Designing cities for sustainability, resilience and happiness | Paulina Lis | TEDxSanDiego

So she is the early 1960s work of community organizer and writer Jane Jacobs who has been inspiring healthy, prosperous

cities

and neighborhoods in one of her books. Jane Jacobs wrote that

cities

have the capacity to provide something for everyone only because and only when they are created by everyone. By 2030, San Diego's population will grow by one million more people, which means each of us will play a role in shaping San Diego's future for 4 million San Diegans and we have to do it within the current geographic boundaries as we address challenges. of climate change, public health and drought, whether it's your personal choice of home, your vote on Mission Valley's next project, or your contributions to your community's Planning Board, it will be our collective vision that drives the future of San Diego, so what set of values ​​should we use to create a city truly for everyone, well I think we can start with something we all have in common, we all want to be happy now,

happiness

of course means something different to each of us and that diversity is a beautiful thing that we have to accept, however, we do it. have a basic understanding of the components of well-being that are common and necessary for us all to live a good and happy life.

First of all, we know that money alone does not make us happy. In fact, there is no element that makes us happy in its place. It is the combination of subjective and objective components that influence us and change over time, today cities are beginning to use the

happiness

framework to analyze policies, neighborhoods and communities to create places that help us flourish and prosper. Two-thirds of us currently live in urban areas. and in cities, on average, 90 percent of a U.S. citizen spends 90 percent of their time indoors and an additional 6 percent of their time moving between spaces, adding up to 200 million people spending an average of 23 hours a day in a human environment.

Making a space or a vehicle for cities to use the happiness framework and change that scenario and create a positive impact means creating restorative values ​​in four dimensions, personal economic society and natural systems now because the built environment exists and surrounds everything that we do, it's perfect. platform to create a positive impact in those multiple dimensions, so today I want to tell you a couple of examples of how this is being done across the country, so close your eyes for a moment, take a deep breath and imagine taking your wonderful yoga class morning at a wastewater treatment plant open your eyes exhale now I hope this is what you imagined taking yoga classes next to the wastewater treatment system is exactly what the leadership of the Omega Center for Sustainable Living had for their facility in Rhinebeck New York This building treats water from the 119 surrounding facilities, from toilets, showers and sinks, through a cascade system in natural treatment stages where the water is purified by microscopic algae, bacteria, plants and even snails.

No chemicals are used in the process. After approximately 36 hours of cycling, the water is returned to the aquatic fire deepening the campers to recharge the basin The process is completely clean, safe and runs on renewable energy The building and water system are designed to bring in as many plants and environment natural to the building as possible exposure to nature The environment and plants have been shown to not only purify the air but also improve our mental well-being and help us reduce the stress of everyday life. The Omega Center is a perfect example of a building that creates restorative value for both the people inside and the land.

The happiness and well-being framework and the idea of ​​creating an intentional positive impact can be applied to the spaces between buildings and, in most cities, alleys are one of the least used places, like lighting infrastructure, Stormwater or any paving infrastructure and deals serve as a perfect breeding ground for crime and environmental degradation that makes no one happy. Well, City Overlay is currently looking at 250 acres of available alley space in South Los Angeles to reimagine alleys that address a multitude of city issues and create a positive impact on communities from the start. When beginning the Green Alley Master Pen Program, it was understood that it is community input that must drive the success of the program.

Through more than 40 workshops, interviews and surveys, the city has collected information from its citizens to understand what changes they want. They see in their neighborhoods that the information was then combined with in-depth environmental research to create design solutions for each project area that respond exactly to the social, cultural and environmental needs of a particular neighborhood. Some of the design solutions that were proposed and implemented included adding permeables. spaces such as pavement in alleys to help with stormwater management and create community connectivity by closing some of the alleys completely to automobile traffic creating pedestrian friendly zones, therefore creating play areas for children and adding plans to add more nature that helps with wellbeing and also addressing some of our climate change challenges, the design you see in the image is just one of the alleys;

However, this entire project covers 80 square miles and affects 350,000 residents. It is designed to operate as a network and in sync with sidewalk bike lanes. and streets to create neighborhood connectivity encourage people to walk or bike more and get them out of cars. This project is a great example of how the design of our urban area, as well as the process itself, can help us foster community happiness by creating opportunities to strengthen our networks and create more trust between neighbors, so let's bring it a little closer to home and let's talk about the project right here. Five years ago, the San Diego Food Bank partnered with the San Diego Green Building Council to look for opportunities to green its facilities in Mira.

Mesa, one of the goals of the project from the beginning was to use it as a platform to create educational opportunities for members of our community to teach them about

sustainability

in the built environment. Over the course of the project, nearly 100 volunteers had the opportunity to conduct an in-depth analysis of the energy, water and waste operations at the San Diego Food Bank today. The San Diego Food Bank is one of the greenest facilities of its kind in the country with a net-zero energy status and a near-net-zero food waste status Cushman of San Diego Jacob The bank saved enough money to provide eight hundred and seventy-five thousand additional meals in our community.

Now Senegal food bank staff know that their facilities are key to fulfilling this important mission of feeding the needy members of our community. Today they are looking beyond net zero. energy and in opportunities to complete large operations to increase

resilience

and ensure they can operate during the time of natural disasters when we most need your help with food and shelter, this project is a great example of how to address the operating costs of our buildings. and environmental impact, we can positively influence our community, strengthen the networks and support networks in our community and create educational opportunities so that the buildings themselves can make us happy, not on their own because, as I mentioned before, happiness combines with a multitude of factors, such as access. to the natural environment time work balance health and community relationships, but buildings surround everything we do, therefore creating a perfect terrain for us to create opportunities to flourish and prosper, each of us has the opportunity to impact, whether Whether you choose your personal home, your travel decisions that you make work or contribute to a public project, we all shape our built environment and in return it shapes us, so let's take this opportunity to create healthier lives in happier cities for everyone, thank you.