So much going on in the living architecture world, it’s very exciting! After a lull during late December, early January, there is now a ton to follow…
The picture above is perhaps a sign of things to come, in Holland they are floating trees as part of an art installation. But with North America’s first climate refugees confirmed, one wonders as rich countries like the USA continue to dither on the federal level to embrace concrete climate change abatement, how many municipalities, communities and individuals effected by climate change will resort to “doing the best they can”, instituting band-aid solutions for their neck of the woods, and stop pressuring the big guys altogether. Maybe changes need to happen from the bottom up?
We can look at the efforts of one developer proposing adjoining his buildings with green walkways to give people a chance to stroll way up high. Or look to Madrid doing way more than this, as the global city goes all-in by encouraging living architecture and green infrastructure, in the form of green roofs and mass tree planting. Hopefully this will encourage other Spanish cities, the region and beyond.
-On nature.com there was a stunning report which illuminates how important trees really are to our lives and pockets, "10 more trees in a city block, on average, improves health perception in ways comparable to an increase in annual personal income of $10,000 and moving to a neighborhood with $10,000 higher median income or being 7 years younger”. There’s much, much more in this is one you should read.
-Speaking of health, we need a lot more information on how much lead there is in the urban environment and whether it is harmful to our health or not. Case in point are numerous articles about the dangers, now there have been a couple of articles which maintain we should not be worried, there isn’t much in the soil (or wherever that researcher tested…since we don’t have nationwide data in either the US or Canada yet) and if it's present it shouldn’t be an issue as most lead is locked in the plant roots. If you're eating root vegetables, however, well, then, that's not so good...
-At the World Economic Forum’s annual summit in Davos, Switzerland a few weeks ago, goals were set to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030. France has heeded the call and is certainly ready to lead the way with their legislation which bans supermarkets from throwing away unused food…this year! Imagine that!!!
-In Istanbul, unfortunately, things may be going backwards. Some farms, including one 1,500 years old, are in danger due to encroaching development. Also in the last year a few impressive projects were announced or profiled in Egypt. Although there seemed to be a lot of promise, one author has his spin on why there won’t be a green infrastructure movement anytime soon.
-Closer to home, Auburn, New York is creating a food forest. It’s actually more of edible garden park, as it stretches along a major street. They hope to start planting this spring.
-Lastly, I saw a man on the subway last week reading Peter Wohlleben’s “The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate — Discoveries From a Secret World,” and am anxious to crack it open. Here’s an article about what Peter has been up to most recently, discovering that trees have social networks!
Happy Valentine's Day!
