Sensible City » Urban Renewal

VIDEO-VAN JONES: Repost – Van Jones interview with David Gottfried “Re:Claiming ourselves”

Ian Bryan — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 05:01:36 +0000

The Re:Visionary Project – Van Jones from Urban ReVision on Vimeo.

Van Jones is an eco-visionary, award-winning human rights attorney and powerhouse speaker. He is the founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (EBC), a strategy and action center, working for justice, peace, and opportunity in urban America.

He has served on the boards of numerous environmental and nonprofit organizations, including the National Apollo Alliance, Social Venture Network, Rainforest Action Network, Bioneers, Julia Butterfly Hill’s “Circle of Life” organization and Free Press.

Van won his first major award in 1998 when he was given the Reebok Human Rights Award. Other significant awards include the international Ashoka Fellowship, selection as a World Economic Forum “Young Global Leader,” and the Rockefeller Foundation “Next Generation Leadership” Fellowship.

In the aftermath of 2005′s Hurricane Katrina, Van helped to found ColorOfChange.org, an online advocacy organization. With more than 100,000 members, Color Of Change is now the nation’s biggest e-advocacy organization tackling Black issues.
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Re: Vision Dallas is Social Media Dynamite

derekgordon — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:21:58 +0000

Over the last few weeks Sensible City has been putting Re: Vision Dallas and Urban Revision in the ears, eyes and minds of the most popular and influential blogs, media portals and news services. A big idea loves hard work and together we’ve helped spread the world for Urban Revision online. The following is a list of some of our favorite hits. Stay tuned as we aren’t done yet.

Inhabitat takes a closer look at honorable mention receiver The Co-Op

Konstructr’s Vik Duggal interviews John Greenan

Cameron Sinclair of Huffington Post discusses the greening of George Bush’s backyard

Treehugger’s Jesse Fox discusses the Re: Vision Dallas winners

Cliff Kuang and Fast Company explore the 3 ideas behind the winning entries

Dwell gives you their take on the winners

The gospel continues to spread:

Build Baby Build

NBC Dallas Fort Worth Slide Show

Sustainable Cities Collective

Larry James’ Urban Daily

Larry James’ Everyday Citizen

LEED Loop

Creative Loafing Sarasota

Architecture Competitions

Green Building and Enviro Trends

Jetson Green

Here’s what’s happening in January with Sensible City:

Ian Bryan — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:36:52 +0000

	Urban Revision will be launching Building Blocks, its international design competition which will determine the future of a fully sustainable city block, just a stones throw from City Hall in Dallas, TX. Plus, a 6-month lecture series TBD is in development.

	We’ll be steering the DC greenie/social media crowd to the LinkLive Inaugural Ball at the Corcoran.

	Sensible City will be onsite at the BETT Show in London, getting the word out for Promethean LTD to a social media audience.

	FETC kicks off just a week later in Orlando, Florida, where we’ll be hosting media for Promethean USA.

	We’ll be getting the word out for Simtrol’s new Device Manager, which saves thousands on energy bills for school systems and reduces their carbon footprint.

	Everything speeds up for the Green Cities Conference in May.Expect a fresh media blog and an exceptional event.

	We’ll be coordinating a global blogging competition (details are still a secret) and giving away some pretty exciting rewards at the end of the month.

	Ecobuild & AEC-ST Fall winds down from DC and gets ready for the Spring show in Colorado. Rounding up all media hits from the December event.

	Audubon Park Elementary in Orlando, FL will host a community / media event in one of its Activclassrooms, enabling a rare glimpse into how technology is changing teaching and learning across the nation. Invitation only, concurrent with FETC.

	We’ll be making a second visit to IGA (Instituto Guatemalteco Americano) in Guatemala City, to coordinate media outreach and distance learning initiatives with complimentary schools throughout the Americas.

	We’re asking all residents of Illinois who follow our work to consider attending the Whitehouse Inaugural Ball as a guest of the Black Star Project and Illinois Fatherhood Initiative. The raffle includes tickets to the inauguration and Illinois Ball, accommodations, airfare and a private driver.

Dallas Sets Sights on Fully Sustainable Square Block Downtown

Ian Bryan — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:53:45 +0000

Dallas, TX - December 2, 2008 — The City of Dallas will host a full-day “Design Charrette” this Friday to examine the necessary framework and community impact of what will become the first fully sustainable, urban square block in the United States. The Charrette, attended by community design and urban planning experts from across the nation, will be held at City Hall from 8:30 am until 5:30 pm. The outcome of the day will include a series of recommendations which will in turn structure an international design competition to create the actual block. That competition, which kicks off in January 2009, will invite architects and planners from around the world to translate the needs of the Dallas Community into structural designs for the future city block.

“The goal is to create the first fully sustainable block downtown,” said Brent Brown, Dallas architect and founder of the buildingcommunityWORKSHOP. “And by sustainable, we mean a place that is socially, economically and environmentally healthy. We’ll take the first step in that effort on Friday.”

Hosted by the City of Dallas, San Francisco-based Urban Re:Vision and Dallas’ buildingcommunityWORKSHOP, the Charrette will look at the common city block in an uncommon way, examining the impact of this particular city block’s development on the City of Dallas and its surrounding area. In rethinking the city block, experts will re-assess the potential value of available resources like water, waste, and air and how to strike the delicate balance between economy and equality.

“Our job on December 5th is to explore how pivotal the city block is in the urban landscape, and how it can be used as a catalyst for a whole new way of living,” said Stacey Frost, Founder of Urban Re:Vision. “This process is one that puts real people first and promotes sustainability.”

Potential requirements, barriers, and changes will be examined in an effort to pave the way for the implementation of the proposed site. This examination will also serve to aid both site-specific, and regional decision-making. Topics will include: energy systems, transportation, the natural and developed environment, community, the economy and technology.

Additional groups involved include Downtown Dallas, The Real Estate Council, Central Dallas Ministries, The Institute for Urban Policy Planning, Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture, Enterprise Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation, Vision North Texas and others. Participants from outside the Dallas area include representatives of the Biomimicry Institute, Architecture for Humanity, ARUP, Organic Architect, United States Green Building Council, and others.

Media attendance will be strictly limited, RSVP required
Location: Dallas City Hall
Date: December 5, 2008

Timeline:
8:30 – 10:30:Registration, Discussion & Mayor’s Welcome
12:00 – 1:30: Lunch / Interviews
4:00 – 5:30: Presentation of Regional Plans / Question and Analysis

CF: Inhabitat features Urban Re:Vision Re:Construct winners

Ian Bryan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:21:11 +0000

From our friends at Inhabitat…

Gunwook Nam’s Human Pump is a clever solution to the world’s water crisis that captures kinetic energy generated from human foot traffic and uses it to power a system of pumps that bring fresh drinking water to the surface in a playful, dramatic and life-saving waterfall. One of three winners in the Re:construct competition sponsored by San Fransisco’s Urban Re:Vision, the project is a brilliant example of socially responsible design targeted towards communities without easy access to water.

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CF: KRXA’s “Tomorrow Matters” RE:VISION interview with Stacey Frost

Ian Bryan — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:35:39 +0000

Deborah Lindsay of Tomorrow Matters hosted Stacey Frost for a one-hour interview on URBAN RE:VISION and its most current competitions and activities. It is one of the most elequent and comprehendable overview’s we have ever organized. Take a listen: [download mp3]. Visit Tomorrow Matter’s online: [click here].

To learn about Re:Vision 6, the latest competition in the Re:Vision series, take a few minutes to watch this video on Urban Re:Vision’s website: