Living City Block

LCDC Takes a Trip Down the Anacostia

QPregliasco — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 22:24:01 +0000

Map of the Anacostia Watershed

During the last week of July Living City DC took a boat trip down the Anacostia River with the Material and Resource Sustainability Interns from Howard University. The trip shed light onto the harmful impact of people living in DC on the Anacostia River. The Anacostia Watershed Society provided this explanation of the watershed:

“Water falling inside the yellow boundary in the form of rain or snow drains into the Anacostia River and its tributaries. In turn, the Anacostia carries that water into the Potomac River where it eventually flows into the Chesapeake Bay.”

Washington DC has a combined sewage overflow system. This means that when there is a heavy rain, the rainwater and raw sewage both dump straight into the river. The Anacostia Watershed society elaborated upon this point by stating, “Each year, Washington’s antiquated combined sewer system dumps over 2 billion gallons of raw sewage and storm water directly into the river. Recent efforts have begun to reduce this overflow volume. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), more than 20,000 tons of trash and debris enter the Anacostia’s waters each year.”

Due to this pollution, the river is unsafe to use for swimming or fishing. In fact, 2/3 of all of the catfish in the river have tumors due to the high level of pollutants. The photo below shows the Howard University Interns observing the contamination in the Anacostia River.

One Last Tidbit About the Community Garden

QPregliasco — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 22:12:59 +0000

In case the photos weren’t enough, here is a minute long video of the installation process!

Six Different Species of Whales Return to New York, Four Years After the Tragedy of Sludgie

vvele — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:06:45 +0000

By Victoria Vele, Social Media & Water Intern
As many Gowanus residents remember in 2007 a whale by the name of Sludgie made its way into the Gowanus Bay. Sludgie, a baby Minke whale, tragically did not last long in the polluted waters near the Canal. Since then there have only been whale sittings periodically…until now. It is an exciting time in New York when off of the New York Harbor, dolphins, seals, and whales are returning in large numbers. Last year, scientists recorded seeing 6 species of whales including the Humpback, Blue, and Fin whales off the coasts of Staten Island, Coney Island, and the Rockaways. With that, aquatic recreation as increased as well, with whale and dolphin watching boat tours. Sighting this type of marine wildlife in the Harbor is not anything new; however, it is the frequency, numbers, and diversity that’s so impressive.

Sarah Chasis, a staff blogger for the Natural Resource Defense Council, was quick to see the return of whales and other marine life as a huge development and a testament to how far the water quality in New York’s surrounding bays and oceans has come over the past few decades (Chasis, 2011). Water quality is becoming an even more important issue to the city of New York.

PlaNYC has even stated that mitigating new threats to our watershed and enhancing water quality will be one of their highest priorities. Looking into the future, the proposed 2011-2012 budget by Governor Cuomo puts aside $5 million for ocean conservation in an effort to improve marine life and protect the waters around New York. These two governmental plans will provide much need attention to the growing marine life around the harbor. A long with the public’s growing interest in marine life, the New York government has the opportunity to improve and develop the waterfront and activities around the harbor.

And Then There Were Three…

vvele — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:43:08 +0000

Closing in on our second to last summer intern meeting, Rich, Ben, and I gathered around the conference table to enjoy some mango and rabbit-shaped graham crackers, with our fearless leader, Vanessa. These weekly rendezvous have been a chance for interns and staff to discuss goals and successes, obstacles and setbacks – to celebrate and troubleshoot together. Sadly, David Krieger’s last day in the office was Wednesday. But soon we should have a new Community Director to spearhead our community initiatives.

Vanessa is actively searching for fall interns to help spearhead our working groups around resource efficiency and building improvements, green infrastructure and stormwater, innovative and sustainable economic development, and urban agriculture and local food. We are also looking for people interested in working on public art and space projects. Fall is looking to be a very busy time – and part of the adventure is meeting and working with new people.

Summer has been an amazing time as we get to understand the history and present-day context of Gowanus and South Brooklyn, brainstorm with our neighbors and experts during the community innovation workshop, and begin building coalitions around community priorities. We have accomplished quite a bit in the past few months, but there is still much to do to make our vision a reality. Our next steps include forming working groups, building up relationships with businesses and residents of Gowanus, and going after sponsorship and financial support for longer-term operations in the neighborhood. We are confident that with the continued support from the community we’ll be able to see this vision through, creating a livable city one block at a time.

Growing Cities Of The Future

vvele — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:15:27 +0000

By Victoria Vele and Rich Greene, LCBG Interns

All cities are not created equal. Each is designed, developed, and actually constructed at different points in time. This affects architecture, building stock, and even the people who live there. Urban transformation is inevitable because people have evolving needs. We are challenged with maintaining a balanced ecosystem through every urban development (new or old). The video I’ve decided to post this week is by Lilium Urbanus, a collaborative senior thesis project by Anca Risca and Joji Tsuruga, recent graduates of the School of Visual Arts. These two individuals may not be urban planners or environmentalists, but have chosen to use their digital talents in urban design and animation. The video envisions “the city of the future” starting as a seed growing into a sprout transforming into a village and finally becoming the metropolis of the future. However, each metropolis of the future cannot be created from one seed because then you we just have an overgrown forest that could not sustain itself. In your minds, what does this seed represent? Furthermore, we have so many existing urban areas that building new cities would be a tremendous waste of resources compared to redeveloping existing cities to be more environmentally friendly.

So what exactly is Lillum Urbanus exactly saying? Do current cities have no future? Will the growth of cities eventually create a life where people are connected by trains, cars, and tunnels without seeing the light of day?

You have to admit that, although beautifully animated, there is something strangely creepy about the idea of a city morphing into a flower, giving off the only form of light in the world. Risca and Joli allow your mind to wander in this video. There is definitely a transformation, but is this transformation good or bad? This video shows a very extreme example of what is currently happening with new concepts of urban design and what can be expected for the future. We like to believe that since all takes root from the seed, that the seed still has a place (the environment is not forgotten) as we continue expanding our communities and our cities limits.

Lilium Urbanus from Joji Tsuruga on Vimeo.

Our Dear Friend Luc Vrilojks Passed Away, August 1, 2011

vvele — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:59:45 +0000

It is with great sadness that we share that our good friend Luc Vrilojks passed away on Monday, August 1^st while on vacation in Brazil. Luc was the founder and principal of Urban Progress Design, an urban planning and advisory company based out of New York and Amsterdam. With over 20 years of experience in the field, Luc worked in urban sustainability, development planning and city regeneration in Europe, the US and around the world. He recently worked with Living City Brooklyn Gowanus at our Community Innovation Workshop. Luc served as a facilitator and presenter on urban regeneration, with a focus on Community Planning and Green Infrastructure. More importantly, Luc has been an advisor and champion of the LCB project since its early days. Loosing his spirit, guidance, wisdom and friendship on LCBG leaves a hole in our work and a bigger hole in our hearts.

All of us at Living City Block will miss Luc and his thoughtful and passionate love of design, of planning and of all things urban and human.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Luc’s family and friends at this time.

LCBG Joins Forces with NYU and Columbia for Capstone Projects

vvele — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:12:57 +0000

As we say goodbye to several summer interns over the next couple of weeks, Living City Brooklyn Gowanus is anticipating an exciting autumn. Although seven interns will be moving on from LCB, we are excited to welcome our fall academic partnerships with NYU and Columbia. Learning that we would work with the talented faculty and students of both the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School for Public Service and the Columbia Business School Master Class on Sustainability and Business was great news!

Image Taken From NYU Website

These capstone projects will work with Living City Block to examine, question and refine its business methods and model and look more broadly at ways non‐profits can thrive in the sustainability sector. They will also examine ways to finance the actual projects in Gowanus. The projects are mainly focused on the fields of finance, management, non-profits, and policy and urban planning – many things we need to consider in order make our project a reality. While this research begins in earnest this September, we are organizing the larger LCB project around the outcomes and findings of our Community Innovation Workshop now. There’s lots of work to do before David Krieger and the summer interns depart to start a new academic year. David will be starting at NYU’s School of Business later this month and has been busy interviewing in search of a new Community Director for Living City Block to work with Vanessa as she continues to keep the project on track. The remainder of August is going to be a whirlwind of welcoming new faces and saying goodbye to our “golden oldies” from the beginning of our work.

It’s A Bird…It’s A Plane…It’s Gowanus In The Distance

vvele — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:09:09 +0000

If Gowanus were a superhero, who would it be? Would it have the quiet charm of Peter Parker, the mysterious nature of Bat Man, or would it be something completely original? Maybe its all the hype about this summer’s blockbuster, but perhaps a parallel to Marvel Comic’s Captain America is appropriate.

Captain America was the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a young man who was enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States war effort during WW2. Captain America changes from a scrawny kid to a powerful and unstoppable force through the use of new technology.

What if we isolated that last thought? Could Gowanus be transformed by technology to be a more livable community, with its own unique identity and innovative economic opportunities that help both people and the environment? Could Gowanus be transformed by new solar technology? Geothermal? Stormwater management? Urban design techniques?

Transformation makes a normal guy into our superhero Captain America. Can it do the same in Gowanus?

Image Take From GraphicDirt.com

As a post-industrial neighborhood, Gowanus has the ability to completely reinvent itself into the city of the future. In my opinion it’s not childish to associate Gowanus with a superhero or some imaginary character since that is exactly what we are doing- imagining. Living City Brooklyn Gowanus is envisioning, developing, and creating a plan with the help of local building owners, business owners, and residents that is going to change the way Gowanus functions. To that extent we are forming an environmentally aware, sustainably driven community that will help pave the way to the livable city of the future. Now that sounds like a great comic book idea…

Community Garden Installation

mespie — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:52:18 +0000

On Saturday, Living City DC 14^th & U and dc greenworks launched a project on the grounds of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments and created a community garden. The garden creates a welcoming space for residents and the community to meet and will give the Paul Laurence Dunbar residents access to fresh flowers and produce. Many residents came out to participate and make the gardens a success.

View our photo album on Facebook!

More Research Being Done in Gowanus, Brooklyn and an IMPORTANT Announcement!

vvele — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:43:23 +0000

When we left all of you on Monday, the interns were busy researching and writing their individual reports. Since we dedicated Monday’s post to talking about the research of Alexia, Eliza, Kristin, and myself, today we’d like to focus on the other half of our team. Rich, our newest intern, is currently reviewing plaNYC and the Gowanus Community Plan to understand what development proposals and priorities are for the Gowanus neighborhood. This directly relates to Rich’s academic curriculum at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in Urban Policy and Management, where Rich is approaching his second year.

Across the conference table sits Ben, whose NYU School of Law education has prepared him to take on almost anything. He often camps in the NYU library, a mecca for law students, to research whatever legal questions come his way (current focus: how the wholesale electricity market in NY works). Meanwhile, Anna has turned her attention to writing the Living City Brooklyn Energy Report. If you think that sounds like a fete, you wouldn’t be wrong; this energy report examines the feasibility of everything from wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric power in Gowanus. This past week, Anna finished her section on On-Site Energy Generation. We’re all excited to hear about that at our intern meeting!

Important Update: Sefaira will be helping Living City Brooklyn Gowanus model energy consumption of buildings in Gowanus! This is a huge leap forward for our work and we could not be happier to partner with such a great firm.