour 9AM-12PM, Campus Sustainability Tour & Meeting with Student Environmental Resources Center student staff at University of California Berkeley 1:30-3:30PM
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 - Recology Facility & Artist-in-Residence Program Tour with Felisia Castaneda, Education Specialist 10AM-12PM, Meeting with Ms. Shawn Rosenmoss, Fundraising/Grants Manager for the City of San Francisco's Department of the Environment 2:30-3:30PM
Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - Community Service Project at Crissy Airfield with Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy 9AM-12PM, Meeting with Kate at Heart of the City Farmer's Market 4-5PM
Thursday, March 12, 2015 - Departure from San Francisco, CA
Saturday, March 7, 2015 - Arrival in San Francisco, CA
Sunday, March 8, 2015 - Dylan's Tour of San Francisco & Muir Woods 9AM-3PM, Cable Car Museum 4-5PM
Monday, March 9, 2015 - Alcatraz Tour 9AM-12PM, Campus Sustainability Tour & Meeting with Student Environmental Resources Center student staff at University of California Berkeley 1:30-3:30PM
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 - Recology Facility & Artist-in-Residence Program Tour with Felisia Castaneda, Education Specialist 10AM-12PM, Meeting with Ms. Shawn Rosenmoss, Fundraising/Grants Manager for the City of San Francisco's Department of the Environment 2:30-3:30PM
Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - Community Service Project at Crissy Airfield with Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy 9AM-12PM, Meeting with Kate at Heart of the City Farmer's Market 4-5PM
Thursday, March 12, 2015 - Departure from San Francisco, CA
EcoVillage = A living learning community at North Carolina State University
The EcoVillage prepares students for life-long sustainable living. Students go beyond the classroom to lead, serve, create, problem-solve and engage in complex issues facing the local and global energy and environmental challenges of society to advance sustainability.
The EcoVillage prepares students for life-long sustainable living. Students go beyond the classroom to lead, serve, create, problem-solve and engage in complex issues facing the local and global energy and environmental challenges of society to advance sustainability.
Before the trip we read the book Walkable City by Jeff Speck. In this book the author presents the theory that making a city walkable is the best way for making a sustainable community. The book is framed by 10 steps to walkability that focus on: the negative impacts of cars, mixing building uses, fixing city parking, setting up public transit, pedestrian safety, bicycling in an urban context, shaping spaces and landscapes to be interesting and inviting, and planting trees. This book was used by each team and as a whole as a base for evaluating San Francisco.
Here is a link for a TED talk that Jeff Speck gave that captures his general theory of walkability:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_speck_the_walkable_city?language=en
In Jeff Speck's book, Walkable City, he cites 10 steps to making a more sustainable city. To reiterate what was in these 10 steps, below is a short description of each step.
Step 1: Put cars in their place
Speck declares that the car has become the master of our lives, and reflecting on our own lives, we can easily see this to be true. Roads paved for the purpose of allowing cars to cross them, highways and interstates, constructed and reconstructed also for the use of a car. It has become a necessity nowadays to own a car in many places in the U.S.. Putting cars in their place and reclaiming space for pedestrians is one of the first steps towards building a more walkable city.
Step 2: Mix the uses
This step is about the buildings along the side of a sidewalk. Specifically, the type of building and the distance between the same type buildings. By providing a variety of activities within close walking distance that all contribute something different to a community, walkways become more walkable. However, this requires careful city planning and does not usually occur. When a cluster of the same type of buildings happens, generally, one of the only ways to solve the problem is by more housing.
Step 3: Get the parking right
San Francisco is a perfect example of a city that has gotten the parking right. Thanks in part to Shoup the chair of the department for Urban Planning at UCLA and distinguished parking "prophet", the city has a congestion-priced roadside parking program in place that will charge you more for streets with more cars parked in it. Through this system, the amount of cars parked along a given street is controlled through the price of parking.
Step 4: Let transit work
Public transportation is vital to a walkable city and because of this, planning for the future transit of the city must involve a number of factors. Some of these factors include the public opinion of transit investment, the relationship between transit, and property value, and the importance of the design.
Step 5: Protect the pedestrian
Protecting the pedestrian and making them feel safe while walking is pivotal for livening a street. Protecting the pedestrian could be accomplished in a variety of ways including parking spaces alongside the sidewalk, large potted plants, or even a parklet. The point being, having a physical barrier between moving traffic and pedestrians is key towards reviving a downtown area.
Step 6: Welcome bikes
In many instances, there is a correlation between the walkability of a city and the bikability of a city. Biking also keeps citizens in better shape and assists in making the city look more alive. In addition, biking reduces the number of cars used by the constituents.
Step 7: Shape the spaces
In many cases, a walkable city is shaped through the definitive lines drawn between open public spaces and the road. It is important for walkers to feel safe when they use the walkways. This can be accomplished through the use of road-side parking, large potted trees, and/or parklets. Helping the pedestrian feel safe while walking is important, it is also equally important to understand that too much of a barrier will deter people from walking.
Step 8: Plant trees
Trees planted as a barrier between the pedestrian and the road serves as protection for the pedestrian, and a "carbon sink" to absorb emissions produced in the city, and increases the property value of nearby areas. In addition, Speck also criticizes many cities for their use of multiple tree species in their cities--especially the use of palm trees when they are not native to the area.
Step 9: Make friendly and unique faces
Despite all of a city's attempts to get more people outside and walking, the physical appearance of a building plays a vital role in getting people outside to be active outdoors.. In an example given by Speck, Charleston, SC mayor, Joe Riley, commissioned an architect to build a parking garage that would give the outward appearance of a traditional downtown Charleston building. Built so that it blends in with nearby work buildings while maintaining it's primary function of servicing cars, this building gives pedestrians something nice to look at--rather than a bland, grey, cement eyesore.
Step 10: Pick your winners
Speck notes that cities should be aware of where they focus their resources. In areas where the automobile is dominant, they should not focus as many resources in turning it into a more walkable area. This is the case because the same effect would not result as would from using the same resources allocated towards an area where automobiles are not the primary mode of transportation.
Step 1: Put cars in their place
Speck declares that the car has become the master of our lives, and reflecting on our own lives, we can easily see this to be true. Roads paved for the purpose of allowing cars to cross them, highways and interstates, constructed and reconstructed also for the use of a car. It has become a necessity nowadays to own a car in many places in the U.S.. Putting cars in their place and reclaiming space for pedestrians is one of the first steps towards building a more walkable city.
Step 2: Mix the uses
This step is about the buildings along the side of a sidewalk. Specifically, the type of building and the distance between the same type buildings. By providing a variety of activities within close walking distance that all contribute something different to a community, walkways become more walkable. However, this requires careful city planning and does not usually occur. When a cluster of the same type of buildings happens, generally, one of the only ways to solve the problem is by more housing.
Step 3: Get the parking right
San Francisco is a perfect example of a city that has gotten the parking right. Thanks in part to Shoup the chair of the department for Urban Planning at UCLA and distinguished parking "prophet", the city has a congestion-priced roadside parking program in place that will charge you more for streets with more cars parked in it. Through this system, the amount of cars parked along a given street is controlled through the price of parking.
Step 4: Let transit work
Public transportation is vital to a walkable city and because of this, planning for the future transit of the city must involve a number of factors. Some of these factors include the public opinion of transit investment, the relationship between transit, and property value, and the importance of the design.
Step 5: Protect the pedestrian
Protecting the pedestrian and making them feel safe while walking is pivotal for livening a street. Protecting the pedestrian could be accomplished in a variety of ways including parking spaces alongside the sidewalk, large potted plants, or even a parklet. The point being, having a physical barrier between moving traffic and pedestrians is key towards reviving a downtown area.
Step 6: Welcome bikes
In many instances, there is a correlation between the walkability of a city and the bikability of a city. Biking also keeps citizens in better shape and assists in making the city look more alive. In addition, biking reduces the number of cars used by the constituents.
Step 7: Shape the spaces
In many cases, a walkable city is shaped through the definitive lines drawn between open public spaces and the road. It is important for walkers to feel safe when they use the walkways. This can be accomplished through the use of road-side parking, large potted trees, and/or parklets. Helping the pedestrian feel safe while walking is important, it is also equally important to understand that too much of a barrier will deter people from walking.
Step 8: Plant trees
Trees planted as a barrier between the pedestrian and the road serves as protection for the pedestrian, and a "carbon sink" to absorb emissions produced in the city, and increases the property value of nearby areas. In addition, Speck also criticizes many cities for their use of multiple tree species in their cities--especially the use of palm trees when they are not native to the area.
Step 9: Make friendly and unique faces
Despite all of a city's attempts to get more people outside and walking, the physical appearance of a building plays a vital role in getting people outside to be active outdoors.. In an example given by Speck, Charleston, SC mayor, Joe Riley, commissioned an architect to build a parking garage that would give the outward appearance of a traditional downtown Charleston building. Built so that it blends in with nearby work buildings while maintaining it's primary function of servicing cars, this building gives pedestrians something nice to look at--rather than a bland, grey, cement eyesore.
Step 10: Pick your winners
Speck notes that cities should be aware of where they focus their resources. In areas where the automobile is dominant, they should not focus as many resources in turning it into a more walkable area. This is the case because the same effect would not result as would from using the same resources allocated towards an area where automobiles are not the primary mode of transportation.