Flooding and storm water management is an increasing problem within urban areas as they have expanded over time. Simply put, if you build over an existing 1,000 acres of greenfield agricultural land to expand an existing urban area, it is absolutely clear that if you do not design in a water strategy for this, you will hugely increase the run off of water within storm periods as the surfaces of the houses, roads, footpaths and other features needed for a housing development are clearly much less able to absorb the water in the way a field would. This can cause significant problems downstream for the existing settlement and beyond. One simple but effective part of any water strategy for an urban extension is the principle of permeable paving, This allows the water to move through the paving into the ground below and therefore reduces the run off significantly and allows water to be stored more naturally within the ground. The advantages are ground water recharge, easier surface water management, an overall reduction in irrigation demand in surrounding areas, the lowering of heat islands effects through the ground being cooler and a reduction in pollutants in storm water drains as the pollution is broken down through natural processes. This rather simple technique can use existing products, and although not as cheap to construct as impermeable paving, is still a relatively small cost within the build stock of a developer. It can be incorporated into walkways, driveways, squares, piazza's and parking areas. The overall cost benefit to a town is potentially huge as avoids huge infrastructure costs elsewhere to deal with increased stormwater run-off, and is therefore at the forefront of planning policy in many urban areas globally to a greater or lesser extent. To conclude, it is a relatively simple concept, and therefore straightforward for developers to incorporate, and has massive gains from an environmental and sustainable perspective. Sometimes the most simple of technology and ideology are the most effective, and allows the decision makers within development firms to incorporate them with the minimum of cost.
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The global motor industry has traditionally manufactured vehicles that are powered by a finite resource. Petrol and diesel are both products of finite resource and produce carbon emissions that harm the environment. The motor industry has been conscious of this for decades and to their credit have mass produced much more fuel efficient efficient vehicles for many years, but especially since the turn of the century. As the harm from greenhouse gases continues to damage the environment year on year, the motor industry has increasingly turned to producing electric power cars or hybrids in order to play their part in helping to tackle this global problem. The advantages of electric vehicles are that they are not reliant upon fossil fuels, are cheaper to run for the consumer, they do not have emissions, they offer a product to aware consumers, they become more more cost effective to buy over time as battery technology improves, they are lower maintenance than traditional cars and they reduce noise pollution (*). There are also disadvantages in that recharging points are not freely available everywhere currently, their drive range is less than traditional vehicles, they can take a long time to charge, the batteries need replacement between years 3-10 depending upon the model, and they are currently relatively expensive to buy. The Shades of Green report (**) did a study on the true carbon reduction equivalent for electric cars, and this took on board emissions from manufacturing, power station combustion, upstream full production and grid losses along with emissions when driving, and clearly there are overall advantages for electric cars over traditional. What was uncovered in the report was the carbon emissions for manufacturing was hugely diverse globally, and a key conclusion of the report was there is still a lot of work for the motor industry to do to reduce the "hidden" carbon cost of manufacturing to catch up with the much more visible benefits of the end product. Why is this linked to urban extensions ?. At Bicester in the UK the Eco town being delivered has a first phase partnership between the lead developer and BMW who produce electric vehicles 15 miles away in Oxford which encourages new residents to acquire these vehicles with incentives, and also includes for recharging points for all new properties for free www.conserve-energy-future.com (*) Shades of Green report - Lindsay Wilson 2013 (**) Using waste to create energy is a global phenomenon, albeit in real terms one that is not significant in terms of energy production, but is one that is growing. The benefits of using waste to create energy is a reduction in greenhouse gases as producing it generates electricity from a renewable source. Traditionally most electricity is generated through the burning of fossil fuels which is a finite resource globally, so it is clearly imperative globally to find alternative ways to generate energy in the future. Using waste to generate electricity to power new homes on a large scale is clearly great for the environment and also reduces a municipal area's dependance upon fossil fuel. A good example of this is the New Energy Corporation's waste to energy project in Western Australia at Port Hedland. This innovative plant will divert between 70,000 and 130,000 tonnes of waste from landfill per annum, and produce enough energy to power 21,000 homes. 18MW of electricity will be generated of which 15.5MW will be exported to the national grid. The technology used is a gasification process. Although this form of energy generation is relatively new when compared to the more traditional forms of generation, it is a growing market, and is backed by many Government's globally (and sometimes subsidised) to assist them in meeting international emissions targets. In my view it is crucial that this kind of technology is embraced moving forward as the finite fossil fuel resources globally will eventually run out, and as they get run down over time, the economic arguments for renewables becomes much more powerful. If any reader wants further info on the specific example in this blog please go to the link below www.newenergycorp.com.au Timber is a truly sustainable raw material for the construction of property globally. It has been used for construction for centuries, and is now a highly common form of frame for houses and other buildings that are low to middle in terms of height. Why timber ? Timber frame for new houses is quick to build, and comes from a highly sustainable resource with a low carbon footprint. The timber used can be used from sustainable forests where all timber used is replaced and managed. It also tends to only travel a short distance from the forest to the mill, and the processes involved for preparing the timber is relatively simple, so the carbon footprint in the manufacture and transport is also relatively low when compared to other raw manufactured materials for frame construction. The waste generated from preparing timber is not wasted either, it can be used in other products such as reconstituted wood panels or paper or cardboard. And of course the bigger picture often ignored by our politicians globally is trees produce oxygen, and trees absorb carbon dioxide, so are definitely part of the solution to undoing the environmental damage since the industrial revolution. Timber frames within construction is a massive win-win for all concerned, it does not really impact on the overall construction cost for a developer (**), it helps governments towards green international targets, and gives the consumer (***) a sustainable product in a world where green isssues becoming more pressing by the week. 81 Countries are part of an international global network called the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Australia is one of them (*) (*) Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Australia (**) Sourceablenet/timber-vs-steel-vs-concrete-structures (***) Ethical Consumerism report 2012 - www.businessgreen.com = 50% of consumers sueveyed stated they avoid certain companies due to green reputation The issue of waste is globally significant. Much has been done especially over the last 2 decades to try and encourage recycling of waste, and many countries now have stringent targets in terms of how much waste should be recycled as opposed to going to a land fill. Global resources are finite, and therefore in simple terms they will run out if they are not managed properly and sustainably.
Construction has a big role to play in this. In the UK the government published the PPS1 statement, which is "Eco-towns, a supplement to planning policy statement one" (*). The role of the supplement was to establish the planning rules for urban extensions in particular locations that would have to adhere to sustainable principles. One of these principles as to provide a sustainable waste and resources plan for both domestic and non domestic use. This plan set targets to enhance outcomes over and above the National Strategy Waste Target, which is a reduction from 370kg to 225kg for individual waste per person (after recycling) from 2005 to 2020, and an increase in household reuse and recycling per person from 27% to 50% from 2005 to 2020. All homes at Bicester Eco Town are provided with 7 containers to capture the 7 priority recycle materials. Also, allotments are strategically allocated across the green infrastructure to encourage composting. A mini waste collection centre is strategically positioned on the site as well to encourage use. In terms of construction, the PPS1 statement sets out targets for using high percentages of local sub contractors for the development to encourage less travel which generates carbon emissions, and also that the materials that are used to build the homes comes from sustainable sources. Again this is set out as a percentage to be monitored. Taking this further, the materials used not only would need to be from a sustainable resource, but the process to manufacture the materials would also need to show significant reductions in the use of carbon. The development is large scale and it is hoped that the manufacturers and suppliers will go through behavioural and business change to adhere to these principles so they can be simply rolled out in the future on other developments, as sustainable policy increases in significance over time. Examples at Bicester are the homes all being built to timber frame where the timber is from a sustainable source, or ensuring the components in other materials are such that they can be recycled over time (*) UK planning policy: Eco towns, a supplement to planning policy statement one Cities across the world are increasing growing and taking on a higher percentage of the global population. This has meant transport systems within cities have to cope with much higher use, whether that be road or rail systems. Increasingly, the use of the car within the relatively small confines of cities has led to traffic congestion and much higher carbon emissions, and this issue is continuing to grow in significance. The use of the bicycle is a sustainable way of alleviating the health, social, economic issues associated with car use and traffic generation in urban areas. The nature of most of our cities is they have developed over time, so they have geographical constraints and man-made constraints inherent within them which were developed before the emergence of the motor car in terms of use today. This means many of our road structures are not fit for purpose anymore within some urban environments. It also means finding ways to encourage the use of the bicycle on congested roads is also a serious global challenge. Paris (*) has taken a lead in trying innovative way to increase the use of the bicycle. The Velib scheme is a community bicycle programme in operation there. It started in 2007 and now has 14,500 bikes. There are over 1,200 bike stations all within 300 metres of each other. in 2013 there were 173 million journeys. Members pay a subscription which can either be daily, weekly or annually. All trips under 30 minutes are free. The scheme is an example of a public / private partnership. JC Decaux finance the scheme and in return Paris gives them exclusive rights to a portion of the street hoardings across the city. JC Decaux paid for the start up, and operates the system, and repairs the bike on a 10 year contract. The city gets all the revenue from the scheme but JC Decaux gets exclusive use of 1,628 city owned billboards. Clearly this initiative, although not without it's problems, has encouraged the use of the bicycle in Paris on a significant scale, and the environmental, health and economic benefits will be of huge benefit. Time lost in traffic jams cost businesses globally huge sums, and reduced burdens on health provision through participation in activity based transport modes is also significant. Finally the reduction in emissions from motor vehicles is highly significant, and if this kind of initiative can be rolled out globally the benefits would be massive. (*) en.velib.paris.fr |
AuthorGerald Walker. BA Hons Economics and Studying for a Masters at UNSW in Property and Development Archives
June 2017
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