Environmentally Sustainable City Of South Australia

Wind energy is, “a renewable resource and has no fuel cost”, which helps the wind energy industry rise to prominence (American). With the low prices of wind energy, it is becoming an affordable form of electricity, although it still isn’t a main component in regards to energy production. Hydropower is the United States, “largest source of renewable electricity”; the most common type is conventional, which is typically associated with dams (Valley). Although hydropower is the most prominent green energy source in the United States, it doesn’t take away from the outrageous prices that go along with having this type of energy. Solar energy is the last main source of green energy. There isn’t as much research regarding this industry, because it isn’t as developed as the others. However, millions of dollars have been granted to try and better its development (Howell). Green buildings are structures that, “aim to reduce the negative impacts on the environment through using less natural resources to build and operate” (Dwaikat). These eco-boosting buildings incorporate each of the common types of green energy, however in some cases, they “don’t perform as predicted” (Dwaikat). In a case study over green buildings, it was found that they, “used around 160% more energy than expected”, which became a trend for the majority of the buildings (Dwaikat).

LEED, also known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, “is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation towards sustainable design”. The building has a LEED-EB Certification. People installed high-efficiency lighting systems. The purpose was to improve its controls to reduce the building’s energy consumption. Overall the building uses less water and energy which helps them save money.

This project aims to analyze The GPT Group’s masterplan proposal for the Central Precinct of Sydney Olympic Park. An initial compliance study indicated how the proposal responded to the broader objectives of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority and the specific objectives of the Master Plan 2030 for the Central Precinct. A gap analysis was then undertaken for the proposal’s compliance with the Living Community Challenge. From the results of the gap analysis, design and programming recommendations were made. Overall, this project outlines recommended changes for how GPT can achieve a masterplan that maximizes sustainability, is prepared to achieve Living Community Challenge certification, and ultimately positions itself as a world’s best practice

The inefficient homes in the UK have catastrophic effects on global warming. The UK needs to become more energy efficient as at the moment it emits a large amount of greenhouse gases which risk dangerous climate change. The retrofitting of the brick three storey terraced town house is necessary in order to comply with the legislations set out by parliament in the UK Climate Change Act (2008) or if the house falls under the private rented sector it must comply with the Energy Act 2011.

Ecology is the division of biology that deals with the relationships and interactions amongst organisms and their environment, (including other organisms). It derives from the Greek word ‘Okologie’, broken down oikos meaning ‘house, place of dwelling or habitation’ and logia which is ‘study of’. Ecology is literally the study of where organisms live (Ecology, n.d.). It is widely believed that having an understanding of ecology can help us to better manage Australian environments. Since settlement, European land management practices have placed our natural environments under considerable pressure resulting in Australia losing nearly 40% of its forests, and a significant amount of the remaining native vegetation being highly disintegrated (Bradshaw, 2012). Resulting in the degradation of habitats. This essay will discuss how better understanding ecology can assist us with current Australian environmental issues.

The South East Wedge of Edinburgh is selected as a sample case study for understanding issues associated with planned urban development in sustainable communities. The South East Wedge was designed as a sustainable living area that could accommodate the city's growing population. Core features included a "distinctive urban culture," "spatially compact form," "strong landscape framework," and a "high density of population" within multiple neighborhoods (Deakin, 2003, p. 139). Environmental friendliness and financial feasibility were also core goals of the development project, which was touted as being advanced and state of the art. In spite of the lofty goals of the project, Deakin (2003) points out that the South East Wedge development failed to live up to its core objective of sustainability.

Even with the introduction of Abbott’s product, we do not expect this to change the environment as a whole at all. One of the main things that Abbott stresses in their code of conduct is that when they bring themselves to a different community, they will treat it with respect. This includes making sure that they do not let out any emissions that would harm the community and the environment. In fact, they had just introduced a new environmental program. The goal of this program is to reduce energy costs, waste, and recycle more. Through this program, Abbott will ensure that they are keeping the community that they enter safe and the environment safe as well.

A sustainable city is when harmony is reached between the environment, economy and society. Environmentally, sustainable cities are ecologically friendly by using alternative sources of energy such as solar or wind power. Economically, governments should share a similar decision-making process with institutions and with the public by having a common belief in what should be done by improving sustainability. Sorensen, Marcotullio, and Grant (2004), find that a good decision making process consists of planning and control at the municipal and national political levels which would allow local level functions to become reinforced. Socially, sustainable cities are classless, meaning that there are no social divisions which serve as limits; leading to a more equal society. One of the many ideas would be using mixed housing to remove the class divisions between people. Also, city streets would be walkable, with businesses and services located at close proximity to promote a healthier lifestyle and serve as an alternative to using cars for transportation. The writers differ in their analysis when examining the approaches to improving sustainability in cities. This section will analyze four important ideas on how cities can become more sustainable.

Energy principles were a relatively new idea in the 1970s where Herzog implemented the use of the triangular shape of the house that is designed to collect free solar energy, which is later used to heat the house. Herzog used ‘environmental responsive architecture’ to integrate energy saving features into the home. Also many architects would argue that the principles of creating a house like this uses the principles of a ‘Lean 2 shed’, where it creates D.I.Y aesthetics.

Sustainable architecture is a specific kind of design which focuses on meeting the needs of these generations without compromising the needs of those generations to come. Architects from around the world have become aware of the impact that society has on the environment, and have created sustainable architecture in order to help preserve the environment, but at the same time, create comfortable spaces that are ideal for living and are aesthetically pleasing. This innovative architecture has attracted many architects from all over the world, in order to implement these new structures into every day life. Despite the different climates and conditions around the globe, sustainable architecture can be developed in order to satisfy the needs

Passive and eco-friendly housing is becoming increasingly popular, and as more and more structures arise, learning provides scope for innovation, further cost saving and optimization. The rise of passive housing could have a possible impact on Global warming, an increasingly important topic, as housing contributes vastly to the cause: in 2009 buildings accounted for 43% of all the UK’s carbon emissions (gov.uk). Therefore, the UK Government aimed to reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emission by at least 80% by 2050. To meet this target this could be achieved by moving to a more energy efficient, low-carbon economy. It would also help the UK become less reliant on imported fossil fuels and less exposed to higher energy prices in the future. Undoubtedly, some may have chosen to pursue a passive house as a way to protect the environment. Yet, at an individual level, the marginal benefit to society of extra investment is often considered as small compared to (in some cases) markedly increased costs. The important question, which will ultimately determine if passive housing will become a valid option for masses, is whether the additional spending is justified economically. The long term benefits of cost saving are visible (Passpedia (2015) Are Passive Houses cost-effective?), yet the marginal returns are decreasing. Therefore, Is the Passivhaus standard a cost effective way of achieving the UK CO2 emissions reduction target for new housing in practice?”. This research

The question to answer this week is whether Sustainable Urban Developments require more policy innovation and planning. Taylor gives us an abstract in how the opposing sides address whether current approaches meet present-day urban and metropolitan needs, or whether further activities and proposals are needed to achieve these ultimate goals (Taylor, pp. 271 – 288).

The research presented in this paper is part of a multiphase experimental research work that examines the effect of various forms and geometries of building envelope elements on indoor environments under different seasonal conditions in hot-arid climate with reference to Egypt. Limitations in understanding environmental and thermal performances of architectural geometries have to some extent hindered their acceptance by building clients and the building industry [1]. Roof is the building-envelope element that is most exposed to the sun. It receives the highest amount of solar irradiance, which is the main cause of summer overheating in hot-arid climates [2]. In addition to other climatic and physical factors, indoor thermal comfort in

As people known, to use renewable resource and to save energy or comfortable indoor environment is far from the overall picture. Because construction mentioned above is an industry which include many aspects such as land use and application of advanced technology, etc. Therefore if we want to define what is green building we should recognize the whole industrial chain included each aspects and unintended environment, social, economic, consequence brought possibly of complex activity. Kats (2003) in his article stated that the sustainable or green building should deal with those key points: environment, resource & energy consumption, impact on people, financial impact and the world at large which is a broader set of issues such as ground water recharge or global warming, as well governmental policies are typically concerned about (Kats, 2003, P. 1). And another institute, Office of the federal Environmental Executive (2003) defined green building as the practice of increasing the efficiency with which

In addition to cooperation between all levels of society, environmental management of resources and activities is also necessary. Recently, Malmo has crafted two sustainable infrastructures that are leading examples of sustainability. The first being, Bo01, which is a district that maintains both modern structure and ecological sustainable architecture and the second, Ekostaden Augustenborg, is considered “one of the largest investments in Europe in the ecological conversion of an existing residential area.” Recently, the idea to expand Malmo as a city has been enacted and Point Hyllie has begun constructed in the area between Malmo and Oresund. This futuristic and green community is expected to be completed by the 2015 with living opportunities, office buildings and shopping centers. A problematic consequence of building a “futuristic” city is the ability of selling it to a population that has never witnessed something like it before. Fortunately, the Swedish are incredibly progressive and innovative therefore, I would imagine Hyllie to be accepted whole-heartedly by the population of Sweden.