The IPCC concluded last year that we have to cut our CO2 emissions almost in half in the next dozen years if we are going to have any hope of limiting the damages from climate change. Given the enormity of this task, I assigned each of my 60 students studying sustainable design at Ryerson School of Interior Design a different facet of the problem of greenhouse gas emissions.
Each student had to look at the history of the issue and how we got here, why it is a problem now, and what we have to do to fix it. I am publishing some of the best here on TreeHugger, like this one by Bryant Serre. These were prepared as slideshows for the class, and I have included all the slides here, so I apologize in advance for all the clicks.
Walkability is a fairly robust topic, hence, why to build upon many of the other presentations thus far, I am going to tackle walking from a strictly utilitarian urban perspective; mostly because cities and walkable centers and communities are at the center of urban design and research. But also, because pedestrianism can arguably be viewed as the last hope for cities.
I will also touch on the ownership of the street, as it leads to many of the problems with pedestrianism.
I also want to talk about what pedestrianism and complete streets offer to the cityscape, as it may be the best solution for efficiency in city layout and design.
And finally, I want to talk about my personal theory about the walkability of cities. What I call the community adhesive.
