Sustainable Flatbush

You are browsing the archives ofGreen Building - 2/3 - Sustainable Flatbush.

While in Portland, I was eager to check out some of the projects spearheaded by a local organization called City Repair (“an organized group action that educates and inspires communities and individuals to creatively transform the places where they live”). One of their traffic calming “intersection repairs” turned out to be a few blocks from [...]

I attended this seminar two years ago, and it completely changed my thinking about water use. Hint: if you think you know how much water a leaky toilet wastes, think again! Water Conservation: Quench Your Thirst for Information What better way to jumpstart a sustainable summer than to learn about water conservation! Join us in [...]

Greening Your Home: Living Sustainably in Brooklyn Four free seminars conducted by Ellen Honigstock, a Registered Architect and LEED Accredited Professional. A green home uses less energy, water and natural resources; creates less waste; and is healthier and more comfortable for the occupants. Wednesday, July 18, 2007 7pm Lonelyville Cafe 154 Prospect Park Southwest, Windsor [...]

As promised, a report from Solar Summit 2007, by guest blogger Mike Adams of NY Wind. About Mike: • Mike Adams considers himself a citizen of the earth. He currently splits his time between working with Community Energy to spread the word about wind power and electric choice, working on an two organic farms, Sun [...]

(text version follows)

A request came in this morning from Solar One, the wonderful sustainability education center located on the East River in Manhattan. Their Green Renter lecture series is a fantastic resource for learning about all sorts of environmental topics, and their outdoor festivals in the summer, which feature films, music, dance, and “green” vendors, are lots [...]

Yesterday I attended an orientation seminar for building professionals seeking to become partners in NYSERDA’s Multi-Family Building Program. I felt somewhat like a spy since my actual goal is to enroll my co-op building in this program, making me a customer rather than a vendor; but it was very illuminating to learn of NYSERDA’s new [...]

Streetsblog reports that a community-driven traffic calming project, similar to that profiled in a previous post on Portland, Oregon’s Village Building Convergence, will happen here in Brooklyn this summer. It is unfortunate that the choice of location, Third Avenue and Baltic Street, is motivated by tragedy (a four-year-old boy was killed there by a Hummer [...]

Last week I attended a two-day course on Building Science Fundamentals. Why, you may ask, would a non-architect opt to use their spare time (and money) in such a way? Well… aside from having been interested in architecture since childhood, I was encouraged to attend by several (also non-architect) friends in the name of learning [...]

My friend Clarence (from Streetfilms) has just returned from the 7th Annual Village Building Convergence in Portland, Oregon. This is a 10-day-long event where “neighborhoods activate to build shared public places that they have envisioned, designed, funded, and will maintain for themselves”. One of my (and Clarence’s) favorite projects is the homemade traffic circles that [...]