In This Issue:

Free Webinar Wednesday | Views from the Bus | Who Owns the City? | Nominations Closing

Northampton SDAT Project | Resilience by Design | NYT Conference Highlights | FutureCities Pilot

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Strategies at a Community & District Scale

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 12:00pm-1:00pm EDT - Earn 1.0 HSW LU

Architects design cities, districts, and buildings and the impact of our present urban design approach is the source of about 70% of GHG emissions. The presenter will share emerging urban design outcomes from climate planning and effectiveness of popular strategies of GHG reductions at a block, district, and city scale.

     

Views from the Seat of a Baltimore Bus

by Nikolaus Philipsen, FAIA

Where I stand, there is no sidewalk, no crosswalk and certainly no shelter. It takes some courage to reach this point. When the grass is too wet I stand on a manhole cover that sits in the grass embankment, maybe covering the water meter for the Pep Boys auto supply store that sits right next to the stop. I am waiting for the 150 bus.

Should Cities Sell Their Assets?

by Nikolaus Philipsen, FAIA

Who owns the city? The subject of debate is neither new nor original. Cities around the world, acting more and more like asset managers and less as advocates of public interest, experiment with selling what previous generations assembled in order to ensure that the public is served, recognizing that private profit-centered interest may not do so.

Call for Nominations

RUDC Leadership Group

We are seeking nominations for members to serve on AIA RUDC Executive Committee! This year, the process has been moved online. Members will be required to submit a resume and a letter of interest for each committee application. The nomination process has been extended to 5:00 PM EST on Thursday, October 15; after that, the link will no longer be active. Appointments will be made by the end of 2015. Please note that applicants must be Architect or Associate members; the link will not work otherwise.

Northampton, MA SDAT Project Has Immediate Impact

A Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) recently convened in Northampton, Massachusetts to help the community build a framework for climate adaptation. The interdisciplinary team included Tom Liebel, FAIA, and R/UDAT veteran Tom Laging, FAIA, among others. The team's first recommendation was implemented the morning after the final presentation - Mayor David Narkewicz signed a commitment to the Compact of Mayors.

See the team's presentation, and read about the process on MassLive.com and GazetteNET.

AIA: Resilience by Design

Get caught up on how the AIA is fulfilling its commitment to creating safe, secure, and resilient communities. We provide our members with advocacy, research, and training to engage in all phases of disaster mitigation, response, recovery, and adaptation. Check out these and more:

• Report: Building Resilience
• Chapter Highlight: Baltimore Rowhouse Competition 2015
• Research: Design Guide for High Wind Wood Frame Construction

Cities for Tomorrow Conference Highlights

Several videos have been posted from the Cities of Tomorrow Conference, featuring Bjarke Ingels, founding partner and creative director of BIG, Michael Kimmelman, chief architecture critic of The New York Times, and Secretary Julián Castro, U.S. Department of HUD. Topics include social infrastructure, urbanization and 21st century transportation.

OGC FutureCities Pilot

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) in collaboration with buildingSMART International (bSI) invites sponsorship in a pilot project to help cities around the world benefit from modern standards for geospatial technologies. The Pilot, based in Europe, will demonstrate and enhance the ability of cities to use diverse, interoperating spatial technologies to deliver improved quality of life, civic initiatives and resilience.