Author: The Planning Lady
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The 15 Minute City
The latest trend in city planning is the 15 minute city—the idea that everyone should have access to everyday services within a 15 minute walk or bike ride. The 15 minute city is really just cities before cars were invented. Without easy transportation that allowed us to travel long distances quickly we built our cities…
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Urban Tree Benefits
This weekend I planted my third tree, but the first in the boulevard (space between the street and the sidewalk). I had been waiting to get this done, with busy schedules and a summer heat wave delaying the project. As a city planner I was well aware of boulevard or street tree programs which provided…
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Backyard Chickens
Just over a week ago I purchased three Rhode Island Red chickens and set up my first brooder in the basement. I have been considering raising chickens for some time and finally decided now was the time. The long winter gave me plenty of time to research and plan for their arrival. They have been…
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Planting the Seed
I was about eight when I started my first garden. My mom helped me tear up a two foot by about ten foot strip of grass next to the west side of the house and we planted beans, carrots, and a few other items. It was a small patch, but I thoroughly enjoyed taking care…
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How to Live Sustainably: A Journey to Self-Reliance
Over the last few months I have been reading and thinking more about what a self sufficient life would look like in today’s modern world. It was not that long ago that people still made, grew, and fixed broken items themselves. Today companies intentionally make products to be thrown away when they break and make…
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10 Habits to Reduce Your Environmental Impact
We now have almost unanimous support in the scientific community that climate change is caused by humans. Dissenting opinions try to say weather fluctuates, which is true, but it does not mean climate change is not a threat. But there is a difference between climate change and weather. Weather is day to day changes while…
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The Net Zero Home: Eliminating an Energy Bill
Net zero homes produce as much energy as they use. A net zero home is not only great for the environment, but your wallet and health as well. While net zero is a method unto itself, similar programs that work towards reducing energy use and leakage in a home include Passive House, Energy Star, National…
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The Eco District
Scaling down further from my last post on the ecocity, this article dives into the ecodistrict. The ecodistrict, a concept that started in Europe, is based on the idea of achieving greater sustainability impacts through a district scale approach. These districts focus on the relation of energy, transportation, water, and land use and the most…
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The Eco City
Similar to my last post on sustainable cities, an ecocity is one that strives for sustainability and a healthy environment for its citizens and is modeled after the structure and function of natural ecosystems. Cities that strive for this label provide transportation networks for all travelers (transit, bike, pedestrian, and cars), integrate greenspace into the…
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Key Factors in Building Sustainable Cities
What makes a city sustainable? To me a sustainable city depends on a number of factors including land use patterns and growth, transportation, building reuse, energy and building code adoption, and green energy production. The most sustainable city would be one with a dense, urban fabric that supported public transportation as well as bicycle and…
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The Planning Lady 