Architecture & Urban Planning

Thanks to a Switzer Foundation Professional Development Grant, I had the opportunity in January to attend the 13th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment, titled “Disasters and Environment: Science, Preparedness and Resilience.” The conference brought together experts from many disciplines and sectors to delve into the complex challenges associated with preparing for, responding to, and recovering from natural disasters.

Los Angeles, California, is one of the biggest transportation in the world, but that has major health implications for residents. Exposure to diesel fumes has an impact on everyone, and Switzer Fellow Scott Fruin documents those effects, especially on children.

The process of designing and building our house made me aware, maybe more than anything, of how closely tied the comfort of a structure is to the same energy design elements that make it efficient.

It is estimated that shipping produces 4 to 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions. In most cases, these ships are powered by diesel fuel. On today's report we learn about an innovative California technology aimed at reducing this pollution. 2007 Switzer Fellow Francisco Donez is an environmental engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9.

Every day, San Franciscans pay the price of an underfunded transportation system. We have all experienced painfully overcrowded bus rides ... or, worse yet, the bus that never shows up. Now, Muni is reducing service during Christmas week, as it is faced with a $7 million deficit this fiscal year.

We usually think of hospitals as a beacon of health, but they can have an impact on workers and patients.

The issue of historic preservation is a key element in the controversial rail project because, as the route approaches the Honolulu terminus at Ala Moana Center, it passes through one of the largest concentrations of iwi in the state: Kakaako. This district, say the experts, was once an area of sand dunes, and the sandier soil is where Hawaiians preferred for burial sites because it wasn’t appropriate for other uses and it was easier to dig there.

In study findings announced Sept. 28, UCLA researchers report that they measured air pollutants during last year's Carmageddon (July 15–17) and found that when 10 miles of the 405 closed, air quality near the shuttered portion improved within minutes, reaching levels 83 percent better than on comparable weekends. Because traffic dipped all over Southern California that weekend, air quality also improved 75 percent in parts of West Los Angeles and Santa Monica and an average of 25 percent regionally—from Ventura to Yucaipa, and Long Beach to Santa Clarita.

Last night was the annual Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) facilities tour. The BAC is a volunteer group of citizens who advise PBOT on how transportation policies and projects impact bicycling. Each year, they leave their usual City Hall meeting room to get an up-close look at bike infrastructure. Last year we explored east Portland, and this year the focus was on downtown and the inner eastside — a part of town the city commonly refers to as the central city.