Village Vancouver

Vancouver's Leader in Transition toward Strong, Resilient, Complete Communities

May 2012 Blog Posts (11)

A summary of social science evidence about urban greening and reduced crime in communities

Crime & Fear

There are two conflicting outlooks towards city trees and vegetation. On one hand, a natural landscape is believed to promote healing and renewal. On the other hand, the presence of vegetation is implicated as a screen for criminal activity. This article addresses the second perspective and summarizes the research findings on the relationship between urban vegetation and crimes, aggressive behavior, and safety. The science findings are not conclusive and even may…

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Added by Beth Carruthers on May 31, 2012 at 2:09pm — No Comments

An Effort to Bury a Throwaway Culture One Repair at a Time

"At Amsterdam’s first Repair Cafe, an event originally held in a theater’s foyer, then in a rented room in a former hotel and now in a community center a couple of times a month, people can bring in whatever they want to have repaired, at no cost, by volunteers who just like to fix things."

Awesome!

Read the article:…

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Added by Justice Schanfarber on May 31, 2012 at 10:05am — No Comments

Nice Interactive Site and Project

Welcome to the Nature Language Project

We love nature, fear it, play in it – but we’re losing it, and we’re losing the language to speak of it. This website is a place where you can join in a community by reading stories, sharing a story, and commenting on stories about meaningful interactions with nature. It’s also a place where you can contribute to research. If you choose, your story will be used by a research group at the University of Washington interested in the ways people…

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Added by Beth Carruthers on May 28, 2012 at 2:57pm — No Comments

New York Times: Urban Housing is going Carbon Neutral

Off-the-Grid Living in Brooklyn

TEST BUILDING The Delta in Carroll Gardens, which has been built to run entirely on solar energy,

is a showroom for a “net-zero” rental planned for Park Slope.

added: Above right, Ronald F. Faia of Voltaic Solaire,…

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Added by Randy Chatterjee on May 27, 2012 at 8:30pm — 1 Comment

Food forests in Vancouver?

I'm writing a piece about food forests for a Vancouver magazine.
Do you know of any food forests in the city?
I'm especially interested in getting photos of mature sites...
Thanks!

Added by Justice Schanfarber on May 25, 2012 at 10:46am — No Comments

Cheap soil

I have half a yard of soil in the back of my truck. Need to get it gone! Happy to deliver it to your curb for $25 if you're not too far from 25th/Knight :)

Added by Justice Schanfarber on May 24, 2012 at 9:17pm — No Comments

FREE concrete pieces (aka East Van paving stones) - Good for a walkway, small patio or permaculture herb spiral.

NOTE - Most of these have now been picked up...

FREE concrete pieces (aka East Van paving stones) from a sidewalk demo. Good for a walkway, small patio or permaculture herb spiral. Help yourself. They're in the alley behind 557 E12th (near cedar hedge). Please don't disturb the residents! If you take them, kindly let me know so I can delete this notice.

Added by Justice Schanfarber on May 14, 2012 at 3:00pm — 8 Comments

Why Killing Your Lawn Is a Good Idea—And How to Do It

Nifty little article of self-help advice from Grist Magazine

Why do we love our lawns when they don’t love us back? We pay a gardener or mow every week. We weed, edge, and blow. We aerate and add chemicals that pollute our waterways. And still, our lawns need more—often a lot more.

What’s more, a tremendous amount potable water is used to irrigate our landscapes. And because grass and the soil under it are often severely compacted, many lawns act like a paved surface that water…

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Added by Beth Carruthers on May 6, 2012 at 4:17pm — No Comments

Food fears feed global scramble for land (AlertNet)

This story is part of AlertNet’s special report Solutions For A Hungry World

By Katie Nguyen

LONDON (AlertNet) - It was designed to increase production and exports of vegetable oil, a commodity in short supply after World War Two, and foster growth in post-war Britain and Tanganyika.

Instead, Britain's scheme to carve out million-acre plantations for growing groundnuts in what is now Tanzania ended in disaster - scuppered by the thick bush that rendered machines to clear…

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Added by Beth Carruthers on May 4, 2012 at 4:25pm — No Comments

Portuguese plant seeds to cope with crisis

(Reuters) - Disillusioned by the unfulfilled promise of the cities and feeling stifled by tough austerity measures aimed at coping with an economic downturn, some Portuguese are opting out and returning to the land.

More:
Portuguese plant seeds to cope with crisis

Added by Beth Carruthers on May 4, 2012 at 4:22pm — No Comments

E. O. Wilson wants to know why you’re not protesting in the streets



By Lisa Hymas

E. O. Wilson thinks you should get out there and make some noise.  We had lots of questions for acclaimed biologist and conservationist.

Edward O. Wilson when he dropped by the Grist office recently while touring to promote his latest book, The Social Conquest of Earth.

But Wilson directed the toughest question of the day back at us: Why aren’t you young people out protesting the mess that’s being made of the planet?

As we squirmed in our seats,…

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Added by Randy Chatterjee on May 3, 2012 at 10:30am — No Comments

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