Regenerative medians: many suburban streets are 35-50 ft wide, unnecessarily using space that could be devoted to producing ecological, social and economic resources. Medians could be built in the center, separating the two lanes of traffic and still leaving room for parking on one side of the street. The medians could then be used to cultivate fruits and vegetables, which could be sold at a community grocery stand stationed on the same median. A localized water treatment system could even be tied into the existing infrastructure, using treated local water to feed the crops, lowering the community’s dependence on distant water supplies. The medians could also help to increase pedestrianism and social interaction within the neighborhood.
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Big box stores turned biofuel generators: with seemingly little investment, abandoned big box stores could be used to harvest algae, which is inexpensive and grows on waste nutrients. Algae produces between 5,000 and 15,000 gallons of oil per acre per year, which is 10 times its next yield competitor (palm oil). It’s estimated that one abandoned Wal-Mart or Home Depot can easily exceed 100,000 gallons of biolfuel production per year. Additionally, parking lot space could be converted to solar collection and wind turbine space, producing clean electric power, which could be used to charge numerous electric cars.
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Abandoned McMansions turned to wetlands and natural water filtration systems: vacant McMansions at the periphery of cities can be converted into eco-water treatment machines in which a micro-ecosystem of plants, algae, bacteria fish and clams are present to purify the water. A micro-wetland ecosystem built in this way could help to sustain larger wetland growth and help provide clean water to urban centers. The highway system could also be transformed into a multifunctional infrastructure that transports cars, trains and bikes, as well as forming a network to help with the transport of water.
These are just a few of the creative solutions that are forming in these ever changing times. And as they change, we change, and we ask, why did we come here?
source: http://www.re-burbia.com/finalists/
