Urban Sustainability
Urban Sustainability
Sci – 275
10-10-14
Instructor: Karen Marasigan
By: Tyler Vesneski
The program that I chose to implement into my hometown is “How to Build a Cooler City.” “From 1878 to 2005, Los Angeles temperatures rose 4 degrees on average, climbing from around 62 degrees to 66 degrees.” Urban areas such as Downtown Los Angeles are likely to rise 4 to 4.5 degrees within the next 10 years. My goal is to cut the cost of electric energy and make the city of Los Angeles a much cooler place. The first challenge I will have is to go to city council and try to get them to back up my project and me. The next step would be to get a budget from the city and start working. I can lower the temperature of Los Angeles by implementing green roofs across the city and in particular downtown Los Angeles. The other is to lay down permeable material throughout alleyways and select streets. Both of these solutions have been used in Chicago to help lower the physical temperature of the city. For example the City Hall building in Chicago is half a regular black top roof and the other half a green roof. When measuring the temperature the black topside of the roof was about 160 degrees Fahrenheit, when on the other side of the same building, the green roof side, and the temperature dropped to about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That is an 80-degree difference. The reason the roofing is such an issue is because all that heat is trapped on top of the building and then moves into the building which makes the it much hotter inside which creates more use of air conditioning, energy, and electricity. The next goal would be to have a “save our city” fundraiser where we can raise money for the project. I truly believe that people will want to contribute and participate given that this will eventually save them money through the cost of electricity as well as the comfort of living will be more enjoyable when inside their homes and offices. To me the implementation of
Sci – 275
10-10-14
Instructor: Karen Marasigan
By: Tyler Vesneski
The program that I chose to implement into my hometown is “How to Build a Cooler City.” “From 1878 to 2005, Los Angeles temperatures rose 4 degrees on average, climbing from around 62 degrees to 66 degrees.” Urban areas such as Downtown Los Angeles are likely to rise 4 to 4.5 degrees within the next 10 years. My goal is to cut the cost of electric energy and make the city of Los Angeles a much cooler place. The first challenge I will have is to go to city council and try to get them to back up my project and me. The next step would be to get a budget from the city and start working. I can lower the temperature of Los Angeles by implementing green roofs across the city and in particular downtown Los Angeles. The other is to lay down permeable material throughout alleyways and select streets. Both of these solutions have been used in Chicago to help lower the physical temperature of the city. For example the City Hall building in Chicago is half a regular black top roof and the other half a green roof. When measuring the temperature the black topside of the roof was about 160 degrees Fahrenheit, when on the other side of the same building, the green roof side, and the temperature dropped to about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That is an 80-degree difference. The reason the roofing is such an issue is because all that heat is trapped on top of the building and then moves into the building which makes the it much hotter inside which creates more use of air conditioning, energy, and electricity. The next goal would be to have a “save our city” fundraiser where we can raise money for the project. I truly believe that people will want to contribute and participate given that this will eventually save them money through the cost of electricity as well as the comfort of living will be more enjoyable when inside their homes and offices. To me the implementation of