Week07

Week 7: 10/20/11


 * CCT434 Lesson #7 In Class Assignment: President’s Challenge at Sheridan, Example of Ideas Competition at MIT for Reference, and E2: Sustainable Transport in Bogata: **
 * Professor Littlejohn **


 * 1. What are the four basis for sustainable design according to the Sheridan President’s Challenge video at []? **

1. Substitute the use of scarce minerals in exchange for materials that are more abundant; this also includes eliminating or greatly reducing the use of fossil fuels.

2. Reduce our dependence on synthetic chemicals

3. Ensure our resources come from well-managed ecosystems.

4. Ensure that the suppliers we use for goods and services respect human rights and contribute positively to local communities around the world


 * Reduce. Rethink. Reserve. Restore


 * 2. Please review 3 student projects at [], describe them, and describe why you like them: **

1. _

_

_

2. _

_

_

3. _

_

_


 * Lesson 7 In Class Assignment: e2: The Economies of Being Environmentally Conscious: **


 * Questions about Bogotá: Building a Sustainable City| season II | episode 3 **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">As few as 10 years ago Bogotá, Colombia, was characterized by drug cartels, senseless violence and a 30-year civil war. Every three hours someone was kidnapped. Every 15 minutes someone was murdered. At one point there was not an upper- or middle-class Colombian family that did not know somebody who had been abducted.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">BACKGROUND ESSAY **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">As you move around the city today, you will see mega-libraries, greenways, 1,000 parks, over 70,000 trees and a state-of-the art transportation system called the TransMilenio, meaning "transcending the millennium." The TransMilenio is an alternative to the chaotic, independently operated bus service that dominated the city in the past. Along with this infrastructure, you'll see people from all walks of life who are out of their cars and enjoying the city: parents strolling with kids, co-workers eating lunch outside, neighbors meeting and talking with one another.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">How did this remarkable transition happen to Bogotá? It came out of the vision that Enrique Peñalosa, Bogotá's mayor from 1997 through 2000, had for his city. He wanted to reverse the decades-long norm of poverty, drug cartels and violence, and make citizens proud of the metropolis in which they lived. Peñalosa believed that cities should encourage walking and biking, which would in turn promote community and make the streets safer for children. With these ideas in mind he reformed public transportation, added greenways, built mega-libraries and created the longest stretch of bike-only lanes in the world. Peñalosa's commitment to reducing automobile usage even led to a program called the "pico y placa" ("peak times and license plates"), which greatly restricts the use of private automobiles at peak times.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">This episode highlights the story of how one man's vision transformed one of the most chaotic cities in the world into a shining model of urban planning, community development and public transportation. Although by Peñalosa's own admission there is more work to be done, the transformation thus far is remarkable and has been lauded as an example for the world to follow.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Peñalosa accomplished a great amount of change while serving as Bogota's mayor from 1997-2000. His policies were to the benefit of the majority of the citizens, the 98.5% of the population who did not have access to a private vehicle. During his term, Peñalosa completed two major projects that directly improved public transit: Transmilenio and the Bogota Bike Path Network. His decision to cater the infrastructure to the needs of pedestrians and cyclists was very controversial as today's urban fabric typically favours vehicles. However, Penalosa was willing to take the risk, assuming that in the chance he would not be reelected, the road infrastructure could be dealt with in the future. His conscious decision to aid his city by focusing on those with less financial influence on the city (i.e. low income taxpayers) was a large risk, also prohibiting 40% of cars to from Bogota roads during rush hour traffic, a policy known as Pico y Placa.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">1. How did the reforms made by Peñalosa unite the poorer and more affluent citizens of Bogotá? (2 paragraphs) **
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">2. What risks did Peñalosa take in regards to public interest and policy? (2 paragraphs) **

His mandate to resolve public transit issues was a great success and reunited a large amount of suburban dwellers to the downtown core, allowing those once unemployed to have access to workplaces. Not only did Penalosa accommodate the disenfranchised, but by re-branding the buses with "transmilenio" it encouraged commuters from all walks of life to make use of the system that both reduces carbon emissions (less vehicles on the road, thus reducing traffic congestion etc.) and encourages equality and the elimination of class-divisions. The controversial moves by Penalosa may have lead to the reelection of Antanas Mockus in 2001.

_


 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">3. What was the link Peñalosa made between creating walking and biking lanes and fighting violence? (2 paragraphs) **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">_The walking and biking lanes allowed less transparency and subsequently an increase in respect for the government's authority.

_


 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">4. Do you think your community and policymakers would be happy to build more walking and biking lanes in your town/city? Do you think they would support policies to regulate cars on certain streets during certain times? Why? (2 paragraphs) **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">_

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Standard 14.4: Understands how societal interests, economics, ergonomics, and environmental considerations influence a solution.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">NATIONAL STANDARDS FROM MCREL STANDARD **
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Engineering Education **


 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Standard 17.6: **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Understands tradeoffs among characteristics such as safety, function, cost, ease of operation, quality of post-purchase support, and environmental impact when selecting systems for specific purposes.


 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Technology **
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Standard 4.6 **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">: Knows that a design involves different design factors (e.g., ergonomics, maintenance and repair, environmental concerns) and design principles (e.g., flexibility, proportion, function).

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Standard 9.2: Knows how human mobility and city/region interdependence can be increased and regional integration can be facilitated by improved transportation systems (e.g., the national interstate highway system in the United States, the network of global air routes).
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Geography **