Buildings and Cities

As the traditional sodium vapor lamps used for decades in street lights begin to burn out and need replacement, many municipalities, like Detroit, are turning to LED lighting - thanks to rebates and conscientious consumer demand. Though they sometimes have higher up-front costs, LEDs have multiple benefits including long-term cost savings (as they require less maintenance), increased energy efficiency, better lighting that can help decrease crime, and less light pollution and glare.

As Seattle tries to implement bike lanes effectively, it can look to Vancouver as a success story. Vancouver’s bike lanes are physically separated from roads, making riders safer and increasing the number of people who commute by bike by 60% since 2013. After several tests and then responding to both positive and negative public feedback, Vancouver has miles of bike lanes connecting many parts of the city.

By 2050 the percentage of the world's population living in cities will increase to two-thirds with significant environmental strains. In Colombia, a company called Conceptos Plasticos collects recyclable plastic material, melts it down and moulds it into bricks used to build houses for the local community. Singapore too, is on the cutting edge of environmentally sustainable urban solutions including vertical farms and living buildings.

Harnessing body heat provides energy-saving heating to commercial and residential buildings. The Stockholm Central station in Sweden and the Mall of America in Minnesota both capture body warmth to provide some of the buildings' heat. Each has over 100,000 daily visitors during non-coronavirus times, generating substantial heat that can be captured by energy-efficient construction. Body heat is also utilized in residential spaces, where thermal insulation helps keep the warmth inside. Using body heat requires energy-efficient building materials and generally cannot provide all of a building's heating needs.

To combat the effects of rising temperatures due to climate change, Los Angeles piloted an experiment called “cool pavements,” where they coat streets with a light-colored sealant to reflect heat. Researchers are studying how effective this method is at reducing the urban heat island effect. Using a mobile sensor station, they found mixed results: While the surface temperature of the road was cooler, a person could feel warmer on the reflective roads. Figuring out how to balance different heat-mitigating strategies could be helpful as cities like Phoenix figure out how to implement cooling infrastructure.