Parks and Trails as a Catalyst for Revitalization

This Stuff Works

I’ve mentioned before that the Atlanta Beltline is one of my favorite projects in the country.  My connection to Atlanta spans a couple of phases in my life and I’ve been trying to keep up with the progress of the Beltline and also stay attuned to the challenges they face as they move the project forward.  Recent articles and videos have debated certain merits of the project (some are already complaining it is too crowded) and comparisons are being made to the economic development associated with the 1996 Olympics.  I was there during the Olympics (very fun times by the way) and saw first hand some of the development that occurred in and around Atlanta.  Some of that development was simply window dressing, hiding the undesirable underbelly of Atlanta from the prying eyes of the international community.  Some of the development was more comprehensive and community-based in nature and has had long-lasting positive effects.  Due to its sprawling nature and the lack of inhibiting geography, Atlanta has so many pockets of communities spread throughout the City (I’m talking ITP/inside the perimeter).  What intrigues me the most about the Beltline is the vision to connect many of these communities in ways that allow you to travel in a manner that does not involve a car.  As someone who spent 2 – 5+ hours a day in my car while working in and around Atlanta, I’ve come to appreciate the improved quality of life one experiences when transportation options are greater and commute times are less (Charleston, stop complaining about your “traffic problems”).

The way the Beltline utilizes systems of parks and trails to connect communities is not a new concept but one that if done right can do more than simply improve transportation.  It encourages investment and furthers economic development.  It creates healthier communities and individuals.  This rails to trails movement is strong throughout the country and now my very own Charleston has a great opportunity to make its own statement and along the way, add value to an area that is primed for revitalization.  I attended an Urban Land Institute meeting this morning and listened to Kate Nevin of Enough Pie and Tom Bradford of Charleston Moves introduce their ideas around the concept of a “LowLine” in the upper peninsula part of the City of Charleston.  I’m assuming the name pays homage to New York’s HighLine and maybe Atlanta’s Beltline but regardless the idea of a lowline in the Lowcountry is gaining momentum.  The connection that almost 1.5 miles of unused railroad tracks totaling close to 55 acres has to revitalizing an underutilized and geographic important area of the city is becoming more and more evident.  I look forward to hearing the progress of the LowLine concept play out and will pay close attention to the synergies created for revitalizing that part of town.  It is evident to me that parks and trails can transform  our communities and become not only a catalyst for revitalization but also a valued asset for many years to come.

My Beltline Visit Last Week

Map of Eastside Trail

I was in Atlanta last week for the Southeast Energy Alliance Conference (SEEA) and I had an opportunity one cold and rainy morning to explore a section of the Beltine that runs approximately from Piedmont Park to the Inman Park area.  It was great seeing the progress of the project.  The section I ran/ jogged/walked/splashed through included the Ponce City Market project (the largest adaptive reuse project in Atlanta’s history) by Jamestown who is also developing Mixson in my own backyard of North Charleston (The Sustainability Institute has an office there) and we enjoy the partnering our organizations have collaborated on thus far…but I digress…the path I took also winded through Piedmont Park, the Historic Fourth Ward Park, and a yet to be finished section of the Beltline.  Below are pictures I took along the way.

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Energy Retrofit for a Deserving Veteran!

The Sustainability Institute’s Energy Conservation Corps (ECC) teamed up with South Carolina Association of Heating and Air-Conditioning Contractors (SCAHACC) – Lowcountry branch, for the retrofit on the home of a deserving North Charleston military veteran!

ECC members, who a part of an AmeriCorps supported workforce training program through The Sustainability Institute,  worked side-by-side with the top Lowcountry HVAC pros on this project – resulting in a projected 28% yearly energy savings  = $1,221 saved annually.

Check out the video! SCAHACC plans to implement similar retrofit projects, for deserving families, among the other 10 chapters across South Carolina-

Historic Structure Receives Energy Retrofit

As Part of the CharlestonWISE Impact Project, this historic Charleston home built around 1880 received an energy retrofit.  The CharlestonWISE Impact Project is a partnership program between the City of Charleston and The Sustainability Institute (SI), and funded through a grant from the Sustainable Cities Institute.  The Project provided valuable support for the growth and development of the CharlestonWISE program through data collection, community outreach, market analysis and workforce development.  I helped to complete the project as one of my first responsibilities at SI.  During 2011 and 2012 the Project performed 152 home energy assessments and 17 home energy retrofits on homes throughout the City of Charleston. These assessments provided much needed information on how our homes use energy and how we can better help all Charleston residents reduce their energy use and have healthy, comfortable, energy-efficient homes.  17 out of the 152 homes that received energy assessments also were chosen to receive various levels of energy retrofits.  More on the Impact Project here.

For the pdf click on CWIP Case Study 1

This home received a comprehensive energy assessment by a qualified energy advocate.  This assessment modeled energy improvements and recommended a scope of work specific to the house.  Subsequently, the home received an energy retrofit with projections of 55% improvement in energy savings.  We will revisit this home a year later to reanalyze the data and projections.  Improving an existing home is more sustainable then building a new one.  Improving a home that is historic helps to ensure that these treasures stay around for many more years to come.  The Southeastern climate presents some unique challenges due to its warmth and humidity.  If not done properly, irreversible damage can be dome to historic homes when a retrofit takes place.  That’s why we worked hard to deliver a curriculum for contractors, energy auditors and historic preservation professionals that focused on improving energy efficiency while maintaining historic integrity.  By replacing an aging improperly sized heating & air conditioning system in this home with mini splits and ductless units, we able to utilize new technology and minimize impact to the home.  By encapsulating the attic area with open cell spray foam in a removable manner, we improved the building envelope while preserving the historical integrity of the structure.

Another retrofit conducted as part of this Project can be found here.

 

Update 4/29/13: More on the Impact Project here.

Charleston Green Business Challenge

The Charleston Green Business Challenge (GBC) is wrapping up it’s second year and is now taking sign ups for 2013.  As part of the steering committee, I’ve recently been assisting with the scoring of about 50 businesses’ 2012 scorecards.  Green Business Challenges and similar programs have popped up around the country and are a great way to educate and really scale up city sustainability.  The Charleston program has helped a total of 135 businesses meet their goal of providing a healthier and more sustainable work environment. In the first year, businesses averaged over $6,000 in financial savings as they achieved their green business goals.  All participants are a part of a unique team of almost 7 million square feet of offices and businesses in the Lowcountry who each offer inspiring contributions to what it means to operate a green business.  Collectively the GBC as a whole implemented about 600 new green strategies throughout the year.

The goals of the voluntary Charleston’s Green Business Challenge are to improve environmental performance of commercial and institutional buildings and their operations. Three key elements are reducing energy, waste and water. Going green is not just the right thing to do for the community and the planet; it has many good financial and health benefits as well. Many building owners and companies have noted significant bottom line financial savings from their environmental and energy efficiency initiatives. Participating in the GBC will allow businesses, institutions and Charleston, to get a head start on these savings and these environmental benefits.

The GBC is led by the City of Charleston.  The primary interest for the City is to continue to assist businesses with ways to save money through practices that will both benefit their business and the community as a whole. The idea is to offer a program that provides an easy path to improvement that is both measurable and achievable. The twelve month program allows businesses to see results throughout the process. It rewards not only reducing waste and consumption, but also incentivizes community involvement and stewardship. The program is managed by the Planning, Preservation and Sustainability Department at the City of Charleston.

From the GBC Team:

On March 1st we start our new GBC year. We hope your team will join us.

Here’s what we know.

• The Green Business Challenge is a great way to get your team behind energy, water and waste reduction strategies as well as buying local.
• Your team will make your own goals.
• We’ll have trainings that will help connect you with resources as well as learn from each other.
• And we’ll have fun celebrating everyone’s successes-more on that in another paragraph.

To get started in this year’s GBC, click here to sign up for your businesses password and login.

Home Energy Retrofit Delivers on Cost Savings and Efficiency Improvements

Energy Efficiency (EE) is at the forefront of many sustainability initiatives and the opportunity to drive change at the individual building level and aggregate up to community, city, and regional levels is very promising.  This post gives a brief overview of a project I worked on that sought to improve the energy efficiency of a particular house while providing lessons learned and research for a larger city wide project.  It is but one example of many but initial results are very promising.

This home received an energy retrofit via the CharlestonWISE Impact Project.  The CharlestonWISE Impact Project is a partnership program between the City of Charleston and The Sustainability Institute (SI), and funded through a grant from the Sustainable Cities Institute.  The Project provided valuable support for the growth and development of the CharlestonWISE program through data collection, community outreach, market analysis and workforce development.  I helped to complete the project as one of my first responsibilities at SI.  During 2011 and 2012 the Project performed 152 home energy assessments and 17 home energy retrofits on homes throughout the City of Charleston. These assessments provided much needed information on how our homes use energy and how we can better help all Charleston residents reduce their energy use and have healthy, comfortable, energy-efficient homes.  17 out of the 152 homes that received energy assessments also were chosen to receive various levels of energy retrofits.

The homeowners first attended an educational workshop conducted by SI that taught them about basic energy efficiency concepts and how they can take steps at home to reduce their energy consumption.  Next, the homeowners received a comprehensive energy assessment on their home by a qualified energy advocate.  The advocate performed visual inspections on the hope, conducted performance testing and utilized energy modeling software to help craft a scope of work and recommended improvements to the home.  The performance testing include a whole-house blower door test to gauge building envelope air leakage and also a duct blaster test on the HVAC supply and return lines.  This assessment report was reviewed by a third-party quality assurance team before presenting back to the homeowner.  This particular house showed great potential for EE and was subsequently selected to receive an energy retrofit.  Projections showed the opportunity for a 46% energy efficiency improvement and a 47% cost savings improvement annually of $2,159 to the homeowner.

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The home received comprehensive air sealing improvements to better seal the building envelope.  New insulation was installed in the attic and a brand new HVAC system and new air ducts were ran.  Performance testing and quality assurance work was conducted after the work was completed.  The air sealing on the home improved 49% and the HVAC duct leakage went from 21% leakage to 4.5% leakage.  We will come back to this house a full year after the retrofit was completed and analyze the utility data to see where we landed in regards to the initial EE projections.  We have received some preliminary information from the homeowner that is very promising.  Not only has their comfort level inside the home greatly improved but they are seeing dramatic reductions in the energy consumption and their energy bills year over year have been cut in half!  Good stuff!

 

Update 4/29/13: More on the Impact Project here.

The Classic City

In 2011, I attended an Alumni Leadership Conference at the University of Georgia in Athens.  (Go Dawgs)  The city ranks high on desirable places to live and near the top of my favorite cities.  The university campus has undergone a lot of change with a lot of upgrades since I completed my undergraduate studies there in 2003.  The infrastructure and layout of the University has expanded and been updated.  There actually is an Office of Sustainability at UGA now and while we were in town, we were given a presentation and tour of some of the newer buildings and checked out upgrades to some of the existing ones.  The students there today are spoiled.  The dorms, dining halls, student centers and various other places around campus are so much nicer today than when I was in school.  Importance has been placed on energy efficiency, walkability, transportation and a myriad of other factors that make the campus and therefore the city a great place to study sustainability in the South.  UGA set goals in the areas of ecosytems, water, energy, and the built environment.  They have articulated a vision and you can tell they are making good progress on their goals.  Below are some of the pics.  Enjoy!