architectural and infrastructural aesthetics i hope to see brought into the ecosocialist future 🌳 ecosocialism is a post-capitalist society defined by communal ownership and democratic management of the means of production 🌱 economic matters measured by qualitative use, need, or desire rather than by quantitative profit and accumulation 🌿 sustainability and leisure prioritized over growth and burnout 🌵 gift exchange prioritized over money exchange 🌾 and a reintegration of humanity into our ecological source 🌲 many believe that a setup like this would result in not only a far more equitable and libertarian society, but also a far more beautiful one as well 🌿 when workers and communities are in control of their affairs -- and when we remember that we are inherently OF nature -- work becomes play, space becomes joyous, and life becomes sacred 🍃 “Our science is utopia, our reality is eros, our desire is revolution.” 🌴 I do not own any of the pictures unless otherwise stated. Credit and sources are given. If a piece is yours and you'd like me to remove it, you need only ask.
This might sound strange but I want to see more solarpunk set in something other then perfect agrarian temperate farmland.
Deserts, Mountains, Snowy tundras and Rainy coastlines. I want to see that adaptability in action. I just think its so limited only seeing the same temperate to tropical climates presented.
So first off starting with cold climates: Hobbit holes and esrthships. These guys are great to trap in heat, and some earthship designs have an exterior shell so you can grow food year round. There's even these pre-made ones so you can slap some soil and grow whatever you want into it without having to worry! Alternatively having tightly connected clusters of houses with canopy overlaps between each other combined with isolated housing be good since ppl like to live densely in cold climates!
Next up- hot and humid! Places like Spain often has these large courtyards in the middle of the building typically with a socializing space and a water feature to hang out during the hot days. They also feature stucco- traditionally made out of lime, sand, and water and wonderfully colorful ceramic tiles or stonework on the outside of the building to soak up the heat during the day to slowly release it back into the house at night. These types of houses are usually built for multiple generations to live in at once so they often take up quite a bit of space
Desserts are wonderful places for the traditional Earthships as that's what they're built for. To capture rain, wind, and solar as much as possible and creating an oasis indoors. They also have the addition of looking like fantasy housed! Obvi you can make them a million ways but I love the whimsical nature of them.
That's all I got for now but I'll do more research for costal stuff since I'm a mountain girlie but some food for thought!
ok now imagine doing this with solar cells over bodies of water that need light occlusion to prevent evaporation, algal blooms, nuisance bird deterrents, etc...
With “green corridors” that mimic the natural forest, the Colombian city is driving down temperatures -- and could become five degrees coole
"With “green corridors” that mimic the natural forest, the Colombian city is driving down temperatures — and could become five degrees cooler over the next few decades.
In the face of a rapidly heating planet, the City of Eternal Spring — nicknamed so thanks to its year-round temperate climate — has found a way to keep its cool.
Previously, Medellín had undergone years of rapid urban expansion, which led to a severe urban heat island effect — raising temperatures in the city to significantly higher than in the surrounding suburban and rural areas. Roads and other concrete infrastructure absorb and maintain the sun’s heat for much longer than green infrastructure.
“Medellín grew at the expense of green spaces and vegetation,” says Pilar Vargas, a forest engineer working for City Hall. “We built and built and built. There wasn’t a lot of thought about the impact on the climate. It became obvious that had to change.”
Efforts began in 2016 under Medellín’s then mayor, Federico Gutiérrez (who, after completing one term in 2019, was re-elected at the end of 2023). The city launched a new approach to its urban development — one that focused on people and plants.
The $16.3 million initiative led to the creation of 30 Green Corridors along the city’s roads and waterways, improving or producing more than 70 hectares of green space, which includes 20 kilometers of shaded routes with cycle lanes and pedestrian paths.
These plant and tree-filled spaces — which connect all sorts of green areas such as the curb strips, squares, parks, vertical gardens, sidewalks, and even some of the seven hills that surround the city — produce fresh, cooling air in the face of urban heat. The corridors are also designed to mimic a natural forest with levels of low, medium and high plants, including native and tropical plants, bamboo grasses and palm trees.
Heat-trapping infrastructure like metro stations and bridges has also been greened as part of the project and government buildings have been adorned with green roofs and vertical gardens to beat the heat. The first of those was installed at Medellín’s City Hall, where nearly 100,000 plants and 12 species span the 1,810 square meter surface.
“It’s like urban acupuncture,” says Paula Zapata, advisor for Medellín at C40 Cities, a global network of about 100 of the world’s leading mayors. “The city is making these small interventions that together act to make a big impact.”
At the launch of the project, 120,000 individual plants and 12,500 trees were added to roads and parks across the city. By 2021, the figure had reached 2.5 million plants and 880,000 trees. Each has been carefully chosen to maximize their impact.
“The technical team thought a lot about the species used. They selected endemic ones that have a functional use,” explains Zapata.
The 72 species of plants and trees selected provide food for wildlife, help biodiversity to spread and fight air pollution. A study, for example, identified Mangifera indica as the best among six plant species found in Medellín at absorbing PM2.5 pollution — particulate matter that can cause asthma, bronchitis and heart disease — and surviving in polluted areas due to its “biochemical and biological mechanisms.”
And the urban planting continues to this day.
The groundwork is carried out by 150 citizen-gardeners like Pineda, who come from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds, with the support of 15 specialized forest engineers. Pineda is now the leader of a team of seven other gardeners who attend to corridors all across the city, shifting depending on the current priorities...
“I’m completely in favor of the corridors,” says [Victoria Perez, another citizen-gardener], who grew up in a poor suburb in the city of 2.5 million people. “It really improves the quality of life here.”
Wilmar Jesus, a 48-year-old Afro-Colombian farmer on his first day of the job, is pleased about the project’s possibilities for his own future. “I want to learn more and become better,” he says. “This gives me the opportunity to advance myself.”
The project’s wider impacts are like a breath of fresh air. Medellín’s temperatures fell by 2°C in the first three years of the program, and officials expect a further decrease of 4 to 5C over the next few decades, even taking into account climate change. In turn, City Hall says this will minimize the need for energy-intensive air conditioning...
In addition, the project has had a significant impact on air pollution. Between 2016 and 2019, the level of PM2.5 fell significantly, and in turn the city’s morbidity rate from acute respiratory infections decreased from 159.8 to 95.3 per 1,000 people [Note: That means the city's rate of people getting sick with lung/throat/respiratory infections.]
There’s also been a 34.6 percent rise in cycling in the city, likely due to the new bike paths built for the project, and biodiversity studies show that wildlife is coming back — one sample of five Green Corridors identified 30 different species of butterfly.
Other cities are already taking note. Bogotá and Barranquilla have adopted similar plans, among other Colombian cities, and last year São Paulo, Brazil, the largest city in South America, began expanding its corridors after launching them in 2022.
“For sure, Green Corridors could work in many other places,” says Zapata."
The number of people in the notes of this being like “lol i’m the motorist” with 0 sense of shame or self awareness is crazy. You should all get your licenses taken away
Notice how removing seating doesnt actually prevent people from sitting it just makes them uncomfortable and makes public spaces more hostile it doesnt actually work at controlling their behavior not till a pig comes along anyways and they'll harass a homeless person/teen whatever they're sitting on.
if one more person comments on my "we need to keep payphones/public phones" post with "what we need are free phone charging stations and wifi hotspots, like in new york!" i am going to lose my mind. what do you people not understand about "not everyone has a smartphone" and "phones can break". how are these new concepts.
a couple things gen alpha may not know about the differences between cell phones and payphones:
cell phones often don't work during disasters or other unusually high phone traffic. payphones are landlines, so they still work as long as they're not cut from their line.
this is also true for some remote areas: there's a reason people working on remote sites (camp sites, forestry, emergency responders, etc.) have landlines, especially in places with changeable weather that could affect radio/walkie talkies/cell service.
payphones are extra important if someone is being threatened or held against their will: a kidnapper or other nefarious person could take/break a cell phone, but the payphone is bolted to the ground, and it would look suspicious if they dragged a victim away from it. a while ago a lost kid used a payphone to call 911.
in a similar vein, many emergency systems haven't been updated to keep up with modern cell phones (we haven't even had maps on our phones for 10 years yet), so depending on where you live it can be difficult for dispatchers to figure out where you are if you're using a cell phone. since payphones don't move, dispatchers know exactly where they are and can send help faster.
to be clear, i'm not hating on cell phones (you'd have to pry mine from my cold dead hands) BUT i do think physical emergency phones and payphones fill a really important gap! it would be a hit to general safety if we lost them completely, especially for poorer or more remote folks.
pixelskylines
discoholicmusic
vaporwave
origamiaround
andulkaphoto
romaincrisis
theartofmadeline
baratheonpilled
