Category Archives: Other Parts of the World

Greenfrastructure: Beitou Public Library (Taiwan)

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Beitou Public Library Going Green

The use of wood is significant. If taken from managed forests rather than primary or rain forests, it is a far greener material than concrete. Cement takes a great deal of energy to extract, heat, mix and refine. Also, the extraction of gravel for use as a concrete aggregate has damaged many of Taiwan’s rivers and hillsides.

{Exterior of the library. © Culture Taiwan}

{Interior of the library.  © Culture Taiwan}

Ying-chao Kuo (郭英釗), one of the architects who worked on the project, explains that the timber for Beitou Library was sourced from North America. It could not be obtained from anywhere nearer because logging has been effectively banned in Taiwan, and forests in Southeast Asia are not managed in a sustainable manner.

Taiwan’s hot, humid climate and insect population can be brutal for wooden structures. But rather than treat the materials with strong chemicals that might later contaminate the environment, wood oils were used to protect the timber from rotting and infestation, says Kuo, one of the partners of the Taipei-based firm Bio Architecture Formosana (九典建築師事務所), the designers of the library.

{Its large windows reducing need for air-conditioning or light in the day. © Culture Taiwan}

The library’s large windows help cut electricity use in two ways. An abundance of natural light means less interior lighting is needed. Also, the windows can be opened to provide ventilation, so reducing the need for fans and air-conditioning.

One part of the roof is covered by photovoltaic (PV) cells that are expected to convert sunlight into at least US$1,000 worth of electricity per year. Another part is covered by a 20-centimeter-thick layer of soil that provides thermal insulation. During Taipei’s chilly winters, the soil cuts heat loss through the ceiling and thereby makes the interior cozier. In the summertime, the foliage blocks some of the warmth of the sun.

{Enjoying a leisurely read close to nature. © Katie Yang}

Some plants take root and thrive on the roof, improving air quality in the immediate area.

The library conserves water by capturing rainfall. The sloping roof gathers rainwater, which is then stored and used to flush the library’s toilets.

Source: Culture Taiwan

Urban Parks (Perth)

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Kings Park & Botanic Gardens is a popular park in Perth, Australia. The Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority is committed to promoting appreciation, understanding and knowledge of our unique biodiversity and in motivating visitors to join with us in its conservation. Kings Park is known for its wide array of flora, fauna and fungi, and the parks’ natural beauty and close proximity to the city centre draws locals and tourists all year round.

They also provide free guided walks and hands-on activities about sustainable planting practices, as part of their efforts to educate visitors about conserving endangered and rare plant species and the relevance of the natural environment in our lives.

Lotterywest Federation Walkway

Incidentally, they have a tree-top bridge, one with a concept similar to that of Singapore’s Henderson Waves and also NYC’s High Line, where even walking among the canopies of the forest, you can still catch a good view of the city and the urban developments of the city. The elevated walkway and glass arched bridge are together a fusion of sculpture, architecture and engineering. Forged from richly rusted steel, the elevated steel boardwalk is a striking artwork designed to blend into the landscape so the focus is on the natural and inspiring vistas surrounding you.Such urban infrastructure are at the forefront of sustainable urban development and the efforts at building environmental awareness amongst urban dwellers – where the city dwellers can get in touch with the natural environment without completely removing themselves from their urban sensibilities.

{Lotterywest Federation Treetop walkway. © BGPA}

My family and I had actually visited Kings Park when we were holidaying in Perth a couple of years back, and the natural beauty of the park and the beauty of the city landscape from the Treetop Bridge had truly made an impression.

{Posing for a shot on the Glass Bridge © Priscilla Gan}

{A clear view of the city skyline from the bridge! © Priscilla Gan}

Human-Environment Conflict (Natural Hazards: Forest Fires)

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Other than falling trees, another natural hazard related to trees are bush or forest fires which are common in Australia.

The Big Picture reports about these fires in photos, which is really an alarming visual representation of the unintentionally and yet, devastating damage that the natural environment can cause to human communities in urban citites, when natural conservation too close to homes can become hazards.

{Melbourne. © The Big Picture}

{Melbourne. © The Big Picture}

{Melbourne. © The Big Picture}

{Christmas Hills. © The Big Picture}

{Family members react after learning that their parents Bill and Faye Walker and disabled brother Geoffrey were killed in wildfires in Marysville. © The Big Picture}

{Marysville. © The Big Picture}

Human-Environment Conflict (Natural Hazards: Falling Trees)

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Conserving and preserving the natural environment is a good thing, trees for example, help lower the temperature and provide shade for both pedestrians and drivers. The presence of trees are especially beneficial for tropical countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and most of the SEA countries.

However, the natural environment also has the potential to be destructive and elements of nature like trees can prove to be a threat to the safety of human communities when they are not managed, or when weather conditions change.

Sophie Howard, a 13-year-old girl was sitting on a bench under a tree in a Recreation Park when a tree branch sudden broke off and dropped onto her head. She sustained serious head injuries and died almost immediately. This incident was reported in the BBC News: ‘Sudden drop’ branch killed girl in Peterborough Park’ . It was definitely a devastating example of how elements of nature can be potential hazards, often unpredictably or unexpectedly.

“This occurs in mature broadleaf trees when a sudden downpour follows a long dry period and water being sucked through the tree causes the brittle branches to literally explode … Prior to this tragedy the propensity of this tree to the phenomenon of sudden branch drop had not been recognised.”

Closer to home, we’ve also experienced some accidents that could have been fatal. Despite the governments good intentions of a “Garden City”, trees alongside roads can be a huge hazard to both pedestrians and drivers if they fall.

Just 2 days ago, on Saturday, a tree along Upper Bukit Timah Road uprooted and fell through the roof of a pedestrian walkway before landing heavily on a car on the road. Due to the length of the tree, the fallen tree completely covered the width of the entire road, creating a road block. Fortunately, there no heavy traffic on the 2 lanes when the tree fell around noon. Had there been more cars, the consequences would be much more dire as cars would have crashed into one another due to the sudden obstacle.

{Tree falls suddenly and lands on car. © Asia One News}

{Tree falls completely through the roof of pedestrian walkway. © Asia One News}

When accidents like these happen, it brings up the question and debate of who should be responsible, and if there is negligence involved. In Singapore, trees along the roads are under the management of the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). The car owner from the Bukit Timah incident said that,

“flimsy would be an understatement” to describe the condition of the tree, and that SLA should do a better job of maintaining the condition of the trees.

It also appears that accidents like these happen quite frequently,

{Fallen tree branch crashes onto taxi, 60-year-old taxi driver sent to Singapore General Hospital (December 2011) ©  Channel News Asia}

Hence in the above cases we see prime examples of how there can be conflict between human communities and the natural environment. In urban areas, the natural environment needs to be conserved, and yet at the same time there are many factors to be considered in order for humans and the natural environment to co-exist safely. Sustainable urban design has to also be SAFE for the human community. Trees cannot be planted at random, their locations have to be carefully considered, and their maintenance consistent to reduce their propensity to be a hazard to humans.

Psychological Causes of Risk Mis-estimation and Failure to take Appropriate Actions

According to Ehrlick & Ornstein’s “old mind” theory, human beings ten not to notice or react to “slow motion disasters” i.e. environmental degradation that occurs gradually over long periods of time without visible changes.

Cognitive Basis for under-estimation of risks

There are so many possibilities of death, and yet our cognition is limited. There are limits to the time, energy, attention and perception that a person can devote to hazards and threats in daily life. Unless a person ignores some hazards, he or she would fall prey to the”obsessive preoccupation with risk” state that would impair any normal, productive existence (similar to effects of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). It is therefore only logical and necessary for a person to estimate the risk of certain threats and neglect some. And in this case, the most logical way to go about eliminating attention to threats is to ignore those with relatively low probabilities.

Hence in cases like death caused by natural hazards such as falling tree branches or trees, humans tend to under-estimate or completely neglect the possibility of death caused by something so common in their natural environment.

And that brings to the table, the need for consistent maintenance and regulation of our eco-urban developments and infrastructure. Even more because sustainable and eco-friendly infrastructure and developments are necessary in this time of global environmental concern, we should also invest in psychology research of our human psyche in tandem with environmental developments, such that we do not unwittingly neglect these threats that our natural environment can pose to our safety.

Even closer to home…

Urban Micro Farms (Minnesota)

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Urban Micro Farms in Minnesota 

{Urban Farming Venture in Minnesota. © Stone’s Throw Urban Farm}

Taking vacant lots between houses and turning them into productive urban farms. They are largely well-received, with a small minority of people who are worried about their property value. On the whole, the intention is to reverse the sense of decay in the neighbourhood, caused by misuse of these vacant spots for dumping use which breeds decomposition.

They have even set up their own website: Stone’s Throw Urban Farm to promote and to further advocate the idea of urban community farming. Personally, I think it has been a huge and commendable effort by these group of people, to set up an urban farming venture like this, that is unprecedented in their neighbourhood, their city. They had previously started out small with vacant, makeshift dumping grounds, but now they’re expanding their “green territory” by spreading their urban agriculture concept far and wide.

This is a great example of how humans have an impact on the urban landscape. The success story of a few individuals’  efforts at making improvements to their living spaces to reduce pollution and the depletion of the natural environment with urban development. The brainchild of a few individuals’ passion of the earth, plants and eating well has expanded beyond their dumping spots to proper land spaces where local produce flourish and are part of the local community’s supply of greens.

{Fresh local produce, the fruits of Urban Agriculture concept. © Stone’s Throw Urban Farm}

[youtube width=”600″ height=”365″ src=”http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/600855877/vacant-lots-to-vibrant-urban-farms/widget/video.html”]

Why Do People in Cities Walk Fast?

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Why People in Cities Walk Fast

{Do people in cities walk faster?}

The correlation between walking speed and population was strikingly linear. With only a couple exceptions, people in places like Brooklyn, New York (pop: 2.6 million), walked faster than those in places like Psychro, Greece (pop: 365).

The Bornsteins suggested that the intense interpersonal crowding of cities might trigger behaviors that reduced “social interference,” such as walking quickly. Other psychologists at the time bought into this idea: Stanley Milgram, for instance, believed that the sensory overload of the city prompted a social withdrawal response — in this case, a rapid motor action — to limit a person’s environmental stimulation.