Magazine Flashcards
Planning for broadband
Planning for broadband is necessary to improve community economic development and quality of life. It is appropriate to include it in a comprehensive plan.
Passive housing
Passive House relies on building materials and methods, like better insulation and thicker windows, to maintain a fixed temperature inside a living area while using very little energy — no matter what the conditions are outside.
The passive approach means dramatically less energy is used than in typical buildings: Studies show reduced heating requirements ranging from 60 percent to 90 percent.
In 2009, just a few residential projects (multifamily and single family) had been certified by the Passive House Institute and the Passive House Institute US. That number had grown to more than 250 by last year
Parklet market
Determining the market for parklets is not simply a question of where to add pedestrian space, or where such interventions will have the biggest impact on pedestrian activity. Rather — perhaps not surprisingly — it is a question of where there is both political support and the capacity to develop.
Immigration Planning
Becoming a trends in rust belt cities.
In 2011, Dayton, Ohio, in the midst of massive immigration boom, became one of the first cities in the nation to complete a “welcoming plan” to address the needs of its immigrant population, which includes strategies to support neighborhoods that were fast becoming hubs for immigrant entrepreneurship, organizing town hall events to improve dialogue between U.S-born and immigrant residents, and recommendations for educating immigrants about social services and ESL courses.
“Many immigrant groups have different family structures that could in some cases be considered overcrowding in terms of local ordinances,” says Kim. “So it’s important to look at how policies are written and enforced to ensure there is not a disproportionate impact on a particular [ethnic] community.”
Non-citizens, including legally present green card holders, are non-voters, she notes, meaning they need alternative means for their voices to be heard. “How do we reach out to these non-citizen communities with civic engagement mechanisms that are not about voting? I think that’s a real question for planners,” she says.
Light pollution
Blue wavelengths from the sun are beneficial during the day, but blue light at night may cause health problems.
LEDs can deliver robust cost savings and reduce energy use, an important element in ambitious climate- action plans. Drawback: Its intensity enhances blues and whites, whereas older lights enhance reds and yellows.
Model Lighting Ordinance: The International Dark-Sky Association and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America offer a model ordinance and standards communities can use to reduce glare, light trespass, and skyglow.
Living Under Skyglow: A recent study finds that 80 percent of the world’s population lives under a light-polluted sky. It’s even worse in the U.S. and Europe, where 99 percent of residents experience nighttime skyglow.
Immersive reality
For planning and design professionals, immersive reality can help produce better design solutions. Designers can view existing sites in more detail, allowing for a more accurate assessment of conditions. They can use the tools to test assumptions and unearth questions or problems earlier in the design process. Even during construction, immersive environment technology can allow for more refined quality control; using mixed reality, designers can overlay their 3-D design models on top of what is being built on-site, making it easier to catch construction mistakes.
Immersive environments are often impressive, even amazing — both technologically and visually — and that can help designers translate ideas to clients and the general public. The imagery can be more realistic than a typical flat rendering. Also, proposals can be more engaging, lengthening the attention span of users as they virtually explore the space.
Solar power planning
In November 2015, former President Obama held a community solar summit at the White House, setting a goal of fostering 1 GW of solar in low- and moderate-income communities by 2020.
At the state level, progress is also being made. So far, five states — California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York — lead the way in enacting legislation that encourages local community solar projects, while nearly two dozen states have enabling legislation in place or in process.
Siting
You are looking for areas not zoned for open space, outside flood plains, avoiding sensitive agriculture, and not otherwise used — if not blighted,” she says. “You also have to consider grid interconnections and proximity to distribution lines, so there are a lot of things to consider.”
A big reason jurisdictions are pursuing these community solar projects is to improve access for low-income housing constituents. Their motivation is to reduce infrastructure costs, including customers’ electricity costs, which are frequently subsidized.
