Human Impacts Project
Human Impacts Project: Climate Change and Pollution Mitigation and Adaptations
All of this information is included in my FlipGrid!! flipgrid.com/s/hhCJgwxHdu48
Climate change and pollution has affected out planet substantially, and humans are the cause and only solution. Because we have come too far to completely get rid of climate change and pollution, it is now about mitigating it. Mitigating climate change is about reducing the release of greenhouse gas emissions that are warming our planet. Changes can include redesigning buildings to make them more energy efficient, adopting renewable energy sources, and developing more substantial transportation. For my assignment, I designed a layout to what I think a "perfect" green city would look like, and ways that people in this city are required to live to make sure they are reducing their involvement to climate change and pollution.
Here is what the model looks like from a birds-eye view and from one of the sides.
To the left is what one of the buildings in the city would look like. The plastic on the building represents that the building is made out of "eco-bricks" and the tin foil on top represents the solar panels that will be on top of every building. To the right is the public transportation system in the city will look like. It is above ground, and is powered by momentum rather than fuel, similarly to how roller coasters work. The public transportation will be able to fit a lot of people, like the subway, and is best for longer distances across the city.
The green pathways to the left are pathways for walkers, bikers, and skaters to use for when they are going to and from places. The garbage bin to the right will be located every 100 ft, and include properly garbage and recycling information, and cameras to catch litterers.
Both of these images are rough draft models and mind maps of what I wanted my design to look like. The first one includes a more 3D view of the city, and includes all the brainstorm ideas I had. The second on is just a birds-eye view of the city, and is a more clean idea of what I wanted to do.
Above is the layout and general rules of the city. It doesn't include everything that this perfect green city needs, but it includes most of the general ideas.
Many of these adaptations are already put in place in normal cities, and that is why I want to include them in this city because I know they work. Solar panels are already on or at more homes, buildings, and schools, and I think they should stay that way. Many people walk or bike to work or school, so I think that having a designated area where bikers and walkers can be will make them more popular to use. "Eco-bricks" are bricks made completely out of plastic, and are being used in different countries all around the world for with different uses, either for homes or sculptures. I think that making our buildings mostly out of "eco-bricks" will be a great way of prevent plastic pollution.
Some new things that I had in mind are filtered gutters and the focus on proper garbage management. The filters in the gutters will help clear the run-off water from toxins that come from concrete. I believe that people taking throwing away garbage and littering more seriously will help start to make a difference on how we take care of plastic pollution.
I think that people, young and old, need to be educated on climate change and pollution, and why we should care about it. No matter if we are living in a "perfect" city or not, education is the only way we can start to make a change for our planet.
Reflection
I think that I did a good job explaining what and why I want to create a perfect city, and including what I wanted in the assignment. I also think I did a good job with my research and including mitigations that already are being used and work, and including some that I had come up with on my own.
I need to work on my time management, especially for these big projects. I know that if I started the assignment a week earlier, I would have been able to include more things and make my design more realistic. I also could have added more to the model. Even though my rules and layout page covered a lot, my design didn't represent everything that it could have.