The right kinds of plants would encourage wildlife to grow. For example, instead of leaving vast lawns, planting the right kind of shrubbery would bring in more birds. This contributes to the ecology and biodiversity of the area, while also providing structure and variety in the landscape architecture. Additionally, care for the plants in the urban area can also make a difference. For example, mowing the lawns less often than every week could increase the population of native bees and other pollinators. This increases the variety of the flora and fauna in the area. (https://e360.yale.edu/features/urban_nature_how_to_foster_biodiversity_in_worlds_cities)

Another way that design can contribute to the ecology and biodiversity is by controlling stormwater runoff. When not controlled, rain runoff is often contaminated and will introduce inorganic materials that are harmful to the environment into the ecological system. These harmful substances include oil and grease, metals, pesticides, and bacteria that are foreign to the environment and will destabilize the ecosystem. The best way to do this is to implement green infrastructure to control the infiltration of this stormwater. Green infrastructure is cost-effective and helpful to the environment. In this way, we implement features that mimic the way nature handles rainwater in the natural water cycle. One example of green infrastructure is funneling the rain water toward plants and soils that can collect this water during a storm, preventing, or at least reducing, the water from running into sewer systems and causing overflows. Green infrastructure can also help clean the water or gather water for re-use. ( https://e360.yale.edu/features/to_tackle_runoff_cities_turn_to_green_initiatives)

The goals of mitigation are to avoid dangerous human interference with the climate system, to stabilize greenhouse gas levels in a timeframe sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner. An example of mitigation is by facilitating carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is the natural uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide by environmental sinks such as trees, oceans, and soils through biological processes. Plants are among the most effective carbon sinks because of their immense use of carbon for photosynthesis. The sequestration of carbon dioxide in the plant’s root, in soil, increases agricultural productivity by acting like an organic fertilizer. [Lecture] To do this, we can plant more trees, though this would typically be effective at a large-scale led by governing bodies.

The goals of adaptation are to reduce our vulnerability to sea-level encroachment, intense extreme weather events or food insecurity. Adaptation aims to make the most of any potential beneficial opportunities associated with climate change such as longer growing seasons or increased yields in some regions. A historical example of this is the wind towers found in Iran. [Lecture] Also known as windcatchers, they can function in three ways: directing airflow downward using direct wind entry, directing airflow upwards using a wind-assisted temperature gradient, or directing airflow upwards using a solar-assisted temperature gradient. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windcatcher] These served to ventilate buildings in an age without advanced technology.

Autonomous vehicles will require less parking in popular areas such as cities, since cars will be able to move without their owners. It will also enhance personal mobility especially with senior citizens or disabled users, as they are not required to be physically fit to use autonomous vehicles alone. Pedestrian environments could be more pleasant because the vehicles adhere to traffic laws more strictly. (Lecture) However, it is unclear how travel behavior will change exactly, since there is likely significant resistance against switching to autonomous vehicles, because commuters would like to do sufficient research about its safety and benefits before they choose to switch, so it is often more convenient to stick to their current mode of transport. There are thus many various possibilities of an automated future, with some predicting that more people will drive because people who could not drive before such as youth or seniors can now use cars. Some also speculate that there will be increased shared mobility and less car ownership, since shared mobility eliminates the concern of parking, insurance and maintenance. As such, it is a challenge for city planners to create transportation plans for the future, as there is much uncertainty over the desirability of public transport when autonomous vehicles are available to the public. Additionally, autonomous vehicles may also affect where people choose to live, thus affecting their need for public or private transportation. With all this uncertainty, it is difficult to prepare for autonomous vehicles. (Guerra: Cities, Automation, and the Self Parking Elephant in the Room)

One critical issue I felt strongly about was traffic. I felt that it was unpleasant to be stuck in traffic and remain stationary. This overlaps with the section on serving a growing and shifting population. Megaregions and concentration of growth in these regions is results in extreme traffic congestion, with both passenger and freight transportation facing the aforementioned congestion. This concern is a very common topic, and the main factor in solving it is considering the cost-effectiveness and utility of any policy that aims to improve internal megaregion travel and connectivity of megaregions to the rest of the world.

I also came up with some critical issues that could be categorized under system performance and asset management. I found it unpleasant when transport networks were only connected at certain nodes, and you would have to take an indirect way around to get to your destination. I also prefer fewer changes of modes for convenience as a commuter. Expanding transport systems to accommodate these conveniences requires funding, and one of the issues with this is balancing a fixed budget between building new facilities and maintaining old ones.

A critical issue I had not considered before is the transportation around areas between urban centers within megaregions. Coming from Singapore to Berkeley, I have not have the experience of living in a small town that does not have extensive public transportation. However, there is a possibility that I may have that experience in the future. Also, with the trend of Millenials living around urban centers and Baby Boomers in suburbs or rural areas, I am unsure of what these imply but am interested to learn more.

Two key elements of tactical urbanism strategies are starting with a short-term, low-cost scalable project and the intention of long-term change. The short-term stage is first implemented, and data is gathered on the measurable variables to determine its effectiveness. The design is then tweaked and modified to more effectively achieve its goals based on user experience. When the design is tested with its modifications, it can then be implemented and expanded in other areas.

One issue with the conditions in Mumbai are the long crossings, which makes it dangerous for pedestrians. In Berkeley, most of the crossings are half the length of those in Mumbai, so it is not as dangerous. However, one issue that Berkeley has is that many streets do not have traffic lights, which makes it dangerous for pedestrians at night as it is harder for drivers to see them on the street, so they might not stop at the stop signs and pedestrian crossings.

Another issue that affects pedestrians in Mumbai is the lack of safe pedestrian refuge, unlike Berkeley, where pedestrian refuge is common.

A problem we face in Berkeley is mainly on campus, and instead of being endangered by pedestrian-vehicle interactions, we are inconvenienced by the large volume of foot traffic all going in many different directions, and endangered by vehicles that share the sidewalk like bicycles and scooters. It could be beneficial to streamline all traffic to group traffic going in similar directions and similar speeds, but this might cause greater inconvenience for these commuters than it helps them.

In Tuesday’s lecture, we talked about a technological advancement that enabled the construction of skyscrapers. This was the development of steel at low costs. Since steel could be used for building structures this meant that buildings could be higher and the same structure could be repeated at every floor.

Additionally, the development of hydraulic elevators also contributed to the feasibility of skyscrapers. Elevators enabled the accessibility of higher floors and allowed high-rise buildings to be practical.

In Carol Willis’ piece, Form Follows Finance – Skyscrapers and Skylines in New York and Chicago, she cites social historian Olivier Zunz, who describes early-twentieth century skylines as “vertical expressions of corporate power”.

This leads us to discuss the two driving forces that propelled the proliferation of skyscrapers in New York. Large-scale commercial enterprises used these outstanding buildings as a symbol of power, plastering their company names to identify themselves among other buildings in the city skyline. On the other hand, a vast number of smaller firms also desired to be closely located to these headquarters. These resulted in densely populated metropolitan areas across the country.

While tall buildings possessed significant advertising value, they also were the supply to the high demand for office space and costly sites in prime locations. As the price of space increased, corporations built more stories to cover and respond to prices, which lowered the costs of producing a square foot of rental space. Corporations were also highly attracted to the idea of owning a skyscraper because of the economic value these held, since they could collect significant rent receipts from tenants in the building, generating increased revenue for the company as they would only occupy the first few stories and rent out the rest of the space.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton