http://www.economist.com/node/16481295

Asia’s alarming cities

How Asian cities are built will determine the prospects for global carbon emissions. Oh dear 

 IF YOU are the sort to worry at night about man-induced climate change, then book a stay at any of the new high-rise hotels going up on the edge of China’s big cities—start looking for them around the third ring road. When you stagger red-eyed out of bed to peer into the murky dawn, you will see rank upon serried rank of raw “superblock” developments, a mile apart, marching into the distance. You think of the emissions involved in their carbon-hungry construction, the traffic jams on the arteries tying them into the expanding city, and the new coal-fired power stations being built to light them up. And you wonder how Asia can change its habits—energy consumption grew by 70% in the ten years to 2008—before it is too late for all of us. Yet the world’s hopes of putting carbon emissions on a manageable path depend upon on how developing Asia urbanises in the coming decades. The scale is staggering. According to the Asian Development Bank, 44m people join city populations each year. Every day sees the construction of 20,000 new dwellings and 250km (160 miles) of new roads. In theory, urban living can be greener than other ways of life: people need to travel shorter distances, for instance. The practice is not so simple. Most poor people coming to the city aspire to higher standards of living and consumption. Ill-planned public transport reinforces car use. Most striking, putting up and using buildings accounts for a big part of developing Asia’s carbon emissions—perhaps 30% in the case of China, where nearly half the world’s new floor space is built each year. What’s more, the buildings do not age well. Many thrown up in the 1990s are already being pulled down and replaced. Governments acknowledge the challenge. Green codes in China mandate energy-saving standards for heating, cooling and lighting new buildings. The aim is to cut new buildings’ energy use by 65%. But many new buildings are designed first and greened later—a cheaper but less effective approach. As for the superblocks that exemplify China’s urbanisation, a dozen new ones are built every day. Yet their conceptual design is flawed, however many low-energy light bulbs they boast.

Remember Kolelinia, the crazy urban tight rope system for biking? Martin Angelov, the Bulgarian architect who created Kolelinia, has come up with yet another crazy form of urban transportation– this time it’s a backpack harness system with a network of wires strung all over the city. All you have to do is strap on the battery-powered harness, hop onto a wire and start flying around the city. It may be science fiction now, but someday this could be a reality.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/03/23/elastic-iron-alloy-could-be-used-to-make-earthquake-proof-buildings

In light of the world’s recent earthquakes, finding a quake-proof building material is a top priority. A group of Japanese researchers are answering the call. They’ve developed a super elastic iron alloy that maintains its original shape even after serious stretching. Once optimized, scientists think the material can be used in everything from medical stents to braces to buildings.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/03/17/3-d-printer-creates-entire-buildings-from-solid-rock/

by Sarah Parsons, 03/17/10

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/mar/10/detroit-motor-city-urban-decline

Detroit is a city in terminal decline. When film director Julien Temple arrived in town, he was shocked by what he found – but he also uncovered reasons for hope

http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2010/02/20/politics/gnp-proposal022010.txt

City Council will review proposal for piece of interactive art on Central Avenue.

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