News Bringing natural life into buildings:: Eco-architect Dr Ken Yeang’s attempts to introduce more nature into architecture are highlighted in this article. “Many buildings have been ‘de-natured’. Human beings have simplified and fragmented nature.” Loft ambitions: why green roofs are the future of urban gardening:: This article from The Ecologist discusses the many benefits of green [...]
News Bloomin’ lovely gardens brighten up London’s East End:: A competition for residents of London’s East End, the winners were chosen for showing “ what they can do with plants, wildlife and the environment.” Can biodiversity be accommodated in today’s urban environment?:: Posing the question, this piece from The Ecologist looks at recent efforts including the International [...]
News Vancouver Convention Centre roof a hive of insect and plant activity:: Three years on and the green roof of the Vancouver Convention Center has been greatly successful for wildlife housing ants, spiders, dragonflies, grasshoppers, bees and sparrows and finches. California Academy of Sciences’ roof is thriving:: Another green roof at three years old, the [...]
As the 2011 Integrated Habitats Design Competition is getting launched, I’m looking at the winning entries from the 2010 competition in a series of posts. Edge Hill Halls was the overall winner of the 2010 Integrated Habitats Design Competition. Designed by Maria-Cristina Banceanu, the site is a brownfield which previously accommodated a rail depot, the Edge Hill railway station, located [...]
News Vacant lots: Urban decay or place to play?:: This article about vacant lots in Cleveland and how they are never really vacant due to the amount of plants and wildlife that inhabit them. Vaux’s Swifts and Ghetto Birds:: The Vaux’s Swifts continue to migrate down the west coast and are now creating a spectacle [...]
Read Urban Species Profile:: Swifts for detailed information about the Vaux’s Swifts. Twice a year Vaux’s Swifts roost in the chimney at Frank Wagner Elementary School in Monroe, Washington. Once a year the school hosts ‘Swift Night Out’ where people come visit from all over the state, and even country to watch the swifts descend at dusk [...]
News An Urban Jungle for the 21st Century:: An interesting article from the New York Times, this piece features a 10-year development plan in Singapore which aims to go from “a garden city” to a “city in a garden” which means increasing the greenery and biodiversity of plants and wildlife around the city. Cities could [...]
As the 2011 Integrated Habitats Design Competition is getting launched, I’m looking at the winning entries from the 2010 competition in a series of posts. The goal of City Park, a seven-unit residential building is to “show how buildings should be adapted to cope with the changing climate and to minimise the heat island effect.” Next to [...]
News Requiem for a Moth:: This half-hour radio program from BBC Radio 4 is a delightful blend of science and music, all focused on moths. What’s the buzz – the conservation and ecology of urban pollinators:: “Some ecologists see urbanisation as one of the major causes of insect decline, through its effects on the availability of [...]
For as long as we’ve made dwellings for ourselves, many birds have sought to cohabit them with us. In past times beliefs and folklore made them welcome visitors and some were even sought after, while at the same time, many birds were (unfairly) feared and discouraged. Today we still welcome many species while discouraging others, [...]
News Stalled on the Bloomingdale Trail:: From Chicago Reader comes this article about the trials and problems creating a new open space in Chicago using an old rail line, similar to the High Line in New York. Once in motion, this could provide a great deal of habitat through the city. Finalists named for Vail Pass [...]
Running now through May 15th of 2011 is Presidio Habitats in San Francisco. It is a joint venture between FOR-SITE Foundation and Presidio Trust and started running May 16th of this year. The Presidio has a long and interesting military history starting in 1776 with occupation under Spain followed by Mexico and finally the United States [...]