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Ecocities Emerging
To support humanity's transition to the Ecozoic Era
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Ecocity Builders
November 2013
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Greetings,
A recently published article in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that at least 8.8 billion habitable Earth size planets exist in the Milky Way Galaxy alone. A super-computer simulation estimates that the number of galaxies in the universe may be 500 billion. Logical conclusion: there is life out there and most likely in far more varieties than the combined imaginations of Stanley Kubrick, Stephen Spielberg and James Cameron could ever come up with if they had invented a new alien species every minute of the day and night for their entire lives. But in the vast distances of space, we are for all purposes still alone. This planet is all we have. So let's continue to peer out into space to try and locate some of our fellow travelers, but let's prioritize the more immediate challenge which is to call forth and link together the better angles of our nature before we disrupt our little planet's life support systems so severely that we quite possibly end ourselves before we can even find out who else is out there. It might not look like it as we ride the relatively short roller coaster of our own lifetimes, but according to cognitive scientists like Steven Pinker, thanks to the spread of government, literacy, trade, and cosmopolitanism, we are increasingly evolving to control our impulses, empathize with others, debunk toxic ideologies, and deploy our powers of reason to reduce the temptations of violence against each other. This is all terrific news but to add to the urgency: there now over 7 billion of us living on this small planet. We and other species we share this planet with all require healthy food, clean water, clean air, safe shelter. All of these needs are met from "nature" as in the natural capital of our planet -- the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of highly valuable goods and services into the future. Alarmingly, the loss of natural capital continues to accelerate and goes undetected by mainstream monetary analysis. Only through recognizing and valuing this essential relationship with the Earth's resources can we continue to exist. The overview effect is the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, hanging in the void, shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. Once we truly "get" this, the conflicts that divide us become far less important, and the need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect this planet becomes both obvious and imperative. We are up against a very big challenge. Can we rethink how we build and live in order to preserve our own life support? Can we envision and create a human presence on earth that enables us to live sustainably? As we build, so shall we live,
 Kirstin Miller Executive Director
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.
Ecocity Builders
339 15th Street, Suite 208
Oakland CA 94612 USA
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Holiday Open House 
FRIDAY DECEMBER 6
5 - 8PM
You are cordially invited to our Holiday Open House in our newly remodeled studio space in the historic White Building in downtown Oakland. We're just a few short blocks away from Oakland City Center and BART. Come mingle and lift up a glass with us as we wish and work for health, happiness, and peace on earth. We may also show a few choice slides from Richard Register's recent month long trip to Bhutan when it gets dark in our conference room for anyone interested!
Location: 327-349 15th Street
/1464-1466 Webster Street, Oakland, California http://oaklandwiki.org/map/White_Building
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Ecocity CoLab includes
 Founded in 1992, Ecocity Builders provides education for ecological design. We are dedicated to reshaping cities for the long-term health of human and natural systems. Green Venues
Since 2008, Green Venues has worked with clients globally to form ideas that drive performance, reduce cost and risk, and address the environmental impact of corporate operations. Our team of LEED professionals, sustainability strategists, architects and engineers, specialize in cost reduction programs, built environment services and strategic planning.
Muller & Caulfield Architects is a small, woman-owned architecture firm. Founded by Rosemary Muller in 1977, Muller & Caulfield specializes in working with local governments in a wide range of projects ranging from historic preservation and simple building repair and accessibility upgrade to the design of new public buildings. Our experience includes high-end residential design, religious and church design and remodel, and school design. We have experience in master planning, architectural analysis and reports, as well as public outreach meetings and public design charrettes.
Energy Solidarity Cooperative democratizes financing and ownership of renewable energy through partnerships in traditionally disenfranchised communities. We work through a localized approach in cooperative governance and community empowerment that combines member equity, community investment and knowledge transfer services to spread community-led clean power projects.
Michael Villaluna Architecture
Specializing in Healthcare design, Sketch-Up, Revit, AutoCad.
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OPEN HOUSE Featured Artist
SUSAN FELTER
showing
DIGITAL THICKET"Feeling frustrated and restricted by the traditional realism of the photographic world, I sort of 'ran away from home' and found an escape hatch down a rabbit hole into a digital thicket somewhere on the outskirts of drawing, painting and print-making."
  Susan Felter grew up in the Bay Area, receiving a BA in Psychology and Art from UC Berkeley, and an MFA in Motion Pictures from UCLA. Susan's photographic work has been exhibited and published in the U.S., France, Germany, India and Japan. She taught Photography at Santa Clara University from 1983 to 2010.www.susanfelterart.com Susan is a long time member and supporter of Ecocity Builders.____________________________________________________________________________ And introducing.... Nicolas Pasteur
Original Photography - Action and Nature 
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Historic Ecocity Breakthroughs
by Richard Register, Founder of the International Ecocity Conference Series and President of Ecocity Builders
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Richard Register
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I've lately struck up an e-mail correspondence with Shin-pei Tsay, friend and colleague of Deborah Gordon author of Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability, co-authored by Daniel Sperling with introduction by Arnold Schwarzenegger, former celebrity governor of California who I met at a breakfast place in 1971 on Venice Beach a couple hundred feet from "Muscle Beach" where he was working out at the time, pre-movie star days. Shin-pei is presently Director of Research and Development for a start-up nonprofit in New York City called TransitCenter, Inc. that deals with public transportation related issues. We had been talking about major changes in cities and habits and attitudes toward them. She signed off a couple days ago like this: "Let me know if you have any breakthroughs from the 70s through the 80s." That got me thinking and I came up with some from ecocity perspectives, but leading into other "breakthroughs" sliding into more modern times, post 2000. But first...
There are the changes, not exactly breakthroughs, but good signs nonetheless and it's educational to think about them some, cheer ourselves up some after thinking about climate change, species dying out, economic and social problem, the Middle East, etc. and on and on. I'll come up with some of those, illustrated, the assess what I think, if not breakthrough, are important steps or stones - milestones - along a way toward ecocity improvement.  | |
The parking lot to go away. (Photo credit: Michael Macor / The Chronicle)
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Mariposa Grove De-paving
Many of you know that "depaving" has been a preferred activity of Ecocity Builders from the start. My own first depaving project was for the San Diego Ecology Centre in 1973 when the group hired me to organize Earth Day events of a wide variety. That first depaving project was at the Campus Lutheran Center, hosted by the enthusiastic and imaginative Jim Nessheim, still there in San Diego. The project tore up about six parking places he courageously donated to the cause and put in a Native American food garden featuring corn, beans and squash: corn as a pole for the beans to climb, beans for fixing nitrogen in the soil and all three including the squash soaking up the nutrients providing a pretty balanced set of vegetables, plus it got stunning coverage in the local media.
In the San Francisco Chronicle this very day I write, November 1, 2013 we learn that, "The final plan for the reconfiguration of parking lots and the restoration of natural and man-made amenities at the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias was released Thursday byYosemite National Park."("Mariposa Grove plans released" by Peter Fimrite.) This amounts to a far larger depaving project.
The first photo above is of the present parking lot - soon to disappear then reappear at another location far, far away. (I know that's not a complete depaving but replacement parking, but it is in the service of biodiversity and healthy habitats.) The new parking will be two miles away from the grove of 484 enormous trees, one of which has a diameter of over 100 feet. These are the largest living things on the planet and only a little shorter than their relatives the California Coastal Redwoods which get up to over 380 feet high, as tall as many 35 story buildings.
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How beautiful they really are. (Thanks again Wikipedia)
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When the depaving among the big trees is done and the new parking lot is finished there will be a two mile path for walking with limited shuttle service for the tourists that now park and, most of them, barely leave the parking lot. All this reminds me that rail buff Christopher Swann wrote a book in the 1970s called YV 88 hopefully projecting into the future the best plan for YV (Yosemite Valley) I've ever seen. A light rail line would be the only way into the valley, accessed from Merced and perhaps one day, by heavier rail to Merced from Sacramento, Oakland and points beyond. That would amount to a serious depaving plan and a small ecotown of harmonious character near the mouth of the valley itself. READ ON
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London Community Neighborhood Co-operative:
Fair Rent Intergenerational Housing
LCNC is creating a model for future sustainable living. We welcome them into the ecocity movement! - Ecocity Builders
The London Community Neighbourhood Co-operative (LCNC) is amongst thousands of Londoners who want to find different and more responsible ways of living and working together in an urban environment.
The long term ambition is for LCNC to bring together six innovative projects which they hope will be part of providing the solution to some key issues faced by Londoners: rent rises, lack of affordable and adequate housing, an education system which is failing a significant proportion of young people, youth unemployment, deteriorating quality of the environment, diminishing natural resources and widening social inequality.
LCNC's six projects will include an inter-generational housing co-op, a life long learning educational charity, an urban agriculture co-operative, a healthy eating cafe, a mutual fund and multi use work spaces. They are committed to realising this project in an environmentally and economically sustainable way.
To facilitate the housing part of LCNC a housing co-operative was formed: London Community Housing Co-operative (LCHC). Together with LCNC, LCHC intends to self build a three story load bearing straw bale apartment building in central London. This housing will be self-contained intergenerational and inclusive housing at fair rent levels for those who want to live in London in a different way: a way that both allows for privacy and fosters a sense of community. The tenants will be members of LCHC. The building will implement environmentally sound practices such as using ecological building materials, renewable energy sources and universal design principles to create lifelong homes. For more information about straw bale buildings click here and universal building principles click here. Fair rents refer to rents set by disinterested parties that have many criteria in mind. The rents of LCHC will be decided using a wide range of evidence including average wages as well as rents in the area. Affordable housing with rents based on quality of life standards is at the core of LCHC. As an intergenerational housing project one of the criteria for allocation of housing will be age and family situation. This will allow a diversity of indivduals, groups and families to be resident. As part of LCNC, members of LCHC can be part of the wider communal practice such as urban agriculture, food co-operative, shared meals and other activities which will foster social cohesion. This space offers services such as life long learning, work space and a mutual fund to enhance the quality of life of the residents as well as wider community. Website: http://www.lcnc.org.uk/
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Car Free Journey
BY STEVE ATLAS
 Albuquerque and Santa Fe
Last month, we visited Albuquerque, New Mexico. As we saw then, there is so much to do there that we ran out of space. This month, we'll share a few more tips about visiting Albuquerque, and then spend the rest of our trip exploring nearby Santa Fe. Tips for Visiting Albuquerque without a Car Rick De Reyes, Public Information Officer for ABQ Ride: Albuquerque's public transit system, offers these tips:  Bicycling in Albuquerque: Albuquerque is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the country, with more than 400 miles of bike paths and trails with more in the works. Bicyclists can also ride along the Rio Grande along a trail in the bosque, Spanish for forest. ABQ RIDE can also let you bike and bus, with racks on the front of the bus to accommodate your bicycle at no extra charge. Bike maps can be downloaded through the website www.bikeabq.org. READ ON |
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Ecocity Updates
News, events and announcements
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Absinthe Films Full Spectrum Snowboarding
brings its 2013 North American Premier Tour to Berkeley's California Theater. Absinthe will donate part of their proceeds to Ecocity Builders in appreciation for our work to raise awareness about the causes of and solutions to global climate change.
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 November 18-21, 2013
Ecocity Builders' President Richard Register will participate in the U.S.-China Eco-cities Mayoral Exchange, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and China's Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development.
The Exchange showcases U.S. eco-city best planning practices and technologies while learning about the planning and technology needs and innovative practices of the Chinese eco-cities. The Alliance to Save Energy is organizing the Bay Area portion of their U.S. visit.
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 November 21-22, 2013
Ecocity Builders, AGEDI, UNEP, the Association of American Geographers and partners will kick off the Eye on Earth Community Sustainability and Resilience Special Initiative - Paris, France
The Eye on Community Sustainability and Resilience Special Initiative will provide tools and data for sustainable development at the urban level, and test a replicable and accurate methodology to link community crowd-sourced (foundational sustainability) data and information to national, regional and global data sets. In addition, the CSR Special Initiative will demonstrate the efficacy of crowd-sourced data at urban scale and provide tools and training to public officials and others who want to ensure a more sustainable urban environment through more informed decision making.
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 November 25-26, 2013
Executive Director Kirstin Miller will represent Ecocity Builders at the UNEP-SBCI (Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative) Symposium in Paris, France
The UNEP-SBCI is a partnership of major public and private sector stakeholders in the building sector, working to promote sustainable building policies and practices worldwide.
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 November 29-30, 2013
5th International Ecopolis Forum, Beijing, China. Ecocity Builders' President Richard Register will attend and deliver a keynote talk on "Asian Leadership in Ecocity Design".
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 From Urban Prototype to Heart of the City in 313 Days
by Sven Eberlein, Ecocity Builders
When I was asked a year ago to cover the Urban Prototyping Festival, I was skeptical at first. Living in San Francisco, where the latest greatest world-saving tech gadgets come and go like Karl the Fog on an August day, I had little expectation beyond spending an entertaining afternoon among wide-eyed dreamers and their wild contraptions.
I remember my surprise when the first prototype I came across literally captured my heart. While positively wide-eyed, Pulse of the City immediately struck me as the kind of installation that could bring joy to any street corner in any city around the world, with minimal rezoning required. The crowd that was forming around me in anticipation of what musical composition my
heartbeat would produce was a testament to the power of this parking meter with a heart. From my original article on the Urban Prototyping Festival:
 | | The author takes the pulse of the city. Photo by Debra Baida |
"I don't know if it was the frenzy of 5th Street or just our natural instincts, but the first thing we were drawn to was a blinking red metal heart mounted on a sidewalk post. Before I could even read the "Pulse of the City" sign that explained how this installation would playfully empower me with self-awareness, it was already translating my heart rate into a musical composition that was being streamed on the internet for people to explore and analyze. The beat I got was pretty wild and odd-metered, almost Coltranesque, and somebody asked if I'd been under a lot of stress. Well, not anymore. Imagine if we had a heart on every street corner to tune into the pulse of the city!"
Link to the full article on Sharable
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 Ecocitizen Update November 2013Featuring Turtuga Blanku
Turning Sunshine into Music
I turn Caribbean sunshine into music, literally... my little solar studio, which I call "the Green Machine" runs on solar power only.
The amount of sunlight that hits the Earth's surface in one hour is enough to power the entire world for a year. If we don't use it, we lose it. I want to show that solar energy can power up any kind of business, including the music business. So, I use my music and website (www.TurtugaBlanku.com) to inform people about renewable energy and global environmental issues.
There are a lot of other people out there also doing something in their own special way to contribute to solving environmental problems. Therefore, I have started a series of mini-interviews with eco-minded actors, writers, photographers, etc. The series is called '5Q-interview' and I post the interviews as regular news items on my website. Ecocity Builders' President Richard Register has been one of the 5Q-interviewees in this series (http://www.turtugablanku.com/5Q_interview_Richard_Register.php), as well as, for example, M*A*S*H actor Mike Farrell.
Recently, I have also launched a new (youtube) series called 'Time For A break'. This series is about things going on in and around my tropical solar studio and involves solar powered music and eco-entertainment.
The first episode is called 'Iguana' and can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL858p3TeqU. The second 'mystery' episode was released this week: http://youtu.be/u_kd5_trH0I. It is all about creating public awareness about the global need for more sustainable societies, and enjoying some catchy Turtuga Blanku music along the way.
For more information e-mail contact@turtugablanku.com and visit www.TurtugaBlanku.com
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ECOCITY INSIGHTS
by Jennie Moore, Director, Sustainable Development and Environmental Stewardship, British Columbia Institute of Technology
IEFS
Earth's Carrying Capacity Imperative
The International Ecocity Framework and Standards Initiative (IEFS) is a project of Ecocity Builders and the IEFS Advisory Committee, funded in part by the BCIT's School of Construction and the Environment.
An imperative of ecocities is to live within ecological carrying capacity, specifically that "the city keeps its demand on ecosystems within the limits of the Earth's biocapacity, converting resources restoratively and supporting regional ecological integrity" (www.ecocitystandards.org).
The Ecological Footprint measures whether we are living within ecological carrying capacity (www.footprintnewtowrk.org). An ecological footprint refers to the amount of land and sea area required to support a specified population at their current levels of affluence and technology (Wackernagel and Rees 1996). In short it is a measure of demand on nature's services relative to nature's capacity to supply those services (i.e., its biocapacity).
The term "one-planet living" refers to a society who, on average, lives within earth's carrying capacity (www.oneplanetliving.org). It uses the ecological footprint to assess whether an individual or a society is living within average per capita globally available biocapacity. If the world's ecologically productive ecosystems were distributed across the global human population, such that each individual was attributed an equal share, and with approximately 12% of total biocapacity set aside for nature, then each person would need to live within the ecologically productive capabilities of just 1.7 hectares of land and water area.
While most of the world's population achieves this goal, high consuming societies located mostly in Europe, North America, and Australia use much more. For example, societies in Europe typically demand the ecologically productive capabilities of more than 4.5 hectares per capita while North Americans and Australians demand even more (WWF 2010). If everyone in the world lived the same way as these high consuming societies, we would need three to four additional earth-like planets to supply the energy and resources demanded as well as absorb the wastes produced.
Since we only have one earth, we need to learn how to live equitably within the ecological carrying capacity of this planet. Ecocities are an important part of the solution. Building cities that are compact, so as to eliminate the need and even desire to use a car, and designing the built-environment in such a way that it collects solar radiation, produces naturally ventilated spaces, harvests rainwater , and provides spaces for growing food and for wildlife to flourish are all important steps.
References:
Wackernagel, Mathis and William E. Rees. 1996. Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.
WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). 2010. Living Planet Report 2010: Ecological Footprint Index (online resource). http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/2010_lpr (Accessed August 2, 2010).
British Columbia Institute of Technology School of Construction and the Environment is Lead Sponsor of the International Ecocity Framework and Standards Initiative
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Founded in 1992, Ecocity Builders is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reshaping cities for the long-term health of human and natural systems.
www.ecocitybuilders.org
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PRINCIPAL SPONSOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL ECOCITY FRAMEWORK AND STANDARDS
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