Integration of active exixting industry in urban renovation: Medellín

ENG
In Medellín (Colombia) there is a clear example of a productive city, it consists of an urban plan where strategically the industrial zones are strengthened and new ones are placed in the middle of a mixture of uses like houses, offices, commerce that also are connected through green corridors to an axis The main one being the river, generating an area of ​​much connectivity both at the city and country level since there the national highways pass and there is an easy transport for the products produced in the area. In the first stage of this plan in the river city area, to bring a large number of people to these public spaces so there is enough commercial activity, a museum, and offices that improve the quality of life of the housing sector , In addition industries also take advantage of all this activity to establish in the area which has attracted the attention of new industries outside the country that has brought therefore employment and productivity to the city.

Documento: Presentación Parques del Río, Ciudad de Medellín pdf
Artículo de presnsa: El Colombiano
ESP
Integración de industria existente y activa en un parque urbano: el caso Medellín.
En Medellín hay un claro ejemplo de ciudad productiva, consiste en un plan urbano donde estratégicamente se potencian zonas industriales y se ubican nuevas en medio de una mixtura de usos como viviendas, oficinas, comercio que además se conectan a través de corredores verdes a un eje principal que es el rió, generando una zona de mucha conectividad tanto a nivel de ciudad como de país ya que por allí pasan las autopistas nacionales y hay un fácil transporte para los productos producidos en la zona. En la primera etapa de este plan en la zona de ciudad del río, a llevar un gran número de personas a estos espacios públicos por lo que hay bastante actividad comercial, un museo, y oficinas que mejoran la calidad de vida de las viviendas del sector, además las industrias también se aprovechan de todo esta actividad para instaurarse en la zona lo que ha llamado la atención de nuevas industrias fuera del país que ha traído por ende empleo y productividad a la ciudad. 

Contributed by: Tomas Medellin, Toshio Pardo, Kiomi Aguilar

12-acres of Solar Panels in the Center of San Fransico

The city of San Francisco has begun harbouring its own solar energy from the heart of the city with a twelve-acre, 5 MW solar photovoltaic system on the surface of Sunset Reservoir. Once an empty void in the built up metropolis, this area now serves two purposes; as a source of water and energy. Each year it is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 109,000 metric tons, and will power more than 15,000 San Francisco homes.
Can other infrastructures like railway tracks offer similar opportunities?

Contributed by: Charlotte Keers

NEWater - Water Production in the the City of Singapore

NEWater is the brand name given to reclaimed water produced by Singapore's Public Utilities Board. More specifically, it is treated wastewater (sewage) that has been purified using dual-membrane (via microfiltration and reverse osmosis) and... read more

In Singapore they are not just cleaning sewage water, they are "producing" new water in the city (Singapore is all city), bottled and sold as drinking water..

They are not just "mitigating" problems of the water system, they are turning the system around.

Note that the bottled water is symbolic, it is not the driver, they are using it to visualize the fact that reclaimed water (reclaimed from sewage) is good to drink - more than ok, it is actually too pure for humans: we would need the minerals that dissolve in water as it filters through the soil and runs down the mountains; we need grittier water. 
It just proves the point that NEWater can be safely used in industry (generally the largest consumer of water) at a huge scale.

NEWater plants are designed so that they can be visited and become part of the culture and the urban landscape.

Urban Agriculture: Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm

The article deals with the theme of urban agriculture as a fundamental activity in the development of a productive sustainable city. This kind of agriculture is differs from the rural one because it is strongly related to social, economic, architectural and ecological issues. This in particular is developed according to different dynamics and new perspectives that are influencing the way in which this project can be conceived Where can it be applied? Can it cultivated? Who are the actors? What kind of economic results can we obtain it ? What will be the effect on our society? … Here you can find one example of this strategy: Brooklyn Navy Yard Farm - Queens, New York City. Take a walk on the rooftop yard with this video.

ESP. La agricultura urbana se puede definir en breve como el cultivo de plantas y la cría de animales dentro y alrededor de las ciudades. La característica más llamativa de la agricultura urbana, que lo distingue de la agricultura rural, es que está integrada en el sistema económico y ecológico urbano. La agricultura urbana no es un vestigio del pasado que se desvanecerá (aumenta la agricultura urbana cuando la ciudad crece). Para una especificación más detallada de la agricultura urbana es posible mirar las siguientes dimensiones:
   Tipos de actores involucrados
Gran parte de las personas involucradas en la agricultura urbana son aquellas de mas bajos recursos. En muchas ciudades, a menudo también se encuentran funcionarios gubernamentales de nivel medio y bajo, maestros de escuelas y similares involucrados en la agricultura, así como personas más ricas que buscan una buena inversión para su capital.
   Tipos de ubicación
La agricultura urbana puede tener lugar en lugares dentro de las ciudades (intra-urbanas) o en las áreas periurbanas. Las actividades pueden tener lugar en la finca o en la tierra lejos de la residencia, en terrenos privados, públicos o terrenos semipúblicos.
   Tipos de productos cultivados
La agricultura urbana incluye productos alimenticios procedentes de diferentes tipos de cultivos (cereales, tubérculos, hortalizas, setas, frutas) y animales (aves de corral, conejos, cabras, ovejas, ganado, cerdos, cobayas, peces, etc.) o productos alimenticios (como hierbas aromáticas y medicinales, plantas ornamentales, productos derivados del árbol, etc.).
   Tipos de actividades económicas
La agricultura urbana comprende las actividades de producción agrícola, así como las actividades conexas de transformación y comercialización. En la agricultura urbana, la producción y la comercialización tienden a estar más estrechamente interrelacionadas en términos de tiempo y espacio que con la agricultura rural, gracias a una mayor proximidad geográfica y un flujo de recursos más rápido.
   Destino del producto / grado de orientación al mercado
En la mayoría de las ciudades de los países en desarrollo, una parte importante de la producción agrícola urbana es el autoconsumo, y se comercializan excedentes. Sin embargo, no debe subestimarse la importancia de la agricultura urbana orientada al mercado, tanto en volumen como en valor económico. Los productos se venden en la granja, en las tiendas locales, en los mercados locales (agricultores) o en los intermediarios y supermercados.
   Escalas de producción
En la ciudad, podemos encontrar granjas individuales o familiares, granjas de grupo o cooperativas y empresas comerciales a diversas escalas que van desde micro y pequeñas granjas (la mayoría) hasta medianas y algunas grandes empresas.
    PERSPECTIVAS 
Es útil distinguir tres perspectivas principales sobre la agricultura urbana, cada una de ellas asociada con diferentes tipos de agricultura urbana. Estas tres perspectivas son útiles para diseñar para el desarrollo de la agricultura intra y periurbana.
   SOCIAL
Reducen los gastos familiares en alimentos y medicamentos y se genera algo de dinero en efectivo a partir de ventas de excedentes. También puede crear una red para educar a la sociedad hacia esta actividad a través de eventos, talleres ...
   ECONOMICA
Esta perspectiva esta relacionada con los tipos de agricultura urbana orientados al mercado. Las actividades suelen implicar pequeñas empresas familiares y grandes explotaciones empresariales que participan en la entrega de insumos y en la transformación y comercialización de productos agrícolas. Estos tipos de agricultura urbana tienen un impacto económico más pronunciado y una mayor rentabilidad, pero sus externalidades para la ciudad y las poblaciones urbanas tienden a ser más altas, aunque disminuye los costos de transporte.
   ECOLOGICA
Se refiere a los tipos de agricultura urbana de carácter multifuncional. Además del suministro de alimentos y la generación de ingresos que pueden desempeñar un papel en la gestión ambiental, por ejemplo, reciclaje de nutrientes a través de compostaje y la reutilización de residuos orgánicos y aguas residuales. También pueden ofrecer otros servicios demandados por los ciudadanos urbanos: la ecología urbana, la mejora del clima urbano, el suministro de oportunidades de ocio y recreativas, el almacenamiento de aguas pluviales y la prevención de inundaciones…

Contributed by: Laura Grandis, Niccolò Meroni, Sebastian Valenzuela, Shankar Mall

Recycling in Helsingborg

(Slightly off-topic)
HELSINGBORG - SWEDEN Over the last forty years, Sweden has carried out a recycling revolution, less than one per cent of the domestic waste from Sweden ends up in a landfill. The rest is recycled in different ways.
The issue of waste recycling in large cities and agglomerations is an important issue. The cities produce a considerable amount of waste. What can we do with it? Sweden, a pioneer in this field, offers a very beneficial alternative for cities.
 Urban:
- Recycling stations are not more than 300 meters from a residential area.
- Incineration plants emit 99.9% of non-toxic smoke from carbon dioxide and water.
- Garbage facilities directly connected to a recycling station.
- Reduction of small recycling stations.
Social:
- Swedes separate all recyclable waste in their homes and deposit it in special containers in their apartment block or in recycling stations.
- Enterprises join forces like H & M: accepts clothing used in exchange for coupons; Optibag: has developed a machine that can separate bags of colorful waste, Waste and Recycling Association CEO, Avfall Sverige, ...
Economic :
- Half of all household waste is burnt and turned into energy.
- Waste is therefore reused, recycled or composted.
 Politics:
- Government agency encourages producers to manufacture products that last longer, offering a tax deduction on repairs.
- Garbage trucks and communal vehicles use biogas produced by waste.
Used as much as possible waste for reuse, recycling, composting, energy production, here is a challenge that the city of Helsingborg has raised. The recycling of our waste is a question that arises in all the big cities, we produce a large amount of waste in the cities and then what do we do? Where to store them? Where to transport them? What to do with? Here is an example of a city that has benefited from this waste through urban, social, political and economic interventions.

Contributed by: Antonio, Dao, Joe

NETwork: activating innovation poles in North Milan

NETwork is the result of a Town Planning Design Workshop investigating the role of Milano as a metropolitan City.

The strategy focuses on the theme of the productive landscape, which has always characterized Milano as a leading city in Italian economy and which at the moment is deeply involved in the economic crisis. The aim is to recover and enhance the role of innovative industries and production, trough the activation of poles which are located in a synergetic system with their context.

The analysis started with the study of the main infrastructures, visible as highways and public transportation and invisible as optic fiber and energy production in correspondence to the main productive clusters. Considering all this themes overlapped, it has been possible to identify a corridor, in the North of Milan along Pedemontana highway, which could be the place of innovation on the Horizontal connection between Malpensa airport and Orio Alserio.

Firstly it has been conducted a research of all the functions inside and around the industrial poles. This allowed the identification of the innovative places for work that are already present along Pedemontana highway. This analysis showed the inefficiency of those spread areas in this vast land at the North of Milan, disconnected and unable to create a system of competitive poles. To proceed with the creation of a system we have identified two main possible actions: acting on built spaces, adding innovative working spaces and acting on the open ones in order to create a synergy in between built environment and city through public areas. Of course the introduction of new functions has to be as fast as possible, in line with the technological evolution, and for this reason the proposal was to reuse existing abandoned spaces to revitalize the area. These main new activities are related to the presence of start ups, innovative businesses, data centres, research companies and logistic working with sustainable transports. Create a synergy in those production clusters doesn't mean only shearing of ideas and projects but also sharing of energy, invisible fluxes as internet, and public spaces, for the creation of very strong relations among single working space.
For this reason the approach started from the analysis of the existing situation and the analysis of each cluster’s margin, in order to investigate the relation on the cluster itself and with its context.

Desio case study is located in a strategic position, exactly in the middle of Pedemontana system, intersecting with the public transportation railway line. This cluster contains already some innovative functions as pharmaceutical and design industries and moreover it presents an high number of open vacant spaces due to the creation of the highway. The analysis of cluster’s edges describe the relation of the working space with the city: in particular we have identified different kind of borders and then we have tried to propose a possible solution for each interaction. The relation cluster-city has been simplified in four big categories: interaction cluster-built city, cluster-fields, cluster-fast mobility, cluster-mobility intersection. For each of them we have proposed an abacus of design actions.
In built front edge the actions are related to cluster’s front enhancement through a graphic cover on the facades, the addition of a new public function, some open spaces or the presence of detached productive buildings more integrated with the city.
In the case of agricultural edge the proposal is the creation of spaces of mitigation or energy production through the addition of trees or devices for the production of green energy.
In the case of fast mobility edge the proposal focuses on the enhancement of the role of the productive landscape in the context of fast movements. The actions are related to the continuity of the front and the creation of horizontal landmarks for connection (as walkable bridges) and vertical ones for visibility.
The fourth case deals with the theme of transportations and interchanges, with the reinforcement of nodes through the addition of sustainable means of transportation according to the system of slow mobility and walkability around the neighbourhood. Contributed by: Laura Grandis, Niccolò Meroni, Sebastián Valenzuela

Eco-Energy Land: The example of Güssing

ENG_In Güssing, Austria, a system is being developed for new ‘smart urban isles’, which look at the production of renewable energy in the areas surrounding public buildings.
These ‘smart urban isle’ units aim to create small local energy networks that can potentially support hundreds of buildings. The new smart city will be powered by a number of smaller, decentralised energy production points, supplying power to bioclimatic buildings that are designed to consume less energy.
Until recently, Güssing suffered from high rates of unemployment and was one of the poorest towns in Austria. Now the town has undergone significant change as a consequence of its commitment to renewable energy sources over fossil fuels. The main sources of energy now are solar power and biomass. The efficient CHP (combined heat and power) biomass plant converts local waste oil and natural products into gas, which powers the city and feeds the national grid. The town aims to be completely self sufficient in the near future.

For a wider perspective, see this document by the International Energy Agency

Contributed by: Joseph Ridealgh

Urban Agriculture - A Reaction to Supply and Demand

ENG_In the last hundred years the planet’s population has increased by 400% to become 7.3 billion, and that number increases exponentially every year. This leads to issues of supply and demand. The concept of supply and demand is of the utmost importance in relation to a functional city. Everyday, there is an enormous amount of energy consumed by the population of a given city. A large portion of this energy consumed is due to the food industry. The significant increase in the world’s population is a factor that is forcing agriculture to adapt to a new landscape. Many factors contribute to the consumption of energy in the food industry, but arguably the largest consumer of this energy is a result of the transportation of food from its source to its distributor and then finally to the consumer. This energy is composed not only of fossil fuels, but also of different factors such as time and money. If the location of the production of the goods were to be moved closer to the consumer, the energy used would significantly decrease and it may also result in the creation of new infrastructure and jobs.
The notion of urban agriculture is one that consists of the growth and production of food in and around a town, city or metropolis. The concept can be introduced into the composition of a city at a small or large scale. The city of Havana is a model of how an extreme version of urban agriculture can function. Havana produces 75% of the vegetables it consumes within the city itself. Part of the success of Havana’s urban agriculture relies on the fact that the farms in the city that produce food are no longer state owned farms. In the early 1990s, many of the farms were privatized and now individuals own and run the farms, making money off of the work they put into the crop. Another city that has incorporated the urban farm into the fabric of the city on a smaller scale is Vancouver. One seventh of the jobs in Vancouver are in relation to food production. By embracing the concept of bringing food production into the city, time, money and energy aren’t wasted on transportation and jobs are created within the city. This draws the population into the city and detracts from suburban sprawl. 

For further reading see Harvard Business Review and City Case Study Havana.

Contributed by: Isabella Priddle

Revitilazation of Detroit By Nadau Lavergne

ENG. Due to the financial crisis of 2008 and the high debt of the city the whole economy of Detroit, based on the automotive industry, colapsed. In 2013 the city council declared in bankrupt, becoming the first city in The EE.UU doing it. The population passed from 2 million persons to 700.000 in a masive exodus. Actually, about the 36% of the popullation lives under the poverty threshold. Nowadays the community is making an effort to rise from this situation by developing several iniciatives and a new economic system, based on the diversity of activties. Attending alimentation as a vital issue via orchards due to the scarcity of resources. The project of 2014 of Nadau Lavergne is an example of it. A reconversation of the old and abandoned fabric of Packard in to a mixed use building where food production, housing and culture are complementary.

See a summary in ArchDaily

Contributed by: David Redondo - Fernando González - Rafael González

Urban Beekeeping in London

ENG. The company UrbanBees focuses on Honey production in an urban enviroment. They currently produce 500kg of honey per year, which amount to a total of 2,000 jars. Their beehives are installed in private spaces that clients lease to the company, in exchange they receive an amount of honey proportional to their production. This way the ecosystem ensures polinization of other plants, which ultimately benefits other industries like agriculture. Pollination of bees contribute an estimated $3,251 per hectare, according to a study of Scotland’s University of St Andrews. This simbiosis is described as a win/ win situation by experts, since an increase in pollination will greatly increase the growth of new plants that will as a result increase Carbon Dioxide filtering and production of oxigen.

ESP. La empresa UrbanBees se centra en la producción de miel en un entorno urbano. Actualmente producen 500kg de miel por año, lo que equivale a un total de 2.000 frascos. Sus colmenas se instalan en espacios privados que los clientes alquilan a la empresa, a cambio reciben una cantidad de miel proporcional a su producción. De esta manera, el ecosistema asegura la polinización de otras plantas, lo que en última instancia beneficia a otras industrias como la agricultura. La polinización de las abejas contribuye con un estimado de 3.251 dólares por hectárea, según un estudio de la Universidad Escocesa de St. Andrews. Esta simbiosis se describe como una situación de gran beneficio a ambas partes, ya que un aumento en la polinización aumentará en gran medida el crecimiento de nuevas plantas que como resultado aumentará el filtrado de dióxido de carbono y la producción de oxígeno.

Contributed by Rafa González, David Redondo & Fernando González

Urban Manufacturing in Brooklin

"...in a shift that has been both celebrated and parodied, Brooklyn is increasingly retaining some of its remaining industrial spaces for small-scale, small-batch manufacturing."
read the full article in the New York Times

Brussels Productive City

Atelier Brussels - The Productive Metropolis.
in English, with subtitles in French and Dutch.

Interview with the master architect of the Brussels-Capital Region Kristiaan Borret (bMa) in the framework of the exhibition 'A Good City Has Industry'
In Dutch, with subtitles in French and English

Brussels - Productive Capital of Europe.
Video by Architecture Workroom Brussels for the exhibition 'Imagine Europe. In Search of New Narratives' at Bozar.
In Dutch, with subtitles in French and English

Amsterdam Productive City

Circular Cities
Designing post industrial Amsterdam

ENG issuu link here 
The case of Buiksloterham Buiksloterham is an archetypal post-industrial neighborhood, not far from the city center of Amsterdam. The city board and many other parties have the ambition to develop this area into a Circular neighborhood. The context - a former industrial area - leads to a number of specific challenges in terms of circularity. What are the lessons learned from the projects Buiksloterham so far? And how can this be rolled out to other post-industrial areas?









Circular Buiksloterham.
Transitioning Amsterdam to a Circular City

ENG issuu link here
Cities are the future. There are many reasons to rethink their development and management. The Circular Economy provides one useful perspective for rethinking urban development, but it can be an abstract concept that remains difficult to apply. The vision and actionplan presented in this report for the transformation of Buiksloterham provides a tangible interpretation of the Circular Economy for a part of Amsterdam.
Buiksloterham.nl 









...and meanwhile in Rotterdam...
the productive city 
Development Perspectives for a Regional Manufacturing Economy.

NAi Booksellers
More and more cities are refocusing on the manufacturing economy, encouraged by the transition to a circular economy, the emergence of smart technology, and the need for socially inclusive cities. To Rotterdam, a port city with a rich industrial history, this is a development that offers welcome opportunities.

As part of the 7th edition of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam, IABR–2016–THE NEXT ECONOMY, the city of Rotterdam and the IABR have established Atelier Rotterdam: The Productive City.
The Atelier has conducted research by design to identify the opportunities for the future of the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague from the perspective of the next manufacturing economy.
What value can the manufacturing economy add to the city and the region? Is it possible to improve its links with existing large-scale industry? And will this allow Rotterdam to profit more from the huge material flows that will continue to traverse the port and the city in the future?

The Atelier presents seven spatial development perspectives on the scale of the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague. They do not constitute an all-encompassing strategy, but a range of strategic and prototypical interventions that strengthen the regional manufacturing economy and thus contribute to an economically strong and socially inclusive urban region.

See also a summary of the atelier in Marco Broekman's website.

The New Urban FabriK.Torrent Estadella Eco-Industrial Park. Barcelona

ENG issuu link here
Commissioned by the Municipality of Barcelona, this study by Eduard Balcells and Honorata Grzesikowska (shortlisted in Europan 13) provides a strategy to revitalize the central but decaying industrial site of Torrent Estadella, reconnecting it to the city and turning the area into the productive centre of Barcelona’s emerging Green Economy industries.

ESP resumen en castellano en plataformaarquitectura
¿Es posible dar un futuro a la industria en el corazón de la ciudad central de Barcelona?
A través del proyecto "The New Urban FabriK", desarrollado por encargo del Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, los arquitectos y urbanistas Eduard Balcells y Honorata Grzesikowska (finalistas de Europan 13) buscan hacerse cargo de la extensa zona industrial de Torrent Estadella.