today, a historically rich collection of architectural styles remaining from these periods are preserved in the building stock primarily located along port chester’s main street. in the next year, most of them are scheduled to be bulldozed and replaced by buildings two, three, and even four-times in height. 

i want to make clear that my intentions here aren’t meant to exert an opinion on the exact details of where development should and shouldn’t occur. any development projects are certain to be contentious, with winning and losing opinions. instead, i want to communicate the potential communities like mine have when undergoing these transformations. leveraging designs with people and place can not only improve the community but also do great things for its relationship with the environment. vice-versa, it also can prepare infrastructure to deal with the predicted extremes in climatic weather in the years to come. 

currently, my community’s redevelopment is proceeding with the failed planning standards of the last hundred years. jane jacobs, an activist turned urbanist, argued revitalization came at the expense of the community. in her book the death and life of great american cities, ms. jacobs emphasized the need to integrate new buildings into existing spaces as opposed to tearing down the community to create something new. for ms. jacobs, the danger of planning with a scorched earth mentality risked creating an environment which wasn’t in tune with its surroundings and risked causing more damage in the outcome then existed previously. 

in port chester, community members, with myself included, are pleading with the village to consider implementing mechanisms for environmentally- and community-conscious planning which have emerged in the last decades. for this story, i want to use port chester as my case study and show you the potential of what sustainable urban living can be. 

before i delve into what port chester could be, i need to catch you up on how port chester came to find itself at this crossroad. in short, the village is struggling to financially support municipal expenditures of a growing population while at the same time being unable to grow its assessable property tax base. as a result, the village began drafting a new zoning code titled plan the port in 2016 which ultimately passed in 2020. the new master plan’s core focus was the rezoning of the downtown area, which includes main street, to become a new commercial district. the new zoning code in the district would promote demolition of existing buildings by allowing heights of ten to twelve stories for developers.

at face, the solution was simple: more apartments equaled more taxable income. except, urban planning goes beyond just placing new buildings. it necessitates a clear understanding of how new spaces aimed at accommodating the increasing population, will impact existing infrastructure such as pedestrian facilities, roads, sewage, water, and the environment. 

even more concerning is the village’s rezoning of main street as a commercial district is next to a body of water, putting it directly in the path of sea level rise. in the surging seas risk finder main street lies in a red zoning, indicating areas most at risk for flooding. in 2021, the village experienced first-hand what the future will look like with hurricane ida devastating the community with unexpected flooding. 

in a decade where climate change is challenging the ecosystems our existence is dependent on, the increasing urgency to reconceive our relationship with nature calls for innovation in all sectors. this transition must extend beyond just focusing on carbon emissions. instead, a restructuring of how we think of infrastructure and city planning as a whole needs to be at the forefront of urban policy. 

cities, according to the united nations “consume 78 percent of the world’s energy and produce more than 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.” additionally, the un’s department of economic and social affairs expects 68% percent of the global population to live within urban areas.

with high consumptions levels and statistical indications of a continued increase in the amount of urban space globally, prioritizing sustainable development could have a massive impact on our carbon footprint. at the same time, it provides an opportunity to create spaces which focus on people and not just cars. as a community within the tri-state metropolitan region of greater new york city, port chester has the opportunity to use its development plans to become symbol of what urban sustainability looks like in a small-town community. 

so, here’s what i believe port chester could consider about new development projects which would improve the community while also preparing for climate change. 

first, the community should consider more options for micro-mobility. with a land area of just 2.36 square miles, the village is relatively small, interconnected and walkable. with the new addition of high-rise developments and no plans to increase the capacity of the existing roads, current traffic problems in the village are expected to get worse. using micro-mobility has the potential to reduce private vehicle use for short-distance travel, which is the primary cause of congestion in port chester. the village’s prioritization of car-centric development has led residents feeling the need to drive everywhere as opposed to walking the two or three blocks to their destination. this in part is due to the inadequate pedestrian facilities and non-existing bike lanes. a study released by portland state university even found how bike lanes can positively impact local economies. i know many people who would actively bike around town if they felt safe enough to. without doing so, the village is risking following in the steps of hartford, connecticut which by trying to accommodate as many automobiles as possible, left the city with a disconnected urban space where land for non-transportation use continues to shrink, as more land must be used each year for storing vehicles. implementing such a strategy would reduce the amount of cars on the road which directly correlates to less overall emission being produced.

next is the importance of integrating climate change into its master plan. for some trustees, ida’s flooding was a one time event which shouldn’t impact village planning. the science though tell us these weather events will get worse in the coming decades because of climate change. to prevent catastrophic flooding in our downtown main street, which is all but certain to get worse, the village could implement the use of natural stormwater management systems such as bioswales. the organization naturally resilient communities promotes the use of bioswales as an aesthetically pleasing alternative to concrete gutters and sewers. additionally, it should be required to use porous concrete and asphalt in areas prone to flooding. incorporating both these strategies would greatly reduce the impact of flooding and reduce runoff pollutants from entering the long island sound. 

third, the village could leverage the financial incentives new york state provides to municipalities through its clean energy communities program. locally known as the cec initiative, this completely free program to participate in from the new york state energy research and development agency has a guideline of successive goals municipalities can adopt. when groups of related projects are accomplished, the state awards grants which can be used for other community-based improvement projects. some amazing projects within this program include allowing municipalities to convert their net metering to renewably sourced energy, establishing property assessed clean energy financing, and clean fleet electric vehicles. 

fourth, the village could add electric vehicle charging station in strategic economic areas to encourage individuals passing through to stop to charge up. while vehicles are charging, the owners would be encouraged to pass the time by visiting our locally owned shops and contributing to the economy. 

lastly, port chester could promote green corridors through increased tree plantings. the european organization climate adapt found creating green corridors improves ecological biodiversity and provide shading to reduce the heat island effect. these green corridors can be placed on local streets connecting to the central downtown which would promote walking and biking. the japanese even found exposure of our senses to elements of the natural environment, even in small amounts of time can have a positive impact on our mental health. a study conducted by the environmental health and preventative medicine in 2019 even found a 100% decrease in depressive tendencies of all its participants through exposure to nature in a practice known as “forest bathing”.

i see so much potential for port chester to take advantage of its development to improve how residents interact with the place we know as home. within our zoning code, there is wording giving municipal leaders the authority to require developers implement certain community functions. an example would be requiring developments to meet improved pedestrian facilities around their property. 

i’m telling you the story of port chester because of its similarity to communities across the country. as our society builds for the future, incorporating mechanisms for communities to deal with climate change should be the imperative. adaptation is the opportunity to redesign our spaces with the environment and people in mind. 

with each passing month, a new development project in my community seems to be breaking ground for construction. it’s heart breaking seeing the small village i grew up in morphing into a concrete jungle devoid of any identity its once held. 

as i write this, there is good news. the communities unwavering commitment to being apart of the developments conversation has led our municipal leaders to reconsider. a new task force made up of engineers, architects, and planners is being created to consider how new developments will affect the village. my hope is for port chester’s elected officials to visualize how the intersectionality of climate change and development can ultimately improve the community. 

ultimately what the future has in store for port chester is still unknown, but from the current state of affairs, the communities united voice becomes stronger by the day. personally, i’m eager to continue advocating for a sustainable, urban port chester. who knows, maybe one day i’ll be able to bike to our downtown’s waterfront along a green corridor, instead of sitting in traffic. 

as we move toward urbanization, montreal is a leading city when it comes to this type of innovation. while traveling the city, there are many examples of architecture that have adopted new, green practices, but one of the most striking lies in parc frederic-back.

located in the north-west corner of the city, parc frederic-back is a beautiful piece of urban greenery that spans over 350 acres. this park lies in the middle of the saint-michel environmental complex, the green space is being utilized in a unique way. the park lies on top of the remains of a former quarry and landfill site. creating green space on any old landfill is a win for environmentalists. the most notable aspect of the park are the hundreds of biogas-capturing spheres that dot the land. not only do the spheres collect gas from the earth that is then turned into sustainable energy, they also glow in the dark.

the land has an interesting history tied to it. it has not always been a beloved, manicured green space. its original form was as a limestone quarry for 60 years. it was not loved by the saint-michael community, the neighborhood it is located in. the surrounding residents hated the deafening blows into the earth, and numerous quarry accidents angered them. local protests took place to end work at the quarry. the cries for change were heard, and in 1988 the city of montreal acquired the land from the miron family. it was not yet acquired to be made into a park. according to the city of montreal, it was turned from quarry to landfill by the city, and until 1995 it collected the city’s garbage. during the 90’s, it’s environmental transformation took place. during the renovation, the city called it the “most ambitious environmental rehabilitation project ever undertaken” in an urban area in north america, as reported by the cbc.

one of the first steps to creating an eco-friendlier space was creating a recycling center. the waste treatment and disposal centre was created. then, came the most notable aspect of the park, the alien-like spheres that define the land. montreal-based architecture firms, lemay and morelli, designed the balls for the urban rehabilitation. they created 250 spheres to collect the methane gas that is still being emitted from the remains of the landfill below the surface. about 40 tons of garbage from the landfill still generates fumes and is collected, according to world architecture. from there, the cbc article explains the gazmont power station starts converting into electricity biogas extracted from production wells, which is then sold to hydro-quebec.

the spheres are not only proof of montreal’s dedication to environmentally friendly and sustainable urban planning, but they were created with park-goers in mind. they are safe to be around, and they are interactive. they collect light from the sun on their fiberglass surface, and at night they give off a soft, green glow. when a light source at night, such as a park-goer waving a flashlight, runs across its surface, a multi-colored bright light follows the pattern drawn on by the person. it leaves behind the drawn light pattern and impresses novice flashlight artists. 

marrying an old landfill and a popular park may seem counterintuitive, but the collaboration has created a unique, beloved park in the middle of the saint-michael neighborhood. the transformation of this former brownfield is a feat for the city of montreal, and an example as other cities push to create more urban green spaces. 

a love for swimming and experiencing water is a widely popular cultural phenomenon. unfortunately, most individuals are not lucky enough to have access to water sources suitable for public use. as our world continually industrializes, natural bodies of water are increasingly exposed to harmful pollutants. pollution is detrimental to the health of rivers, lakes, and oceans; it threatens natural ecosystems and poses a danger for human health. surface water, encompassing almost 70 percent of water on earth, is frequently contaminated with nutrient pollution. caused by animal manure, sewage treatment discharge, fertilizer, detergent, and stormwater runoff, nutrient pollution results in algae overgrowth. not only is this harmful to human health, but it also damages the ecosystems of various plants and animals that live in freshwater environments.

in particular, the potomac river has a history of struggling with pollution. the river’s water quality began to deteriorate at the start of the nineteenth century when mining and agricultural developments expanded upstream. throughout history, various leaders have made efforts to restore the river. in the 1960s, president lyndon johnson deemed the river a “national disgrace,” before signing the clean waters restoration act, which designated federal funds towards the development of sewage treatment plants. in 1972, the clean water act led to the expansion of several more sewage treatment plants. although progress has been made since its initial deterioration, the potomac river remains incredibly vulnerable to a variety of harmful pollutants.

fortunately, the potomac riverkeeper network has been fighting against pollution since its establishment in 2000. with a mission to protect the public’s right to clean water, prkn focuses on identifying pollution, fighting this pollution, and encouraging the community to engage with and appreciate the river. much of the organization’s works is focused on holding major polluters, like power plants, manufacturing facilities, and coal-ash storage facilities, legally accountable for the pollution they produce. the organization’s efforts will be supplemented by the donation of the sea dog boat and the launch of the swimmable potomac campaign.

in march, the potomac riverkeeper network held a boat launch to signify the start of new monitoring practices. to expand their patrolling and water quality monitoring capacity, prkn secured a donation of a 42-foot custom chesapeake deadrise powerboat called sea dog from a retired four-star u.s. navy admiral. sea dog’s primary functions will be to facilitate water quality monitoring on the potomac river, increase the visibility of potomac riverkeeper on the water, and engage the public in conversations about the health of the river, human impact, and future opportunities for public stewardship.

in tandem with this monumental donation, the prkn will launch a swimmable potomac campaign using the new information that will be available as a result of the bacterial water quality monitoring program.  the results from the bacterial monitoring program will be used to inform the public about when it is safe to go in the water – as well as when it is not – and push for more safe swimming days.  in addition, the campaign will seek to have dc’s historic ban on swimming in the potomac repealed while restoring swimmable use access.

if successful, the swimmable potomac campaign will lift the ban on swimming and other direct water exposure activities in dc and also provide sufficient, timely information to the public about water safety that people can make good decisions about whether to go in the water.

water is an essential element of human life. our entire existence is reliant on water, and our daily lives are enhanced by the privilege of interacting with natural water sources. thanks to the potomac riverkeeper network, there is hope that potomac river will make a full recovery from its polluted past, and be accessible to communities all across the watershed.

sources:

1. denchak, melissa. water pollution: everything you need to know. natural resources defense council. may 18, 2018. 

2. united states senate. the clean waters restoration act signed into law. us senate art and history archives. november 3, 1966. 

3. potomac riverkeeper network.

i was recently challenged by this problem at my internship. a new client of ours, a businessman turned philanthropist, had recently started his own foundation that manufactures vitamins in the u.s. and ships them to ngos in sub saharan africa. his intentions are virtuous, generous, and humanitarian in nature. this philanthropist is committed to doing sincere and honest good. but at some point in the near future his money will run out, and hence the supply of vitamins. as a student studying international affairs, global public health, and sustainability, every internal red siren is going off in my head. this philanthropist wants to do good, but the good he is doing is completely unsustainable. what will happen to the ngos that become reliant on his vitamins when he runs out of money? for the vitamin manufacturers that are based in-country or in india, his “made in america” product is inevitably going to hurt the local economies, and it perpetuates the notion that american products are better because they’re american. 

while i was involved in the work we did for this client, there was no clear opportunity for me to voice my thoughts. during a routine check-in with my supervisor, and after a lot of psyching myself up, i decided to share my opinion. i said to her that studying global health and sustainability, i can’t help but express my concerns about this client and the lack of sustainability in his foundation’s model. i continued by adding that i was concerned about him shipping his own product to sub-saharan africa and once he runs out of money, so will the vitamins. after feeling proud of myself for bringing this issue into light, for taking what i’ve learned in the classroom and applying it to my work, i was ready to hear that i was right. instead, my supervisor looked at me, smiled, and replied “oh we know, it’s not meant to be sustainable.”

let’s pause for a moment and delve into what the this foundation could be doing differently that would be more sustainable. one solution that would combine sustainability with his desire to do social good is impact investing. the council on foundations promotes this type of investment-for-good, and defines it as, “any investment activity that intends to generate positive social and financial returns. whether called impact investing… or sustainable and responsible investing, the practice focuses on activating new financial resources to solve social and environmental problems.”[1]

james lee sorenson, a business leader turned philanthropist, personally advocates for the shift from giving to impact investing. in an article he wrote to advocate for the importance of impact investing, he wrote, “impact investors are motivated by double or even triple bottom-line opportunities to earn a financial return while also doing something good for society. securing a financial return helps ensure that the organization generates measurable impact that is scalable and self-sustaining over time.”[2]to generate more funds, stimulate a struggling economy, and ensure that the impact is measurable is why impact investing is such a valuable component of sustainable development.

impact investing in this particular context could play out in a few different ways. one option is that the client could financially support a vitamin manufacturer in a county he wants his vitamins to go. in doing so, he could provide jobs to people in a struggling economy, and ensure that the vitamins are up to the standard he has now. another option would be to partner with a medical school, and use his millions to start an endowment for a pharmaceutical lab that would focus on vitamins. if the foundation were to go with one of these solutions, or something along similar lines, the good that he’d accomplish would be far greater and self-sustained.

even though the response from my supervisor left me discouraged and gave me no room to further discuss my ideas, this interaction was an important learning experience for me. as an advocate for sustainable development, i am still figuring out the best way to bring up sustainability when it comes to individuals who want to make a difference. because sustainable development is such a broad concept, the way we talk about it and apply it will always be dependent on the context. as sustainability minors, it is up to us to keep bringing sustainability into the conversation, no matter where it is or who it involves, and to never give up on making international development as impactful and responsible as it can be. 

jimmy stice, a real estate entrepreneur who works in t-shirts and shorts, hopes to build small, sustainable houses in kalu yala, the jungle retreat and eco-town he founded in the panamanian rainforest. he already has spent years there developing an institute where college students come to explore and create strategies for alternative energy and farm-to-table food supplies, and experience outdoor living in tents.

raised in missouri, stice is passionate about creating a diverse community that facilitates the spread of innovative ideas.

“the original vision of kalu yala was as much as it is now, really. when we talk about the word sustainability we really meant social sustainability,” says stice, 36. the concept “is really important to me because that’s what my dad taught me.”

the builders of kalu yala, an eco-town in the making located in the heart of the panamanian rainforest, hope to complete the first permanent home this june. a hostel, designed to encourage adventure tourism, also recently opened in the town, in a wave of new initiatives that include expanded research on biofuels, using flies to compost, and other strategies related to environmental sustainability.

“i wanted to try (fly composting) because i knew this would be like an ideal environment for that kind of composting and basically i started a system of successful colonies of larvae,” says jules hart, a biology student during the spring semester at kalu yala. “we can give them all of our food scraps and they can break down almost anything.”

like most kalu yala interns, hart returned home at the end of her 10-week internship and plans to carry on her research at the university of nevada, where she attends college.

when they return home to the u.s. or other parts of the world, alums of kalu yala hope to adapt and apply their new knowledge to their local communities. in their place a new group of interns will continue work on existing projects or start new sustainability initiatives in construction, agriculture, energy, and recreation.

the visibility of large-scale climate change has made sustainability a profitable venture. kalu yala’s business model is capitalizing on the increasingly popular opportunities for environmentalism and ecotourism.

stice, whose father is a real estate developer, grew up in the world of creating, selling, and buying buildings. it’s an arena that is notorious for its negative environmental impacts. combining the two ideas of real estate and sustainability was a key impetus for stice in launching kalu yala.

the young american entrepreneur purchased the land and opened kalu yala in its jungle home in 2011. the town is built in a remote area in the panamanian jungle, accessed only by a treacherous 3-mile hike or car ride. originally cleared as pasture for raising cattle, the area is now home to an academic institute, a coffee shop, and a pub. cattle are still raised on pasture there to provide natural fertilizer, part of the community’s sustainability effort.

kalu yala is a kuna term meaning sacred land and a link that honors the indigenous guna people who maintain traditional ways of life on caribbean islands off the panama mainland where they operate a lucrative tourist business. in contrast, kalu yala is made by design and aspiring to be socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable eco-town, serving as a possible prototype for future town building.

“the idea is to become the world’s most sustainable town,” says tara mclaughlin, president of kalu yala institute, the study abroad program that operates out of kalu yala.

while institute staff and interns are living sustainably compared to the average american, they are doing so near communities that have been in balance with nature for centuries. but it is difficult to envision how such a sustainable city can be scaled up and applied to pre-existing urban areas with skyscrapers, industries, and cars choking the expressways and the atmosphere with carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.

currently, nearly everyone at kalu yala lives and sleeps in tents or hammocks on top of elevated wooden platforms in roofed, open air ranchos. their lifestyles reflect the environmental mission of kalu yala; they use biodegradable products for personal hygiene, their clothes are air dried, and they eat mostly plant-based, farm-to-table local food.

the town boasts that a resident at kalu yala contributes a mere 8% of the carbon footprint of a typical american. while most students interning at kalu yala take international flights to panama, the students later plant trees to offset the carbon emissions of their trips. the current sustainability model that measures environmental impact is focused on carbon emissions but later will expand to include other elements of sustainability such as biodiversity.

as kalu yala begins to scale up with the ultimate goal of creating a town, the models for environmental sustainability and social inclusion will increasingly be put to the test. and their model of sustainability will have to adapt to the construction of permanent homes, the first major step towards town building.

construction, an industry that historically has been damaging to the environment, appears at odds with the town’s light carbon footprint. however, the houses themselves and the broader design of the city here are deliberately planned to align with kalu yala’s mission.

kalu yala’s current goal is the creation of two towns, which will be located within the same land purchased by stice. the less-populated town is situated closer to kalu yala and will house a population of roughly 500 full-time residents according to wes stiner, director of design and construction at kalu yala. the homes of the smaller town will be located on a piece of land that is roughly a half-mile long.

“with the way we are going to line the streets with trees, we’re actually going to be planting more trees than we’re probably going to be cutting,” stiner says. “for every acre we’re building on, there are four surrounding kalu yala that are going to be put into conservation.”

the houses themselves are designed to be environmentally friendly as well. each lot will house two homes, a larger, “charleston” style home and a smaller, “carriage” home. the larger homes will be 1,000-1,500 square feet and the tiny homes will be roughly 500 square feet, with airy floor plans that expand space with a sense of the natural landscape just outside. homes will allow a variety of price ranges.

the houses will be made of a combination of brick and amargo amargo, a petrified wood harvested from the bottom of the panama canal. to prevent construction waste, the needed material inputs have been precisely measured.

the creation of a town also will put increasing pressure on the socially inclusive model that kalu yala has molded as an integral component of their mission. the target intern demographic has been relatively affluent americans who stand in stark contrast to kalu yala’s neighbors in the panamanian community of san miguel. many people farm here but even getting a high school education is a challenge, and one that means long bus rides to schools outside the town. kalu yala isn’t designed to fill that kind of gap, but does hope to offer more english classes in san miguel, a spur for city jobs.

the mission of social inclusion has become “increasingly nuanced,” according to stice.

kalu yala has implemented a few programs to encourage integration with san miguel. they hope to expand collaboration with san miguel more in the future. currently, kalu yala has an afterschool program for kids in san miguel that teaches english and ideas of environmental sustainability, according to mclaughlin.

students interning at the kalu yala institute spend the first portion of orientation week learning about panama and they take spanish classes during their 10 weeks.

prioritizing panamanians and social integration has been too expensive in the past. “it’s more affordable to hire outside (panama),” says mclaughlin, explaining the lack of panamanian instructors at kalu yala institute.

however, kalu yala is making an effort to integrate more of the panamanian community. kalu yala will be offering 15 full scholarships to students from san miguel in january 2019, according to stice.

most interns come now from america, europe, or australia.

“having students found a town that’s based on existing for a mission is basically a way to create a really fast feedback loop that calls you out on your bullshit,” stice says.

while kalu yala stresses social inclusion, it’s hard to shake the neo-colonial overtones that implicate nearly all foreign endeavors coming into less affluent areas. the community of kalu yala remains overwhelmingly white and primarily english speakers, despite its location in the panamanian jungle.

“then socially — and this is the part where kalu yala is still struggling the most — (the question) is who’s being included with the diversity? and then the second part of that will be: are we creating socio-economic mobility in that diversity?” stice says. “we’re a start-up, and we haven’t done them yet, but they’re still a declared part of our mission and we won’t be successful until we fulfill them.”

informal jobs are those that lack adequate documentation, and is prevalent in developing countries because of few formal, income-generating employment opportunities. in a way, the informal economy is beneficial because it is an alternative to income. however, there are cases when the market has threatened people’s well-being due to a lack of regulation. thus, it can perpetuate poverty and instability. for this reason, gfi advocates for the integration of the informal sector with the formal sector.

since 2009, the government of peru has recognized recyclers for their activity and promotes the industry’s formalization and integration into the solid waste management systems. gfi currently has a project in peru called peru recyclers leadership initiative. gfi partners with ciudad saludable, an organization in peru that is committed to sustainable development and with significant professional experience in the design, management, implementation, and evaluation of projects. together, they are launching a business development module and leadership academy to help recyclers in peru advance in the formal sector.

gfi now works with ciudad saludable to ensure that the recyclers move to the formal sector successfully by strengthening the value chain. the emphasis is on improving occupational health and increasing economic income through the provision of trainings, uniforms, tools, and other resources.

the work that gfi does is important because they work with partners who are in the communities. gfi does not try to put its name in the spotlight but rather pushes for the local partners to obtain recognition. this is a sustainable approach to programmatic work because the ones who will continuously work on this initiative is ciudad saludable not gfi.

additionally, this project serves to form a long-term source of employment for people in peru. this will give stability to people and will reduce poverty in peru over time, which is related to the first sustainable development goal.

places for improvement in the area include income equality between men and women, livable wage, and increasing social benefits such as health insurance for employers. people should have a stable and reliable source of income to better their livelihoods. addressing the informal sector is an important step in reducing poverty especially in developing countries. this will help move the un sustainable development goals forward.

students from across the globe are traveling to the heart of the panama jungle to learn everything from the fine points of farm-to-table cooking to the most efficient configurations of iguana farming. taking up residency in the jungle may prompt thoughts of giant bugs, stifling heat, and limited electricity. but what kalu yala’s students really need, according to the design thinking intern katie cappola, is a place to “fight, f*ck and fart” in peace.

jimmy stice, the founder of kalu yala, left it up to the design thinking interns to find a solution for the lack of privacy in this communal living arrangement.

with rest, recreation and human behavior in mind, this semester’s design thinking team faced the challenge of designing residential structures which provide privacy and match kalu yala’s aspirations for sustainability.

privacy

privacy would seem an intuitive aspect of designing homes, but the ranchos the interns call home are without walls, which makes privacy a rare commodity at kalu yala. in fact, interns’ only “private” area on campus — their sleeping space — is either an air mattress or a hammock. while this satisfies the program’s desire for an immersive, sustainable jungle lifestyle, the design thinking interns agreed that everyone could use a little more privacy.

the interns say they have been working on plans for two types of residential structures: “tiny homes,” which eventually will house residents at kalu yala, and smaller “staff shacks” for the full-time staff who currently live on platforms a few hundred feet from town square, the heart of the kalu yala’s campus. these staff shacks will provide staff members with greater privacy and a space of their own, but unlike the tiny homes, they will not have separate bathrooms or kitchens. the design thinking interns hope this will encourage staff members to stay in their positions longer.

“this is a solution to give staff a place that makes them want to stay longer because we do have a high turnover rate,” said cappola, a student at bucknell university in lewisburg, pa. “we’re living in the jungle. living here is hard, and it’s hard to have a family here. those things aren’t exactly conducive here.”

the lifestyle is very public and the interns and staff are constantly interacting with each other and the beautiful valley surrounding them. but they hope to create more opportunities for balance through the construction of these homes and a new round of ranchos. one of kalu yala’s ultimate goals, stice says, is to have people who will call the valley their home, or at least a second home. the interns in design thinking, one of several internship programs available at the institute, recognize this goal will be better met with more opportunities for privacy.

in a community that only has one building with walls — a media center created by a vice documentary team — it seems fairly simple to add more privacy. but at kalu yala, privacy and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. the interns must be sure that their privacy implementations don’t leave a large footprint.

sustainable design

while strech and cappola work on the master plan for the town and address these privacy concerns, design thinking interns david ho and jack fritzjunker are finalizing construction plans for the new round of ranchos, which will greet the nearly 150 interns who arrive at kalu yala in just a few weeks.

the expansion has provided ho and fritzjunker the chance to evaluate and iterate upon past and current rancho designs, which they hope will lead to more stable and sustainable structures. this includes everything from altering the pitch (or angle) of the roof to reduce runoff to using new building materials such as reclaimed wood from the panama canal. beyond these physical changes, however, ho and fritzjunker also spoke with kalu yala staff and interns to discuss ways of improving buildings for the rainy season and how to make sleeping arrangements more comfortable.

“we synthesize all that information into a bunch of design drivers that we can work towards in our design,” ho says. “and then we take those drivers and turn them into physical features in the design that solve the physical problems we’re aiming to solve.”

these design drivers include natural factors such as sun, shade, ventilation, and water access, and behavioral elements like where people choose to sleep or how to manage the mud that constantly seems to end up on everything and everyone at kalu yala. ho and fritzjunker plan to address this grimy reality by creating a mud room, a separate but attached area in the ranchos where people can hang up their muddy clothing before they enter their sleeping space.

this approach, commonly called a “form follows function” model, is one of the guiding tenets of design thinking at kalu yala. for ho, who studies civil engineering in australia, it’s not just about making things ergonomic, structurally sound, or sustainable, but thinking about how to solve problems.

“when you design, it doesn’t make sense to make decisions arbitrarily,” ho says. “you should always be working toward a goal.”

after plenty of drawing, sketching, talking, and iterating with these design drivers, ho and fritzjunker arrived at a list of features that they implemented into their final rancho design. they also have utilized projects from other interns and staff at kalu yala by integrating the often “under-appreciated” guava wood and treating reclaimed wood with a biodiesel product synthesized from waste generated around the institute.

“it’s a lot of improvisation in construction and taking principles that we like and applying them,” ho says. “it’s about looking at the materials and taking into account things like the environmental value, or the embodied energy of a material — something that doesn’t happen a lot,” adds fritzjunker, who graduated from iowa state university in ames, iowa.

ho believes the answer for more sustainable design is not necessarily to focus on regulation, but to envision elegant and simple ways to live better. ho adds that he’s all for novel solutions and likes “thinking out of the box.” but as he and fritzjunker have learned at kalu yala, it should always be about solving problems, whether it’s tackling environmental design, privacy, or how to handle the torrential downpour during the rainy season.

“i was designing for people who didn’t exist and now i’m designing for people who do exist,” ho says. “putting that into practice is one of the most fulfilling things you can do.”

***

note from the editor: a previous version of this story had misspelled a design thinking intern’s name. this version corrects it. we apologize for the error.

it takes passion, dedication, and innovation to start a businesses, but there is always a good helping of risk. the creation of this urban microgreen farm and its dedicated partner, a sustainability-mindful pub/restaurant, involved nothing less.

when mary ackley decided to follow her passion of getting her hands dirty, she started the farm called little wild things. but she also set out to prove that locally sourced, organic produce can be elegant, delicious, and a profitable business model, especially in an urban setting like washington, d.c. now her produce graces the shelves and kitchens of over 20 different local markets, grocery stores, and restaurants–both fast-casual and fine-dining. but without the pub and the people, the pub/restaurant whose basement her farm occupies, she wouldn’t have been able to make it nearly this far.

former leed architect nick bemel and his three partners also took a risk in quitting their day jobs to open a classic but quirky neighborhood bar. yet, they couldn’t shake their dedication to sustainability from their bones. so they designed the neighborhood hangout to be as sustainable as possible–the interior is built with reclaimed wood, all of their systems are the most efficient on the market, and they’re about to install solar panels on their roof. their chef also prioritizes sourcing local produce, much of which comes from the farm right downstairs. besides the numerous environmental benefits, it cuts their operation costs by a pretty penny. quality food and facilities that are ultimately easy on your business’ bottom line? bemel didn’t even think twice before he lent the space to ackley and little wild things. 

so next time you order an omelet for brunch, imagine how much fuel was burned when it was trucked in all the way from new england — or latin america, depending on the season.

now imagine that this morning, it was plucked fresh from organic soil just 10 feet below where you’re sitting and then walked up a flight of stairs. doesn’t your mouth water with the possibilities? 

so support local businesses that, like the pub and urban farm above, throw caution to the wind and dare to be sustainable, profitable, and wildly popular all at once.