This bridge across the moat of a historic Dutch fort leads visitors below the water’s surface without getting them wet.
Source: Sunken Bridge by RO&AD
Tag Archives: Infrastructure
Floating bridge by RO&AD crosses the moat of a Dutch fortress
Dutch studio RO&AD has designed a floating wooden bridge enabling visitors to cross a moat surrounding an eighteenth century fortress in Bergen op Zoom.
Source: Floating bridge by RO&AD crosses the moat of a Dutch fortress
Justin Trudeau says Liberals plan 3 years of deficits to push infrastructure – Politics – CBC News
Finally someone gets it. Borrow when rates and debt are low to invest in future growth – duh! Just ask any CEO or anyone for that matter – except politicians and knee-jerk anti-government types (unless they’re the beneficiaries of course.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says a Liberal government won’t balance the books for another three years, but will double spending on infrastructure to jump-start economic growth.
Source: Justin Trudeau says Liberals plan 3 years of deficits to push infrastructure – Politics – CBC News
Introducing ‘treeconomics’: how street trees can save our cities | Cities | The Guardian
In Toronto, researchers recently found that people living on tree-lined streets reported health benefits equivalent to being seven years younger or receiving a $10,000 salary rise. As well as studies revealing benefits from everything from improved mental health to reduced asthma, US scientists have even identified a correlation between an increase in tree-canopy cover and fewer low-weight births. And economic studies show what any estate agent swears by: leafy streets sell houses. Street trees in Portland, Oregon, yielded an increase in house prices of $1.35bn, potentially increasing annual property tax revenues by $15.3m.
Source: Introducing ‘treeconomics’: how street trees can save our cities | Cities | The Guardian
Coastal property values could erode if nourishment subsidies end — ScienceDaily
The value of many oceanfront properties on the East Coast could drop dramatically if Congress were to suddenly end federal beach nourishment subsidies. Values could fall by as much as 17 percent in towns with high property values and almost 34 percent in towns with low property values. A gradual reduction of the subsidies, in contrast, is more likely to smooth the transition to more climate-resilient coastal communities.
via Coastal property values could erode if nourishment subsidies end — ScienceDaily.
Sprawl costs US more than a trillion dollars a year | Better! Cities & Towns Online
Sprawl costs the American economy more than $1 trillion annually, according to a new study by the New Climate Economy. That’s more than $3,000 for every man, woman, and child.
These costs include greater spending on infrastructure, public service delivery and transportation. The study finds that Americans living in sprawled communities directly bear $625 billion in extra costs. In addition, all residents and businesses, regardless of where they are located, bear an extra $400 billion in external costs.
via Sprawl costs US more than a trillion dollars a year | Better! Cities & Towns Online.
Urban Life and a Microscopic Attention | Sustainable Cities Collective
Small-scale urban spaces can be rich in biodiversity, contribute important ecological benefits for human mental and physical health (McPhearson et al., 2013), and overall help to create more livable cities. Micro_urban spaces are the sandwich spaces between buildings, rooftops, walls, curbs, sidewalk cracks, and other small-scale urban spaces that exist in the fissures between linear infrastructure (e.g. roads, bridges, tunnels, rail lines) and our three dimensional gridded cities.
via Urban Life and a Microscopic Attention | Sustainable Cities Collective.
Pentagon Plans for Climate Wars
Now that the Pentagon wants to address climate change, progress may be possible.
After all we only implemented food assistance when the head of the Selective Service in WWII warned Congress that too many draftees were being rejected due to malnutrition, the interstate highway system is actually the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, and the internet and numerous other technologies were funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).
No fear, no funds.
Pentagon says we could soon be fighting climate wars | Grist.
Water Key in Iraq and Syria
Control of water as military asset:
Water Supply Key to Outcome of Conflicts in Iraq and Syria | Mother Jones.
Global Estuaries Forum
About 60 percent of the world’s population lives along estuaries and coastal areas Of the 32 largest cities in the world, 22 are located on estuaries 90 percent of Europe’s international trade passes through estuaries and their adjacent ports Coastal recreation and tourism generate between $8-$12 billion per year in the United States alone Often called the “nurseries of the sea,” estuaries provide vital nesting and feeding habitats for many aquatic plants and animals.
The Global Estuaries Forum brings together public institutions, the private sector, researchers, and NGOs from around the globe in an effort discuss and meet the pressing and immediate challenges facing our world’s most important estuaries. Follow on Twitter at @EstuariesForum.