Solar Powered San Diego Encourages Ecological Advancement

San Diego is well on its way to becoming a city destined for environmental salvation. According to the non-profit Environment California Research & Policy Center San Diego Ranks second in the nation in terms of solar power usage. We are doing well in protecting our environment and ensuring a sustainable future. That doesn't mean we can't do more.

Creating streamlined processes for solar power installation approval as well as encouraging higher levels of solar power reliance is beneficial for setting the framework for sustainable cities. If there are any unnecessary restrictions on installing solar panels it will raise the overall customer costs and slow the pace of solar integration.

There are advantages to developing solar panels that include less reliance on outside sources of energy, lowering long-term costs, and reducing environmental costs. As more renewable sources are developed the city will lower its overall carbon footprint and slow its contribution to environmental problems.

Finding the right policies, awareness processes, and incentives helps to ensure people make a equitable choice to use renewable sources. With solar panels there is often a higher initial investment but much lower costs spread out over the duration of the panels. Making sure people understand where they can get panels and their true costs can tip the scales in consumer choice.

Solar panels and ecologically designed cities are the way of the future. Those cities in the process of transformation and building new infrastructure should consider the benefits of developing ecologically sound practices. San Diego is in a strong position to foster ecological hubs that spur new industries in environmental and blue economic development. 


http://www.environmentcaliforniacenter.org/

The Economic Development of Platforms in History

It can sometimes be fun to think of where society is heading. Perhaps it is more wishful thinking than concrete concept but there is often a little bit of science behind projections. If we look at the trends of data development, global warming, and global business trajectories we may find that pressures will create impetus to redevelop the declining urban cores into something more economically and ecologically sustainable. Decision-makers are seeking opportunities to raise economic activity and lower costs while reducing pollution. The next economic platform will be based in the varying pressures of the environment in which it develops.

Economic platforms often mirror city planning through the design and development of a city’s infrastructure. City planning is something that has existed before the Roman Empire all the way back to Plato’s Republic. Europe is full of cities that once started off of the Roman designs and continued to develop beyond these platforms to create mazes of unique chaotic charm. This is one reason why you can find narrow streets mixed with eclectic shopping districts. The American system is newer and may be in the process of transformation. 

Each platform is related to the economic and social needs of the people. In ancient history, early settlements focused on protecting individuals from nature’s elements and predators.  As people moved away from simple hunting- gathering societies and into agrarian existence they naturally sought marketplaces where they could sell their items and seek protection from invading groups. Most cities were located in agricultural land, near waterways, or nestled in easily protected areas.

Eventually cities moved beyond agriculture to include the production of cottage industry goods and industrialization. It was these cottage industries that grew into the mega-corporations of today. This required expansion of slim roadways previously designed for horse and buggy to those that could handle larger vehicles and goods. Airports, railways, industrial complexes, and skyscrapers became part of the mainstream. Those who did not like the industrial core moved out to the suburbs creating economic hubs around cities. The dirty and polluted urban core was abandoned by those who had access to wealth.

The next development of economic platform is not so easily defined and is open to considerable debate. There is greater opportunity to develop the high data and eco-city that reduces its carbon footprint while increasing the economic capacities of its habitants. Old skyscrapers will be rejuvenated, new technology implemented, and suburbs will be drawn back into the city through civic, resource and data connectivity. Sprawl will decline as resources move inward back to their urban centers where strong infrastructure investment can be pointed. 

The eco-city will be designed as an economic hub that uses existing rail and roads with new data systems to create higher connectivity between various components. Wi-Fi, fiber optic cables, mini parks, creative spaces, coffee shops and other improvements will match to larger industrial sectors to interconnect economic activity and development.  A good idea can come from anywhere and businesses will capitalize on them.

As a nation, we were once worried about exploiting our natural resources. We are now more concerned about competing on an international market and will need to match creativity with practical production to develop better products and services. This cannot happen unless the infrastructure of a city encourages creative activity, proper social relationships, and economic advancement. Such economic centers will connect to other areas to draw in physical and virtual resources for development. 

The Information Age is marked more by the rapid and proper use of data streaming into the powerful hands of the individual user. Each person will be more connected to the system and able to control their education, time, economic opportunities, and development. Cities will be better managed with higher levels of interactivity that allow people to work virtually with much less energy. Economic strength will be enhanced through collective effort. 

These systems are based on the ability to provide the platforms needed for economic and ecological growth. Today’s businesses are more information oriented than in the past and use physical resources at a much more efficient pace.  Maximum development will require the connection of the individual to worldwide economic activity through small shop and large organizational pathways. The individual within the larger economic structure will take precedence through greater development of the virtual organization. Education and training will be on the top of the list for human capacity development while greater balance between small and large business will be sought to ensure pipelines of innovative ideas.

Economic, Social, and Environmental Resilience of Cities

Creating sustainability within cities can be difficult. A paper by Luigi Fusco discusses how cities can develop economy synergy by fostering creativity, resilience, and sustainability (2011). His work is more focused on port cities but does highlight the concept that human elements are important considerations in the development of cities that will survive change.  These factors may actually be measured to help ensure that cities are moving in the right direction. 

Creativity is a powerful energy source for redevelopment. With creativity people can solve problems, develop new products, and find new ways to doing things. This creativity helps develop an economic engine with new ideas and marketable solutions. 

Synergy can be seen as the relation principles that help discus the interconnected nature of business and people. As businesses and people connect together they develop interactions that can enhance the economic system. Synergy is based on these social and business networks that focus on a shared perspective of development. 

The author breaks down development into economic resilience, social resilience, and environmental resilience. The paper focuses primarily on creating sustainable eco-cities that are economically viable. The measurements are as follows: 

Economic Resilience:

Funding from local foundations and banks/year 

Innovative public procurement supporting local industries

Regeneration capacity of economic activities (variations overtime of innovative activities in the area/total number of activities)

Localization of new creative, flexible and adaptive activities

Density of networks among companies

Variation of informal sector economy

Industrial production activities integrated in spatial and social context/Total of industrial production activities

Innovative research activities/Total of research activities

Number of university spin-off/year

Incubators of activities

Number of design patents/year

Number of cooperatives enterprises/Total number of enterprises

Number of micro-businesses/Total number of enterprises

Density of networks among public authorities, enterprises and research center

Social Resilience:

Increase of social cohesion sense as reflection of circular economic-ecological processes

Percentage of reduction of unemployed people living in the area

Experiences of self-organization capacity in neighborhoods

Implementation and upgrading of existing “public spaces”(number of squares closed to traffic)

Conservation of elements expressing the area’s cultural identity and memory

Number of events, festivities, ceremonies, as expression of collective/social memory, in the year

Percentage of people involved in forums and participative processes/year

Involvement of the III sector in specific programs/projects/activities (housing cooperative networks, social housing associations, etc.)

Density of cooperative and partnership networks

Involvement of local people in urban planning

Capacity of learning from explorative experiences

Openness of people to differences and diversities

Level of interpersonal trust

Perception of belonging to a specific community

Number of donors/10.000 inhabitants

Environmental Resilience:

Reduction of vulnerability and risks levels

Conservation and increase of green areas (tree planting and maintenance, promotion of green roof and green façade)

Percentage of local materials used in productive processes

Conservation and improvement of landscape quality

Reduced car travel demand

Reduction of motor traffic

Air pollution reduction

Water pollution reduction

Recovery/recycling/regeneration of waste material (percentage of plastic, metals, tires, slag, cans, glass, paper reused, recycled and regenerated)

Water recycling (rain water percentage recovered)

Waste management (self-organized waste management)

Percentage of local renewable sources (new electric power plants localization, based on energy innovation) used in productive processes

Organic waste recycled percentage (local composting production/year)

Percentage of activities included in a smart energy grid (to use a variety of fluctuating energy sources)

Localization of new industries with a low environmental load (ISO and Emas certified)

Number of modern eco-compatible buildings/Total number of buildings

Luigi, F. (2011). Multidimensional evaluation processes to manage creative, resilient, and sustainable city. Aestimum, 59.