ECOCITY DESIGN INSTITUTE

In 1991, Paul Downton, Cherie Hoyle and Emilis Prelgauskas established Urban Ecology Australia, a community based NGO which advocates for ecological cities through education and example.

Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, Paul and Cherie led a volunteer team of citizens, professionals and students, including Sharon Ede, in initiating the Halifax Ecocity Project, and subsequently creating Christie Walk, a piece of ecological city in downtown Adelaide, South Australia.

The Halifax Ecocity Project was a proposal for a 2.4 hectare site in the heart of Adelaide. Though never realised, it generated sustained international interest and was accepted by the UN as an example of Best Practice for exhibition at Habitat II: The United Nations City Summit in Istanbul in 1996.

Christie Walk is a model ecological cohousing development in central Adelaide, Australia. It consists of 27 dwellings on a 2,000 square metre site. Designed by architect Paul Downton and completed in 2006, it has won international awards and been featured as a case study in the Australian government's technical guide to sustainable building, and in the series 'Density By Design', a web series produced as part of a broader research project on low-carbon residential precincts being undertaken by the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute (WA) and the Co-operative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living.

Christie Walk - Density By Design
Density by Design Photo Essay

Interview with Christie Walk architect Paul F Downton

www.world-habitat.org/world-habitat-awards/winners-and-finalists/christie-walk-ecocity-project

Christie Walk was a finalist in the World Habitat Awards 2005

https://healthybuilding.net

A healthy city needs healthy buildings. This is one of the earliest and best sources for good information on healthy buildings. Healthy buildings are probably more important in the long run than 'energy efficient' buildings. Energy efficiency does not pre-suppose, nor require, healthy building, but long term human sustainability absolutely does.

http://yourhome.gov.au

Brilliant resource - best thing the federal government has ever done! Tremendous work by some inspired and knowledgeable people working in and through government. Urban Ecology Australia and Paul Downton were pleased to be part of the effort of bringing this into existence. Paul was one of the main contributors and was editor for four issues.. Check out this site for massive amounts of accessible information on healthy, energy efficient, ecologically responsible building aimed at home owners and occupiers.

http://greenmap.org

Urban Ecology Australia co-founder Chérie Hoyle worked with Urban Ecology Australia, Adelaide City Council and the South Australian state government to produce a Green Map for the City of Adelaide back in 1997. This is still an active international movement to map the positive attributes of our cities – essential to making ecocities real. Great stuff.

https://gaia.org

For many years, the Gaia Trust has supported the Global Ecovillage Network and Gaia Education.

www.gcbl.org

The GreenCityBlueLake Institute has had a long and influential history of research and publication, dating back to the founding of its preceding organization, EcoCity Cleveland, in 1992.

https://store.intellaliftparts.com/c/battery-disposal-and-the-environment.html

 

Paul Downton received an email from Teacher Rachel Martin who, she wrote, volunteers with a very special group of children in a Summer education program. They had been learning about the concepts of environmentalism and somehow came across a very old link on one of Paul's now redundant websites while discussing how they could can protect our environment. 

 

One of her girls, Cathy, found what she thought was a great environmental resource and Paul promised to upload a link! So here it is, It's about batteries – the scourge of our lives with a massive impact on our beleaguered planet.

www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/aug/13/worlds-largest-urban-farm-to-open-on-a-paris-rooftop

 

A lot of 'green roofs' and walls are resource-expensive thirsty aesthetic indulgences, but this looks like it might be really good.

 

“Our fresh produce will be used to feed the inhabitants across the south-west of the city – either directly, through veg-box schemes or via shops, hotels and canteens – thereby helping to reduce food miles,” Hardy says. “Furthermore, we won’t be using any pesticides or chemicals, so the farm will be a haven for biodiversity.”

 

Trés bon!