Practical Neighborly Infrastructure

Sustainable design depends on three things: engineering, energy and architecture. Sustainable engineering building systems requires properly sizing mechanical equipment for ventilation, heating and cooling, choosing efficient electrical light fixtures, and separating plumbing systems of potable, gray and black water, and retaining and using stormwater on site. Sustainable energy can be supplied by solar, geothermal, or wind turbines, but more often it comes from power plants fueled by renewable resources (and not non-renewable resources such as oil and coal). Sustainable architecture is oriented to take advantage of light and prevailing wind for natural daylight and ventilation, is made of sustainable materials that interact with systems to provide comfort and convenience. New projects should try renovating existing structures or be located on remediated brownfield sites. Cities should fight to keep the little remaining green space, revitalize public space, and support development that is close to mass-transit.

This is a long list. Municipal infrastructure has development in populated areas replacing the need for individual wells with hand pumps for fresh water and septic fields for sewage disposal. Natural or propane gas, and oil have replace wood for cooking and heating. Instead of investing in private wells and fields, people pay utility bills. This is preferable so long as power plants are non-polluting and efficient. Only recently have some property owners been given a choice about their power supplier accepting higher costs for “greener” operations.

There is an historic precedent that suggests an alternate scale of sustainable operations between individual and regional responses. People had horses before they had cars. At that time, developers built rowhouses in cities such as Washington with back alleys. Rear yards were for kitchen and laundry functions not yet relieved by labor-saving appliances, rather than for gardens and recreation. Horses needed accommodations too, but it was expensive for every family to have a stable and employ people to take care of them. Many blocks took a collective approach and shared the expense of a stable with operators in the public alley.

Perhaps there’s a lesson here for sustainable design. Instead of tax-credits for individual upgrades taking buildings “off the grid,” or paying the high cost for power plants to switch to renewable resources for power generation (which still lose a significant portion of their energy in transmission) people could work together at the neighborhood scale. Some places with mature shade trees are well suited for stormwater collection swales while unshaded structures are ideal for solar voltaics. Buildings that are close together can channel and intensify breezes, which small spinners or twirling equipment can capture for wind-powered energy generation. When streets or alleys are re-surfaced, this is the opportunity to dig for block-scaled geothermal heating and cooling systems. Schools are permitted in residential zones because it benefits the community to educate their young children nearby, and these public facilities can contribute to the energy needs of the neighborhood. Changes to attitudes regarding sustainable construction and operation need not be a solo or regional effort. It can be practical and socially-reinforcing to share sustainably-generated energy infrastructure.