Greening the city – IAAC

THE SELF-SUFFICIENT CITY: Envisioning the habitat of the future was a recent open competition from IAAC (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia). We have subsequently been invited to submit work for their upcoming book and  a 1 minute film as part of expo in CCCB. Below are the 3 A3 panels we submitted, click on each panel to view in PDF. Underrneath is a summary of the ideas examined. Our proposal was entitled:

Towards a healthier, happier, eco-effective Barcelona.

Greening the city, connecting communities, C2C city

PANEL 1 (1,76 MB)

PANEL 2 (1,06 MB)

PANEL 3 (2,98 MB)

150 word Summary -

Greening the city, connecting communities, C2C Barcelona

Create urban greenway / CPUL mesh

Develop more bikeways/ walkways to easily connect from within city centre to nature: rivers, sea, surrounding hills. Allow all abandoned spaces to become indefinite temporary gardens. Specify strategic zones as permanent community gardens, including within all existing public parks and schools. Connect these nodes by greenways. Turn greenways into CPULS (Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes), Plant fruit and nut trees, berry hedges, diverse vegetation, food. These bio threads allow nature into the city; butterflies, song birds, pollen. Use city roofspace(s) as one vast CPUL, solar energy harvest, water collection zone and new Public Park. As private car use diminishes turn old “car lanes” into “food lanes”. Create mixed use clusters around gardens, part of the urban fabric: play area, sport complex, café. Make spaces experimental, adaptable and open to everyone. Let all life adapt and grow.

CCCB Com serà l’hàbitat del futur? Demà, l’Any Cerdà Cerdà organitza el 3r Concurs d’Arquitectura Avançada. – 3r Concurs d’Arquitectura Avançada – Any Cerdà

Pelis Por Pachamama

TRANSITION QUICK LINKS:

(español) transicion.ning.com ¡ WIKI España ¡ Texto Elemental (primer) ¡ Tiempos de Transición ¡ Artículo Ecologist ¡ BCN en Transicion primero evento ¡ VID archivo

(English) Transition Towns ¡ Transition Primer ¡ Transition Handbook ¡ Transition Forum ¡ Transition Cities ¡  Transition Culture (Rob Hopkins blog) ¡ Transition Town Totnes ¡ (VIDS) Rob Hopkins interview ¡ Transition Lewes ¡ Transition Cities Conference ¡ Audio interviews ¡ Transition radio

Transition Culture: radio shows about transition towns and more

The advent of Peak oil and solutions to it are perhaps one of the most critical issues we are facing today. A recent movement has exploded in Britain, transition towns. It began in Kinsale in Ireland with Rob Hopkins who set up the Permaculture college there. They set up the Kinsale Energy descent plan, looking at how their town could make the transition to less oil dependancy over a 20 year time frame. From there Rob went back to Witness in the UK and from there the model has exploded. You can find out whats going on on their WIKI (with translations) and they have set up a fantastic website Transition Culture.

Here is an excellent short video made by —- as part of the Lewes Transition town movement. It was shown in the local cinema of Lewes before all the films. It starts by asking the townspeople what are the causes of climate change and finishes with a rap about how oil is now used for the production of nearly everything we use

Rob Hopkins elaborates on the origins, the growth of and the future of the transition towns movement

Whats all this Climate Camp stuff then?

As part of the last few days of GEF 08 (Global Eco Forum) there will be a gathering in La Teixadora (a squatted social centre in the Poble Nou barrio (neighbourhood) of Barcelona) during which we will talk about the origins and very successful growth of the Climate Camp movement that originated in the UK 2 years ago and whats being talked about for Copenhagen in December 2009, COP 15

Peaceful protestors meet heavy handed police??? see 2.45 of following