most relevant

Getting the people inspired:

• behavior change, community participation: Providing the community with a symbol of environmental mission for the citizens to share (i.e.; architecturally striking power plant that gives the citizens of Viborg, Denmark a source of pride (Beatley 261).) In another class, I remember reading from the book (also website) “WorldChanging” about a river in Seoul, Korea, that had been completely paved over for decades, but he city had instituted a project to uncover the river and develop its banks as public spaces, and giving the people their river back. The symbol the water, a life source, being resurrected, was incredibly inspiring for the citizens of Seoul.

• behavior change, systems approach: Beatley’s example of the “political dynamic” in Germany that facilitates the implementation of renewable energies. This simultaneous top-down and bottom-up (there is also popular support from the German people) systems approach makes behavior change practically effortless.

Carrot and/or stick:

• behavior change: Beatley’s example of carbon tax (stick) in Sweden resulting in dramatic rise in use of biomass energy, which results in significant savings for the community (carrot).

Public-Private sector partnerships:

• systems approach, behavior change: Beatley’s example of the city of Heidelberg’s incentive-based contract with private companies which allows for the companies to keep a high percentage of the money saved from the energy-conservation measures, while a smaller percentage is reinvested in the city. (This is a similar strategy to the Case Presentation Carlos gave in class!) Roseland mentions this type of strategy as well; “economic multipliers”: monies that are saved on energy that are re-invested in the local economy and circulate several times over. This strategy is pure genius, it’s so frustrating that more U.S. cities haven’t realized the benefits of implementation.

Making the renewable energy technology accessible:

• systems approach, behavior change strategies, community participation: Beatley’s example of housekeepers and building managers put in charge of monitoring consumption meters.
  
• behavior change, community participation: Giving citizens free/affordable equipment (i.e., Beatley’s example of Leiden’s energy company giving customers water conserving package of equipment).
  
• justice/equity, behavior change, systems approach: Roseland’s several examples of “DSM” or “demand-side management” weatherization programs that improve energy-efficiency of homes and therefore affordability of energy costs for low-income people living in poorly constructed homes. This example is of particular importance to me, as I have worked with families living in transitional housing many of whom were dealing incredible debt just from energy bills near (no exaggeration) $1,000/month (!) because of the poor quality of their homes. I volunteered for the Tompkins County Healthy Homes Project and Weatherization Assistance Program over the summer and it was wonderful to see how the community’s investment in the homes turned into massive savings for the low-income residents.

Synergistic Design that addresses multiple issues:

• Biomimmicry: many designs that Beatley mentions provide more than one creative response to a need, just as organisms perform synergistically in nature, (i.e.; Beatley’s example of PVs integrated into road and highway noise barrier, and the various examples of cogeneration).
  
• systems approach, community participation: Beatley’s example of the school in Nieuwland with mirrors that project a view of the green roof into the classroom so that the energy of the school becomes integrated into the teaching curriculum.
  Systems approach, biomimicry: Roseland talks about the six different areas of evaluation for the LEED Rating System. LEED is a systematic approach to ensuring a building’s sustainability, which, if successful, are often inherently designed in the likeness of a living organism.