5/11 Initial Thoughts

I would like the think that the principle of "conserve and load" can be used concurrently. Looking at the mess we've gotten ourselves into since day one, it seems that we designed in every manner and for every reason except sustainability. So the first portion of the principle being conserve will definitely be and is seen as we clean-up and make-up for previous non-sustainable design decisions that are still in place today. This conservation will not only involve cleaning up abandoned structures and "wasteland" sitting idle in many parts of the world but also conserving in the form of cherishing the natural resources we still have on this earth and finding ways to be less dependent on them.

Conserving fossil fuels and finding alternate energy sources alone is a giant leap for our population, but one that seems to be the hot topic of debate and research right now and will hopefully prove to be a great step in improving climate conditions in our environment. Then, once we can get to a point where we have reclaimed and salvaged the consequences from non sustainable decisions, we will have much opportunity to load on sustainable decisions. This principle will only result though, if we make our conservation efforts permanent and do not fall back into the traps of foregoing sustainable design options for ones that are more economical and equitable as the cycle will reoccur and I will be writing this same blog entry sometime in the future.

One example of conservation instead of restoration because of cost and scale constraints as outlined in the "Green Infrastructure Report," will be the preservation of critical ecological sites and links that can be connected to existing and future green infrastructure. Another factor of successful loading as pointed out in the same article, is that to be fully sustainable, the load must be all encompassing, holistic, comprehensive, publicly and diversely grounded, and have promised funding. These same factors must be applied when conserving as well in order for the efforts to achieve optimum results.

A final example of conserve and load I believe I have witnessed first hand, being a lifetime member of the Blo-No community is the transformation of the College Hills shopping area. Growing up I remember the College Hills Indoor mall being a thriving shopping center, as if not more popular than the Eastland mall. Over time though stores started to move away from the mall and much of the structure sat empty and idle. A couple years ago, a decision was made as an alternate to scrapping the entire structure, to turn it into an outdoor, central open-air shopping center retaining the core department stores that originally held the center together. This seems to have been quite a successful, inviting design in which the center wraps around central people. What would be an even more sustainable load decision would be to build on top of the shops, adding living space much like the downtown areas utilize. This would invite, and keep even more people in a central location with much of the life necessities s within walking distance. Incorporating more of the natural environment wouldn't be bad either but it seems to be a conserve and load step in the right direction.