Ecocities Emerging - September 2010 Issue

Ecocities Emerging To support humanity's transition into the Ecozoic Era	Ecocity Builders September 2010

Greetings,

Welcome to the September 2010 edition of Ecocities Emerging, an initiative of Ecocity Builders and the International Ecocity Conference Series.

Our big news item: We just launched our new website! http://www.ecocitybuilders.org

Our new site makes it easier to learn about our mission and programs. It will also enable us to become a better resource for the international ecocity community. Keep checking back as we continue to upload all kinds of useful information that has been heretofore tucked away in various files, CDs, DVDs and computer drives, just waiting for an opportunity to be properly posted. There are many more resources out there, and we'd very much appreciate your help in sending us ecocity related links, papers, presentations and project information. We're also going to launch an Ecocity Builders projects sub site in just a few weeks with more detailed information about our projects.

Our sincere thanks to Diana Divecha for sponsoring our website project and to Design Action Collective for creating the design and building the site.

Our hosts in Montreal are gearing up for the next International Ecocity Conference,
to convene in August 2011. The Call for Papers will be issued very soon. If you want to get onto the conference direct mailing list and receive conference mailings from Urban Ecology Montreal, the local host organization, please sign up through the Ecocity 2011 conference website.

I will be teaching a class on The Ecological City at the University of California Berkeley Extension in San Francisco starting in early October. No prior experience necessary. Link to more information here.

Finally, thank you for your continued interest in our work. We hope you'll consider getting more involved, whether it be by becoming a member, making a donation, volunteering or interning with us. Our new website has lots of information about how to Get Involved.

Sincerely,

signature

Kirstin Miller for Ecocity Builders

Ecocity Builders
339 15th Street, Suite 208
Oakland CA 94612 USA
www.ecocitybuilders.org

Keeper of the International Ecocity Conference Series
Ecocity Builders is a non-profit organization dedicated to reshaping cities, towns and villages for long-term health of human and natural systems.

The Ecozoic Era refers to a vision, first promoted by cosmologist Thomas Berry, of an emerging epoch when humanity lives in a mutually enriching relationship with the larger community of life on Earth.

Will we be able to make the transition in time to retain a biosphere healthy enough to regenerate living systems now under extreme stress? Our role in exploring ecocities is to clarify a vision of cities that can. And then go out and build them. There is no way to be certain we will succeed, but our position is that there's no time to just sit around and wonder about it: now is time for action.

Maybe one day all cities will be ecocities.

10/10/10 at 10th Global Climate Work Party Day
Creek restoration underway! Tour, learn, work, enjoy

In cooperation with .350.org and Friends of Five Creeks, Ecocity Builders is cosponsoring tours and serious puttering at our Codornices Creek Daylighting Project and Orchard and on the creek just west, bordering Berkeley and Albany.

Those visiting the site recently have been astonished at the enormous winding creek work and future bicycle and foot path taking shape with towering machines at work just downstream from 8th Street on the creek. Now is your chance to learn about that, as well as the history of one of the loveliest bits of nature in the cities of Berkeley and Albany. What does creek restoration have to do with climate change solutions? A lot! Find out about that too.

Do come down and join us. Sunday Oct. 10, 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Tour then work in the lower reaches. Meet at 10th Street (10/10/10 at 10th) north of Harrison (south edge of University Village), one block west of San Pablo and two blocks north of Gilman (AC Transit 72 or 25). Latecomers: from the chain link fence walk west on the trail to find us. All ages welcome. Snacks, water, tools, and gloves provided.

Codornices Creek is Berkeley's and Albany's only stream with rainbow trout/steelhead. Lots of native trees, bushes, flowers, vines, and usually hummingbirds, dragon flies, butterflies...

International Ecocity Standards

Ecocity Builders' Project Update

The International Ecocity Standards provide both the vision for an ecologically restorative human presence on earth as well as a practical methodology for assessing and guiding the achievement of such vision through the lens of the ecocity.

As humanity is confronting the limits of a finite planet, observing global climate destabilization and the endangerment of entire ecosystems, the responsibility of its settlements and lifestyles' impact on climate change, ecological destruction and resource depletion needs to be addressed.

The IES will establish levels of certification at scales from the block to the region, and will insure that the highest level can be sustained in a way that is enhancing of and synergistic with other living species and natural systems. The various levels of certification will allow for a manageable progression from our current situation to the highest level.

The IES platform adopts a systems view: not only is the built environment one of the elements of that system, but so are the humans living there, the other species sharing the same bioregion, as well as the human agency in the world through lifestyle choices, work and investments.

We've created an early version of the top tier standards for the following categories: materials, food, water, energy and air. Furthermore, we've created a land use classification to identify areas of concentrated human use (C) and areas to be set aside for relief and restoration (R) like wilderness, natural parks and organic agriculture. Areas that are not clearly identifiable as C or R are classified transition area (T), which over time would either need to convert to C or R. This "C-R-T" System allows planners to collapse a system with several hundred codes into three simple areas. Then policy can create incentives for parts of the transition areas' return to nature or continued development to concentrated human use. This classification is important for the IES because a top tier ecocity will have proximity to nature and a minimum of transition areas.

We created a classification of urban elements (UE) from city block to neighborhood, and a classification of areas under various levels of governance. We are planning to provide IES certification for city blocks (UE1), neighborhoods (UE2), district/ward (UE3), city (G1), county/sub province (G2) and metropolitan area G3 with our initial focus on G1 (city level governance area). We created an additional classification system of human settlements to account for differences based on population, density, latitude, climate, altitude, continent, ethnic diversity, primary economic driver, ecological footprint, wealth distribution and remoteness.

We have also drafted a list of representative towns that span across all ranges of the above characteristics. The representative towns will be used to test how IES and the certification process would impact towns with different characteristics.

In early October we will be consulting with advisors and experts in Vancouver Canada in association with the Gaining Ground Summit.

Link for more information on International Ecocity Standards

Detroit: From Arsenal of Democracy to Ecocity Launch Site
by RICHARD REGISTER

What a beautiful day! I'm floating across the vast landscape of Detroit under bright blue skies with big white clouds billowing up, enormous distances between. My rental bike from the Wheelhouse downtown by the river feels like a magic carpet and the air temperature is perfect for a thin shirt, fresh breeze on the skin. One surprise: the waters of the Detroit River are deep and clear blue almost like those of the Bahamas and not at all like the Mississippi and muddy rivers of China, India and Brazil I've visited lately.

Detroit has vast open spaces where tens of thousands of houses used to be, a staggering number. Thousands of those still standing are deserted, moldering away, collapsing or burned out shells. Will something new, different, beautiful rise from the ashes? Some few houses by percentage stand in lonely open space, some showing considerable care, many with distant vistas to downtown where formerly, long rows of houses blocked the view. These, standing singly or in small clusters frequently have stately large trees rising high over flower gardens, the ensemble looking something like rural manor houses, if smaller, in a New Age/Old Country landscape. If you enjoy the quite and don't mind the fairly long distances to anything resembling a neighborhood commercial center for various sundries, staples or social relaxation, and if you have just a little money or one of the scarce jobs, this, minus the blackened hulks, could be someone's idea of a suburban paradise.

Now pedaling along I think of Phoenix. But Phoenix, Arizona rose from the ashes of a place that was toast to start with - not ugly by any means and I
loved the deserts where I grew up in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, though their crystalline dry air is long gone to gray white smog and the humidity
of irrigated lawns, swimming pools and golf course water traps. There really shouldn't be a big cities in those scorching sands sprawling toward an
inevitable fall. Detroit in comparison grew up on rich soil, plentiful rain and at a crossroads of trade. Nature and early settlement indicate a pretty rich country able to support some real population and at the same time a rich natural environment.

Link to more

Richard Register is Founder and President of Ecocity Builders and author of Ecocities, Rebuilding Cities in Balance With Nature.

Upcoming Class

"Ecological Cities", UC Berkeley Extension, San Francisco

Student in previous class explains her mapping project

- Instructor: Kirstin Miller, Executive Director, Ecocity Builders
- San Francisco, Wed. Oct. 20, 6:30 pm, 6 meetings

- $425

An elective in the Professional Program in Sustainable Design

Enroll

This course familiarizes you with strategies to create a sustainable built environment for people and nature by reshaping the built human infrastructure using principles and methods grounded in ecology and whole-systems thinking. Basic ecocity theory is presented, as are an overview of the city in evolution; the city today; and a step-by-step method for building the low-energy, sustainable city of tomorrow. Slide lectures, selected readings, in-depth discussions, a field trip, mapping projects, and collaborative working groups allow you to acquire useful knowledge of key issues and concepts.

SAVE THE DATE!
August 22-26, 2011
Palais des Congr�s de Montr�al, Canada

Hosted by Urban Ecology Montr�al, Ecocity World Summit 2011 will build on work of past Ecocity World Summits while adding new conference themes, participatory methods, and projects that will last beyond the life of the conference. A unique addition is a strong theme emphasis featuring cold climate cities such as Montreal itself. Our hosts have pointed out that this is the first of all our International
Ecocity Conferences in a decidedly very cold winter city.
Website

NEWS

ISOCARP Partners with Philips on Livable Cities Award: Now Open for Entries

The Award is open for entries, with the deadline for submissions being 5pm, 28 October 2010.

ISOCARP is actively supporting the Philips Livable Cities Award, a global initiative designed to encourage individuals, businesses, community and non-governmental groups to develop practical, achievable ideas for improving the health and well-being of people living in cities - ideas which can then be translated into reality.

The Award is being overseen by a supervisory panel of independent experts. There are three award categories: Well-being Outdoors; Independent Living; and Healthy Lifestyle at Work and Home. The overall winning idea from any of these three categories will receive a grant of €75,000, and an idea from each of the two remaining categories will both also receive grants of €25,000 each.

The Award is open for entries now, with the deadline for submissions being 5pm CET, 28 October 2010. Further information on the Award criteria and categories plus an entry form can be found at: www.philips.com/because.

In addition, ISOCARP has established a new featured group on the professional social networking site LinkedIn to facilitate an issues-driven discussion among people interested in making cities more healthy and livable places. You can join the discussion group, called "Creating Healthy, Livable Cities," by clicking here: http://bit.ly/LivableCities.

The International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) is a global association of experienced professional planners. It was founded in 1965 in a bid to bring together recognised and highly-qualified planners in an international network. The ISOCARP network brings together individual and institutional members from more than 80 countries worldwide. As a non-governmental organisation ISOCARP is recognized by the UN, UNHCS and the Council of Europe. The Society also has a formal consultative status with UNESCO. More about ISOCARP

ISOCARP Young Planning Professionals

"The problem is the present design of cities only a few stories high, stretching outward in unwieldy sprawl for miles. As a result of their sprawl, they literally transform the earth, turn farms into parking lots and waste enormous amounts of time and energy transporting people, goods and services over their expanses. My solution is urban implosion rather than explosion."
-Paolo Soleri

www.arcosanti.org

Ecocity Builders' Calendar

2010

September 13-15
Kathmandu, Nepal
"Living City Kathmandu" meetings and site visits with Ecocity Builders and local team members

October 2
Berkeley, California
Watershed Poetry Festival - Ecocity Builders co-sponsors and speaks at the environmental updates and Strawberry Creek Walk

October 4-7
Vancouver, Canada
Gaining Ground Presents: Eco Logical, The Power of Green Cities to Shape the Future
Ecocity Builders and the International Ecocity Standards Project will present and lead a facilitated workshop, plus host an Ecocity Salon

October 6-7
Incheon, Korea
"Future of Cities" ICLEI World Congress
Richard Register will give a plenary presentation

October 10
Berkeley, CA
350.org Work Party. Cordornices Creek, West Berkeley. With Friends of Five Creeks. More info here.

Fall Semester, UC Berkeley Extension
"Ecological Cities" taught by Kirstin Miller, Executive Director, Ecocity Builders

2011

Ecocity World Summit, the 9th International Ecocity Conference
August 22-26, 2011
Palais des congr�s de Montr�al, Canada

Hosted by Urban Ecology Montr�al, Ecocity World Summit 2011 will build on work of past Ecocity World Summits while adding new conference themes, participatory methods, and projects that will last beyond the life of the conference. Detailed conference content and design will be developed in collaboration with local and international partners, making sure that the particular urban ecological expertise of Montr�al is highlighted.

Rediscovering Simplicity: The Cyclists of Italy (a photo diary)
by Sven Eberlein

Whenever I travel to different countries and cities, one of the things I'm interested in is how locals move around in their daily lives. Call me a transportation glutton, but I'm a sucker for trains, boats, rickshaws, trams, buses, gondolas, back alleys, and sidewalks.

Then, of course, there's the most sublime transit invention of them all: the bicycle. It's so simple - even a non-techie like myself understands how it works - and yet so deliciously useful, relieving traffic, getting you anywhere quickly, reducing CO2, keeping you in shape, letting you see a place and interact with its people.

One thing I noticed on my trip to Italy a few months ago was how much bikes were part of everyday life. With David Byrne's Bicycle Diaries as my companion I strolled through the streets of cities and towns, trying to capture the mundane beauty of cycling.

Read on

Metropolitan Area Transformation
By Richard Register

A friend wrote recently saying she wasn't aware of "ecovillages" that had a strong edge between higher density full community and immediately adjacent open space. Since I think the visual image of such an arrangement is so interesting and important, I'll just record my response here.

"Thanks for your note and observation. I have seen some regular villages, not self-consciously ecovillages, that are extremely compact, in China in the 3 story range, in Turkey and Nepal in the six story range, with natural, grazing and/or agricultural land or waters immediately next door. City walls up against open space. There is Tori Superiori in Italy where a group of people hoping to create a self-conscious ecovillage purchased this almost single structure hyper compact small medieval village. Looks fascinating. I'd love to visit.

I keep looking for cities that might break up into larger eco-type city centers, mid sized district centers and with neighborhood centers turning into ecovillages. I'm going to Detroit in a week where large areas - thousands of acres of former thinly scattered development is turning into open space, some of it new farming.

The whole galaxy of these new ecology-informed habitations - city centers become ecocities, district centers becoming ecotowns and neighborhood centers becoming ecovillages - would be a new and really exciting way to live with probably one tenth the energy and one fifth the land demands of the present average city with cars for most of its inhabitants.

I look at cities like Venice, Italy, Zermatt, Switzerland and Avalon on the Island of Catalina in California which are zero car cities and very successful. I'd imagine adding some solar energy retrofitting and more biodiversity in or adjacent and they would then be very close to ecological cities and villages.

People have been using artificial fill since the first cities in the Mesopotamian valley 4,500 years ago, the cities of the Sumerian Civilization being built on mounds to rise above the floods. That would work for New Orleans and dozens of other coastal cities on nearly flat land or below sea level. You could even have new agricultural islands very close or as a skirt to such cities for intensive food production, biodynamic or permaculture style, with some in solar greenhouses, some on rooftops. Very rich possibilities."

This article also appeared in Richard's blog for the Broker Magazine out of the Netherlands

Ecocity Builders' Executive Director Kirstin Miller in Chengde China for the 4th International Forum on Ecopolis Development

Establish an adaptive and livable city

- Declaration for Ecopolis Construction, Chengde China, 2010

The world is experiencing rapid urbanization and industrialization, this process has not only enhanced the progress of urban civilization, but also extensively and deeply threatened the urban environment, as well as regional and global life supporting system and ecosystem services, it is a paramount mission for modern cities to seek a socio-economically as well as ecologically harmonious urban society, meanwhile, achieve civilized transformation and innovation.

After extensive and in-depth communications and discussions, conference participants realized that the environmental risk and the opportunities for the fast developing cities, have achieved a common understanding that under the background of economic globalization, further adapt the principles and methods of ecopolis building in rapid growing cities is needed.

I. Rapid ecopolis construction should consist of the following five facets:

Eco Research: facilitate academic exchanges and intellectual integration in the researches on urbanization, enhance integrated and systematic researches in multidisciplinary, cross-regional and cross-sectional circumstances.
Eco Planning: convert human-centered urban planning concept into an interactive urban eco planning system between eco-services and human needs, further facilitate the transformation of current urban planning mechanism as well as system renovation towards healthy planning and technology for eco-system.
Eco Management: change technology-prioritized traditional management mode and encourage the concept of innovative eco-management- prioritization.
Eco Construction: optimise the economic growth mode by developing circular economy and ecological industry, and emphasis systematic management on sustainable resource utilization and life cycle of products. disseminate and promote urban eco-engineering and technologies, lead the eco-construction towards eco-service oriented urban buildings, transportation, materialization of the waste and landscape design.
Eco Education: promote urban eco-education through eco-culture innovation, apprehend correctly every citizen to understand the interrelation of human and nature in cities as well as the eco-responsibility of human, lead the transition of traditional urban consumption, through cross-sectional cooperation, enhance community education, school education as well as occupational education, internet education as well as educational program organized by NGOs, to achieve a favorable urban eco-learning atmosphere.

II. To construct an adaptive and livable city in its rapid growing process, the following activities are needed to take:

Through various international co-operations among governments, enterprises and voluntary groups, to establish global organizations that are specialized in key eco-questions researches, communications, training and technology dissemination, prioritize and organize relevant international cooperation on multidisciplinary research plan and technical training program for ecopolis.
Focus on international cooperation on rapid growing ecopolis, select globally representative cities for researches, integration as well as disseminations on ecopolis planning and its experiences and technologies, facilitate interactive and cooperative activities among countries, to accelerate mutual development on economic globalization as well as ecological globalization; establish general information platform, facilitate interactive support on ecopolis construction experiences and methods, specially between the developed and developing countries.
Focus on spatial sprawl problems in rapid growing cities, promote eco-control prioritized urban space construction model, seek solutions on urban sprawl--a common phenomena found in rapid growing cities--through planning, technologies and management.
Focus on population scale in rapid growing cities, shape the population scale through rational analysis in eco-fragile areas, sensitive zones, regional life-support system and bearing capacities. Meanwhile, improve the life quality of the population, scientifically manage urban population structure and its trends.
Focus on rapid growing mountain cites and the eco-construction problems, mountain cities have their representations and characteristics, further improve the managerial system establishment on population scale and its distributions in mountain city functions and spatial orders of infrastructures, eco fragility and carrying capacity, eco education.
Focus on the metabolism issues of rapid growing cities, through eco design and eco project technology R&D, set up a technical system, which should deal with urban water conservation, renewable energy and sustainable resource utilization, recycle and reuse the waste materials, alleviate heat island effect, ecosystem restoration, urban landscape integration, urban traffic flow as well as optimized adjustment on material flow in different countries and regions.
Focus on eco-education and eco-management in rapid growing cities, improve public capacity on ecopolis construction, actively encourage urban communities and public to participate in ecopolis management, planning and construction, establish participatory learning mechanism for eco-education. Promote mechanism innovation and demonstration projects, and include management of eco-services and eco-land-use into relevant priority policy making for ecopolis building, facilitate establishment of ecopolis managerial institutions among countries, countries and regions, and among regions.

International Council on Ecopolis Development (IntEcopolis) was initiated at the Fifth International Eco-city Conference in 2002 at Shenzhen of China by delegates from SCOPE/ICSU, Society for Human Ecology (SHE), International Ecological Engineering Society (IEES), International Society for Ecology (INTECOL), Ecocity Builder (ECOCITY) and International Society for City and Regional Planners (ISoCaRP), International Council on Ecopolis Development (IntEcopolis) was established in Sept. 2006.

IntEcopolis Website

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Principal Features of an Ecocity

eco-city characteristics