Solutions & sustainability - Oct 14

Permaculture Principles: Nature's Design for our Living World (slideshow)
Collin Dunn, treehugger
Permaculture is one of those great TreeHugging principles that integrates everything in a balanced, living system, takes many cues from Mother Nature, and works great when executed properly. It's a zero-waste cycle, a green system that defines 'solar energy' with sun (but not solar panels) and 'carbon offsets' with soil instead of credits printed on paper. It's a super-fascinating, super-green way to grow food, build systems, and live green. Here's a tour of the 12 guiding principles of permaculture.
(12 Oct 2009)

Dan Douglas' European vision for our capital city
Bob Geary, Indyweek
Up front, let's stipulate that the fabulous things Dan Douglas envisions for downtown Raleigh aren't all going to happen—at least, not in every detail. And maybe in no detail: The state and the city have a long history of not working together. Add in the county, two public utility companies, three railroads and Triangle Transit, and the number of permutations for how this scheme goes awry are to the nth degree.

Still, everything Douglas is talking about in his plan is not only feasible, it's there for the taking if Raleigh's leaders can get together and commit to the goal of economic development on a world-class scale. Douglas, who wears his passion for cities and planning on both rolled-up sleeves, believes this to his core.

"It absolutely can be done," he says. "We just need to think bigger."

The "it" is a nonprofit development corporation similar to the one that created the Research Triangle Park a half century ago, but this time it is aimed at making North Carolina's capital city the equal of any in the world for economic innovation and quality of life...
(7 Oct 2009)

Investigating The Potential For The Expansion Of Urban Agriculture In The City Of Edinburgh (dissertation)
Jake Butcher, City Farmer
Summary
A recent increase in urban food production has been stimulated by both the recognised advantages which it brings in terms of health, recreation and urban sustainability and by the solution which it represents to the many problems associated with the globalisation of the food system, urbanisation and increasingly intensified agriculture.

The City of Edinburgh has experienced not only a growth in the number and diversity of urban food growing projects over recent years but also a rise in waste, carbon emissions and both human and environmental health problems.

This study aimed to address these problems by assessing current food production and subsequently quantifying the room for expansion of food growing in the city. Case studies were conducted detailing information on 16 different food production projects within the City.
(2009)
The dissertation can be downloaded from the article.