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tirsdag 26. oktober 2010

LOCALS DISCUSSING THE FUTURE, SUSTAINABILITY & CITY DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN

Tekst: Erik Madsen , BYAVISEN

see this article: http://byavisen.net/2010/10/aktuelt/%E2%80%93-bergen-b%C3%B8r-bli-en-moderne-storby
BERGEN BØR BLI EN MODERNE STORBY

BYBANEN: Bybanen vil stå sentralt i byplanleggingen fremover. Fremtidige bebyggelser vil trolig komme i områdene rundt bybanestoppene,.  Foto: Silje Stavrum Norevik

Nye byggeprosjekter bør settes i gang langs Bybanen for å gjøre Bergen til en mer moderne storby i fremtiden. Det mener både bystyrepolitiker Tor Woldseth (Frp) og rektor Marianne Skjulhaug ved Arkitekthøgskolen i Bergen.

Både Woldseth og Skjulhaug er opptatt av hvordan Bergen skal se ut i fremtiden.
– Det er altfor mange tomme, store arealer som vi kunne benyttet mye bedre. Vi trenger større bydeler slik at ikke de som bor i Åsane og Laksevåg skal måtte reise inn til byen like ofte, sier Woldseth, som sitter i komité for miljø, klima og byutvikling.
Han mener Bergen må kjenne sin plass som den nest største byen i landet.
– Vi må bestemme oss for hvilken by Bergen skal være. Skal vi utgi oss for å være en jord- og landbrukskommune eller en by? spør han retorisk, før han legger til:
– Bergen er Norges nest største by og vi må starte med å bygge flere boliger. Vi skal være en i større grad moderne storby. Byen er i tillegg lite egnet for jordbruk. Områdene hvor Bybanen passerer, vil være naturlige steder for nye boliger.
Politikeren er heller ikke fornøyd med landskapet som møter de reisende bybane-passasjerene på vei mot Flesland.
– Det er bare tull at mye av begivenhetene er bondeland og kuer. Oppover mot flyplassen med Nordåsvannet er det store areal som kunne vært brukt til nye boliger. Det finnes mengder med landområder som ligger godt til rette for flere boliger og fine eiendommer, sier han.
Nye stemmer
Også rektor Marianne Skjulhaug ved Arkitekthøgskolen mener områdene på veien mot Flesland ligger til rette for byforhold.
– Hele området mellom Nordåsvannet og Flyplassveien bør utvikles til en ny bymessig struktur. Området sør for denne veien bør settes av til ulike former for matproduksjon i kombinasjon med turområder, sier hun. Skjulhaug er opptatt av byens stolte bygningshistorie, men også hun ønsker forandringer innenfor den bergenske arkitekturen.
– Det er fantastisk å oppleve historiske og virksomme områder i byen. Bergens historiske bykjerne er dagens funksjonelle sentrum, noe som skiller seg fra hovedstaden vår, sier hun og fortsetter:
– Bergen har mange kvaliteter og har nok Norges mest karakteristiske bysentrum. Likevel ville det vært flott om noen nye stemmer kunne slippe til, som et eksempel har arkitekten Rambø tegnet et fantastisk forslag til avslutningen av Skuten som ville løftet den arkitektoniske ambisjonen i byen.
Viktig balanse
Rektoren trekker frem viktigheten av kontrastene mellom det historiske og det nyskapende for en by.
– Byen er et felles minne, en stor historiebok som gir oss tilhørighet og forståelse for hva og hvor vi kommer fra, samtidig som byens endringer vil åpne for en fremtid, forklarer hun.
Bybanen vil stå sentralt i byplanleggingen fremover. Fremtidige bebyggelser vil komme i områdene rundt bybanestoppene, ifølge Skjulhaug.
– Bybanen vil helt sikkert bli stammen i bystrukturen fremover. Men en fortetting av byen er ikke uproblematisk og krever mye av innbyggere, utbyggere og politikere. Byutvikling gjør at det må forskes på nye bymodeller som kan oppfylle de drømmene om å bo og leve et godt byliv, hevder hun.
Rektoren har også noen oppfatninger om Oslo og Bergen i forhold til moderne og nyere bygg.
– Nybygging fører med seg både gode og dårlige eksempler. Operaen er helt unik, ikke bare i nasjonal sammenheng, men internasjonalt også. For Bergen er det kanskje Grieghallen som var siste tilskudd av banebrytende karakter. Bergens styrke ligger i sentrumsnære områder med mulighet for å bo med barn og naturen tett på, forteller hun.




NYTT OG GAMMELT: I Bergen sentrum kombineres det gamle og det nye. Rektor Marianne Skjulhaug ved Arkitekthøgskolen i Bergen synes det hadde vært fint om nye stemmer kunne slippe til når det gjelder utviklingen av byen.
Nytenkning
Kyrre Holmeseth er masterstudent ved Arkitekthøgskolen i Oslo. Han er selv oppvokst i Bergen, og driver for tiden prosjekter i byen, uten at han vil røpe hva han jobber med.
Studenten mener Bergen bør være moden for en nytenking innenfor arkitekturen.
– Personlig mener jeg at vi må tørre å gjøre noen nye ting som kan sette oss litt på arkitektur-agendaen, slik at vi ikke bare lever på det gamle. Vi må ikke være redde for å ha bygg som ser annerledes ut, sier han og legger til:
– Bergen skiller jo seg ut ved måten byen forholder seg til den gamle bebyggelsen og hvordan vi bygger arkitektur i terrenget i fjellsidene. Balansen mellom gammelt og noe nytt kan skape interessante kontraster, forklarer han.
Bergensk patriotisme
Den særegne og stolte tilhørigheten hos byens innfødte vil gjøre det vanskeligere for nytenking når det kommer til arkitektur i Bergen, i følge Holmeseth.
– Bergensere sin personlighet er vel et lite resultat av at vi kommer fra en by med gammel og sterk historie. Det hadde nok blitt store protester om det skulle blitt gjort noe med Bryggen.
Holmeseth synes likevel balansen mellom fortiden og nåtiden kommer dårlig ut når det nye bygget til Gulating lagmannsrett skal stå klart neste år.
– I stedet for å gi et nytt byrom som åpner seg mot plassen og lille Lungegården, blir det nå et kraftig volum som stenger inne den gamle brannstasjonen, sier han.
Også Holmeseth tror holdeplassene langs Bybanen vil være med på og skape nytt liv og flere boligområder i fremtiden.
– De fremtidige stoppene langs banen bør kunne legge grunnlag for en større by, med steder hvor man ønsker å reise til, som man ikke finner i sentrum, forklarer han til Byavisen.

SIGNALBYGG: Grieghallen er det nyeste bygget av banebrytende karakter i Bergen, mener rektor Marianne Skjulhaug ved Arkitekthøgskolen i Bergen.
Foto: Silje Stavrum Norevik

Tekst: Erik Madsen , BYAVISEN

see this article: http://byavisen.net/2010/10/aktuelt/%E2%80%93-bergen-b%C3%B8r-bli-en-moderne-storby

mandag 26. juli 2010

THE IDEA OF ARTISAN AGRICULTURE

Conventional agriculture does not integrate easily into the urban fabric. It is space consuming, requires large machinery and heavy spraying of fertilizers and pesticides is "normal". Risking dust and chemicals to drift into residential areas will always be a concern and therefore conventional agriculture becomes incompatible with modern city-living.
In the urban landscape of Bergen, stuck between mountain walls,  the artisan model can work better as it is more flexible and adaptable.

Artisan: from Italian: artigiano, is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewelry, household items, and tools. The term can also be used as an adjective to refer to the craft of hand making food products, such as bread, beverages and cheese.
Manufacture by hand and with hand tools imparts unique and individual qualities to artisanal products, in contrast to mass produced goods where every one is nearly identical.
Artisans were the dominant producers of goods before the Industrial Revolution.  Artisans employ creative thinking and manual dexterity to produce their goods. (wikipedia.com)

When speaking of building communities upon an artisan economy one can assume that the food produced is of good quality and worth celebrating simply because of the knowledge, skills and concern put in the effort of making it.

Other plus words relating to an artisan agrarian economy are; 
# low toxicity farming, agroecological farming practices with a minimum of toxic pesticides and fertilizers. 
# high value products, for urban markets comes from smaller parcels. A community will focus on high value products. (You know your neighbor will suffer if you produce bad sugarpeas or rhubarb.)
# vertically integrated economy, the focus of artisan agriculture is on finished food products. The local community benefit from transforming the raw foodstuff into final products.
# integrated infrastructure, water, waste-water, energy and solid-waste management systems offer opportunities to both integrate with urban infrastructure and turn waste into shared resources. ( Composting food waste for soil improvement,  treating urban runoff in ponds using it for irrigation (water source), using waste urban heat for green houses.
# diverse education, the urban farmers education, or training of skills, covers agroecological farming practices and possible a range of small-business management strategies (to support the vertically integrated business opportunities).
# economic diversity, mixing agriculture with processing, retail, restaurants, agro-tourism and education greater economic diversity is achieved in the community, new opportunities for the inhabitants.

Skills and knowledge are of high value,which appeals to us and inspires us.
















































onsdag 7. juli 2010

IMAGES FROM la CHAPELLE : COMMUNITY PARK PROJECT IN PARIS

See also my paris experience blog-post from city as biotope
 "....the everyday park between the rail-lines of Gare de l´Est and Rue d´Aubervilliers, Jardins d´Eole that almost lost the 12 year long fight for its right to exist to the plans for extention of a storage hall. Now it is a beautiful addition in peoples life in this aera; people working out, playing, talking, growing vegetables and fruits in the parcel-garden, having coffe and crèpe and talking, and the children experience to see how a sunflower grow, or how a turnip they planted taste when it is finished (school project)."

rue d´Aubervilliers - Jardins d´Éole











Permeable surfaces, natural seeding straws and surface water management











Parcel gardens
















Garden produce

mandag 28. juni 2010

ARTICLE ABOUT FREIBURG - THE UNOFFICIAL GERMAN ECO-CITY

In the local paper of Bergen; BT I found this article from Freiburg that describes many of the aspects I imagine can develope at Wergeland, and many other stops along the light rail in Bergen.
No cars in the streets besides from utility transport (fire, ambulance, transport of goods, service cars / buses for elder, disabled etc).
Mixed housing with homes for elder within the community.
The city has been working with an holistic approach to city planning for 40 years and therefore many of the solutions are now well organized, and logic.
The light rail and the bike are main transportation.


lørdag 24. april 2010

JANE JACOBS WALKS

Jane Jacobs was an urban thinker ahead of her time. When the great thinkers of the day were promoting freeways and auto-centric suburban development, she spotted what was being lost. To her, the best cities and neighborhoods were organic, constantly evolving communities, or networks of relationships. People knew each other and looked out for each other. Walkability was a key component in her vision of what made a city livable. One of her famous lines was that to know a city, or to know a neighbourhood, you needed to walk it.

She died just a few years ago, in her adopted home of Toronto. To honor her, friends in Toronto began the tradition of prompting people to host walks through their neighborhoods, pointed out what they like, or what Jane might have liked. In a recent interview that discussed neighbourhoods and Jane Jacobs, Richard Florida offers some reasons why we might love our home area:

So in essence a neighborhood is not just a set of individuals, but a set of relationships. I think that’s right. And the relationships are fluid. Some are longstanding and some you can plug into and play. And the places that enable those relationships to form are the places that do better.

Every time we come back to these neighborhoods that are exciting, that are great, there’s a long history behind them.

A Jane’s Walk is a chance to learn more of the local history and relationships that made local history. The experience of learning dozens of new things about your own city, and how cities work at the ground level is amazing. This year I’ll also try the experience of hosting, and sharing some recent history of my own neighborhood.

Find one in your city, or offer to host one… Click here for Canada or global cities. In the US try this direct link. They will happen simultaneously across North America and around the world on May 1 and 2, 2010.

Written by Wendy Waters at All About Cities

mandag 5. april 2010

IT´S ABOUT CONNECTING THE DOTS

OK, so easter is finally over and kindergarten will again serve me and give me some space to think starting tomorrow. Finally!
March has been a slow month for the diploma work so april will have to work better and charge this head with some good and new energy.
In my achitecture history task I mention Paul Downton and the Eco-City Builders organisation. On this page www.ecocitybuilders.org/amendment you can read the amendment of the citizens of Berkley, their (political?) approach to a more sustainable life in the city (whole version little lower in this text).
I think this was a good kick start after to much holidays, and inspirational to read it as the voices of "the citizens".


Looking at the proposals for the "The Heart of the City and Strawberry Creek at Center Street Project", it might not be quite what I expect to be the solution for f.ex access-point:Wergeland, but some of the intentions for the development are worth mentioning;
#Create opportunities for people to gather and engage in civic life and activities
#Encourage and support buildings that utilize sustainable design principles, including solar energy, rain and stormwater catchment and treatment, and other “green” design practices
#Increase current City stormwater capacity through the employment of permeable paving, natural plantings, and an underground cistern that will also serve to reduce flashing and runoff impacts farther downstream

The project adresses:
#Automobile dependence and transportation alternatives
#Pedestrian streets, public space, and street design
#The need to demonstrate effective ecological design, materials, and methods
#Education and outreach to the community
#Advanced and innovative watershed and stormwater management models
#Sustainable public infrastructure improvements
#Linkages between environmental restoration and sustainable development

[Full text of the proposed Ecocity Amendment to the Berkeley General Plan]

" The Ecocity Amendment to the General Plan

We, the citizens of Berkeley, are prepared to take part in what we believe will be the most consequential ecological endeavor of the 21st century: the rebuilding of our cities and towns in balance with nature. We understand the extreme importance of this task and accept responsibility for contributing to this healthy co-evolution of future generations and the bioregion. We also acknowledge that we are part of larger systems, both natural and social. Guided by the principles of ecology as we make decisions regarding our built environment and social structures, we will place this city upon a shared path of health and well-being. By implementing the Ecocity Amendment to the General Plan, the City of Berkeley will take the following measures to proactively reverse wasteful and ecologically damaging practices and facilitate balanced co-existence with nature, now and into the future.

Policies

The Berkeley Planning Commission and the Berkeley City Council should include the following four (4) policies in the Land Use Element of the Berkeley General Plan:

Ecocity Policy #1: Ecological Design (To facilitate the ecologically healthy city, we must design and build structures that are in balance with people and nature.)

Require the highest quality architectural and ecological design for new development projects. Require environmentally sensitive and sustainable design in new buildings, such as solar accessibility and orientation, and energy efficiency. Encourage development of public spaces in higher density city centers with ecological features such as public plazas, creek and forest restored urban environments and other amenities that enhance the pedestrian environment.

Ecocity Policy #2: Centers (Distance requires time and energy to traverse. The greater the distance people have to travel, the higher the use of resources and the greater the ecological damage. Therefore, we should be rebuilding and reorganizing into relatively compact centers, connected to efficient public transit.)

Encourage pedestrian orientation and community building by establishing centers throughout the City, ranging from small neighborhoods such as the Elmwood, to larger centers, such as 4th Street, and the largest center: the Downtown. These centers should increase appropriately in density and connect to efficient mass transit options.

Ecocity Policy #3: Heart of the City (Berkeley's central downtown core offers a powerful opportunity for successful innovation and economic development, and restoration of nature at the same time.)

On the blocks between the Downtown BART Station, Oxford Street, University Avenue and Center Street, establish the Heart of the City District in which taller buildings may be allowed, but only if the development provides transit oriented housing for a variety of income groups, exhibits environmentally sustainable ecologically sensitive design features, and incorporates natural elements, such as Strawberry Creek.

Establish provisions in the zoning ordinance for a Heart of the City Planned Unit Development (PUD) or Ecological Demonstration Project (EDP) permit process to review and approve innovative and ecological design in the Downtown that may not conform to the setback, height, parking, or other requirements of the zoning ordinance.

Ecocity Policy #4: Funding Environmental Restoration (To ensure balance between the built environment and the natural environment requires mechanisms and linkages between land development and land restoration.)

To ensure that new development funds environmental restoration:

Establish an Environmental Improvement Density Bonus for downtown projects that will generate funds for environmental improvements, such as creek restoration, reforestation, and wetlands restoration. Establish provisions that would allow additional floor area in downtown development in return for financial contributions to a local environmental fund for environmental restoration through direct purchase, purchase of easements or purchase of Transfer of Development Rights.

Establish a Transfer of Development Rights Ordinance to facilitate and fund ecological design, open space enhancements, creek restoration, natural habitat restoration and expansion of community gardens and public parks. Consider provisions that would allow development rights from ecologically sensitive or environmentally important property throughout the City to be transferred to Downtown development. Encourage a multi-disciplinary group of experts to prepare draft provisions for community, Planning Commission, and City Council consideration in drafting a TDR ordinance. "

torsdag 18. februar 2010

Fred Kent lecture-Project for Public Spaces



















Summer 2009 I was lucky to join NUDA´s summer school (www.nuda.no) in Bergen, and at this second NUDA Summer School the subject was Placemaking and Waterfront development. Fred Kent and Kathy Madden (PPS)took us through lectures, knowledge exchange, workshop and discussions. Russia, Romania, Australia, Sweden, Polen and Norway was represented, 35 people in total, that exchanged ideas and their views on public spaces and the Fishmarket, the site chosen for the workshop.




This lecture is from the University of California;