Who doesn’t fancy living in a Utopia? All of us wouldn’t mind trading our current address for a small haven in such a dream town. And hence the British government is intending to come up with ten “eco towns” as utopian visions of carbon-neutral 21st century housing. Out of the ten, let’s take a look at the three existing prototypes – Hammarby Sjöstad at Stockholm, Greater World Earthship Community close to Taos in New Mexico and Vauban, near Freiburg, Germany.
Just 20 minutes by bus, tram or free ferry from the centre of Stockholm lies Hammarby, an eco-town of 10,000 homes. Here, the houses include rainwater harvesting and solar panels, and there is a vacuum-sorted underground waste removal system. Residents are given color-coded biodegradable bags for their waste. Even the street lights are solar-powered. Sewage is processed to become gas to fuel cookers, buses and cars in the car pool. The sludge by-product fertilizes a forest which is managed to provide wood to heat the houses. They are oriented to maximize natural light and to allow access to outside space which includes parks and footpaths throughout the development.
The more radical fringe of eco-communities is represented by a collection Greater World Earthship Community, 12 miles northwest of the town of Taos in New Mexico. Emerging from the desert, it is a development of 130 homes with walls built from used tires full of rammed earth, empty glass bottles and cans and recycled materials. Pioneered by Mike Reynolds, the idea has spread around the world. It focuses more on the recycles aspect from the three Rs.
Lastly Vauban is a district two miles to the south of central Freiburg which provides a lesson in how to develop 5,000 homes in participation with, rather than in opposition to, the local community. Here, nearly 50 per cent of households are car free, and car owners have to pay €18,000 a year to park in the development. Alternatives include a car sharing scheme and a tram line, for which car sharers get a free annual pass. Nearly 100 buildings produce more energy than they use, which is recycled into other areas and there is a wood-fired community power plant which supplies heating.
On a scale of 1,2,3,….I would rate the Hammarby Sjöstad eco-town as 1st, followed by Vauban and lastly Greater World Earthship Community.
Via Treehugger
