Urban Gardens » Greening | Urban Gardens | Unlimited Thinking For Limited Spaces

DIY Water and Energy Savings in a Box

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:00:01 +0000

The folks at Berkeley, California’s Boost Labs came up with the concept of do-it-yourself water and energy savings solutions when they were looking for easy to install, simple to use products for their own homes. Their search resulted in some … Read More...

What is Santa’s Carbon Footprint?

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:00:31 +0000

Sources: snopes.com; Nashua Telegraph; energy.cs; rivertown.patch.com; theguardian.co.uk; plantetgreen.com; carbonfund.org; eia.gov; greenblizzard.com; CIA World Factbook; New York Times; nike.com

via Ethical Ocean

China’s Growing Urban Population Sprouts Urban Farms

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:44:27 +0000

Illustration: Guillermo Munro for the China Daily.

In response to its growing urbanization, China is reinventing the “garden city” concept in order to create space for both its urban and its displaced rural citizens. Every year, more than 15 million … Read More...

Brooklyn Garden Resurrects a Forgotten Crop & Craft

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:42:04 +0000

Along Brooklyn, New York’s polluted Gowanus Canal, there’s a garden that merges horticulture, permaculture, and heritage craft making. Last Spring, two environmentally engaged Brooklyn artists planted a terraced broomcorn garden along the canal. Funded by a regrant from the … Read More...

NYC’s Alphabet City Neighborhood Botanical Garden

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:10:05 +0000

On a stroll through New York City’s Alphabet City recently, I discovered some wonderful obscure gardens–that is, I almost walked by before noticing them. Coined Alphabet City because it encompasses the areas between Avenues A through D, the neighborhood … Read More...

Urban Beehive for Design Loving Beekeepers

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:16:24 +0000

Last spring, New York City lifted its ban on urban beekeeping, joining other cities like Chicago and Paris in providing hives to rooftop bees and at the same time helping the planet. In response to the global decline of … Read More...

NYC Rooftop Farm Classroom Cultivates Minds

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:45:34 +0000

The Greenhouse on the roof of Public School 333 in Manhattan. Photo: Ari Burling

A 1400-square foot smart and sustainable hydroponic urban farm sits on the third floor rooftop of a New York City public school. It’s home to The … Read More...

Smog Eating Roof Tiles

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:10:11 +0000

A sustainable concrete roofing tile that reduces the formation of smog, BoralPure, winner of the Popular Mechanics 2011 Breakthrough Award announced today, is the only concrete tile roofing solution in the U.S. that mitigates air pollution.

The tile’s coating … Read More...

Takin’ It to the (Sustainable Urban) Streets

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 15:00:38 +0000

A concept of sustainable urban public space design, Le Jardin à La Rue (The Street Garden) was conceived by landscape designers Germaine Bourré and Julien Maiella for The International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire, France. The festival, whose theme this year … Read More...

Solar Barbecue

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 15:00:17 +0000

From France, the stainless steel Solar iD Cook barbecue uses a parabolic shaped solar mirror to concentrate sunlight on the cooking area, where food can be grilled, simmered, or steamed.

They’re Transportable
Although the products need full sun to operate … Read More...