Better planning, more data for future cities
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Oct 22, 2010 11:55 AM
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Better planning, more data for future cities
Nov 22, 2010 06:01 PM
Could an entire university campus store its winter heating from the summer sun? The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ) is making it happen.
This remarkable project was revealed by ETHZ President Ralph Eichler at "The Future of Cities: What’s the Urban Model of 2020?" The October 22 panel discussion, part of swissnex Boston’s ten-year anniversary celebration, looked forward to the challenges of the next decade. Taking place at a center of urban design instruction, Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, it provided rare insight into the urban issues already taking shape worldwide from renowned Swiss and American experts.
Tackling one of those issues, our carbon footprint, ETHZ has embarked on a $32-million project that would store the summer heat in the ground for use throughout its campus during winter. This would reduce its carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2020 and save $1 annually.
The full house also heard from moderator Joan Fitzgerald, Director of the Law, Policy and Society Program at Northeastern University and author of Emerald Cities, about the morphing challenges urban areas are undergoing, about which reliable information is rarely available.
Panelists agreed on a lack of reliable data on the fast-changing development of cities that impede effective urban planning. They also noted that there is no optimum city size; rather, the resources to sustain a city are the key factors. And despite the protracted political processes plaguing modern society, creative solutions to urban sprawl, pollution and density are being found every day.
"The Future of Cities' was made possible through collaboration with Boston World Partnership.
Read more at our 10-year anniversary blog!
