Thesis Report I

towards a more self-sustainable economy more efficient

a better use of limited resources e-waste industry metals

ind ustrial eco redirection from landfills

creates green jobs attracts people and investors

material flows recycling recovery

ste management source consumption + mate change

an agriculture an havest approach (UHA)

what was the landscape before? return to previous use?

new joint ecology industrial ecology

reconnect streams

industry for the future climate change catalyst oil consumption variation corporate agriculture

framework for theafuture towards aa more better use of limite of industrial nw portland self-sustainable resources economy e-waste industry by cody tucker more efficient metals university of oregon thesis prof. hajo neis, phd re-generative design f_2015

redirection from landfills

indian pipe, mon of indian-pipe are the roots of nearb manner indian pip and so cannot ma nutrition from the (the conifer).

notropa uniflora roots e connected via fungi to by coniferous trees. in this pe, which lacks chlorophyll ake it’s own food, obtains e effort of another plant Jim Pojar, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast

table of

01 02 03 04 05 06

introduction what is sustainable consumption?

the problem | resource consumption climate change

urban scale | city | climate action plan history | site analysis

concept | project scale | program language concept design | partners

precedents

sources

01

introduction what is sustainable consumption?

intr oduc

“The difficulty of working with the living world and taking one’s cue from the patterns discernible there is the circuitous and overlapping yet incomplete nature of what one is able to perceive of its being. Processes, structure, and functions are interwoven; everything is recycled to be born again. All is motion. All is flux.”

‘Building and Design Should Help To Heal the Planet’ Emerging Precepts of Biological Design 1984

This thesis project is focused on the problems and challenges associated with climate change and resource management. Climate change is a very broad topic that affects ecological, social and economic systems.

These various and seemingly dispersed systems cannot be looked at separately as individual components and instead need to be analyzed as a complex set of interrelated phenomenon. This is the basis of systems thinking, a critical building block underlying my proposal.

I am interested in studying how digital technologies can be used to emulate natural systems as sets of processes that act in real time to create spaces suited to support a productive urban life in sync with its ecology. This includes exploring the relationships between ecological, economic and social systems and the role architecture can play in facilitating their meeting. In order “to develop regenerative capabilities architecture needs to extend 1

beyond the form and function of things in contained projects and engage in the management of complex systems”.1 Problems associated with climate change and resource scarcity provide ample opportunities for architecture to explore its relationship with these systems.

Can architecture create new urban ecologies that promote sustainable consumption?

“CAADRIA 2016 Call for Papers - Living Systems and Micro-Utopias: Towards Continuous Designing.” Bustler. 2015. Accessed September 25, 2015.

sus taina ble consu

defi ni tio

The use of goods and services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life, while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle, so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations.

(Olfstad, 1994) Sustainable consumption is consumption that supports the ability of current and future generations to meet their material and other needs, without causing irreversible damage to the environment or loss of function in natural systems.

(OCSC, 2000).

Sustainable consumption is an umbrella term that brings together a number of key issues, such as meeting needs, enhancing quality of life, improving efficiency, minimizing waste, taking a life cycle perspective and taking into account the equity dimension; integrating these component parts in the central question of how to provide the same of better services to meet the basic requirements of life and the aspiration for improvement, for both current and future generations, while continually reducing environmental damage and the rise to human health. (UNEP, 2001) To promote patterns of consumption and production that reduce environmental stress and will meet the basic needs of humanity.

(Rio Earth Summit, 1992)

02 the problem resource consumption climate change

the prob

“The major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production, particularily in industrialized countries” ‘Changing Consumption Patterns’ Chapter 4 Agenda 21 Rio Earth Summit 1992

The world population is growing exponentially.

In fact is expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050.2 That means there will be 2.6 billion more human beings on the planet in 35 years. This is important because the earth is a closed system with a limited amount of resources. Therefore while the amount of people on the planet continues to rise, the amount of resources will not. This results in resource scarcity. Resources will be lost to human consumption at unimaginable rates unless they are properly managed. When you combine resource scarcity and population growth with climate change an endless list of problems ensue.

Proper resource management means ensuring that everyone has equal access to necessary resources (resource equity) and ensuring that there is enough to sustain future generations. This could also be called regenerative resource management or sustainable consumption. Shifting to regenerative or sustainable consumption involves cradle to cradle design, ecologically friendly production techniques and resource recovery. In the words 2 3

of Buckminster Fuller it means “to increase the performance per pound of the world’s resources until they provide all of humanity a high standard of living”.3 In order to be successful it requires a paradigm shift in the modern world view.

No longer can the Earth be regarded as a machine, separated into parts and existing only for our use. This has led to a world plagued by the endless consumption of finite non-renewable resources and abuse of regenerative systems for short term gain. Instead we must work in harmony with its natural regenerative capabilities taking care to maintain it as if it was our “spaceship”. Once we acknowledge the problem at hand, we can begin to alter consumption habits and equally allocate the worlds resources.

Becker, Rachel. “World Population Expected to Reach 9.7 Billion by 2050.” National Geographic. July 21, 2015. Accessed November 4, 2015.

Fuller, R. Buckminster. Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1969. 42

Consumption is a necessary part of life. We have to consume in order to survive. However, in the modern world “consumption is no longer limited to the necessities, but on the contrary, mainly concentrates on the superfluities of life”.4 This is a direct result of advanced production processes and an economic system defined by endless growth. We live in an unconstrained consumer society.

With the advent of the industrial revolution human production was no longer restricted by the natural world. For example sawmills no longer required access to a waterfalls, boats could sail without the wind and people could move faster than ever.

These new technologies also made the world smaller connecting resources in one hemisphere with manufacturing systems and consumers in another inevitably giving rise to a global industrial complex.

It is important to note that the global industrial complex is extremely imbalanced. For example the United States has 5% of the worlds population yet it consumes 20% of the worlds resources.5 This is not sustainable. In order to promote better resource equity and efficiency we need to look at resource management in natural systems as a model for sustainable consumption. One of the biggest differences between human resource management and natural resource management revolves around waste. In the natural world

4

there is no such thing as waste. Waste is a valuable resource to be re-appropriated for new purposes. In the human world waste is discarded and left as a problem for future generations. For example the United States produces 220,000,000 tons of waste every year and more than half is sent to landfills.6 The first step in promoting more sustainable resource management involves how we manage our waste.

Since the industrial revolution waste management has revolved around sanitation. This means keeping the city clean by getting trash out as quickly and economically as possible. Currently this entails hiring private companies to export trash from the city to landfills in the nearby environment. This model is based on a linear system acting without consideration for the many negative social, economic and environmental effects it has.

If we take into account the negative effects of current consumption patterns it becomes apparent that a new system is required. One that fundamentally redefines waste and the way we manage our limited resources.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. “The Costs and Benefits of Consuming.” J Consum Res Journal of Consumer Research 27, no. 2 (2000): 267-72.

“Population and Energy Consumption.” World Population Balance. Accessed November 4, 2015.

6 “How Much Do We Waste Daily?” Duke University Center for Sustainability & Commerce. Accessed November 4, 2015.

5

64

percent of total waste recycled portland, oregon

45

percent of total waste recycled united states

This proposal looks specifically at resource management in the city of Portland, Oregon and its surrounding metro area. Portland, Oregon has a reputation for being a “green” city yet it still functions as a mass consumer society which results in a lot of unnecessary waste. While Portland has a recycling rate of 64% (one of the highest in the country) it still produces over 1,000,000 tons of garbage a year, enough to fill 2,500 olympic swimming pools.7 Most of that is sent to landfills.

The population in Portland is expected to double from 609,456 in 2015 to 1,334,456 by 2035.8 That is only a window of 20 years to plan and prepare waste management infrastructure to handle double the amount of trash. If business continues as usual that means 5,000 olympic swimming pools

7

of trash every year. Contracts under the current solid waste management system are set up to end in 2019, so the “Metro Council is discussing opportunities to do more with what the region throws away”.9 This provides an excellent opportunity to rework the waste management system by improving upon local resource cycles.

By promoting sustainable consumption and efficient resource management the City of Portland can reduce the impacts of climate induced resource scarcity. This can also improve its resiliency as a self sufficient system relying less on imported materials.

“Short Survey: Where Should the Garbage Go?” Metro. October 16, 2015. Accessed November 10, 2015.

“Population Estimates, July 1, 2014, (V2014).” United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 3, 2015.

9 Koffman, Rebecca. “Where Does Your Garbage Go? The Journey of Trash.” Metro. October 2, 2015. Accessed November 4, 2015.

8

= 100 olympic swimming pools of trash

03 urban scale city climate action plan site analysis history

port of portland, oregon

At an urban scale this project will look at resource and material flows throughout the Portland metro area in order to synthesize a more efficient and sustainable resource cycle. This means locating opportunities for resource cascading and sharing. Resource cascading is similar to energy cascading, which is defined as “the transfer of energy from large scales to smaller scales”.10 In natural ecosystems this transfer of energy is optimized to create the most efficient energy use and resource consumption patterns possible.

This requires understanding that the city functions much like an organism taking nutrients or materials in, processing them and outputting waste materials. Another term for this concept is urban metabolism.

By looking at physical resources including raw materials and manufacturing byproducts we can understand how the city of Portland can more efficiently consume its resources.

10

“Energy Cascade.” Wikipedia. October 1, 2015. Accessed December 1, 2015.

cli mate act ion 2030 Objective 8.

Reduce consumption-related emissions by encouraging sustainable consumption and supporting Portland businesses in minimizing the carbon intensity of their supply chains.

2030 Objective 9.

Reduce food scraps sent to the landfill by 90 percent.

2030 Objective 10.

Reduce per capita solid waste by 33 percent.

2030 Objective 11.

Recover 90 percent of all waste generated. ‘Consumption and Solid Waste’ Climate Action Plan Summary 2015

The NW Industrial District of Portland, Oregon is an excellent area to test and implement a new type of industry based on regenerative principles including resource reuse and remediation because the City of Portland implemented a climate action plan in 2015. The climate action plan “means transitioning away from fossil fuels while strengthening the local economy and shifting fundamental patterns of urban development, transportation, buildings and consumption” in order to reduce local carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.11 The city is already committed to becoming a global leader in sustainable urban development making it highly possible to implement ideas from this project.

Recent evidence in Portland also shows that industries based on regenerative and sustainable principles can create more jobs with long term benefits than exploitative industries.

This is especially important to Oregon and the City of Portland because it does not have its own fossil fuel resources. Instead everything must be imported and the money spent on this type of 11 12

energy is exported from the local economy.

Investing in regenerative industries that promote resource efficiency and sustainable consumption will provide the City of Portland with a head start in the new carbon free economy.

The Climate Action Plan also points out that while changing consumer behavior to purchase environmentally friendly products is important, it only accounts for a small part of consumption related emissions. They found that 68% of a product’s life cycle emissions are generated before the consumer even begins to use the product.12 This makes it even more important that the industries located in Portland’s NW Industrial District are based on regenerative principles making the most efficient use of the available resources including waste.

Portland Climate Action Plan: Local Strategies to Address Climate Change. Portland, Oregon, 2015.

Portland Climate Action Plan: Local Strategies to Address Climate Change. Portland, Oregon, 2015.

nw ind ust

Before WWII the NW Industrial District in Portland, Oregon was a lake surrounded by low lying marshy wetlands that flooded seasonally in response to the water level within the Willamette River. The original native inhabitants often avoided the area because of its soft ground and frequent flooding. This was Guild’s Lake before the first settlers arrived from the east. Upon their arrival the swamps and wetlands were ‘cleaned up’ and the river was ‘improved’ to create more buildable land around Portland. Like the previous inhabitants the well-being of the new settlers was directly tied to the river, but in a different way.

They saw the river as a highway for the distribution of goods into the Willamette Valley, an energy source for their productive industries and a sink for sewage and waste.

his

Guild’s Lake was one of the original water sources for the City of Portland in the early 1800’s.13 Since then it has historically been an area categorized by industrial land use.

In the later half of the 19th century the area contained some of Portland’s first sawmills because of its close proximity to the city, the Willamette River and many of the streams flowing from the west hills. It was also home to grain silos, railroads and docks.

In 1905 the Lewis and Clark Exposition was held on a man made island in the middle of Guild’s Lake. It showcased the abundant resources of the Pacific Northwest and featured promenades lit day and night by the electric light bulb. None of it remains.

In 1914 after years of dredging and channelizing the Willamette River the area was designated as a deep water seaport, making Portland one of the few major seaports on the West Coast.

During WWII the area was used as wartime housing for the many workers engaged in ship manufacturing.

Since the 1940’s the Guild’s Lake area has been the primary site for chemical processing and storage, petroleum storage and other heavy industry including metals manufacturing.

These industries have left a legacy of toxic contamination and the area is now classified as a top priority under the EPA Superfund Act. 13

Comerford, Jane. A History of Northwest Portland: From the River to the Hills. Portland, Oregon: Dragonfly Press, 2011.

“Open streams once flowed across downtown Portland and the NW industrial area. Tanner Creek once flowed into a low, swampy area called Couch Lake, which once extended from just south of the Steel Bridge to the Fremont Bridge but was filled between 1896 and 1919.”

‘Willamette River History’ Environmental Services Portland 2015

What will be the history of this area in the 21st century?

VULNERABILITY

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DIV Figure 41. Urban heat islands i Portland State University. 2015.

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Upon analyzing the site it becomes apparent that its current mode of development has taken little consideration for the natural systems in place. Located down slope from Forest Park and directly next to the Willamette river it becomes apparent why the area was historically a wetland. This industrial area lies at the meeting point between ephemeral rain fed streams and the Willamette River. These streams are now piped underground and combined with storm water runoff before they flow directly into the river. Their potential is ignored. Many of these streams used to provide critical habitat important to the life cycle history of many native species. To this day Balch Creek still provides spawning habitat for native Cuttthroat Trout able to bypass the system of underground pipes.14 14

Knudson, Matt, Jeanine Pentilla, and Luke Peterson. Balch Creek Watershed: Good Policy, Poor Performance. Portland, Oregon.

04 concept project scale program language concept design

landfill in arlington, oregon

ecology waste

production consumption

industrial ecology

In order to shift from an exploitative consumer economy and improve resource efficiency within the City of Portland this project proposes a center for sustainable consumption. The center for sustainable consumption changes the way we ‘see’ waste. It is an attempt to restructure current industrial processes to work in harmony with ecological systems based on the fundamental principles of industrial ecology. This requires industrial production systems including waste management to “optimize the total materials cycle from virgin material to finished material, to component, to product, to waste product, and to ultimate disposal”.15 Thorough application of these principles in Portland will generate a waste management center for the 21st century that values waste as much as any raw material.

In a sense it acts as the city’s digestive system, processing materials for reuse and redistribution.

Unlike conventional waste collection and transfer stations which act as little more than temporary

15

holding grounds until the waste can be removed to a landfill, the center for sustainable consumption combines multiple industries involved in waste management and resource reuse under one roof. It performs the necessary functions of a waste collection center involving collection and sorting while also incubating new industries and promoting regenerative waste management strategies.

The idea is driven by the need to reincorporate waste into everyday life and reconnect industrial systems with their natural counterparts in order to foster productive connections between people, nature, waste and industry.

The ‘dump’ becomes an attractive and critical component of the city.

Jelinski, L. W., T. E. Graedel, R. A. Laudise, D. W. Mccall, and C. K. Patel. “Industrial Ecology: Concepts and Approaches.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 89 (1992): 793-97.

pro ject

metro central solid waste transfer station

pro

material storage glass plastic metals e-waste paper wood material collection

drop off sorting material processing combustion

gasification

anaerobic digestion

refuse derived fuels

adv. material recovery

vacuum compressor educational spaces compost urban agriculture visitor center secondhand sale room exhibition space biological remediation studio/incubator space workshop office/administration bath

con

pa rt

Tim Lynch Multnomah County Office of Sustainability

c.r.o.p.s. a Multnomah County initiative to turn unused and vacant lots into productive urban gardens

Tim Lynch Multnomah County Office of Sustainability

c.r.o.p.s. a Multnomah County initiative to turn unused and vacant lots into productive urban gardens

05 precedents

pre ce

pre ce

06 sources

Becker, Rachel. “World Population Expected to Reach 9.7 Billion by 2050.” National Geographic.

July 21, 2015. Accessed November 4, 2015. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/worldpopulation-expected-to-reach-9-7-billion-by-2050/.

“CAADRIA 2016 Call for Papers - Living Systems and Micro-Utopias: Towards Continuous Designing.”

Bustler. 2015. Accessed September 25, 2015. http://www.bustler.net/index.php/competition/cfp_ living_systems_and_micro-utopias_towards_continuous_desi/.

Comerford, Jane. A History of Northwest Portland: From the River to the Hills. Portland, Oregon: Dragonfly Press, 2011.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. “The Costs and Benefits of Consuming.” J Consum Res Journal of Consumer Research 27, no. 2 (2000): 267-72.

“Energy Cascade.” Wikipedia. October 1, 2015. Accessed December 1, 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Energy_cascade.

Erkman, S. “Industrial Ecology: An Historical View.” Journal of Cleaner Production 5, no. 1-2 (1997): 1-10. doi:0959-6526.

Francis, C., G. Lieblein, S. Gliessman, T.A. Breland, N. Creamer, R. Harwood, L. Salomonsson, J. Helenius, R. Salvador, M. Weidenhoeft, S. Simmons, P. Allen, M. Altieri, C. Flora, and R. Poincelot.

“Agroecology: The Ecology of Food Systems.” Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 22, no. 3 (2008): 99118. doi:10.1300/J064v22n03.

Fuller, R. Buckminster. Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1969.

Gibbs, David, and Pauline Deutz. “Reflections on Implementing Industrial Ecology through Ecoindustrial Park Development.” Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007): 1683-695.

“How Much Do We Waste Daily?” Duke University Center for Sustainability & Commerce. Accessed November 4, 2015. https://center.sustainability.duke.edu/resources/green-facts-consumers/howmuch-do-we-waste-daily.

Jackson, Tim. The Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Consumption. London: Earthscan, 2006.

Jelinski, L. W., T. E. Graedel, R. A. Laudise, D. W. Mccall, and C. K. Patel. “Industrial Ecology: Concepts and Approaches.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 89 (1992): 793-97.

Knudson, Matt, Jeanine Pentilla, and Luke Peterson. Balch Creek Watershed: Good Policy, Poor Performance. Portland, Oregon.

Koffman, Rebecca. “Where Does Your Garbage Go? The Journey of Trash.” Metro. October 2, 2015.

Accessed November 4, 2015. http://www.oregonmetro.gov/news/where-does-your-garbage-gojourney-trash.

McHarg, Ian L. Design with Nature. Garden City, New York: Published for the American Museum of Natural History [by] the Natural History Press, 1969.

Plessis, Chrisna Du. “Towards a Regenerative Paradigm for the Built Environment.” Building Research & Information 40, no. 1 (2012): 7-22.

“Population Estimates, July 1, 2014, (V2014).” United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 3, 2015. http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045214/00,4159000.

Portland Climate Action Plan: Local Strategies to Address Climate Change. Portland, Oregon, 2015.

Rogers, Richard George, and Philip Gumuchdjian. Cities for a Small Planet. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1997.

“Short Survey: Where Should the Garbage Go?” Metro. October 16, 2015. Accessed November 10, 2015. http://www.oregonmetro.gov/news/short-survey-where-should-garbage-should-go.

Todd, Nancy Jack, and John Todd. Bioshelters, Ocean Arks, City Farming: Ecology as the Basis of Design. San Francisco, California: Sierra Club Books, 1984.

2012 Oregon Material Recovery and Waste Generation Rates Report. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 2013.

Wackernagel, M., J. Kitzes, D. Moran, S. Goldfinger, and M. Thomas. “The Ecological Footprint of Cities and Regions: Comparing Resource Availability with Resource Demand.” Environment and Urbanization 18, no. 1 (2006): 103-12.