Twin Cities Streets for People

When beginning to build my Ride the Talk campaign for need-based scholarships for the students of MCAD’s Sustainable Design program, I stumbled upon a cool Kickstarter campaign for the Backcountry Boiler. Devin Montgomery, a young designer turned entrepreneur, raised three times his Kickstarter fundraising goal with the help of over 500 backers to turn his sustainable design concept into reality. I was immediately enamored by Devin’s product, "a light and simple way to carry and efficiently heat water in the outdoors using just about any fuel that you can find." Read more >

Nearly time to blast off: two major deadlines on the same day. September 1st is looming. What was I thinking? Read more >

Can an urban ecovillage model be a possibility in St. Paul? This report done by Elizabeth Turner makes a compelling case for one. Here is the executive summary:

This paper explores types of development that would be most sustainable for Sparc’s Willow Reserve property, in the full economic, environmental, and social definition of the word. The concept of the Urban Ecovillage is explored in depth, and successful examples in Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and Minneapolis are profiled.

An Urban Ecovillage is defined as a community of residents with a common fervor for ecological living working towards existing in a way that is socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. This philosophy can take a wide variety of forms, although there are many commonalities. Ecovillages usually employ techniques of permaculture and co‐housing and often have a gardening component. While the first ecovillages were in rural areas, a growing number can be found in cities, where they can serve as a catalyst for sustainable development in their urban surroundings.