Page 30 - Engineering Career Guide, 4th Edition

features
Healthier Urban Living
New York City builds a new model of urban housing with rooftop gardens and solar panels.
One of the most critical and excit- ing engineering frontiers is ur- ban planning. Critical, because we know the percentage of city-dwell- ers is increasing and that providing shelter, energy, and food for our plan- et’s total population has negative im- pacts on our environment. Exciting, because there are so many possibili- ties for creativity.
City living is expensive, and no- where more so than in New York City. The city’s lower-income residents often cannot afford to live near work, grocery stores, or healthcare facilities, so they must spend time and money getting where they need to go.
A new project in the Bronx is changing lives, however. Via Verde, which means “The Green Way,” is a 300,000-square-foot development with 222 new and affordable homes that were designed with health and
sustainability in mind. Along with af- fordable homes for rent and to buy, there is a healthcare center and phar- macy within the development, and res- idents can walk to grocery stores. The project is also near a subway station.
Hundreds of solar panels provide energy to the complex, reducing the residents’ electricity bills. Rooftop gardens dissipate heat and absorb rainwater runoff while giving space to grow fruits and vegetables, as well as to relax and to gather socially. Natural daylighting and cross-ventilation im- prove indoor air quality.
True to its name, there are green spaces galore. Rooftops connect so residents can stroll around up in the air, and walkways create a big park.
The project set a new standard for green affordable housing and shows the power of thoughtful engineering to transform low-income housing.
30 START-ENGINEERING.COM COURTESY DAVID SUNDBERG / ESTO