Epic Huggles

October 29 Reflection

Wednesday's class was certainly an experience.  I had the role of playing one of the Greenfield Apartment Residents, which was a good role for me to play because it allowed me to look at the issue from the side of the resident, instead of the planner.  I decided to embrace the role of Greenfield Apartment resident and truly become the character I was representing.  With six kids (thanks for the shout out in the email Prof), one more on the way and a long-time resident of Greenfield Apartments, I had no interest in moving to another complex.  I wanted to see the city take what it had and improve it, instead of the trying to relocate us somewhere else.  I made sure my voice was heard throughout the discussion, but fortunately I was one of many Greenfield apartment residents present at the charette so I believe our interests were well represented.  This also had a significant impact on the end product of our group, something to consider when forming groups.

Overall though I thought the charette was an interesting process. I enjoyed hearing other peoples opinions and thoughts, but to be honest, I think you go into something like that with your own agenda and push for it as hard as possible.  It comes down to the group leader to sort-of moderate the discussion and make sure all opinions are equally represented, especially when it comes to presenting the information gathered to whoever is in charge of the charette.  I particularly enjoyed the part of the charette when we were able to design the layout of the parcel, but it was frustrating when I wanted to see something go in one place and others thought it should go elsewhere. It was easy to come out of character during this phase of the charette and bring to the table some of my land use and development knowledge, but I tried to remain true to character.

Even if the feedback collected from a charette like this one is not all used by the planning commission, it does serve a greater purpose for the community. It made my character feel like for once the local government gave a hoot about what I thought and was actually doing their job of serving the public.  It also encourages public participation that will hopefully spin off into other things as well.  In the future, I'd like to see charettes used more.

10/29 Reflection

This week’s class on the design charrette was organized very well.  Our group had several people from the Greenfield Apartment Residents and the first section which was discovering the issues, problems, and possible opportunities that could arise from the right development of the property.  Developers having the people that live in these communities do these design charrette really lets the people put forth what they would like to see built there, what would benefit them the best far as physical, economical, and social aspects of a new community.  Letting the residents semi design what the development of new community would look like to them and then the developers put their educational spin on things really can turn a dead area into a thriving place for the residents that live there and for the new residents that will move there for work in the future.  I thought our groups design charrette was awesome in the design layout department.  The trolley system for transportation was an excellent idea to help resolve the parking issues.

Discussion Oct 29 Part 2.

PART 2

For my role in tonight's charette, I'm a mom with kids. I live in a section 8 housing in a bad neighborhood. If the place gets redeveloped I may not have a place to live. I don't really want to move because I know a lot of people in the community and I don't want to take my kids out of school. However, the Greenfield complex is dangerous and needs to be redone... I guess what I want is to redevelop the greenfield so that its less dilapidated and crime ridden,but still have low income housing.

Relocation Assistance to Tenants replaced from their Homes:

http://www.hud.gov/utilities/intercept.cfm?/offices/cpd/affordablehousing/library/tenadisp.pdf

Info on Section 8:

http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/about/fact_sheet.cfm

Discussion Oct 29. Monroe DT. Part 1.

PART 1

I chose to look at Monroe, North Carolinas DT revitalization effort. I think this is an example of a traditional problem solving charrette they had a series of meetings where specific problems were identified, goals were set, and ideas for achieving those goals were discussed. Since the downtown was in a state of decline, all the participants had a common goal, to help the downtown, which is one of the strategies of a charette. it also seemed to involve a lot of people since it was advertised in the newspaper and people also seemed to feel they had an actual impact on the outcome. Those are also essential strategies to the success of charettes. Furthermore, all the essential ingredients of a charette were present including an identifiable problem (disrepair of dt), user participation (citizens were involved), involvement of professionals (workshops organized by professional designers and a guy named Henry Sandoff), adoption of short and longterm goals (prioritized issues), and a commitment to put recommendations into action (wrote new policies and created visual presentations so people could see that their community would look like).

PART 1

I chose to look at Monroe, North Carolinas DT revitalization effort. I think this is an example of a traditional problem solving charrette they had a series of meetings where specific problems were identified, goals were set, and ideas for achieving those goals were discussed. Since the downtown was in a state of decline, all the participants had a common goal, to help the downtown, which is one of the strategies of a charette. it also seemed to involve a lot of people since it was advertised in the newspaper and people also seemed to feel they had an actual impact on the outcome. Those are also essential strategies to the success of charettes. Furthermore, all the essential ingredients of a charette were present including an identifiable problem (disrepair of dt), user participation (citizens were involved), involvement of professionals (workshops organized by professional designers and a guy named Henry Sandoff), adoption of short and longterm goals (prioritized issues), and a commitment to put recommendations into action (wrote new policies and created visual presentations so people could see that their community would look like).

Charrette Class

For this post I chose the Richmond Neighborhood Charrette, which is a classic example of an interdisciplinary team category of charrette. The charrette took a holistic approach to the issue of developing Highland Park by involving specialists in many fields of practice. These included business development, housing, image and safety, education and culture, and some environmental awareness. For each area of concentration, a resource team generated appropriate goals and strategies that would help implement the overall revitalization of the district. The strategies used included having a common goal (revitalization of Highland Park), involve all factions of the community (including those not affected by the problem), maintaining a sense of individual contribution to the process (each participant selected their own goals for the project), and the charrette also resolved the conflict and placed the revitalization process in the right direction for the future. The charrette also included most, if not all, the main ingredients for success. This included involving professionals from within and outside the community (universities, architecture firms, local NGOs) and adopting long term and short term goals.

For tonight's charrette I will be the community policing officer. Apparently this development would be in the vicinity of a pretty rough neighborhood in Lynchburg. I'm for the city developing this land into something beneficial, but safety from crime will be a main concern of mine.

Oct. 29 Disccusion

PART I

For discussion, I looked at the charette done in Bangalow, Australia.  This is an area that thrived on its dairy district.  However, they town wanted to preserve and maintain its historical character, and looked towards a Leadership forum/retreat, with a focus group.  The charette team was comprised of a variety of people over two-day period.  The first day just involved the design team and the leaders of the charette; they began with a meeting which outlined the town's goals, followed by a bus and walking tour with interested citizens.  On the second day of the charette, involved an interview process with interested people from the town.  This provide the townspeople to vocalize their likes/dislikes and hopes for the outcome of the town's future.  The third day involved the collaborative efforts of the local fifth and sixth graders who were involved in community workshop.  On the fourth, and final day, a strategic plan was proposed.  The charette had many strategies to accomplish their goal, including: perception of a common goal, involvement of all factions of the community with active citizen participation, and maintaining the individual's contribution directed towards the tasks.  The ingredients of the charette was identified through the problem, with short and long term goals that active participation by a well represented portion of the town.  Although the town had a professional design team, all of the organization and planning was done within the area (unless they were going to use an outside architect which was not stated).  Bangalow, Australia had a well organized charette which really helps with participation.

PART 2

As the representative of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), I would like to take the charette opportunity to show Lynchburg and its residents the possibilities and benefits it can bring to the area.  Our mission is "Movement's Reason for Being," which is to better enable young people, especially those who need more guidance than others to achieve their full potential.  This will bring a positive impact to the area by providing students the with after school activities, as well as giving adults a way to be better engaged with the community.  The BGCA is known for its wide range of programs, which include: character/leadership, education/career, health/life skills, the arts (festivals, exhibits, etc.),  sports/fitness/recreation, and specialized initiatives (technology, helping those with disabilities, implementing family support, etc.).  The opportunities and outlets the BGCA can provide are endless.  The second website I listed is the oldest BGCA camp that is geared more towards outdoor educational and recreational experiences with the chance to develop a sense of self through their accomplishments in a safe and healthy non-urban environment.  The BGCA is a great way for students to get involved and act locally with the opportunity to explore different options nationally and internationally. 

http://www.bgca.org/

http://www.campwhitcombmason.org/

29 Oct Discussion Question

Preparing for the charette:
Housing Choice Vouchers Fact Sheet (http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/about/fact_sheet.cfm)
Low Income Working Families: Facts and Figures (http://www.urban.org/publications/900832.html)

This neighborhood needs help.  I am hoping to communicate that to those in charge of the charette.  I am not the only lower income parent living in Greenfield Apartments; we will all need somewhere to go if and when the complex is shut down.   It would be nice if the single-family homes that were planned were built, but only if they are priced affordably.  If not, I would hope to see a nice apartment complex built.  We all need to be served by our government, and right now we're not.  I plan to exercise my right to communicate my dissatisfaction to the officials in charge and push them to better serve me and my peers in the Apartments.

10/29 Discussion

Part I

The example I picked is the "Brea Revisioning Process." It would be categorized as a Interdisciplinary Team Charrette.The strategy that they used was "Perception of a common goal or sens of urgency." The ingredients that I found are: A identifiable problem, user participation, and involvement of professionals from within the community.

Part II

I am a neighborhood property owner in the city of Lynchburg. With the piece of property that is being discussed, I think it needs to be turned into a town center with places for people to walk, play grounds, shops. It should keeps a small town feeling. And I think security should be strengthen in this part of town before any development can be made with this piece of property. I think by making it into something fun that is suitable for everyone, it could help reduce the crime rate since people would have things to do and not get themselves into troubles.

http://www.lynchburgva.com/taxes.htm
http://www.lndf.org/

10/29 discussion question

Part 1

The charrette I chose was the town of Brea, California, where a huge mall was opened and had a bad impact on the downtown area.  Brea development agency wanted this new development, downtown to look and feel like the community does.  The category this charrette fell into was Traditional problem solving where the Brea by Design professionals got the community involved to help develop a visional statement of the downtown area, basically what they would like to see done far as building.  The strategy used here basically was the common perception or goal everybody had of people walking up and down the street near shopping centers, different landscapes, and give a good enhance view of the highway.  Also everybody had a sense of contributing to this overall vision process design.  Some of the essential ingredients used in this process were identify the problem of an empty downtown and then getting the professionals and community involved envisioning what they would like to see the downtown become.  Goals were set by implementing certain solutions and by getting the power and resources to make these changes occur.

Part 2

Single mothers in low income housing with children are a big concern and the department of housing and Urban development focuses on wide variety of these issues.  A mothers concern here is all about their children’s safety and well being by growing up in good neighborhood while getting a solid education.  Yet a low income mother usually cannot afford this and have to settle for less than pitiful.  The websites I provided below like the housing vouchers and section 8 housing laws help these low income families provide a safe healthy place for them and their children to live and grow up in a suitable environment.  The extra help provide will hopefully one day help these people buy there own house and live a life they have always strived for.

http://www.hud.gov/progdesc/voucher.cfm

http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/index.cfm

http://www.hud.gov/homes/index.cfm

October 29 Discussion Question

The charette I chose was the one that took place in Rock Hill, SC. I have always been interested in ways to reduce urban sprawl and from the reading, it seemed like Rock Hill was quite ahead of its time in being proactive in the prevention of sprawl development.  The overall process that took place in Rock Hill was very involved and consisted of charettes, meetings, lectures, walk-throughs and conferences that took place over a multiple year time span. The charettes that did take place fall into the interdisciplinary team charettee because Rock Hill had a vested interest in not only spurring economic development in their downtown area, but improving the quality of life for its citizens and creating a community that was accessible for all.  They brought in professionals from various fields to provide input and truly valued the input from the public.  The strategies that were used include a perception of a common goal and full citizen participation.  The community leaders made it evident that they wanted to preserve downtown as much as possible and that all efforts should lead to a revitalization of it.  To accomplish this, they used the public, including private and non-profit organizations, to give the necessary input and insight.  Some of the specific and essential ingredients I found include an identifiable problem (economic activity leaving downtown), user participation (use of public input) and involvement of professionals from within and from outside the community (invited organizations, brought in guest lectures and held conferences).

I am a single mother with 6 children struggling to make end connect.  I live in the Greenfield Apartment complex that I have called home for the last 11 years.  I don't want to leave and I am going to prove to everyone why it is so important that the neighborhood remains what it is today.  I found research at the following websites:

There is very limited Section 8 housing!

http://mylowincomehousing.com/result.php?Keywords=section%208&r=c%3EcYmtc4eqcnOwcXWpc4W{bX6oMnOwcR%3E%3E%27tfbsdi%60uzqf%3Etfbsdi%27f%3Evt%3CVT%3C7%3C2%3C2%3C%3A995842%3Ctuzmf2%607%2Fdtt%3C3%3Cjoufsdptnpt%60bggjmjbuf%602%60e3s%60efsq%3Cksfct9%3Cksfct9%3C36146%3C36146%3Cdmfbo%3C%3C0e0tfbsdi0q0joufsdptnpt0ynm0epnbjomboefs0joum0e3s0gfg0qpqdbu0w30%3Cenynm%2Fjoufsdptnpt%2Fpwfsuvsf%2Fdpn%27jqvb%60je%3E3789229%27enybsht%3E17pFOzb5[HKcMVYmzOWS%3AC7SP3%60Redxb3g{mt2BLjPBt2dR[iKRTqc%60pmB8Gs[On5vvxB.GYfR5Kkr4lvWP1FX8j6[DU6rf5ysCIl5UKO9YgwM9%60cwQqfsNOyYY%3AkbzHL5Vm%60YUNvwC6uGzCsFhcYYcHvYoz[OGd[C54hzvw47PkZq5uZMBWP9NLmJI6Sm%3AvjMZkxdomZ%3Au3fIrNZUWDrB5HLFW3XO8Wpx1QrYnl3tLnrx4lc3nB%2F%2F-ZU1{

I'm not the only one!

http://singleparents.about.com/od/legalissues/p/portrait.htm

Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment

As part of an Environmental Problem Solving Studio class I am part of, we actually had to organize and run a workshop during Sustainability Week.  Although I was active in the research and planning process for the workshop, I did not present during it therefore served in no greater capacity than any of the attendees. I will use this opportunity to reflect on what took place during this workshop, how successful it was in achieving its purpose and possible improvements we can use for future events. 

The title of this workshop was the Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment.  When President Steger made the decision to refuse to sign the Presidential Climate Commitment (PCC) earlier this year, he instead charged the Virginia Tech community to create a Climate Action Plan (CAP) unique to our campus.  A committee has since been formed between staff and students with the purpose to creating this plan and ultimately presenting it to President Steger.  However, the head of this committee is my professor, Dr. John Randolph, and he has brought the challenge of creating Virginia Tech’s CAP to our class this semester.

For Sustainability Week, we had the task of setting up the framework of a CAP and then presenting it to all those in attendance in hopes of receiving valuable ideas and feedback.  We decided to have five main categories to present on at the workshop that would be major aspects of the CAP; campus buildings, photovoltaics, dinning facilities, alternative transportation and tree canopy.  Each topic was thoroughly researched to present the current status and progress already made by the University, the variety of ways we could continue improve and recommendations that would best fit our campus.  To present, we compiled all of the information into a PowerPoint presentation that clearly outlined the main points of our research and the direction we think the University should take.  Each topic had a different representative present on it that was most knowledgeable.  After each topic was presented, we then started a sort of card storming activity where we took brief 2-3 word comments and ideas from the audience and documented them on paper.  The ideas or comments were not limited specifically to the topics we presented and were then used to focus small breakout groups of about six people that were formed shortly after we collected pages of ideas from the audience.  The breakout groups took a couple of ideas listed from the card storming activity and discussed them in detail, along with any other ideas they may have had.  Each breakout group had a designated person to record what was discussed and then presented that to everyone after the allotted time had past. From there, we posted the records of what was discussed around the room and gave everyone a green and blue sticky dot.  We instructed them to place the green dot on the idea that was most important to them and the blue dot on the idea that was second most important. This concluded the workshop.

From this event, I not only learned about the specific area of research I was assigned to, but also about the importance of public input and how to effectively use it.  It always surprises me to hear the diversity of ideas and opinions from a group of people and when you are formulating plans that will affect such a large constituency, such as a CAP, the varying viewpoints and ideas are extremely valuable to ensure your plan is as comprehensive and as thorough as possible.  After hearing from so many people, I personally felt very motivated to act and continue my effort to develop a CAP for the University because I have realized the support that exists for this within our campus and community. 

Considering the time and resources we had available to us, I believe this workshop was successful in achieving input from the public while informing them our current situation.  The design of the workshop, although a bit lengthy, was well organized overall and worked well.  It provided a range of activities to keep participants engaged and while affording them multiple opportunities to make sure their voice was heard.  If I could make any improvements, it would be to our presentations and making sure we keep them as short and precise as possible.  Also, I think a more structured card storming activity would have been beneficial to consolidate similar ideas from the audience.

VT Climate Action Commitment Workshop

On Thursday, October 23, I attended the VT Climate Action Commitment Workshop for Sustainability Week.  It was a great workshop that provided five different presentations on the progress to-date that Virginia Tech has participated in.  The first presentation was on LEED certification, which I thought was interesting that both new and old buildings can be certified.  I think this is a great opportunity for both new and old to operate more efficiently while being minimizing their environmental impact.

I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation on energy and the different steps Virginia Tech has taken to become more sustainable.  For example, I learned that Tech is in control of net metering over their electric power, which is extremely cost effective and a great give-take process.  Also, Tech has been collaborating with industry leaders and new companies at the Research Center for improving new opportunities for solar energy, especially for the proposed parking garages.  However, there are some obstacles with solar energy that Virginia Tech has been facing.  For example, the delay in financing and pay back periods, as well as tax incentives on the local, state, and federal levels, and tax breaks for homes that use solar paneling.  This presentation was extremely informative and I learned about a lot of different opportunities I can participate in to become more sustainable.

The next presentation, which was on Sustainability in the Dining Halls, was equally informative (and more enjoyable in my opinion) because it is an opportunity I feel that I can more actively participate in than the previous.  The presentation was centered on the "reduce, reuse, and recycle," in terms of reducing food waste, the possibility of introducing a "refillable" mug, and providing more opportunities for recycling.  The presenter also emphasized the importance of buying local; Virginia Tech considers "local" to be within a 500 mile radius, and even if they were to cut that a 250 mile radius, the savings on gas and other resources would be tremendous.  Another option for the dining halls to become more sustainable is to provide incentives to not using styrofoam, ie. and % charge for To-go, with a % discount for dining in.  Although the Dining Halls have become more sustainable over the years, there is still a lot more that can be done.

The fourth presentation looked at alternative transportation options within Blacksburg.  Commuting has become such a problem on campus, which the presenter stated could be reduced if students were more willing to carpool.  These passes are cheaper than the regular commuter spots, and Parking Services bases the number of CP spots on the percentage of permits that are issued.  Also, there is a bike sharing proposal that is in the works to make biking more accessible to students, as well as making the BT more student/user friendly.  I agreed with this presentation that more initiatives can be taken to provide alternative transportation to every individual commuting.

The final presentation was on "City Green".  This was the first time I was exposed to this program, which is able to assess an area and determine its canopy cover.  Trees provide a natural storm water draining systems, which reduces the impacts on the man-made systems.  Therefore, as a part of Sustainability Week, 100 trees were planted around campus, which will increase its canopy cover by 2%.  Also, trees are a great investment because they have a good return rate of an approximate saving of $10/tree.  However the only obstacles/drawbacks to this is the continued development and expansion of campus.

Each presentation provided great insight to the different opportunities Virginia Tech is participating in to become more sustainable.  After the presentation, a there was a breakout session in which all attendees and presenters formed six different groups, discussing an area of interest and what they would like to see Virginia Tech do more of in the future. At the end of the session, each group presented their areas of interest.  Everyone was then given a green and blue dot to indicate their first and second preferences, respectively, which would then be used for future proposals.

I really enjoyed the event; it presented a lot of issues and topics I was not aware Virginia Tech was actively involved in, and what challenges the campus faces to become more sustainable.  I learned a lot about the different ways you can produce your own energy, which is extremely cost effective and helps both the producer and consumer.  Learning is a great tool because it teaches something new that you can apply in your everyday life.  I felt motivated to act from the Sustainable Dining Halls presentation because I feel it is something I can start acting now.  I occasionally eat on campus, and when I do I try to eat in the dining hall.  I am a styrofoam user, but after the presentation I have become more aware and try not to do it as much.

I thought the event was very well organized, with smooth transitions from one presentation to the next.  I think each provided something different, which spurred a lot of questions for the brainstorming activity before the breakout groups.  However, I feel that the brainstorming could have been more condensed to have allowed for more time at the end when each group presented their top areas of interest.  The leaders facilitated the event very well, keeping check on the time, and making sure the brainstorming was a thought and not an explanation.  The only recommendation I would make would be to allow time for the presentations for Q&A; I think this is what caused a time crunch at the very end.  Other than that, it was a great event, leaving the participants talking and having the feeling for a positive and more sustainable change for campus.

IVAW Event

I attended the event of ex-marine Adam Kokesh who served in Iraq from 1999-2006 and is now a member of the Iraq Veterans Against War.  The event was sponsored by Amnesty International Virginia Tech, Global Justice Alliance Virginia Tech, and Coalition for Justice.  Adam decided early in life it was his duty to serve and honor this country and he did so by enlisting into the marines after he graduated from school.  After boot camp he was sent to Iraq for one term and then reenlisted for a second term.  After many years in Iraq and then back in the states he decided his calling was the IVAW (Iraq Veterans Against War). Adam gave an excellent speech; he is very well educated in war, government, and politics.  His speech was very personnel with a lot of emotion involved, which made for a very intense speech, which definitely held the attention of the audience.  I learned a lot about what really occurs in the Iraq war.  People devise their own reasons on what this war was really about, possibly oil?  Though after we created a huge mess over there with the early air flight attacks, it was time to clean up our mess and help the people of Iraq and reform their government.  After serving in Iraq, Adams sense of serving his country for honor was lost through certain acts he witness, acts he thought he would never do, and such acts he didn’t do, but some what participated in.  Adam stated that life is cheap, “when we kill an Iraq civilian we pay the family 2,500 dollars and when a US troop gets killed in action, their family receives 400,000 dollars”, but supposedly our troops die with honor and pride, that’s all bullshit, their nothing but a tool to get the job done for the US government.  Adams intent to help the Iraq people was inaccurate and soon found out the American troops did nothing but create a bigger mess and create more enemies extending the war further and possibly creating a war on our on turf in the future after our troops leave Iraq.  Adam stated that during his second enlistment term, “the US troops had no pride or passion for helping the Iraq people; it was all about staying alive”.  After Adams return to the states, he had anxiety attacks, withdraw symptoms from not having weapons with him at all times.  He applied for VA treatment but was denied because certain aspects could not be proven, like whether for not he was crazy before he went to war.  I’m pretty sure anybody who enlists into the marines is some what crazy.  This incident gave him the last push he needed for his anti-war involvement and has being traveling the world since then giving speeches.  Adam wears a white arm band signifying that he doesn’t pay income taxes and personally told us, if we were against the war to stop paying income taxes, but I’m pretty positive jail time will be issued if taxes are not paid.  Adams talk was formal speech making, then he took questions and answered them.  I thought it could have been a little more informal discussion, since it was such a small group of people there.  This event could have been publicized more by advertisements in the papers, online, and newspaper ads to help get the word out about the event.  The leaders done all the organizing for this event and they did a good job.

10/29 Discussion Question

Part I.

The charrette I chose was the Town of Murfreesboro, NC.  The category that Sanoff and Wiley established that this charrette falls in to is the educational charrette.  The town’s main goal was to preserve their history, and in order to do that, they focused on the historic district, its architecture, and the layout of the town.  The strategies that they used were that there was a perception of a common goal (preserving their history), involvement of community members in creating individual and collective goals, and directing the energy towards the community’s focal goals.  The more specific “ingredients” that were used in this process was that the community was able to identify their problem/issue (loss of historical feeling), used outside professionals to help solidify goals through a “design game” process and with that showed what it would “look like,” created short term and long term goals, and with those goals created, they have implemented them continually over time, updating them as goals change. Thus, they’ve been able to establish a historic center that can be visited, read about in brochures, etc.

Part II.

As a single mother in a low income area, I am concerned about my children’s safety and ability to grow up in a friendly area.  My housing area is not safe, but I cannot afford to go elsewhere. With the Section 8 subsidies ending soon, I am concerned about where I am going to live because of affordability. I would love to own my own home, so I could provide a place for my children to play. I know that HUD offers homes that have been foreclosed for purchase. They also offer housing vouchers so I can choose where I live. This could allow me to choose a home that is in an area I like, yet can provide the things I need such as safety for my children and a landlord that actually invests in his properties and fixes problems in a timely manner. I would like to see low-income family housing in the new development that was under the Section 8 housing laws, so that I can provide a safe, healthy place for myself and my children because with the extra help, I can afford health insurance, food, and can possibly save money in order to purchase my own house one day.

http://www.hud.gov

http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/about/fact_sheet.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_8_Housing_Choice_Voucher

http://www.feedingamerica.org/learn_about_hunger/fact_sheet/lowincome_families.html 

Town of Blacksburg Sustainable Workshop

I was one of the presenters for the Town of Blacksburg Climate Action Plan Workshop on Thursday, October 23. This is part of my grade for Climate Action Plan Studio with Dr. Randolph. There are three parts to the workshop, presentations (60 minutes), brainstorming (25 minutes), and small group break out (60 minutes). There are six different topics that were presented: Town and Commercial Building, Residential Energy, Renewable Energy (I presented on this topic), Transportation, Tree Canopy, and Water and Recycling.

I learned a lot about Renewable energy sources from the research that my group and I did. There are so many technologies out there that have been developed recently. We used Wind Power, Biodiesel, Geothermal, and Photovoltaic Arrays as our examples for alternative renewable energy sources. There are a lot more available. But these can only become more of a norm among the Blacksburg community of there were more incentives and policies that would encourage and/or help people to be able to afford them.

But beside that, from the presentation of one of my fellow presenters, I was impressed with the impact that recycling has on the environment. The data that was presented really makes me want to do a better job at recycling. And composting is another thing that I would like to be able to do more. My kitchen produces tons of waste. If everyone started a composting bucket and only compost 25% of their waste that would otherwise end up in landfills, it could reduce our geological footprints significantly. Sarah, the presenter for this topic also suggested that the town gives out a sustainable kit, which includes 2 low flow shower heads, one low capacity toilet tank, and one air bag to go into the toilet tank. If everyone uses these efficient upgrades in their houses, the town would be able to save so much water and energy that would have to go into treating waste water.

The Town and Commercial buildings together with Residential Buildings sessions were also very helpful for me to understand better the concept of building efficiency. We would be a lot more sustainable if everyone is more aware of how easy it is to do little things such as turn off the water, the lights, ect. when you leave a room. I became a little more aware of how wastefull I am with water. I usually let the tap run the whole time while doing the dishes or brushing my teeth when there is really no need for the water to be on.

The Brainstorming session was also very informative. This time was dedicated to go around the room and let the audience participate in contributing to our climate action plan for the town. Many ideas were tossed around. Most of these participants are students and faculties. This really gave them a chance to express their ideas to help the town achieve a more sustainable goal. It also helped us, as a class, to get more suggestions and incorporate them into our working plan for a more sustainable Blacksburg. And we also learned a lot about Sustainable Blacksburg, a program that the town has put together, from one of our participants.

I think the Workshop was very well organized. I could be biased since I was one of many people who put it together. The different topics worked well together. All the speakers did a good job of consolidating their data to eight minutes and were very opened to the comments that were made by the audience. Dr. Randolph made sure that the meeting was on target. I think he was very efficient at keeping the meeting flow smoothly. It was rather hard for us to be able to end on time without Dr. Randolph keeping the pace.

Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment Workshop

As part of Sustainability Week, I attended the Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment workshop on Thursday. The workshop’s goal was to present progress to-date toward developing the VTCAC, identify opportunities and strategies to reduce green house gas emissions on the Virginia Tech campus, identify obstacles and constraints to potential action strategies, and discuss other sustainability initiatives such as green buildings, dining hall waste reduction, and planting more trees on campus.

I first part of the workshop was a general overview of sustainability programs on campus, and how student organizations and the new sustainability task force had progressed on drafting the VTCAC. The VTCAC is basically a plan being worked on by various student, faculty, and Blacksburg groups that would make Virginia Tech “carbon neutral”. These plans have been implemented by other universities across the country with much success. Normally the school’s administration would work to develop the plan, but when President Steger didn’t sign the Presidential Climate Commitment last December, the task was placed on the students and faculty of the university.

The second part of the workshop involved a brainstorming session which lasted about 25 minutes. During this time anyone in the audience shouted out ideas that would Virginia Tech reach its carbon neutral goal, and scribes kept tract of them on pieces of paper. I feel as if this portion of the workshop was very effective, because it allowed everyone attending to become involved with developing the VTCAC. After the brainstorming session was over, we counted off into numbered breakout groups for about 25 minutes. In these small groups we discussed the ideas we liked from the brainstorm and how we could make them happen. My favorite ones were a carbon cap and trade program between departments, a bike share program, a green student fee, requiring environmental courses to be taken during your stay at VT, and using local food in the dining halls. Each group then presented their favorite ideas to the other groups, and the workshop was over.

A lot of what the workshop covered wasn’t new to me. The Environmental Coalition has been very involved with developing the VTCAC and has worked hard to raise awareness of environmental issues on campus. However, the workshop did introduce me to new alternatives that the school could implement in order to reduce emissions that I hadn’t thought of before. In the small groups I was also very motivated to act. Being around others that are interested in sustainability on campus and actually working on developing this historic campus policy really made me excited about the direction this university is taking on this issue.

The entire workshop felt a little rushed, and the workshop’s facilitator (John Randolph) was a little TOO determined to stay on schedule. He kept interrupting people speaking to speed things up, and I feel as if this hurriedness stifled conversation a bit. If I were to hold this workshop again I would probably stretch it just a bit longer in order to ensure that everyone that wants to give input could. The waning minutes of the workshop (the breakout group presentations) were too important not to allow adequate time for discussion.

However, for the most part the workshop went well and was very informative.

Oct. 22 Reflection

I really enjoyed this past week's class, especially the variety of topics and presentations. The two presentations on social media provided a new insight to different opportunities to "meet" people.  I use meet in quotations because I find the social network of a second-life a bit bizarre.  Although it is a social network, it lacks any face-to-face interaction, which I think is crucial for today's society.  The flash mobs on the other hand provides the interaction, but because it is such a new concept, I think it would be too confusing for the general public to understand the concept.  I am not implying that the public has to be "dumbed-down"  but rather that the concept and message could be hard to understand.  I feel like some social networks are better with some kind of face-to-face interaction.

I feel like this is represented from the movie we watched in class.  It focused on the collaborative efforts to reach a goal, all done through face-to-face interaction.  When this element is eliminated, messages and attitudes can be misinterpreted, providing completely different outcomes for the goal in mind.  Our group had a great discussion, which emphasized the collaboration between groups to better enable group participation.  This was also represented in the cardstorming process, which I think is a great way to look at the bigger picture.

Reflection for Oct 22

Class was interesting for the most part last week, but I still have no idea what the hell a "flashmob" is supposed to accomplish and second life is definitely creepy. I understand that with using second life we could cut down on travel costs, traffic, pollution emissions, etc. associated with attending meetings/conferences/classes, but I still feel that most issues couldn't be resolved as effectively in this manner. I might be feeling my age, but I still feel human-human interaction (not avatar-avatar) is the best medium for deliberation and consensus building.

I also agree that public deliberation and collaboration are the best tools out there to solve wicked problems. Deliberation allows to put complex issues into context, broadens our self-interest, increases the willingness for people to get involved, and helps us develop a better handle on a number of issues. Like the readings stated, it just increases our knowledge as a whole and develops social capital.

However, I feel as if public deliberation works for certain problems and not others. As for smart growth and urban development public deliberation seems to be a great fit. I feel as if development decisions should be made by the entire community and not just the officeholders and developers. I wish more communities would allow the public to become more involved in these decisions, because if they had been we wouldn't be building another Wal-Mart in Blacksburg. I feel as if certain communities, like Blacksburg, are a little too set in their ways regarding development decisions. Yeah they may open up hearings to the public, but I feel as if the citizens of Blacksburg don't have anyone backing them up. The officials just listen to what the two or three people that show up to these meetings have to say, and then do what the town government wanted anyway.

Also public deliberation doesn't really apply to solving global warming either. I feel that the process is just too slow to address the issue before its too late. I have stated earlier that a MASSIVE shift in public policy regarding energy use and acceptance of alternative energy sources will require much more governmental doing. Public deliberation could be used more for general raising of awareness, but as for solving the issue entirely...I just don't see it.

Reflection on October 22

The movie on Smart growth was very informing for me. Even though I grew up in Northern Vermont, I did not experience the issues that the video portrayed. Part of it is because although New England is a rather small area, it's still not the same everywhere. I realized that was a very obvious thing. But there are still so many areas in New England that are way under developed. My family practically live in the wood with our closest neighbor being two miles away. There were never any new development going on in town that needed the community's input that I ever learned about. And towns like this are not abnormal in northern states of New England. I don't know if one day they are all going to be developed into any typical American town and lose their beauty. I hope if there is going to be developments going on, the community will be able to participate in it though.

Our card storming session was fun. I always heard of GM Food being bad for you. But I learned that they are actually not, or not yet determined to be bad at least. I guess there are tons of myths out there about foods and other products nowadays that it's really hard for consumers to really make wise choices regarding what they want and don't want to buy. I wonder if it is going to get worse to a point where we actually have to go back to farming our own produce and live stocks for us to not be paranoid of what we eat.

October 22 Class Reflection

This past Wednesday's class was very enlightening for me.  The two presentations based off the externals shed light onto a topic that I am unfamiliar with, social networking.  I think we can all agree Facebook is a pretty mainstream, accepted form of social networking, but the Second Life network and flash mob activity took the idea of communicating to others to a whole new level for me.  The idea of Second Life is a little too extreme for my tastes; I'm happy with who I am as a person and don't need to create a 'second life' online.  However, flash mobs seemed like a new, modern form of protest, political or not, that is the result of the Internet generation.  Although I've heard of some flash mobs that seem to originate out of straight boredem, some acutally have a worthwhile and benefical purpose to them.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the video clip we watched about the redevelopment of a town in New England.  Perhpas the most interesting part of the process they followed to redevlop the site was how they formed a committee of citizens, stakeholders and town officials to determine just what exactly they wanted to see built, made those plans public and accepted bids from developers to build according to the plans.  This seemed backwards to how development/redvelopment typically takes place, but also made a lot of sense in terms of streamlining the planning and permitting process because the developer already has the support of the community and planning commission.  I'd like to see this method take place more often.