Urban Sustainable Design Studio 2009

Well we actually didn’t get to have a Jello wrestling contest, but now that I have your attention here are some possibly more exciting and more cerebral things that USDS got to do this week…

A nice combination of field trips, discussions, and project work time…

Prairie Crossing

On Monday, the group traveled up to Grayslake taking an early-morning 8:35am train.  At Prairie Crossing we toured the conservation community with one of the developers and saw firsthand the values and principles behind the development of a conservation community.

We had a delicious homemade and almost entirely locally-produced lunch, which included many vegetables right from gardens within the community!  During our lunch we discussed with other prominent community members the history of Prairie Crossing and the Prairie Crossing Institute, which currently organizing meetings, conferences, workshops and lectures that promote environmental education.  The Institute is now looking to reorganize its function and sought after USDS for an evaluation of the Institute’s goals and direction.

Interface

On Tuesday afternoon, the group met with Lindsay James, the Director of Strategic Sustainability at Interface.  We asked several questions about Lindsay’s history with Interface and how the company has become one of the most prominent leaders within the sustainability community.

Stickney Water Reclamation Plant

Stickney is the world’s largest water reclamation plant.  It is run by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), the people who clean our wastewater.  The group visited this plant Thursday (which is no short feat these days with all of the security issues, so a big thank you to Peter and Andrew for setting this opportunity up!) and saw how some of the process works.

Plastic Bag Reduction

Half of USDS is working on reducing the consumption of plastic grocery bags in Chicago this year.  On Tuesday, they had their first meeting with Alderman Schulter, and representatives from the Department of Environment and the Department of Streets and Sanitation.  At the meeting the group came to agree that there is a plastic bag problem in Chicago and plastic bag usage has symbolic value that could leverage behavior on other environmental issues.  Also, although there is talk from Chicago about implementing a policy to reduce plastic bags, we need to keep in mind who will be affected by such a policy and give them the opportunity to develop their own reduction measures before a policy is considered.  The group will be meeting again with the Alderman to discuss possible opportunities with retail stores and social institutions.  In the meantime, they are developing strategies for working with retail outlets and social institutions to disincentivize using plastic bags to bring groceries home.

Crossing Communities

The other half of USDS is working on developing a methodology for designers working in communities that differ from their own in terms of culture, norms, politics etc.  They have continued their research and are making progress.

Nudge

On Wednesday, Jessa and Sarina presented their research on the book Nudge, which delves into the methodologies of changing human behavior with small incentives rather than big pushes.  Did you know that the big curve on Lake Shore Drive used to be a deadly turn for speeders until the lines on the road were painted incrementally closer together to give the appearance that you were moving faster?  A little nudge to slow down Chicagoan speeders.