A Smarter Norfolk (Assignment 3)

My proposal for Norfolk can really be helpful to every member of the community. From students at the colleges in Norfolk, to big time business people downtown. I have two big ideas that could help immensely. One big problem is walking around Norfolk. So what i’ve proposed is to have walkways over every major street in Norfolk. So instead of it being a pain for both the drivers and the walkers to have to wait, there is no waiting on either side. Nor is there any starting and stopping and wasting gas for the drivers.

Another proposal I had is to add wind turbines in Norfolk. Because as we all know it is ALWAYS extremely windy in Norfolk. So why let that wind go to waste?! We need to take advantage of it and save tons of money. I could see wind mills changing Norfolk forever and making it a place where I and many others would most certainly want to live!

 

http://prezi.com/0gjdybg7ry3c/edit/#9_45524

The Shareable Future of Cities

  • 1. How many people does Steffen estimate we will have living in or near cities by mid-century?
  • 2. Explain how you agree or disagree with Steffen’s point that our energy use is “predestined” rather than “behavioral”.
  • 3. What correlation does Steffen make between a city’s density and its climate emissions?
  • 4. What are the “eco districts” that Steffen mentions? How you see these as feasible or unfeasible in a city like Norfolk?
  • 5. Explain how you agree or disagree with the “threshold effect” that Steffen discusses related to transportation.
  • 6. What does Steffen mean by the idea that, “…even space itself is turning into a service…”? Can you provide any examples that you see here in Norfolk or elsewhere?
  • 7. Describe your understanding of Steffen’s argument that, “…it’s not about the leaves above, but the systems below…”.
  • 8. Finally, overall in what way(s) do you see Steffen’s ideas working / not working here in Norfolk? Spend time with this question!
Question 1: Steffen estimated that we will have 8 billion living in or near cities by mid-century.
Question 2: I believe you can get a good estimate by saying predestined, but essentially i believe it is behavioral. You never really know how much energy a certain city will use until you get the results.
Question 3: He states that as density increase, climate emissions decrease.
Question 4: Steffen says that eco districts are sustainable neighborhoods that are being built in high density areas. I think this would be very hard to pull off in a place like Norfolk. However, given lots of money and time, I believe it could be done.
Question 5: I could never see this happening. People value their cars way too much and I for example wouldn’t just flat out stop driving my car, and I think many people are the same way. So for that purpose, I disagree.
Question 6: I believe what he means is that people are starting to do more things with space now. An example I can think of would be an American Family Fitness. They have workout space, classes, pools, and places to keep your kids for a bit.
Question 7: He means that just by placing nice and good looking things in a city doesn’t make it great, what you need are great POLICIES and regulations and things of that nature. It starts from WITHIN.
Question 8: I think Steffen’s ideas would greatly benefit here in Norfolk. I believe that Norfolk is heading in the right direction and people are starting to catch on to that. Therefore, they would be willing to accept new ways to make the city much better as a whole.

Abstract 1: Technology Overview and Impact

Kaplan, D. (2001). A new state of fear. (cover story). U.S. News & World Report, 131(17), 14.

 

Since 9/11, our country has been on high alert. This article talks about attacks that can be just as deadly, but not as obvious as what happened on that horrid day. I believe anthrax should be taken more seriously. I believe it is true what he says that anthrax attacks are more likely to come outside of our nation. That is because it would be much easier to attack somewhere else that it would be the United States. However, there are terrorist groups out there that dream of one day attacking the United States. So no matter how high the security, one thing remains certain. Terrorist groups out there are still trying to attack the United States every day. 9/11 changed everything, from then to now, technology has changed quite a bit. And an attack on the United States wouldn’t be nearly as obvious this time. It would come from something like Kaplan talks about, like anthrax. It is scary to me to think that a tiny little device could be placed somewhere in the US and release radiation and kill thousands. It worries me everyday. But that is something that comes with the growing of technology, if it enters the wrong hands, then it can be something that can used to harm many people. 

Living with Technology

I find myself relying more and more on my phone. I now own an iphone4 and I am constantly on it. This is how I stay up to date on the whole world. I get on twitter on my phone and I am instantly up to date! I couldn’t imagine living without it now. TECHNOLOGY IS TAKING OVER!

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