Oil Dependent by Design: A Case for Non-Petroleum Based Design by Michelle Sharpe

A Case for Non-Petroleum Based Design

In partial fulfillment of a Master of Arts in Interior Design at Harrington College of Design 200 West Madison | Chicago, Illinois 60606

Michelle Sharpe May 2012

This is to certify the thesis prepared by Michelle Sharpe, entitled “Oil Dependent by Design: A Case for Non-‐Petroleum Based Design” has been approved by her committee and satisfactorily completes the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Interior Design at Harrington College of Design. Completed May 8, 2012 Daniella Ghertovici, Chair Steve Fuchs, Reader Lou Raia, Reader Bethany Johnson, Reader

For my family: a tiny Sharpe village of 7 siblings and a set of parents, Thank you for all of your support through this educational journey.

“For more than 65 years we have designed our communities for oil. We’ve built nearly 47,000 miles of high-‐speed interstate highways, a vast continental network for refueling and servicing gasoline-‐powered vehicles, and millions upon millions of acres of car-‐dependent suburbs. This gargantuan legacy of long-‐term investments has all been made with the assumption that the petroleum fuels that make the whole system work will be available and affordable for the foreseeable future.” -‐Richard Heinberg

Table of Contents

Dedication ................................................................................................ iii Index of Illustrations ............................................................................... viii Definitions ................................................................................................ x Preface ..................................................................................................... xi Introduction ........................................................................................... xiii Thesis Statement ...................................................................................... 1 Chapter I | Interior Design & Oil Dependency ............................................ 2 Chapter II| Oil Dependent by Design: The American Dream, A Petroleum Based Dream ...................................................... 6 Historical Snapshot ...................................................................................................................... 7 Post World War II: The American Dream-A Car and A White Picket Fence ............................. 8 Lessons from the 1960s and 1970s ............................................................................................ 10 Space & Population ................................................................................................................... 12 An Addict: US Oil Dependency ................................................................................................ 15

Chapter III| An Appetite for Consumption ............................................... 18 Oil: Resource Wars .................................................................................................................... 20 Oil: A Finite Resource ............................................................................................................... 21 Psychology: Human Habits and Oil Addiction.......................................................................... 22

Chapter IV| Vulnerability: Peak Infrastructure, The Life Blood of the US Economy & Lifestyle ....................................... 23 Hubbert’s Peak Oil Theory ........................................................................................................ 24 Oil Discovery, Oil Imports, and Oil Reserves ........................................................................... 25 Oil: You Can’t Eat It .................................................................................................................. 26 The Oil Age: BPO and APO ...................................................................................................... 28 Systems: The Built Environment and Fossil Fuel Dependence ................................................. 29 System: The Waste Stream and Oil Dependence ...................................................................... 29

Chapter V| Pre Post Petroleum Strategy .................................................. 31 Post-Petroleum: Places with a Plan ........................................................................................... 32 Portland, OR ......................................................................................................................... 32 Sebastopol, CA ..................................................................................................................... 33 Cuba: The Special Period ...................................................................................................... 34

Chapter VI| Major Change by Design ....................................................... 35 ERID (Environmentally Responsible Interior Design) .............................................................. 36 Ken Yeang, A Look Towards Sustainable Structures ............................................................... 37 Alternate Energies, Lifestyle, and Design ................................................................................. 38 Sustainable Cost Savings ........................................................................................................... 39 Material Sourcing ...................................................................................................................... 39 Design Case Studies | Materials ................................................................................................. 40

Filter | Chicago, IL ................................................................................................................ 40 Scrap House | San Francisco, CA .......................................................................................... 42 The Collective | New York, NY ............................................................................................. 43 Big Dig House | Lexington, MA ............................................................................................ 45 Recycled Materials in Hospitality & Residential Design .......................................................... 46 Design Case Studies | Commercial Design & Food .................................................................. 47 In.gredients | Austin, TX ....................................................................................................... 47 The Plant | Chicago, IL .......................................................................................................... 48 Car-Free Ideologies.................................................................................................................... 49 Car-‐Free Housing and Development .................................................................................... 49 New Urbanism ...................................................................................................................... 49 People-Centric Circulation ........................................................................................................ 50 Complete Streets .................................................................................................................. 50 Complete Streets: Chicago Cermak Road Project ................................................................ 51 Traffic Calming ..................................................................................................................... 52 Cities with Vision ...................................................................................................................... 52 Coopenhagan, Denmark ....................................................................................................... 53 Florence, Italy ....................................................................................................................... 54 Prioritizing the Pedestrian .......................................................................................................... 54

Chapter VII| Activation: Chicago Ward #1 Wicker Park ............................ 56 History of Wicker Park .............................................................................................................. 57 Wicker Park Demographics ....................................................................................................... 58 Wicker Park Transportation ....................................................................................................... 59

Chapter VIII| Pre Post-‐Petroleum Design ................................................. 61 Design Tests ............................................................................................................................... 64 The New General Store (BYOB) ...................................................................................... 64 Residential: Typical Brownstone ...................................................................................... 67 Electric Alley: Transportation ........................................................................................... 70 Thesis Design Proposal .............................................................................................................. 74 Community Access ........................................................................................................... 76 Marketplace ....................................................................................................................... 80 Restaurant/Bar ................................................................................................................... 83 Educational Gallery........................................................................................................... 85 Cafe ................................................................................................................................... 87 Patio .................................................................................................................................. 89 Event Space ....................................................................................................................... 90 Educational Facility .......................................................................................................... 90

Chapter IX| So What Now? ...................................................................... 91 Connectivity: A New Website ................................................................................................... 92 A Blog & An Ap: Sustainable Brain Candy .............................................................................. 93 So What Now? Activate Your Own Reduction ......................................................................... 93 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 94

Resources in Chicago ............................................................................... 95 Education ................................................................................................................................... 95 Building Materials, Fixtures ...................................................................................................... 95 Finishes & Furniture .................................................................................................................. 95 Recycle....................................................................................................................................... 96

Petroleum Education .................................................................................................................. 96

Bibliography ............................................................................................ 97 Books ......................................................................................................................................... 97 Documentaries ........................................................................................................................... 98 Email .......................................................................................................................................... 98 Print and Online Journals ........................................................................................................... 98 Lectures ...................................................................................................................................... 99 Podcasts ..................................................................................................................................... 99 Websites ..................................................................................................................................... 99 Illustrations .............................................................................................................................. 101

Appendix A: Thesis Slide Presentation .................................................... 103

Index Of Illustrations

Chapter II | Oil Dependent by Design: The American Dream, A Petroleum Based Dream .................................................... 6 Figure 2.1: Levittown, PA ....................................................................................................... 8 Figure 2.2: Gas Lines 1970s. ................................................................................................ 10 Figure 2.3: City of Munster, Germany | Space Poster .......................................................... 12 Figure 2.4: Los Angeles Traffic ............................................................................................. 13

Chapter III| An Appetite for Consumption ............................................... 18 Figure 3.1: EIA Petroleum Trends. ....................................................................................... 19 Figure 3.2: Oil Barrel with Map of World. ........................................................................... 20

Chapter IV| Vulnerability: Peak Infrastructure, The Life Blood of the US Economy & Lifestyle ....................................... 23 Figure 4.1: Hubbert’s Peak Oil Theory. ................................................................................ 24 Figure 4.2: Pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico. .......................................................................... 26 Figure 4.3: Deepwater Horizon Explosion, April 20, 2010. .................................................. 27

Chapter VI| Major Change by Design ....................................................... 35 Figure 6.1: Interior of Filter | Chicago, IL. ........................................................................... 41 Figure 6.2: Scrap House Exterior | San Francisco, CA. ........................................................ 42 Figure 6.3: Interior of The Collective | New York City, NY. ................................................. 43 Figure 6.4: Exterior of Big Dig House | Lexington, MA. ....................................................... 45 Figure 6.5: in.gredients Concept | Austin, TX. ..................................................................... 47 Figure 6.6: The Plant Concept | Chicago, IL. ....................................................................... 48 Figure 6.7: Complete Streets Illustration ............................................................................. 51 Figure 6.8: Complete Street Cermak Road Project | Chicago, Illinois. ................................ 51

Chapter VII| Activation: Chicago Ward #1 Wicker Park ............................ 56 Figure 7.1:.Wicker Park | Chicago, IL ................................................................................... 57 Figure 7.2: 2010-‐2011 Ridership Numbers from The Chicago Transit Authority. ................ 59

Chapter VIII| Pre Post-‐Petroleum Design ................................................. 61 Figure 8.1: Design Test Area ................................................................................................. 63 Figure 8.2: The New General Store | Site Map ................................................................... 64 Figure 8.3: The New General Store | Exterior with Greenhouses. ....................................... 65 Figure 8.4: The New General Store | Exterior with Energy Systems ................................... 66 Figure 8.5: Residential Floor Plans. ..................................................................................... 67 Figure 8.6:. Residential Living Room and Kitchen. .............................................................. 68 Figure 8.7: Residential Bedroom and Bathroom ................................................................. 69 Figure 8.8: Electric Alley Site Map ........................................................................................ 70 Figure 8.9: Electric Alley in Site ............................................................................................ 70 Figure 8.10: View of Building and Rooftop Theater ............................................................. 71 Figure 8.11: Electric Alley Rooftop Theater with Stage ........................................................ 71 Figure 8.12: Building Elevation ............................................................................................. 72 Figure 8.13: Elevation of Site with Subway .......................................................................... 72

Figure 8.14: Thesis Site ......................................................................................................... 74 Figure 8.15: Photograph of Current Site .............................................................................. 75 Figure 8.16: Programming .................................................................................................... 76 Figure 8.17: Building Isometric ............................................................................................. 77 Figure 8.18: West Entrance .................................................................................................. 77 Figure 8.19: West Entrance Detail ........................................................................................ 78 Figure 8.20: East Entrance .................................................................................................... 79 Figure 8:21: South Entrance ................................................................................................. 79 Figure 8.22: Marketplace Plan ............................................................................................. 80 Figure 8.23: Marketplace Interior under Fret Solar Panels .................................................. 81 Figure 8.24: Marketplace with Booth Details ....................................................................... 82 Figure 8.25: Bar Floor Plan ................................................................................................... 83 Figure 8.26: Interior of Bar Facing West .............................................................................. 84 Figure 8.27: Gallery Floor Plan ............................................................................................. 85 Figure 8.28: Gallery Interior Facing West ............................................................................. 86 Figure 8.29: Café Floor Plan ................................................................................................ 87 Figure 8.30: Café Interior Facing South ................................................................................ 88 Figure 8.31: Patio Floor Plan ............................................................................................... 89 Figure 8.32: Café Interior Facing South ................................................................................ 90

Definitions

Aeroponics: Cultivation of plants by using air or mist instead of a soil. Aquaponics: A type of food production process that uses fish or other aquatic organisms to grow plants. The plants filter the waste in the water that is produced from the waste of the aquatic organisms. In turn fresh water is then circulated back to the aquatic organisms. The waste of these species are full of vital nutrients that the plants use to grow. Anerobic Bio Digester: An energy production system that uses the methane gas released from organic waste like food or manure breaking down within an enclosed container as a source of energy. 3 R’s of Sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle C&D: Construction and Demolition waste. C2C: Cradle to Cradle. Products are designed to have limited environmental impact and strive to be waste free just like nature. Closed Loop: Products are continually repurposed to divert from landfills. If waste is produced the goal is for another existing system to utilize it in some way. CTA: Chicago Transit Authority. EIA: United States Energy Information Administration FSC: Forest Stewardship Council. Issues certificates for well managed forests and it is an international non-profit association. LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. A green certification program managed by the US Green Building Council. Oil or Crude Oil: the unrefined liquid state of petroleum. It is the medium accessed from drilling. Petroleum: “Petra” =rock, “oleum” = oil. It is the remains of animals and plants from millions of years ago. It can refer to any of the states to which this black substance of hydrocarbons can be separated including: vapor, liquid, solid, and semi-solid. Precycling; Eliminating the recycling production stream. Simply rinse and use again. RCBP: Recycled Content building products. Products created from a percentage of recycled material combined with virgin material. Manufacturers often list percentage content on packaging. UGBC: United States Green Building Council.

Preface

In pursuit of my thesis topic, I plunged quite naively into the oil debate. I’d really never given much thought to oil or gasoline beyond the fact that my dad taught me how to check oil as a teenager so I wouldn’t wear out the engine on the junker that I drove, or that it powered my occasional rental car as an adult. I associated it vaguely with my daily public transportation in Chicago, and the yearly plane trips to various locations. I didn’t know that there are endless books about oil theories or that there are well-‐known theorists like M. King Hubbert that had predicted the future of this energy source back in the 1950s. I just assumed that this is how our lives work. Why would it change? I thought that I was going to tackle localizing resources for designers, and understanding more about sustainability, This topic is something that I have felt passionate about since I accidently wandered into an Earth Day festival 11 years ago with my sister. As we walked through each tent we were bombarded by ideas and products that we had never considered in our daily consumption. I remember that we both walked out of the festival in total silence. Everything that we had just accepted as the norm had been challenged and fragmented into tiny pieces that no longer made any sense. That experience forever changed my view of my dinner plate and of the world. Overnight we both became vegetarians and we’ve never looked back.

Making that lifestyle choice opened doors that I had never noticed before, and I became interested in the systems behind our food supply and the process that it went through to get to my table. Somehow though, oil never fit into that pursuit of that knowledge, but inevitably literature that addresses organic food and vegetarian food also includes articles about sustainable design, which is why I chose to attend design school in 2009.

It is now 2012, I’m in my final year of design school, and again my belief system has been fragmented. Ideas that I had just accepted as the norm have been challenged by the research that I have completed about oil. It has disrupted what I thought that I knew about the world that I live in. In order to make sense of all this research, I began drawing diagrams of systems to understand better what it was that I was trying to comprehend. In doing so, I realized that at the center of everything was oil. It was a heart, much like my own, feeding each system in my body; oil feeds systems of our infrastructure and lifestyle. This powerful fossil fuel, much to my own dismay, actually made all that I was studying to become, which is an Interior Designer, possible. What would it mean for my new consumption driven career if oil ran out? Disheartening as it felt, I continued my research. I soon realized that the question that I really needed to ask was not about local sustainability, but rather how we design without oil. I honestly wasn’t sure that I wanted to find out, because intuitively, I knew that this journey was going to provide facts and statistics that were proven by experts. I was afraid their findings would reveal a truth about the oil and how I live my life, would be one that I wasn’t quite intellectually ready to face. Despite the fear, I gathered up my courage, and I took a deep dive into the oil conversation in order to pursue the answer to my thesis question.

Introduction

Everything we use in this life has been designed, whether by nature or man. Designed systems intertwine with one another. Every object that we use, from our silverware, clothes, chairs, cars, TVs, doors, shoes, to the physical spaces that we live and work within have been designed. These designed systems and objects depend on one another to exist. Our cities are built with systems that power them, feed them, and sustain their inhabitants. Goods are brought into cities by planes, trucks, and trains. They are embedded in a network akin to the capillaries and veins in our own bodies. The central connection and energy source for this entire system is oil. Oil is the lifeblood of the World Economy and oil touches nearly every system. It is deeply embedded in agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, energy production, construction and interior design to name just a handful. At the center of our infrastructure is a beating “heart” that subsists by running blood oil through its veins to connect each system. Without oil, how do the systems function and how will design exist?

This thesis will examine, and propose commercial and residential spaces in Chicago using local materials and resources to create interior design that addresses our future oil shortages. This researcher will attempt to manage materials and waste locally in order to eliminate oil dependence. These spaces will serve as prototypes of pre post-petroleum design for communities in Chicago. These will also serve to create settings that will activate and support the design of a petroleum-free lifestyle, in order to prepare populations for the imminent collapse of our largest energy source. A world without oil will look nothing like it does today.

Thesis Statement:

We have arrived at critical point in history where what we have designed is essentially accelerating our extinction. Our physical infrastructure exists primarily because of one fossil fuel: Oil. We need to reimagine how to design and function within our current infrastructure without this fossil fuel. This is a vital paradigm shift that is necessary for the survival of our planet, our civilization and all organisms that exist here. Prototypes of commercial and residential spaces that could activate a neighborhood through design and serve as examples of pre post-petroleum local living could be a catalyst to sever this dependency.

1|Page

Chapter I | Interior Design and Oil Dependency

The practice of Interior Design is deeply dependent on oil. It has an infrastructure within itself with many systems that feed it in order to finalize the spaces that designers create. Systems are needed in order to produce all of the objects, framework, and finishes that exist within an interior. Many products that are used in interiors today are made from petroleum.1 Petroleum refers to any state of this dark, oily substance composed of hydrocarbons that is found deep within the earth. 2 It can be refined and chemically altered into numerous products that we use today. To name a few, examples include paint, sealants, varnish, fabrics, linoleum, carpet, vinyl, and fabricated woods. Textiles are created from plants or chemical processes. Agriculture depends on petroleum-based machinery to plant and harvest cotton, corn, soybeans and many other crops. Pesticides and herbicides are also petroleum based. Once harvested, these plants are then distributed to factories that manufacture them into a useable form that usually involves more use of chemicals, which are petroleum based. Another product that is heavily used in interiors, but organic in nature, is wood. In order to harvest wood today, we use petroleum-based machinery to cut, move, slice, process, and ultimately to make it into usable sizes for manufacturing and construction. Additionally, anything that is plastic is made from petroleum. This can include furniture pieces, televisions, window coverings, lighting fixtures, etc. Take a moment to look around the room that you are sitting in right now, and consider all the designed objects and that are based in petroleum.

Can Interior Design exist without petroleum? Is it possible to create spaces today, as well as in the future, without these petroleum dependent systems? I believe that it can be done, but it requires examining all of these systems that are the capillaries and arteries that feed the field of Interior Design. Ultimately, the path to the future of design does not look like the path of the past. 1

Petroleum: refers to any state of this substance including vapor, liquid, solid, and semi-solid. It is found deep within the earth and believed to be the remains of plants and animals. 2 Free Dictionary.com. Accessed May 7, 2012. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/petroleum.

3|Page

It will simply be impossible to continue business as usual without oil. By understanding the systems of our infrastructure that we live in today, it will be possible to design new ones. This is a time-sensitive proposal, as we are on the threshold of the end of oil. The time for redesigning Interior Design is now. I believe that taking a systems approach to severing our dependence on oil is necessary. The solutions lie in localizing our infrastructure, our systems, and establishing principles, that will lead to adaptation rather than collapse. As a designer, I believe that it is imperative that we recognize the systems that impact our “designed world”, with their dependence on petroleum, and acknowledge that it is a resource that is running out. I believe that I need to take a personal responsibility in reducing this oil dependence. This is how I would like to practice design, as well as to serve as a positive role model to others. I have penned the following principles, which are my guidelines for pre post-petroleum design. Through the application of these Principles, I believe the design community, can begin to define a new lifestyle and paradigm shift.

Symbiotic Relationship: Design should be mutualistic, not parasitic. The structure, site, materials, and programs should not be parasitic in nature. Thought needs to be given to the impact of every choice. Respecting and nurturing the parcel of earth where a structure resides is a priority, and land owners should practice joint stewardship. Design should mimic nature’s harmonious relationships where there is give and take.

Systemic Design: Proactively consider all systems interacting with programs. Localize systems. Reuse materials. Repurpose materials on site. Reuse structures. Source locally for materials and labor. Use non-petroleum based energy systems. Use organic waste on-site for energy. Repurpose water on site. Eliminate the concept of waste. Design taking into account nonpetroleum based adjacent transportation systems like petroleum conserving public transit, walking and biking.

Multi-disciplinary Collaboration: work collaboratively with designers, sociologists, psychologists, community members, thinkers, etc. to solve problems holistically instead of from a singular disciplinary perspective. One discipline does not have all of the answers. Humble yourself and benefit from the education of others.

4|Page

Trans-diciplinary: Approach design holistically by researching other fields and theories in order to better understand the impact of the finished design on the user and the environment. Import these theories into your practice.

Educational: The finished product should serve as a pre post-petroleum symbol and example to the community transiting towards a post-petroleum lifestyle. Provide education to the public and designers on local materials & resources to increase understanding of systems thinking and energy issues we are facing with peak world petroleum production. Design knowing that you worked to the best of your ability to leave this planet a better place for all future generations including your own. Design in manner that respects the planet that sustains our lives.

Community Based: Design should serve to foster interactions and discussions. It should create spaces where a community can reside and work together. Design should be accessible at a human scale and function to meet the basic needs of persons living in a post-petroleum world.

5|Page

Chapter II | Oil Dependent by Design: The American Dream, A Petroleum Based Dream

Historical Snapshot

“For more than 65 years we have designed our communities for oil. We’ve built nearly 47,000 miles of high-speed interstate highways, a vast continental network for refueling and servicing gasoline-powered vehicles, and millions upon millions of acres of car-dependent suburbs. This gargantuan legacy of long-term investments has all been made with the assumption that the petroleum fuels that make the whole system work will be available and affordable for the foreseeable future.”3 -Richard Heinberg We are dependent on remains of organisms from 300-500 million years ago4. Over time, sand and silt covered these organisms and eventually formed what we know today as oil. Petroleum was first discovered and used in warfare as far back as 480 BC. Arrows were dipped in petroleum and set on fire. Historical records indicate China was digging wells in 347AD. In 1755, Lewis Evans included notations about oil in Pennsylvania on his maps detailing the British Colonies. By 1815, streetlights were powered by petroleum in Prague. The Rock Oil Company of New York drilled the first oil well in the United States on August 27, 1859. It was owned and operated by George Bissel. The well was 70 feet deep. This moment in history is considered “the birth of the commercial era of petroleum“.5

As the 1800’s rolled on, a man by the name of John D. Rockefeller, founded Standard Oil of Ohio. His company had a net capital of $1 million in the 1870’s and was considered the biggest, as well as the wealthiest corporation in America. Standard Oil refined 90 percent of petroleum by 1878. 6

The oil industry became bolder in its drilling methods and areas to explore, as America pushed deeper into the Industrial Revolution. Oil wells were first submerged in fresh water around 1891,

Heinberg, Richard and Daniel Lerch, Post Carbon Reader Transportation, 207. Michigan Technological University, “How Did Oil and Gas Get Created”, Accessed February, 17, 2012. www.techalive.edu/meec/module19/Page2.htm. 5 Prehistory to 1849. “Extreme Oil. History, A History, “ PBS, Accessed August 13, 2011, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/extremeoil/history/index.html. 6 1850-1929. “Extreme Oil. History, A History, “ PBS, Accessed August 13, 2011, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/extremeoil/history/index.html. 4

7|Page

and the first salt water submerged wells were drilled in 1896 .7 In 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model T automobile,8 and from there on, we became a country addicted to oil. We designed our cities and the circulation to accommodate the automobile. Cities, corporations, systems, and automobiles were oil dependent. Oil even powered World War I and II.9

Post World War II: The American Dream-‐ A Car & White Picket Fence

Figure 2.1 Levittown, PA

After World War II, President Truman created the Veteran’s Emergency Housing Act of 1946. The goal was to create affordable housing for returning veterans. 2.7 million homes were built in 7

“Oil Platform” Accessed August 13, 2011, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_platform. 1850-1929. “Extreme Oil. History, A History, “ PBS, Accessed August 13, 2011, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/extremeoil/history/index.html. 9 1850-1929. “Extreme Oil. History, A History, “ PBS, Accessed August 13, 2011, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/extremeoil/history/index.html. 8

8|Page

what is now called the suburbs10. The suburbs are considered by some to be a “sold and packaged American Dream” that would not have been possible without cheap oil.11 Automobile makers saw this housing development boom as an opportunity to build even more cars, and the government built more roadways for them. Initially developers of the suburbs installed light rail to connect the suburbs to the cities so that these new suburbanites could get to their jobs in the cities. However, unbeknownst to the newly minted suburbanites, an alliance was being formed between oil companies, tire manufacturers and automakers. This conspiracy in essence was a systematic dismantling of public transport. This would eventually push Americans to be more dependent on the automobile than ever before, as there would no longer be an alternative mode of transport to get from point A to B. “Between 1936 and 1950, National City Lines (a company backed by the Big Three Automakers: GM, Ford, Chrysler)12 bought out more than 100 electric surface-traction systems in 45 cities, including Los Angeles, and replaced them with GM buses”.13 Today, Los Angeles has become a symbol of a car dependent city and a history lesson for urban planners.

In 1949, General Motors was finally convicted of conspiring to dismantle the rail system in many large US cities14. The unfortunate reality is that they actually succeeded in their efforts to convert the United States to an auto-based transportation system.

Another stimulant to the suburbanization and car-dependent culture of America was that “consumers were permitted to deduct credit card and other consumer debt interest in itemized

The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and The Collapse of The American Dream. Directed and written by Gregory Greene. The Electric Wallpaper Co. 2004. 11 The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and The Collapse of The American Dream. Directed and written by Gregory Greene. The Electric Wallpaper Co. 2004. 12 Warren, Roxanne, The Urban Oasis: Guideways and Greenways in the Human Environment. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1998) 8-10. 13 Metro Transportation Library. Accessed August 14, 2011. http://metrotransportationlibrary.wikispaces.com/Great+American+Streetcar+Scandal 14 The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and The Collapse of The American Dream. Directed and written by Gregory Greene. The Electric Wallpaper Co. 2004.

9|Page

deductions. Thus the post-World War II suburban migration was stimulated by purchases and hence could deduct financing costs, as well as, enjoy government subsidies for joining the automobile world. The more the consumer spent on the car, the larger the subsidy”.15 This was all true until the Tax Reform Act of 1986. After which, Americans no longer enjoyed these perks.

Lessons from the 1960s and 1970s

Figure 2.2: Gas Line 1970s

As more and more oil was discovered in Middle Eastern Nations, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was formed on September 14, 1960 to regulate prices, production and concession rights16. The countries of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and 15

Kushner, James A., The Post-Automobile City: Legal Mechanisms To Establish The Pedestrian-Friendly City. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004) 23. 16 Opec.org. Accessed August 13, 2011. http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/24.htm.

10 | P a g e

Venezuela all become members of OPEC.17 By the 1970’s the United States was very dependent on foreign oil due to our oil-addicted lifestyles and our own declining production. When OPEC declared an oil embargo on October 17, 1973 on exports to western nations for supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War, the US saw its first energy crisis. 18 Oil prices per gallon quadrupled at the pump from “25 cents to over a dollar”. 19

This was a wake up call for the United States and many changes followed. US oil consumption dropped by twenty percent, there was a decrease in homes built with gas as the source of heat, the speed limit on highways was decreased to 55mph by Congress, and Daylight Savings Time was created. Three-hour waits at the gas station were typical and many stations had no gasoline. We became a nation attempting to conserve and reduce our oil consumption due to our vulnerability.20

Opec.org. Accessed August 13, 2011. http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/24.htm. Recession.org, Accessed August 13, 2011, http://recession.org/history/1970s-oil-crisis. 19 Recession.org, Accessed August 13, 2011, http://recession.org/history/1970s-oil-crisis. 20 Recession.org, Accessed August 13, 2011, http://recession.org/history/1970s-oil-crisis. 18

11 | P a g e

Space & Population

“Letting automobiles dominate every city design decision produces a world of highways and parking lots leading to isolated offices, shopping centers or apartment complexes while generating more and more traffic and sacrificing livability and community”. 21

Figure 2.3: Space

“For every automobile, almost two per person, seven parking spaces must be added to the infrastructure”.22 This is due to the fact that most individuals that own an automobile require a space at work, at home, at school, at church, at grocery stores, at shopping malls, etc. An automobile is twenty-five times larger than a human being and requires ever increasing space as it is moving.23 Warren in her book, Urban Oasis, states that we need somewhere between 700 to 1050 square feet for the storage of each car. This space doesn’t even include the infrastructure that it moves along to get from place to place. Warren makes the point that space for autos 21

Barnett, Jonathan, Redesigning Cities: Principles, Practice, Implementation. (Chicago, IL: Planners Press 2003) 5. Kushner, James A., The Post-Automobile City: Legal Mechanisms To Establish The Pedestrian-Friendly City. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004) 56-58. 23 Warren, Roxanne, The Urban Oasis: Guideways and Greenways in the Human Environment. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1998) 13-14. 22

12 | P a g e

ultimately influences zoning and what sorts of structures can be built in certain areas. Should the automobile really dictate the design of the built environment?

Figure 2.4: Los Angeles Traffic

Los Angeles, is an extreme example of an autocentric city. It has given 25% of its total land to infrastructure designed primarily for the automobile.24 In downtown LA, 60% of land is used for the automobile. 25 At-grade parking lots at suburban or urban shopping centers, an icon of American Lifestyle, utilize only 40% of parking on peak days26, which also interestingly enough center primarily around U.S. holidays. Suburban office structures also devote much space to parking, most of which is vacant on weekends and in the evenings.27

Kushner, James A., The Post-Automobile City: Legal Mechanisms To Establish The Pedestrian-Friendly City. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004) 56-58. 25 Kushner, James A., The Post-Automobile City: Legal Mechanisms To Establish The Pedestrian-Friendly City. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004) 56-58. 26 Barnett, Jonathan, Redesigning Cities: Principles, Practice, Implementation. (Chicago, IL: Planners Press 2003) 54. 27 Barnett, Jonathan, Redesigning Cities: Principles, Practice, Implementation. (Chicago, IL: Planners Press 2003) 54.

13 | P a g e

“Even if we were to cut back tomorrow on our scale of fuel consumption through smaller cars, the innovative use of lightweight materials for car bodies, and the utilization of more efficient engines and energy-storing flywheels-this would still not address the problems of traffic congestion, parking, and social dislocation wrought by the automobile. All of these stem from the enormous spatial demands for an automobile which is some twenty-five times more massive than human beings, and its’ spatial needs multiply when it is in motion”. 28 –Roxanne Warren Another reason for rethinking the purpose and space requirements of autocentric arterial paths for individual use is that world population is exploding. Global population today is at 6.98 billion with an anticipated growth by 2021 to 7.64 billion.

This implies that almost 1 billion more

people are predicted to be added to this planet in just a decade. As city populations continue to grow and sprawl continues to weave endlessly long arterial paths from the heart of a city, government may finally take notice that the strain, demand, and function of this circulatory system needs to be closely monitored and designed efficiently, as well as, sensibly for not only this generation, but future generations.

Paul Meesstated in his book, Transport for Suburbia: Beyond the Automobile Age, that we as a society really believed a century ago that the automobile was going to create a better city than what was possible in the past.30 While the automobile and other oil dependent vehicles have definitely provided independence, assisted in mass agriculture and the movement of goods, it arguably has also become an addiction, which a huge portion of the world population is dependent upon. There is no foreseeable sobriety program in sight and most users probably have no idea of the issues we will be facing in the near future. People will arguably continue to be trapped in their fiberglass and steel boxes taking up twenty-five times31 their own physical space. Our cities accommodate the needs and scale of automobile transport more than that of the

Warren, Roxanne, The Urban Oasis: Guideways and Greenways in the Human Environment. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1998) 13-14. 29 U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. & World Population Clocks. Accessed December 13, 2011. http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html. 30 Mees, Paul, Transport for Suburbia: Beyond the Automobile Age. (London, UK: Earthscan, 2004) 37. 31 Warren, Roxanne, The Urban Oasis: Guideways and Greenways in the Human Environment. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1998) 13-14.

14 | P a g e

bicyclist or walker. Energy depletion, space, circulation, and scale are all issues associated with an automobile lifestyle that cannot subsist in our future lest our cities’ arterial paths will certainly become parking lots much like the highway systems in LA. Continuing to add more lanes within the limited space available along with population growth and car ownership does not result in serving to build our way out of congestion. An artery only allows so much to flow through it before becoming blocked. Perhaps in congested urban settings, the solution lies in giving up single-car ownership. Instead we could look at ways to create a sense of place through design to encourage people to use their physical locomotion for transport and this would result in less spatial requirements than an automobile.

An Addict : US Oil Dependency

Unfortunately, the consciousness of the lessons learned concerning dependency and conservation seemed to fade with the 1960’s and 70’s. “Global demand for petroleum is sky-high at 85 million barrels per day-twice as much as in 1969”. 32 Progression of environmentalism and development of more sustainable living were disrupted with the Regan administration in the 1980’s. Regan is quoted as having said, “Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do”.33 He systemically began to dismantle all the work that Presidents Carter and Nixon had accomplished in their administrations. He “exempted wastes generated by the oil and gas industry from coverage under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976”.34 The EPA’s budget was cut by 22% and he reduced the staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality from 50 to 8. He allowed for the opening of “a billion acres of coastal waters to offshore drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf along most of the Atlantic Gulf, and Pacific Coast, which was later scaled back

Heinberg, Richard and Daniel Lerch, The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Centruy’s Sustainability Crises. (Healdsburg, California: Watershed Media, 2010), 208. 33 Lehner, Peter and Bob Deans, In Deep: The Anatomy of a Disaster, The Fate of The Gulf, And How to End our Oil Addiction. (New York, NY: OR Books, 2010), 113. 34 Lehner, Peter and Bob Deans, In Deep: The Anatomy of a Disaster, The Fate of The Gulf, And How to End our Oil Addiction. (New York, NY: OR Books, 2010), 113.

15 | P a g e

some”. 35

Under the Clinton Administration, Congress enacted the Deepwater Relief act of 1995. This act was an effort to “suspend the payment of royalties for specific initial quantities of oil and gas produced on the Outer Continental Shelf in waters greater than 600 feet. It was also enacted in order to encourage investment in domestic oil and gas resources on the OCS.”36

With the election of George W. Bush in 2001, and his administration serving until 2009, the US lost nearly 28 years of progress towards reducing fossil fuel dependency. The National Resource Defense Council “uncovered evidence showing the Bush administration implemented proindustry energy policies requested by oil giant Chevron”.37

The degree of automobile addiction in the USA is indicated by the following quotes. “By the year 2005, car ownership in the US had doubled since 1960 and Americans are driving 30% more than in 1980. Homes doubled in size, but not efficiency”.38 “Approximately 250 million personal vehicles are registered in the USA, which amounts to about 25% of all personal vehicles in the world. About 60% of the personal vehicles in the U.S. are cars, the other 40% are SUVs, pick-up trucks and motorcycles”.39 Not only were we driving more and building McMansions, but we were also building car dependent communities known as exurbia. 40

We need to reimagine how to design and function without petroleum. Many experts believe that

Lehner, Peter and Bob Deans, In Deep: The Anatomy of a Disaster, The Fate of The Gulf, And How to End our Oil Addiction. (New York, NY: OR Books, 2010), 113. 36 Lehner, Peter and Bob Deans, In Deep: The Anatomy of a Disaster, The Fate of The Gulf, And How to End our Oil Addiction. (New York, NY: OR Books, 2010), Blind Faith120. 37 Lehner, Peter and Bob Deans, In Deep: The Anatomy of a Disaster, The Fate of The Gulf, And How to End our Oil Addiction. (New York, NY: OR Books, 2010), Blind Faith, 120 38 Heinberg, Richard and Daniel Lerch, The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Centruy’s Sustainability Crises. (Healdsburg, California: Watershed Media, 2010), 297. 39 Energy Independence, American Energy Independence, Accessed April 8, 2012, http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/fuels.aspx. 40 Exurbia: Communities designed for the automobile. Usually leap frog developments located at least 50 miles from a city center and built on greenfields.

16 | P a g e

we have already reached peak oil production, and we have been in a decline, yet “We in North America consume one-quarter of the world’s primary energy production, even though we make up less than 7% of the world’s population. North America’s massive energy diet is largely made up of hydrocarbons. A full 83 percent comes from oil, gas, and coal, and if we include nuclear energy, 91 percent comes from non-renewable fuel sources. In 2008, North America consumed 27 percent of the world’s oil production and 25 percent of natural gas production and 18 percent of coal production”.41 Oil is not a finite resource. It is a non-renewable resource. The sooner we begin to design without this fossil fuel the better.

Heinberg, Richard and Daniel Lerch, The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Centruy’s Sustainability Crises. (Healdsburg, California: Watershed Media, 2010), 211.

17 | P a g e

Chapter III | An Appetite for Consumption

“With less than five percent of the world’s population, the United States is by far the world’s largest consumer of oil. Today, tomorrow and every day, Americans will burn eight hundred million gallons of oil – one out of every four gallons produced everywhere in the world. That is as much as will be used in the four next-largest oil consuming countries combined. And those countries-China, Japan, India and Germany-make up forty percent of the world’s population. In the United States, we will burn twelve percent of the world’s daily oil output just to drive our cars and trucks. Today, tomorrow and everyday”.42 –Peter Lehner

Americans have an enormous appetite for oil. In fact, “on average, every man, woman and child consumes nearly 3 gallons of crude oil every single day of their lives”. 43 “U.S. Transportation accounts for over 70 percent of fuel consumption, and more than 65 percent of that amount is for personal vehicles”.44 Gro Harlem Brundtland stated in 1994 that, “It is simply impossible for the world as a whole to sustain a Western level of consumption for all. In fact, if 7 billion people Figure 3.1 EIA Petroleum Trends

were to consume as much energy and resources as we do in the West today we would need 10 worlds, not one to satisfy our needs”.45

Lehner, Peter and Bob Deans, In Deep Water: The Anatomy of a Disaster, the Fate of the Gulf, and Ending Our Oil Addiction. (New York, NY: OR Books, 2010), 48. 43 Meeting the World’s Appetite for Oil. “Extreme Oil. History, A History”, PBS, Accessed August 13, 2011, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/extremeoil/history/index.html.. 44 Energy Independence, American Energy Independence, Accessed April 8, 2012, http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/fuels.aspx. 45 Charter, Martin and Ursula Tischener, Sustainable Solutions: Developing Products and Services for the Future. (Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf Publishing Limited), 2001.

19 | P a g e

Oil : Resource Wars

“ I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. “ –Albert Einstein It is no longer a secret that the United States has been at war to secure the largest oil reserves in the world as well as to strategically set up military bases in these regions in the Middle East. This is a great misallocation of US funds, since we do not own these fields. Since our own production is dwindling in our own production, Figure 3.2 Global Oil , IraqEnergy.org

this money could be better spent on US soil,

developing renewable energy, so that we are prepared for the energy crisis instead of trying to secure assets that we don’t own. If we aren’t dependent on other countries for our energy needs, then we won’t need to spend billions of dollars on the military protecting our interests with respect to oil fields or oil trade routes that hold the majority of the remaining oil.

In January of 2012, Iraq threated to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, which is the primary route !

for of the oil traded globally. Energy analysts have been quoted as saying that oil prices would !

rise exponentially within days.46 The largest oil field, Ghawar, sits in Saudi Arabia. The second, third, and fourth largest, (West Qurna, Majnoon, Rumaila) are located in Iraq.47 Canada has been attempting to mine tar sands, which is a waste of time and money since it requires more resources and oil itself to extract oil from the sands than is extracted. It would be better to use those

Krauss, Clifford, “Oil Price Would Skyrocket if Iran Closed the Strait of Hormuz”, NYTimes.com, Accessed April 11, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/business/oil-price-would-skyrocket-if-iran-closed-the-strait.html. 47 Helmen, Christopher, “The World’s Biggest Oil Reserves”, January, 21,2010. Accessed April 11, 2012. http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/21/biggest-oil-fields-business-energy-oil-fields.html.

20 | P a g e

resources to prepare for the end of oil.48 Perhaps it is time to reassess our extraction methods and the cost to the environment. Oil drives our systems, but it doesn’t sustain us. Humans need 3 basic things for survival: food, water and shelter. We managed to have this entire survival kit prior to the oil age. As we slide down the bell curve into a flat line of production of oil, we need to give serious thought to what we are doing and how we have designed in this past century of oil. Flight or fight? We have lived this way, but we don’t need to continue to consume this way. This is something that we need to address daily in our lives and with urgency. We are facing this issue presently and in the next few decades, not centuries from now.

Oil: A Finite Resource

“Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can’t eat money.”-Cree Proverb

For many Americans, the only connection to oil is the price of gasoline for their automobile. The link between peak oil production and the staggering ever increasing numbers concerning oil consumption don’t seem to compute on a personal level. Outrage at the federal government over oil prices, just speaks volumes for lack of education on what we have left in the world. Nonrenewable is a phrase that doesn’t seem to resonate with society. The fact that our entire infrastructure could be held hostage in the event of another oil embargo doesn’t seem to be computing or making news headlines. Life appears to go as usual every single day. There is an undercurrent of anger towards government officials and in presidential elections over the everincreasing prices of gasoline, but where is the acceptance in our civilization that this is not an energy source that government officials can wave a wand at and produce more. It is nonrenewable. Another problem lies within politics, “Oil and auto companies give 186 million in campaign contributions (Congress & President). For every dollar they give, one thousand dollars 48

Helmen, Christopher, “The World’s Biggest Oil Reserves”, January, 21,2010. Accessed April 11, 2012. http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/21/biggest-oil-fields-business-energy-oil-fields.html.

21 | P a g e

are given back to them in subsidies and tax breaks.”49 If the United States government is being bought and sold by corporations with four times as much money as the federal government, how will we ever break our oil addiction? As a civilization, we need personal accountability for consumption or rather reduction. This is everyone’s problem.

Psychology: Human Habits and Oil Addiction

“A Blind Spot is removed from us either in time or space and it doesn’t threaten us in any immediate way”. 50 –Dr. Elke Weber Why is it that society does not seem to understand that it has the ability every single day to reduce its consumption and contribution to this impending energy crisis? According to Dr. Elke Weber, psychologist and professor of Psychology & Management at Columbia, “behavior is difficult to modify because it is automatic. We just react to our current environment and do things by habit like we’ve done them thousands of times before. Making changes for the environment to reduce things like CO2 emissions involves trade-offs. People by nature want instant gratification”. “A Blind Spot is removed from us either in time or space and it doesn’t threaten us in any immediate way”.51 People sense the issue, but it seems too big to control personally so they feel disempowered in their ability to make a difference and thus go on with business as usual ignoring the problem as it has no immediate impact. The problem with our blind spots is that we are failing to prepare, and in failing to design a system of preparation, we will be blindsided.

Blind Spot. Written and Directed by Adolfo Doring. Wallace Global Fund in association with Dislexic Films, 2008. Blind Spot. Written and Directed by Adolfo Doring. Wallace Global Fund in association with Dislexic Films, 2008. 51 Blind Spot. Written and Directed by Adolfo Doring. Wallace Global Fund in association with Dislexic Films, 2008. 50

22 | P a g e

Chapter IV: Vulnerability: Peak Infrastructure, The Life Blood of the US Economy & Lifestyle

“.. the age of cheap energy lead to the idea that our economies can grow indefinitely, forever, in complete contradiction to any notion of ecological or energy limits. As the global economy now enters a period where any degree of economic growth is becoming infeasible, it is clear there is a choice; either to try to use the same thinking that got us into this situation to get us back out again or to replace the idea of growth”.52- Richard Heinberg We are vulnerable. Oil is the life blood of the World Economy. The collapse of world oil production will affect global systems that have sustained our lives for over a century. 53 Oil touches nearly every system that makes our modern lifestyle and infrastructure possible.

Hubbert’s Peak Oil ‘Theory

“It is difficult for people living now, who have become accustomed to the steady exponential growth in the consumption of energy from the fossil fuels, to realize how transitory the fossil fuels epoch will eventually prove to be when it is viewed over a longer span of human history”.54 -M. King Hubbert

In 1956, M. King Hubbert, a geoscientist that worked for Shell Oil, predicted that US oil production would peak around 1965-1970. His theory was that oil extraction and production, no matter where on the planet it is located, follows a bell shape curve. As extraction begins and Figure 4.1: Hubbert’s Peak Oil Curve

increases, the line up the left side of the

bell is rises up sharply; but then reaches a peak, which is the top of the bell curve, and then begins its descent onto the right side of the bell curve as the well begins to dry up. Oil took millions of years to accumulate from the remains of dead organisms. This is a resource that cannot be

Heinberg, Richard and Daniel Lerch, The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Centruy’s Sustainability Crises. (Healdsburg, California: Watershed Media, 2010), 450. 53 Heinberg, Richard and Daniel Lerch, The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Centruy’s Sustainability Crises. (Healdsburg, California: Watershed Media, 2010)208-209. 54 Deffeyes, Kenneth S., When Oil Peaked. (New York, NY: Hills and Wang, 2010).

24 | P a g e

replenished. It is finite and non-renewable.

The actual peak of US oil production was 1970. M. King Hubbert wasn’t taken seriously in his prediction for US oil production. Ten years after the United States peaked, and oil companies finally realized that he had been correct. His world production estimates in the decades that followed have also been accurate. He predicated world oil peak would occur by 2006. 55 Most theorists on the matter today believe that we have reached world peak, which means that we have begun our descent from the top of the bell curve.

Oil Discovery, Oil Imports and Oil Reserves

“The US has less than 2% of the world’s oil reserves, produces 8% of the world’s oil and consumes 25% of the world’s oil, of which nearly 60% is imported from foreign countries.”56 Leading petroleum geologists and theorists have been saying for years that we will hit peak oil in this decade if we have not already.57 “World discoveries of oil peaked in the mid-1960’s and have declined since with an average of around 55 million barrels per year. Much of the oil today comes from the Middle East oil fields discovered in the mid-20th century. Production has outpaced discoveries since 1981. In 2005, new yearly discoveries totaled under 9 billion barrels while consumption was over 31 billion barrels per year. In other words we consumed 344% more oil than we discovered”.58 The US reserve was created in the 1970s due to the first energy crisis. Its purpose was to guard against any future interruptions in supply. We have about 1.41% of the

Wikipedia. “Hubbert Peak Oil Theory”. Accessed August 13, 2011. “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubbert_peak_theory. 56 Lerch, Daniel, Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, A Guidebook on Peak Oil and Global Warming for Local Governments. (Sebastopol, CA: Post Carbon Press, 2007), 71. 57 Lerch, Daniel, Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, A Guidebook on Peak Oil and Global Warming for Local Governments. (Sebastopol, CA: Post Carbon Press, 2007), 7. 58 Lerch, Daniel, Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, A Guidebook on Peak Oil and Global Warming for Local Governments. (Sebastopol, CA: Post Carbon Press, 2007), 11.

25 | P a g e

world’s oil reserves measuring 20.6 billion barrels. 59 “The U.S. uses about 20 million barrels per day (mbpd) of petroleum and other liquid fuels. It now produces just 5.5 mbpd of crude, and imports two-thirds of its supply”. 60

Oi: You Can’t Eat It

“We could drill every square foot of the Gulf seabed, putting irreplaceable habitat and species at risk, stuff miles of steel pipe and cement down every well and bleed it dry. And we’d be out of oil before our next president leaves office”.61 –Daniel Lerch

Figure 4.2: Pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico

On February 1, 2001, G. Warfield Hobbs, the president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, “assured Energy secretary Abraham and vice president Cheney, that offshore oil and

CNBC.com. Accessed May 2, 2012. http://www.cnbc.com/id/33550165/The_World_s_Biggest_Oil_Reserves?slide=4. 60 ASPOUSA.org. Accessed May 2, 2012. http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/peak-oil-reference/ 61 Lerch, Daniel, Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, A Guidebook on Peak Oil and Global Warming for Local Governments. (Sebastopol, CA: Post Carbon Press, 2007).

26 | P a g e

gas resources could be developed in the Gulf of Mexico in an “environmentally responsible manner, with no lasting harm.” 62

Figure 4.3: Deepwater Horizon Explosion April 20, 2010

In a quest to sustain our oil dependent lifestyles, the oil industry continues to take bigger and bigger risks. Deepwater Horizon was designed to operate in up to 8.000 feet of water with a drill depth of 30.000 feet. It was the deepest oil and gas well in the world under nearly 5.0000 feet oat a drill depth of 18,000 feet.63 It was a failed man-made design that has caused catastrophic environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico, and it is now known as the largest environmental disaster on record.64 Two hundred million gallons of oil filled the gulf waters for 3 months killing aquatic life, migratory birds, and Gulf businesses. “If all that oil had been gathered, it would have

Heinberg, Richard and Daniel Lerch, The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Centruy’s Sustainability Crises. (Healdsburg, California: Watershed Media, 2010), 297. 63 Eoearth.org. Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill. Accessed May 6, 2012. http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill. 64 Eoearth.org. Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill. Accessed May 6, 2012. http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill.

27 | P a g e

lasted Americans 6 hours …75% of shrimp & oysters, and millions of pounds of red snapper, blue crabs, yellow fin grouper and other seafood come from the gulf region.” Six hours of oil consumption for decades of environmental ruin.” 65 The well was capped on July 15, 2010. It has now been proven by a recent study led by researchers from East Carolina University that oil from the Macondo well under Deepwater Horizon has “entered the ocean’s food chain into the tiniest organisms, zooplankton”.66 This study proves that the contamination caused by this explosion has now entered the food chain.67 On April 23rd, 2012, state officials closed waters including Mississippi Sound, Mobile Bay, areas of Bon Secour, Wolf Bay and Little Lagoon to shrimping due to fisherman reporting deformed shrimp with tumors and no eyes.68 They will be closed indefinitely until more testing can be done on the area.69 Our digestive systems are not designed for eating oil, nor are other organism’s systems that are found in our oceans. We eat aquatic life from those waters. What does that mean for our future and our oceans?

The Oil Age: BPO and APO

“When historians write about this point in history, it may become known as BPO (Before Peak Oil) and APO (After Peak Oil) ”. 70-Blind Spot, The Movie The Post Carbon Institute, an organization located in California, is dedicated to educating the public about the energy crisis that we are facing today, through statistics that they have gathered from leading oil theorists and geoscientists. They are labeling this time period from 1859, when 65

Lehner, Peter and Bob Deans, In Deep Water: The Anatomy of a Disaster, the Fate of the Gulf, and Ending Our Oil Addiction. (New York, NY: OR Books, 2010), 123. 66 Podcast. 3/20/11 Space, Earth & environment Study Confirms oil from Deepwater Horizion disaster entered food chain in Gulf of Mexico. http://m.phys.org/news/2012-03-oil-deepwater-horizon-disaster-food.html. 67 Podcast. 3/20/11space, Earth & environment Study Confirms oil from Deepwater Horizion disaster entered food chain in Gulf of Mexico. http://m.phys.org/news/2012-03-oil-deepwater-horizon-disaster-food.html. 68 Smith, Stuart. “BP OIL SPILL AND THE GULF ECOSYSTEM: "Deformed Seafood". Officials Close Gulf Waters to Shrimping” April 26, 2012. Accessed May 2, 2012. http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=30551. 69 Smith, Stuart. “BP OIL SPILL AND THE GULF ECOSYSTEM: "Deformed Seafood". Officials Close Gulf Waters to Shrimping” April 26, 2012. Accessed May 2, 2012. http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=30551. 70 Blind Spot. Written and Directed by Adolfo Doring. Wallace Global Fund in association with Dislexic Films, 2008.

28 | P a g e

the first oil well in as drilled in Pennsylvania, until 2050 as The Oil Age.71 We have already passed BPO (Before Peak Oil) and we are now in the decades being labeled APO, After Peak Oil.72 According to them, this age of oil will end in 2050 when production will be so minimal due to depletion that it can no longer meet the demands of the ever-increasing world population.

Systems: The Built Environment and Fossil Fuel Dependence

“ It is generally true that all existing major building developments are fossil-fuel-dependent and have been designed to be fuel extravagant.”73 Historically the built environmental has not been designed to reduce material and energy consumption. Raw materials have been extracted at alarming rates without much thought to the resource needs of future generations. Recently, with the advent of LEED74 (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and One Planet Living design guidelines, more education and regulations are being put in place for the built environment. “Considerable amounts of energy are used to produce a building and maintain it thereafter. Energy is consumed to operate a building, to move people and goods to and from it and to demolish it when it is no longer needed. Buildings also exert a major impact on the flow of energy in their local area”.75

Systems: The Waste Stream and Oil Dependence

Design and waste are part of everyone’s lives. The clothes that we wear, the accessories in our homes, furniture, cars, have all been designed. These products that we use all have a life cycle, and unfortunately many find a resting place within a landfill because they have neither been created to last nor designed to biodegrade. 71

Post Carbon Institute website. The Oil Age Poster. Accessed April 2, 2012. http://www.postcarbon.org/publications/book-list/ 72 Blind Spot. Written and Directed by Adolfo Doring. Wallace Global Fund in association with Dislexic Films, 2008. 73 Yeang, Ken, Designing with Nature: The Ecological Basis for Architectural Design. (New York, NY:McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1995) 155. 74 LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. A green certification program managed by the USGBC (US Green Building Council). 75 Yeang, Ken, The Green Skyscrapper: the Basis for Designing Sustainable Intensive Buildings. (Munich, Germany: Prestel Verlag, 1999) 150.

29 | P a g e

Waste has been part of design historically, but designers with their client’s feedback have the power to control how a space is designed to decrease or eliminate the concept of waste. To prevent overuse of raw materials and keep products from finding a grave in a landfill, designers must consider what they choose to put in and take out of space. Jones quotes a statistic from a 2007 U.S. EPA study in her book Environmentally Responsible Design, “In 2005, U.S. residents, businesses, and institutions produced more than 245 million tons of solid waste, which is approximately 4.5 pounds of waste per person per day. If every country had U.S. consumption levels, the planet could support only 1.2 billion people”!76 Designers have the ability to make informed choices in their selection process. In nature there is no waste. It is a closed loop. As leaves drop from trees, they are absorbed back into the earth. If we begin to view design as closed loop, perhaps then we will eliminate waste in design.

Jones, Dr. Louise, Environmentally Responsible Design Green and Sustainable Design for Interior Designers. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons 2008) 26.

30 | P a g e

Chapter V: Pre Post-‐Petroleum Strategy

Post-‐Petroleum: Places with a Plan

In 2004, oil prices spiked at a record high.77 Some progressive cities in the US took action and developed a Peak Oil Task Force in order to implement systems to withstand the collapse of our oil infrastructure.

Portland, OR

The population of the city of Portland and metropolitan area is 1.4 million. Portland has long been considered a progressive US city.78 In the 1970’s, Portland demolished a waterfront freeway. Instead of building another structure for cars, they created a park and established urban growth boundaries in order to retain surrounding farmlands for food. By the 1980’s, Portland had torn down another automobile structure, a parking garage, in order to create a block long public square. In the 1990’s, a proposal for a second major highway was canceled and Portland instead developed a plan to reduce carbon emissions. The Office of Sustainable Development was formed in 2000 to create policies on energy, recycling, green building, climate change, and food. In 2006, Portland formed a Peak Oil Task Force. The task force broke into four sub-groups to identify vulnerable sectors. They were: •

Land Use and Transportation

•

Food and Agriculture

•

Public Services

•

Economic Change

Each subgroup preformed an investigation into vulnerabilities, and then wrote a summary report in 2007 with recommendations to reduce oil and natural gas consumption by 50% in the next 25

32 | P a g e

years.79 Some of the solutions that were developed were.80 •

Education and Awareness. Engage and educate communities about peak oil and develop community-based solutions.

•

Create a transportation infrastructure that moves goods efficiently and would not fail in a fuel shortage.

•

Expand food production and processing locally by preserving farmland.

•

Be prepared for sudden shortages with emergency plans in place.

Sebastopol, CA

“Given the failure of the federal government to adequately address either global warming or America’s energy vulnerability, it is up to local governments, small businesses and citizens groups to take the lead. While we can’t know with any great certainty how these two world changing events will impact us, the longer we wait to develop contingency plans, the more vulnerable we will be. Sebastopol is committed to doing whatever we can to prepare for the coming crisis.”81 –Former Mayor Larry Robinson In September 2005, the mayor of Sebastopol, Larry Robins, organized a town hall meeting to discuss the “future energy needs and the economic and social consequences of a potential sharp increase in oil and gas prices.” An Energy Vulnerability Citizens Committee was formed just after this meeting. By 2007, the committee provided its recommendations on key actions the city should take to prepare for an energy crisis. Some of the goals are as follow: •

Begin integrating solar panels on city structures.

•

Reduce the use of fossil fuels citywide for electricity.

•

Invest in alternative energies to begin a shift away from fossil fuels.

•

Prepare an emergency plan for long-term outages and determine energy needs of citywide departments.

•

Zero Waste: Reduce waste and in so doing, reduce the cost of transport.

Lerch, Daniel, Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, A Guidebook on Peak Oil and Global Warming for Local Governments. (Sebastopol, CA: Post Carbon Press, 2007), 41. 80 Lerch, Daniel, Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, A Guidebook on Peak Oil and Global Warming for Local Governments. (Sebastopol, CA: Post Carbon Press, 2007), 43. 81 Lerch, Daniel, Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, A Guidebook on Peak Oil and Global Warming for Local Governments. (Sebastopol, CA: Post Carbon Press, 2007), 48.

33 | P a g e

Cuba: The Special Period

In the 1990, Cuba lost all of its oil imports, sixty percent of its food, half of its fertilizer and 82% of its pesticides when the former Soviet Union on whom it was dependent dissolved. 82 Cubans label this period as The Special Period. Cuba was left quite vulnerable as a country due to their oil dependency, much like the rest of the world. In the United States we are also quite vulnerable as we import over half of our oil from foreign countries.

Cubans protein and fat intake decreased drastically due to food shortages. The Cubans, however, were and are quite resilient. They never bought into the theory that agriculture needed to be monoculture or based in petroleum fertilizers and pesticides. In fact, their scientists had proven that these techniques caused mineral depletion and soil erosion.83 The Cuban government actually mandated organic farming. Cubans planted gardens on patios, rooftops, empty lots and anywhere that they could find to grow food. “Overall urban gardens produce 60 percent of the vegetables that Cubans consume. Transportation and energy systems were also affected. Cubans saw rolling blackouts as a way to conserve energy”.84 Their diets also became primarily vegan due to lack of electricity to refrigerate goods. Today, Cubans are continuing to develop alternate energy such as solar. “Cubans have developed bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers as petrochemical substitutes. Since they couldn't fuel their aging cars, they walked, biked, rode buses, and carpooled”.85

Pfeiffer, Dale Allen, Eating Fossil Fuels. (BC, Canada, New Society Publishers, 2006) 56 Pfeiffer, Dale Allen, Eating Fossil Fuels. (BC, Canada, New Society Publishers, 2006) 58 84 Quinn, Megan, The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. (February 25, 2006) http://www.energybulletin.net/node/13171 Post Carbon Institute website. 85 Quinn, Megan, The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. (February 25, 2006)http://www.energybulletin.net/node/13171 Post Carbon Institute website. 83

34 | P a g e

Chapter VI| Major Change by Design

“So if we designed our way into unsustainability, if the damage that we are doing to the systems that sustain us and most other species flows from all that we have designed, does that mean we have to design our way out of it”? 86 -Lisa Tidler and Beth Blostein The answer to the quote above is, “YES!” Each system impacts the other. If I tear down a structure, or gut a space, what do I do with those materials? How are they transported out of the area? Where do they end up? There is no such place as away. Similar questions exist with bringing new materials into a space. How do they arrive? What are they made of? We do not need to continue to consume virgin resources or design products that do not biodegrade. We can make these systems function better for our planet through education. As a designer, I can impact how a space is designed to decrease the amount of waste and oil, as well as, to control the products that are brought into a space. I can design to reduce environmental impact and oil dependence. I believe that much of this ability lies in creating a network for resource and waste that is centralized locally. By localizing the resources, it is possible to eliminate the miles of transport that products require to reach a site. Managing production, creation, and design processes at a local level will begin to assist in this transition.

We cannot sustain this pretroleum-based lifestyle. Localization will be necessary in nearly every sector of our daily lives. Creation of a more localized economy is vital in this shift. Designers have the power to integrate this paradigm shift into their design process.

ERID (Environmentally Responsible Interior Design)

A designer who practices sustainable design is known as an ERID or Environmentally Responsible Interior Designer. “Environmentally responsible interior design addresses the interrelationships of design, human health and welfare, and ecology. Designers who practice

Tidler, Lisa, Beth Blostein, Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design. (New York, NY: Princeton Architectural Press, 2009).

36 | P a g e

green design plan, specify, and execute interiors environments that reflect their concern for the users’ quality of life”.87 Designers choosing to practice sustainable design should also take time to investigate LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) on materials being placed into the space. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an investigation into a product’s cradle-to-grave existence and its environmental impact.Taking time to investigate LCA on materials being placed into the space is environmentally responsible.88

Jones highlights 22 fundamentals of ERID in her book Environmentally Responsible Interior Design. Below is an abbreviated list of some of the main points to practice as an environmentally responsible interior designer.89 1. Investigate and plan for “zero waste” on project sites. 2. Plan for energy efficiency through energy star appliances, lighting, and plumbing that reduce water usage. 3. Utilize refurbished, recycled, and used materials in finishes. 4. Purchase materials locally to reduce CO2 emissions. 5. Design spaces that can accommodate many uses and are flexible in plan. 6. Use materials with low to no VOC’s for the health of occupants. Low or no-VOC and Formaldehyde-free paint is one example. 7. Consider finishes that already exist like exposing concrete floors instead of laying new floors on top of the concrete.

Ken Yeang, A Look Towards Sustainable Structures

“If we consider where in the entire life cycle of a building to intervene on behalf of the environment, it is clear that the design stage is the crucial point. It is at that moment that many decisions are made that have a profound impact on the amount of energy and materials used over the course of the building’s whole life”. 90 -Ken Yeang Ken Yeang is a Malaysian architect who views buildings as prosthetics on a host organism, that 87

Jones, Dr. Louise, Environmentally Responsible Design Green and Sustainable Design for Interior Designers. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons 2008) 95. 88 Winchip, Susan M., Sustainable Design for Interior Environments. (New York, NY: Fairchild Publications, Inc. 2007) 87. 89 Jones, Dr. Louise, Environmentally Responsible Design Green and Sustainable Design for Interior Designers. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons 2008) 96-97. 90 Yeang, Ken, The Green Skyscraper: the Basis for Designing Sustainable Intensive Buildings. (Munich, Germany: Prestel Verlag, 1999) 153.

37 | P a g e

host being Mother Earth. If we begin to examine the built environment using Yeang’s perspective, it becomes obvious quite quickly that if a prosthetic, or perhaps parasite in this case, is the human energy consumption of a finite resource. Common sense then tells us that it will die when that resource is depleted because parasites eventually kill their host. We need to learn to

be a less parasitic species, and a more mutualistic one. This planet is not a host organism nor are the other species that live here just ours to abuse recklessly. We need to learn to design more harmoniously with the planet and to take care with her resources.

Alternate Energies, Lifestyle, and Design

“Ecosystems run entirely on ambient solar energy, which is essentially free energy and is abundant as a renewable source of energy. Only 2 percent of the sunlight that reaches the earth is used”.91 –Ken Yeang Joseph Tainter, an anthropological historian notes that ancient civilizations like the Mayans, disappeared for primarily one reason: They outgrew the ability of their surroundings to supply their diet and needs. The other problem is that a civilization can become too complex and expensive to maintain its needs. With all of these issues converging at once, the civilization collapses. We have an aging population, decaying infrastructure, global warming, and an energy crisis looming. The complex society soon finds that they cannot maintain their current lifestyle, and unrest follows as complex systems begin to fail. 92

We have developed alternate energy sources that could shift us away from fossil fuel dependence. A larger global investment in solar, wind, and biogas energy resources could begin this severance. The current automobile lifestyle may not be in our future without a viable source of

91 92

Yeang, Ken, Ecodesign: A Manual for Ecological Design. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2006), 49. Blind Spot. Written and Directed by Adolfo Doring. Wallace Global Fund in association with Dislexic Films, 2008.

38 | P a g e

fuel. Corn ethanol has been proven to require more energy than it can produce,93 and we will need that land for food to feed populations, not cars. We need to investing and becoming more dependent on previous means of mobility that we did not value in our age of oil due to the iconic automobile. Returning to the transportation of our past, like trolleys, bikes and trains may reveal that we had the correct design solution all along. Perhaps on this attempt, we will do better with our lessons than we did in the age of the automobile.

Sustainable Design Cost Savings

As new products are being designed that meet LEED certification, research is also being done on the cost savings of green design. In the past, green building has been considered more expensive than conventional construction. Investments of up to 4% more for upfront first costs have longterm payoffs from building green. Sustainable design produces energy efficient structures that reduce long and short-term maintenance and operating costs. The building and occupants are also healthier due to cleaner products and indoor air quality. Interior designers can provide considerable insight on recommendations for products and systems that are environmentally responsible. 94

Material Sourcing

“ the designer’s responsibility extends even beyond the point at which the building is handed over to the client or user. From an environmental perspective, the designer is ethically responsible for the disposition of the materials in a building from ‘source to sink’. Working within the parameters of a rigorous ecological approach, the designer determines not only how and at what environmental cost (in terms of demands for materials and impact on the planet) a designed system can be built, but he or she also analyses how and at what cost to the environment the built work will be used, managed and ultimately disposed of“. 95 –Ken Yeang Materials comprise the built environment. Without materials, we would not have shelters. 93

Blind Spot. Written and Directed by Adolfo Doring. Wallace Global Fund in association with Dislexic Films, 2008. Bonda, Penny and Katie Sosnowcik, Sustainable Commercial Interiors. (Hoboken, NJ: John Riley & Sons, Inc., 2007) 215-217. 95 Yeang, Ken, The Green Skyscraper: the Basis for Designing Sustainable Intensive Buildings. (Munich, Germany: Prestel Verlag, 1999) 129. 94

39 | P a g e

However, we cannot continue to consume at the current rate. Reusing materials from a built environment is just one way to reduce oil dependency. Ken Yeang has four strategies for material selection.96 •

“The potential of the material for reuse and for recycling (as a consequence of replacement due to wear and tear or at the end of the building’s useful life).”

•

“The embodied ecological impact of the material (the impact on the environment as a consequence of the production and delivery of the material to the construction site).”

•

“The embodied energy (the energy cost of producing and delivering the material or component to the construction site) in the material.”

•

“The toxicity of the material on humans and the ecosystems.”

Design Case Studies |Materials

There are projects happening all around the world that are addressing materials in construction and interiors as a means to create more sustainable design. These designers have set examples of what is possible by rethinking their design process, approach, being resourceful, and questioning what has been done.

Filter | Chicago, IL

Located at 1374-75 N. Milwaukee Ave, in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, Filter is a LEED Gold certified café. Filter reopened in January 2010, and was designed by Moss, a sustainable architectural firm in Chicago. Filter was forced out of business 3 years prior by a commercial bank. It is an independently owned coffee shop.97 The construction costs totaled $200,000, which included all nailed down fixtures and finishes. The square footage is 2,849.

Yeang, Ken, The Green Skyscraper: the Basis for Designing Sustainable Intensive Buildings. (Munich, Germany: Prestel Verlag, 1999) 135. 97

http://www.heliosdesignbuild.com/about/press/press-release-filter-cafe.html.

40 | P a g e

Figure 6.1: Interior of Filter | Chicago, IL

Filter’s interior makes use of many recycled and repurposed materials. Furniture throughout the space is a mixture of couches, chairs and various lamp styles. Ninety percent of the furnishings are thrift store finds. The concept, according to the Moss blog, was intended to be Bohemian, and green. In the back of the restaurant, Moss created a “wall of doors”, which were taken from another space that the firm was renovating98. The door handles were removed and have found a second life as coat hangers in the café. Original hardwood floors remain intact and brick walls are exposed. In the restrooms, walls are covered in slate roofing tile, which were salvaged from a 100-year old home that was demolished in Lincoln Park99. Doors on the restrooms, originally from other Chicago structures have also found a second life. The checkout counter is formed from repurposed materials. Reclaimed wood is adhered to the front and the counter itself was created from glass blocks. The glass blocks were recycled from a window at Dill Pickle Food Coop in Chicago.100

Moss: http://www.moss-design.com/ http://strawville.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/wicker-park-elevated-back-to-bohemian-status/ 100 http://strawville.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/wicker-park-elevated-back-to-bohemian-status/ 99

41 | P a g e

According to the Moss website, Filter will be “saving 36.5% in water usage through efficient toilets, faucets, and urinals, 34% in lighting power usage, and Energy Star rated furnaces, condensing units, and appliances.” It is also located between the Division and Damen blue line stops and is along the Milwaukee bus route, which sustains pedestrian oriented businesses.

Scrap House| San Francisco, CA

Figure 6.2: Scrap House Exterior | San Francisco, CA

Scrap House was a project created in San Francisco for Earth Day 2005. It was a public architecture piece built outside of city hall. The goal was to construct a building using only salvaged materials. Every material used in the build of the structure was from scrap and reclaimed materials. The only materials that were new consisted of fasteners and hardware. Reclaimed materials become obvious with street signs creating walls, and old fire hoses becoming a unique

42 | P a g e

wall treatment. This structure demonstrates how it is possible to reuse our waste and create something quite functional and beautiful.

The Collective| New York, NY

Figure 6.3: Interior of The Collective | New York City, NY

The Collective is located in the meatpacking district in New York City. It is a restaurant designed by ICRAVE and it opened in 2010. Initially the project had a budget of 1.2 million to renovate the space in 2008-2009. It was formerly known as One Little West 12th. The space is about 3000 square feet, which would be about $400 per square foot. The design proposal was simple, modern, and sleek, but was on hold due to the recession. ICRAVE soon realized that the client could not afford 1.2 million, and the project would not move forward. The project was reassessed, and ICRAVE proposed a new design that would cost just $225,000, equaling only $75 per square

43 | P a g e

foot. This figure included labor materials, transportation, furniture, artists, contractors and any supplies. The design concept was to create a space utilizing only repurposed or recycled materials.

In pitching the project to the team at ICRAVE, Robert Delpazzo, the Lead Designer, said the following: “The recession has created an interesting Paradigm shift. A reversal or repositioning within our industry and our city is unfolding. This project is an opportunity to put what we think we know about being Architects and Designers aside and Relearn our CRAFT, Recapture our connection to our environment and create a Respite in our neighborhood.” -Robert Delpazzo Lead Designer, ICRAVE, 2009 The client loved the recycled concept, but was not sold after the initial presentation. The firm put together a mock up room for just $1000 to assist the client in visualizing the space more clearly. Delpazzo said that due to the concept utilizing repurposed and recycled materials that the vision would have been impossible to convey through renderings, thus the need to create a mock up room. After seeing the mock up room, ICRAVE was given the project.

Delpazzo stated in an email to this researcher that, “The Collective wasn’t just about recycled materials. It was about a completely new process of building a job. We saved on processing and filing fees by keeping bar locations where they originally were, and we simply re-dressed the space and all the surfaces. ALL FURNITURE WAS made by ICrave- made from reclaiming and recycling- as well as all surfaces.” In order for this project to be fully realized, DePalzzo rented a loft space (Fig. 3), and hired artists to repurpose flea market, curbside castaways, and thrift store finds. Delpazzo stated that on weekends he rented trucks and went shopping upstate and all over New York to scour flea markets.

44 | P a g e

The Collective, was nominated for Project of the Year by Interior Design Magazine. It has received much press101 from Time Out New York, US Weekly, NY Post, Yelp, AM NY, Zagat, and Life & Style to name a few. The website102 for The Collective sums up the project vision and goal: “The revised space asks patrons to re-think and re-evaluate the space and the items and their relationship to them. Taking old, found, or discarded items, the design team re-inserted them into the space in a new way, integrating the fabric of city. Old and new come together to create different active living/dining room spaces within the restaurant, giving visitors multiple complimentary experiences under the same roof.”

Big Dig House| Lexington MA

Figure 6.4: Exterior Big Dig House | Lexington, MA

Big Dig House is a residential project designed from elevated portions of Interstate I-93, which

101 102

The Collective website. Press Coverage. Accessed February, 3, 2011. http://collectivecafe.com/press.html. The Collective website. Accessed February, 3, 2011. http://collectivecafe.com/aboutus.html

45 | P a g e

were part of a dismantling project called The Big Dig.103 Interestingly enough, the architects used petroleum-based infrastructure to build a new form instead of sourcing new materials. It was completed in 2006, and utilized over 600,000 pounds of salvaged materials from the highway.104 The principal architects, John Hong, AIA /LEED, and Jinhee Park, AIA, designed the house as though it were a pre-fabricated system, which opens doors to how designers could use these materials for larger scale commercial projects.105 It was framed out in 2 days as opposed to the standard 2 weeks that it takes to frame a house. The design allows for expansive roof gardens. The only disadvantage is that large petroleum based machinery needed to be used to lift the large sections of highway to create the structure, but as alternative fuels continue to be developed, this may not be a problem.

Recycled Materials in Hospitality & Residential Design These examples show clear evidence that it is possible to create spaces using recycled and reclaimed materials. Not only is it good for the environment, but also it is good for people. It diverts wastes from landfills, and repurposes materials to extend their life. Clearly there is also a cost savings. The Collective was a project that started with a 1.2 million dollar budget and it was trimmed to $225,000. Filter’s cost savings is a return on investment by utilizing energy saving appliances to reduce water and energy use. Both of these examples also filled the interior with repurposed products saving money and diverting products from landfills. One may argue that these “cost savings” are a loss of money that a design firm could have earned, but I would say that the real savings is in the care with the planet that sustains human life. Incorporating sustainable design methodologies in practice can lead to successful hospitality design solutions,

103

SSD Architecture & Urbanism, “Big Dig House”. Accessed April 12, 2012. http://www.ssdarchitecture.com/works/residential/big-dig-house/. 104 SSD Architecture & Urbanism, “Big Dig House”. Accessed April 12, 2012. http://www.ssdarchitecture.com/works/residential/big-dig-house/. 105 SSD Architecture & Urbanism, “Big Dig House”. Accessed April 12, 2012. http://www.ssdarchitecture.com/works/residential/big-dig-house/.

46 | P a g e

like The Collective and Filter. Utilizing used materials clearly saves money, and reduces petroleum consumption when products are purchased locally.

Within the hospitality industry sustainable initiatives are being encouraged. The National Restaurant Association (NRA) has a Conserve Initiative in place to incite business owners to make sustainable changes to how they run, renovate, or design a restaurant. The website106 features a top ten list of ways to save money and improve the health of the restaurant. The Conserve Initiative recommends within this list to practice the 3 R’s of sustainability which are Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle by reusing furniture, fixtures, and flooring.

Design Case Studies | Commercial Design & Food

in.gredients |Austin, Tx

Figure 6.5: in.gredients Concept | Austin, TX

in.gredients will be the first zero waste, zero packaging grocery store in the United States opening in Austin, Texas sometime in 2012.107 It is a smaller scale grocery store model, but far from what a typical grocery retail design. In.gredients encourages customers to bring their own containers, but they will also provided. All food will either be sourced or grown locally. The selections will be seasonal, and processed or overly packaged foods will not be carried. Although in.gredients 106 107

National Restaurant Association Conserve website: http://conserve.restaurant.org/ In.gredients website. Accessed April 11, 2012. http://in.gredients.com.

47 | P a g e

acknowledges that some foods need to be packaged for food safety, they will minimize waste and encourage recycling and precycling.

The Plant |Chicago, IL

Figure 6.6: The Plant Concept | Chicago, IL

The Plant is a food mecca and the brain-child of John Edel.108 The entire building is dedicated to food production, and the interior has been designed with the help of volunteers. Spaces were created with recycled parts from what was torn out and from donations.109 Spaces are rented out to urban farms and bakeries. Anything that has to do with food is welcome. They are even opening a brewery in a portion of the building with a tasting room. The goal of the project is to grow food locally and to achieve net-zero energy consumption. Aeroponics and aquaponics are just two systems used for food growth. Edel just received a 1.5 million dollar grant for a anerobic 108 109

Lecture 2/4/12 Lincoln Restaurant, Chicago, IL. John Edel “The Plant”. Lecture 2/4/12 Lincoln Restaurant, Chicago, IL. John Edel “The Plant”.

48 | P a g e

bio digester that will completely power the building.110 It is housed in a building that was former meat packing plant in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago. Edel paid $525,000 for the structure. The building is 93,500 square feet. Eventually they hope to have 6,000 square feet of greenhouses on the roof. The Plant also will “divert over 10,000 tons of food waste from landfills each year to meet all of its heat and power needs and create 125 jobs111 . The Plant is open and operating. They have site tours every week.

Car-‐free Ideologies

“Leonardo di Vinci in the 15th century also recognized the need for separation of vehicular traffic from that of pedestrians. He “proposed the multilevel separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, with special routes reserved for traffic of the heaviest goods”.112 –Roxanne Warren

Car-‐Free Housing and Development

Many urbanites know what it is like to not own a car, but perhaps not what it is like to live in carfree communities or buildings. The concept of car-free living is something that has been taking root in Europe,113 where buildings are actually designed with car-free living in mind. Spaces once allocated to parking are now community gardens and areas for rainwater collection, for rain gardens, and grey water management. City laws normally mandate space for parking and thus are skeptical of these types of car-free developments. Such mandates can become time-intensive for a developer seeking a variance, because he/she is required to attend administrative proceedings. 114

New Urbanism

New Urbanism is a movement in urban development and redevelopment that stresses the creation 110

Lecture 2/4/12 Lincoln Restaurant, Chicago, IL. John Edel “The Plant”. The Plant website. Accessed April 11,2012. http://www.plantchicago.com/about-the-plant/. 112 Warren, Roxanne, The Urban Oasis: Guideways and Greenways in the Human Environment. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1998) 46-47. 113 Kushner, James A., The Post-Automobile City: Legal Mechanisms To Establish The Pedestrian-Friendly City. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004) 76-77. 114 Kushner, James A., The Post-Automobile City: Legal Mechanisms To Establish The Pedestrian-Friendly City. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004) 83. 111

49 | P a g e

of community through the use of mixed-use buildings, effective public transportation, and making the community walkable.115 Vital daily activities such as work, education, outdoor leisure, and entertainment are within a 5-10 minute walking distance. New Urbanists have developed their own zoning, planning and building laws that follow their 10 principles of New Urbanism. 116 According to the New Urbanist website, the 10 principles are as follows: 117

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Walkability Connectivity Mixed-Use & Diversity Mixed-Housing Quality Architecture & Urban Design Traditional Neighborhood Structure Increased Density Smart Transportation Sustainability Quality of Life

People-‐Centric Circulation

Designers are also addressing circulation in our cities to create more people-centric, safer, and less parasitic arterial paths in our communities. These pathways are important as they are the entry points to the built environment. As energy needs change, we may find that these large arteries that we have designed for petroleum dependent machinery will give way to paths for alternative transportation like light rail or wider paths for bikers. The priority of our community and individual needs may change in the future.

Complete Streets

The term Complete Streets was actually coined by America Bikes, which is an organization that promotes biking as a way of improving the quality of life in America. It is defined as, “ensuring that the entire right of way is routinely designed to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, 115

New Urbanism website. Accessed December 13, 2011. http://www.newurbanism.org/. Kushner, James A., The Post-Automobile City: Legal Mechanisms To Establish The Pedestrian-Friendly City. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004) 84. 117 New Urbanism website. Accessed December 13, 2011. http://www.newurbanism.org/. 116

50 | P a g e

bicyclist, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities must be able to safely move along and across a complete street”. 118

Figure 6.7: Complete Streets

Complete Streets: Chicago Cermak Road Project

Figure 6.8: Complete Street Cermak Road Project | Chicago, IL

Many U.S. cities have adopted Complete Street plans. Since 1993, Portland, Oregon has made heavy investments into pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, which in turn has produced a 12.5%

118

McCann, Barbara and Suszane Rynne, Complete Streets: Best Policy and Implementation Practices. (Chicago, IL:

American Planning Association, 2010) 3.

51 | P a g e

reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from their 1990 levels.119 Boulder, Colorado has implemented Complete Streets since 1996 and “residents walking rates are three times the national average, transit rates are twice the national average and cycling rates are twenty times the national average”. 120 Chicago has hired Wight and Company to build the greenest street in the city at Cermak Road where 2.13 miles will be converted to complete streets.

Traffic Calming

Leaving the century of the automobile behind, urban designers and political leaders are beginning to recognize that traffic is a problem in their communities, thus the implementation of “traffic calming” strategies is literally taking a front seat in making communities safer for pedestrians and bikers. Some strategies included placing speed bumps and changing the texture of the street material so that drivers actually “feel” a difference.121 Other strategies include cul-de-sacs, piazzas122, squares, and underground streets.123

Cities with Vision

As we move deeper into a new century of energy challenges and alternative fuel needs, some U.S. and European cities are reinvisioning the future of circulation within urban design. These cities have recognized that transportation may change drastically, and have accepted the need to be greener in their approach to circulation design. They are also aware that citizens are demanding a

119

Logan, Katharine, “Sustainable Streets,” Green Source, The Magazine of Sustainable Design, March/Apil 2011:43. Logan, Katharine, “Sustainable Streets,” Green Source, The Magazine of Sustainable Design, March/Apil 2011:43. 121 Warren, Roxanne, The Urban Oasis: Guideways and Greenways in the Human Environment. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1998) 57. 122 An intersection created purposely by dead-ending four streets. A piazza or square is thus created. Kushner, James A., The Post-Automobile City: Legal Mechanisms To Establish The Pedestrian-Friendly City. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004) 97. 123 Kushner, James A., The Post-Automobile City: Legal Mechanisms To Establish The Pedestrian-Friendly City. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004)147. 120

52 | P a g e

stronger connection to their community, and the ability to safely move through their communities on foot and bicycle.

In his book, Redesigning Cities: Principles, Practice, Implementation, Barnett states that one of the first principles in designing a community is that “it should be walkable”, as communities that are walkable enable people to more actively engage with one another, thus creating community.124 People don’t communicate with one another when they are driving. Barnett also believes that, “The design of the street system is thus the basis for making a community livable, and the streets should be both pleasant for pedestrians as well as efficient for vehicles and transit”. 125

Coopenhagan, Denmark

Copenhagan, Denmark turned its’main street into a pedestrian thoroughfare in 1962 and has not stopped designing their city to make it more people-centric since. 126 The study of people and public spaces in Copenhagan has been going on for more than 50 years. The city put together a 10-step program for other cities to follow in order to make them more pedestrian friendly. This list below can be found on the New Urbanist website: 1. Convert Streets into Pedestrian thoroughfares 2. Reduce Traffic and Parking Gradually: Copenhagan eliminated 2-3% of parking spaces per year. 3. Turn Parking Lots into Public Squares 4. Keep Scale Dense and Low 5. Honor the Human Scale 6. Populate the Core 7. Encourage Student Living: Copenhagan encourages bicycle use which creates activity and interaction at a personal level at all hours of the day. 8. Adapt the Cityscape to the Changing Seasons. 9. Promote Cycling as the Major Mode of Transportation: 34% of Copenhageners commute to work on their bikes. 10. Make Bicycles Available. 124

Barnett, Jonathan, Redesigning Cities: Principles, Practice, Implementation. (Chicago, IL: Planners Press 2003) 45-

46. 125 126

Barnett, Jonathan, Redesigning Cities: Principles, Practice, Implementation. (Chicago, IL: Planners Press 2003) 46. New Urbanism website. Pedestrian section. Accessed December 13, 2011. http://www.newurbanism.org/.

53 | P a g e

Florence, Italy

Since the mid-twentieth century, Florence has created a forty-block area in its‘core retail area called the “blue zone”. Retailers once opposed to the auto-ban have seen much revenue improvement and those outside of the blue zone are requesting an expansion. 127

Prioritizing the Pedestrian

Vehicular traffic has defined the circulatory systems of cities historically for a very long time. In the future, as oil prices continue to skyrocket and space becomes more limited due to population explosions, cities may find themselves scrambling to dictate space to transportation like bikes and trains that do not pollute the air like cars. Restructuring community by giving the space once defined for the movement of cars back to the pedestrian. The future may be forced to become more localized and vital resources may once again need to be within a 5-10 minute walk instead of the way that U.S. suburbs have been designed, where the only way to get from point A to point B is by automobile. As space continues to decrease, and population increases, some cities like Singapore have implemented laws to make car ownership more difficult and expensive, in an attempt to decrease cars on the roads.128 Considering again that arterial paths in cities mimic circulatory paths much like the ones within in our own body, only so much mass can pass through those arteries before they become clogged in the future. We may be able to layer arterial paths more effectively, but at what cost? Human health? Environmental health? Perhaps the answers lie in a lifestyle shift and localizing life within a smaller community that exists within a larger framework. This would eliminate the multitude of spaces needed for one individual in multiple locations due to car ownership. It seems obvious that adding more cars to the roads, no matter

127

Warren, Roxanne, The Urban Oasis: Guideways and Greenways in the Human Environment. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1998) 49. 128 Banister, David, Unsustainable Transport: City transport in the new century. New York, NY; Routledge 2005.

54 | P a g e

what the fuel source, will only clog our already strained arterial paths further. Imagine a place where the majority of the population could walk to their work, school and amenities. Imagine if the air were cleaner and our communities in the U.S. were more dynamic, and interactive like those in Europe. As Americans, we will first need to step out of our cars and begin to design again for people. We have lived this way, but we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to continue to consume this way.

55 | P a g e

Chapter VII | Activation: Chicago Ward #1 Wicker Park

“What most planners have overlooked in their rush to eliminate all obstacles to traffic is that they are removing the community itself. The function of a community is to act as a goal not as a passage point, an end not a means, a stop not a flow, a place to arrive, not for driving through. This is why nearly all good cities exist where traffic was bound to stop.” 129 –Victor Panek

History of Wicker Park

Wicker Park is a neighborhood on the west side of Chicago Located northwest of the downtown Loop and south of Bucktown. The neighborhood is named for Charles and Joel Wicker, who in 1870 purchased land along Milwaukee Avenue to create a subdivision surrounding a 4-acre park, now called Wicker Park. 130

Figure 7.1: Wicker Park | Chicago, IL

In the mid-1800s, the small triangular park at the intersection of Ashland, Division,Milwaukee became known as the Polish Triangle. It was also known as the Polish Gold Coast and Polish Broadway.131 This is the arterial gateway entrance to the neighborhood of Wicker Park. Many

129

Panek, Victor, The Green Imperative: Natural Design For the Real World. (New York, NY: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1995) 107. 130 Chicago Traveler.com. Accessed October 2010. http://www.chicagotraveler.com/neighborhoods/wicker-parkbucktown-feature.htm. 131 AbsoluteAstronomy.com. West Town, Chicago. Accessed October 10, 2010. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/West_Town,_Chicago.

57 | P a g e

Polish immigrants flocked to this area between the 1890s and 1900s after the elevated train lines were completed on the west side.132 The area earned the nickname Polish Gold Coast because of the numerous wealthy Chicago merchants who built mansions in the neighborhood, specifically around Hoyne Avenue and Pierce, the intersection just southwest of North and Damen.133 In 1991, much of Wicker Park became historically landmarked due to the architecturally significant buildings in the area.134

The neighborhood has long been known for its prolific arts community. By the mid-1980s, there were more than seventy arts organizations in the Wicker Park/Bucktown area.135 In 1989, “Around the Coyote” festival was launched, helping bring attention to hundreds of artists and galleries in the neighborhood. 136 The historic Flat Iron building located at the intersection of North, Damen, Milwaukee houses artists’ studios on its upper floors where gallery nights are regularly hosted.

Today this area is still known for its eclectic and artistic vibe, as well as a prolific music scene. One of the best known music venues in Chicago, The Double Door, is located across from the Damen Stop, close to the intersection of North, Damen, Milwaukee.

Wicker Park Demographics

According to the 2010 projected census report produced by Sites USA Inc137., the population within a 1-mile radius of the Division and Paulina intersection is around 57, 500 with projected 132

AbsoluteAstronomy.com. West Town, Chicago. Accessed October 10, 2010. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/West_Town,_Chicago. 133 AbsoluteAstronomy.com. West Town, Chicago. Accessed October 10, 2010. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/West_Town,_Chicago. 134 ChicagoTraveler.com. Accessed October 10, 2010. http://www.chicagotraveler.com/neighborhoods/wicker-parkbucktown-feature.htm. 135 InterfaceStudio.com. Accessed October 10,2010.. http://interface-studio.com/projects/wicker-park/. 136 Huebner, Jeff. The Panic in Wicker Park. Accessed October 10, 2010. http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/thepanic-in-wicker-park/Content?oid=885350. 137 SitesUSA.com. Accessed June 10, 2011. http://www2.sitesusa.com/.

58 | P a g e

increase of about 700 persons by 2015. Within 1.5 miles of this intersection, the population is 119, 325 with the total projected population to be 127,463 by 2015. The average annual household income within a one-mile radius is $78,000 and within 1.5 miles it is $91,000. The majority of the population is between 29-59 years of age. There are approximately 60.000 homes in this area with 67% of them were built before 1949.138 There are also 6,524 businesses within 1.5 miles radius of this intersection.139

Wicker Park Transportation

Wicker Park has incredible accessibility to public transit, allowing for short walking distances to buses and the Blue Line train. Wicker Park is served by the Blue Line with 2 stops, one at Damen 2010

2011

% Change

Damen Blue Line Stop

1,700,844

1,882,837

10.7%

Division Blue Line Stop

1,587,741

1,752,061

10.3%

# 9Ashland

9,514,349

10,031,822

5.4%

#50 Damen

2,873,618

3,110,999

8.3%

# 56 Milwaukee

3,602,159

3,418,533

-5.1%

# 56A North Milwaukee

196,579

199,330

1.4%

#72 North Ave

3,224,998

3,188,245

-1.1%

#70 Division

5,335,081

5,460,191

2.3%

Figure 7.2: 2010-2011 Ridership Numbers from the Chicago Transit Authority

and the other at Division. It is also served by several bus lines on major arterial paths including The #9 Ashland, #50 Damen, # 56 Milwaukee, # 56A Milwaukee, #70 Division, and #72 North Ave. Milwaukee is a major artery into downtown Chicago. It also directly links with O’Hare International Airport. There are many car sharing lots within this neighborhood, served by

138 139

SitesUSA.com. Accessed June 10, 2011. http://www2.sitesusa.com/. SitesUSA.com. Accessed June 10, 2011. http://www2.sitesusa.com/.

59 | P a g e

companies like Zip Car and i-GO. Living in the hub of this neighborhood, I witness the daily petroleum congestion along Ashland, Division, Damen, and Milwaukee. During rush hour and on the weekends, when this neighborhood sees a major influx of visitors due to the cultural appeal, traffic resembles a parking lot. Buses have difficulty getting through on Milwaukee and Damen, since they are single lane arteries in both directions. Milwaukee Avenue is also a designated bike route, but it is not a protected route and cars often drive into the bike lanes. Bikers lives are in danger on Milwaukee Avenue with the large amount of traffic and parking on both sides of the street.

60 | P a g e

Chapter VIII | Pre Post-‐Petroleum Interior Design

“To improve the quality of modern life designers must follow two guidelines. First they must reverse their current hierarchy of values, giving less not more thought to traffic planning, and concentrating instead on trade and community planning. Secondly, they must turn to a new set of experts, which will be found in the genius of the past. We must look back with humility to study not what is the latest in Los Angeles, but what is oldest in Boston or Siena.” 140 –Victor Panek Designers are seed planters and problem solvers. We have designed our way into this oil dependence and we have the power, and the ability to design our way out. As our future changes, so must we. As we head towards worldwide petroleum production decline, plans will need to be made concerning how to activate less dependence on oil. As the amount available slows to a trickle, the transition to a new lifestyle will not feel like an abrupt stop. Actions and design interventions at a city and neighborhood level could begin this paradigm shift, activating a new lifestyle.

As a designer, I believe that it is imperative that we begin to examine the systems that impact our designed world, and their dependence on oil. I believe that we, especially in the United States, truly do need to begin to see our impact on this resource, and prepare for the change precipitated by its’ depletion by acknowledging and taking steps towards altering the way we have been living and designing. Designers are in a critical position to cause positive change in this area.

A vital step in moving towards a future with declining petroleum availability is to localize people’s resources through proper programming and planning. By doing this, it is also possible to localize an economy, which will in turn retain more money within a region. Providing and designing spaces that are within walking or biking distance to meet these basic needs will be critical duringthe period of pre post-petroleum. Multi-diciplinary planning will be needed in

140

Panek, Victor, The Green Imperative: Natural Design For the Real World. (New York, NY: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1995) 108.

62 | P a g e

communities that were designed solely for the automobile. Designing a sense of place to vitalize or establish a stronger sense of community is important.

To test my research, I have applied the principles of post-petroleum design to several design proposals within a half mile square of the Wicker Park community, bordered by North Avenue to the north, Damen to the west, Division to the south, and Ashland to the east. Pre-existing structures have been used to avoid the energy used from building from the ground up.

Ashland Ave

Damen

North Ave

ilw au

ke e

Av e

Division

Figure 8.1: Design Test Area

I chose this site because it has well-established transportation systems, and an existing bike path, which runs along a major artery through the city. It is also an extremely walkable neighborhood that eliminates potentially the need for a car. In 2011, there were 28 million rides taken between

63 | P a g e

five bus lines and two blue line CTA train stops within this neighborhood. 141

Design Tests

Prior to moving into my final design proposal, I completed three design tests: The New General Store (BYOB), a residential prototype in a typical Chicago brownstone, and Electric Alley, which was an investigation into ways that how transportation systems can revitalize an area.

The New General Store (BYOBag/Bottle)

Figure 8.2: The New General Store | Site Map

The first design test is at 1635 W Division. It is a former post office that served the community of Wicker Park. It is within 1.5 blocks of the Division blue line stop, and within a half block of the

141

Chicago Transit Authority. 2011 Annual Ridership Report http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/ridership_reports/2011-Annual.pdf.

64 | P a g e

Figure 8.3: The New General Store | Exterior with Greenhouses

#9Ashland and #56 Milwaukee bus lines. I proposed creating a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag or Bottle) marketplace in this structure, including rooftop green houses and energy systems to power the interior programs. With many post offices around the country now closing due to technology changing the way in which we communicate, this proposal suggests a way to recycle these structures. Post offices historically are centrally located within a community, which makes them great adaptive reuse projects. General stores and Mom & Pop stores used to be in every small town and in urban neighborhoods. Big box retail has quickly put many of these small businesses out of business throughout the United States. As oil prices continue to skyrocket due to lack of supply and unrest in areas where most reserves are located, these large retailers will find it difficult and expensive to import goods from foreign countries, like China. I think we will then once again see a shift back to the general store model as economies begin to localize. Products, food, and goods would be created locally. Packaging may also change or disappear as petroleum availability decreases, since nearly all products we use today are housed in a petroleum-based plastics.

65 | P a g e

Figure 8.4: The New General Store | Exterior with Energy Systems

This proposal utilized rooftops to house renewable energy systems and greenhouse space for growing food, which will be sold in the market. These greenhouses could also be used to educate the community about urban gardening. As we move into a post-petroleum future, growing food locally in urban settings will become necessary.

By taking a trans-disciplinary approach, I am addressing nearly all of the principles of postpetroleum design. These two programs, BYOB Market and greenhouses, address systems design through transportation systems, energy systems, and food production/distribution systems. The greenhouses also serve as an educational element to meet the educational principle. It is a community-based project that creates spaces at a human scale, approachable through walking, biking or public transit. It is symbiotic in that the growing space on the roof provides resources for the store ground level. By providing a local marketplace, the problem the waste system is addressed by asking the customers to Bring your Own Bag/Bottle. I am proactively designing with the future in mind by addressing localized energy and food production. Â

66 | P a g e

Residential: Typical Brownstone

Figure 8.5: Residential Floor Plans

67 | P a g e

The second design test was a prototype for a brownstone retrofits for the pre post-petroleum era. Designing residential spaces to comply with pre post petroleum standards is important. As stated in previous sections, Chicago has more than one million residential housing units142 and Wicker Park nearly 60,000 within a 1.5 miles of my half-mile test area.143. Typical residential lot sizes in Chicago are 125’ x 25’.

Figure 8.6: Residential Living Room and Kitchen

By carefully examining the systems that impact residential design and programming, the postpetroleum principles of systemic, symbiotic, and multi-disciplinary design can be applied effectively. If many of these structures were to be retrofitted with smarter energy solutions during

142 143

Chicago Climate Action Plan pdf. Accessed July 10, 2011. Buildings, page 20. www.chicagoclimateaction.org/ SitesUSA.com. Accessed June 10, 2011. http://www2.sitesusa.com/.

68 | P a g e

Figure 8.7: Residential Bedroom and Bathroom

renovation, gut rehab or new construction, we would go a long way toward ending our dependency on oil, using less petroleum dependent products within interiors. Choosing furnishings and finishes wisely by purchasing locally made products will do much to reduce transportation petroleum usage. Programming green roofs and specifically products that are petroleum-free will also greatly reduce petroleum dependency

69 | P a g e

Electric Alley: Transportation The third design test was a collaborative project with Stephanie Geurkink, Jessica Holub, and Lauren Stewart, involving the reactivation an area in Wicker Park known as the Polish Triangle by addressing local public transportation systems. Ultimately, we applied the post-petroleum principles of systemic design, community based, trans-disciplinary, and multi-disciplinary to this design proposal.

Figure 8.8: Electric Alley Site Map

Figure 8.9: Electric Alley in Site

70 | P a g e

Figure 8.10: View of Building and Rooftop Theater

Figure 8.11: Electric Alley Rooftop Theater with Stage

71 | P a g e

We proposed spaces to serve the community as a means of activating these principles. These included a rooftop theater, a café, artist lofts, and rentable studio spaces for musicians. The café was meant to draw in users at street level en route from public transit, walking or bicycling. The rooftop theater space intended to activate this area through tapping into the demographics and “vibe” of Wicker Park. This area of the city also has breathtaking views of downtown and to date has no rooftop public space at this height. Artist lofts were designed to supply housing for the artist community in Wicker Park. The rentable spaces serve a community in need of this type of space.

Figure 8.12: Building Elevation

Figure 8.13: Elevation of Site with Subway

Additionally, we proposed upgrades to the subway stations, involving visual that would involve technology that would inform users about community events. By examining the systems interacting with the site, we were able to understand how to design programs that would engage

72 | P a g e

the existing community, as well as encourage the use of public transit. We believe that by creating this system of programs, we can address community needs with resources that activate the area through people-centric, as opposed to not car-centric spaces that are approachable at a human-scale.

73 | P a g e

Thesis Design Proposal

Figure 8.14: Thesis Site

My final design proposal is to give a petroleum-based site back to the community of Wicker Park. Currently this site includes, two big box retail stores and a grade parking lot measuring approximately 308,000 feet. The site is bounded by BlackHawk to the north, Ashland to the east, Milwaukee to the south, and Paulina to the west. I am proposing a locally based marketplace, urban gardens, community recreation space, an educational facility, educational art gallery, a restaurant and a café, in addition to an effective use of the extensive roof for solar energy and growth of food. I chose this site because it is the epitome of the American petroleum-based lifestyle. The site is also a terrible misuse of space in a neighborhood that is densely populated. There are big-box retail stores like these everywhere across the country, with huge parking lots that could be retrofitted to meet our changing needs. This ill-suited design is a wound on the historical urban fabric of this neighborhood. It has altered the community, architecture, space, and diversity of this site. This current single-use program of petroleum-based retail is doomed for failure in the event of oil shortages due to the distance that the products are brought into this neighborhood.

74 | P a g e

Figure 8.15: Photograph of Current Site

Secondly, it does nothing to address the loss of residential space or community space, allocating approximately 150,000 square feet for cars. This community is extremely walkable, and the access to public transit is some of the best in the region. The proposed site design will have bike racks along the perimeter in various locations. While the idea of eliminating parking may seems radical, the message of our energy crisis may become clearer with elimination of this program. Also, as mentioned earlier the number of cars will continue to increase along with the population, and there is no room for Chicago to grow, except vertically. Why would we allocate more room for cars vertically or horizontally, when the arterial paths of travel are already like parking lots? What we need is to encourage more walkable communities by design.

75 | P a g e

Community Access

Figure 8.16: Programming

As a way of reconnecting the community to this site, the proposal makes the building accessible on each side as opposed to the one-accessibility that is currently in place. Currently, the north side is treated as an alley, which it is not, and contains a dock, as well as industrial sized garbage

76 | P a g e

cans. The north side faces almost 2 blocks of historic brownstones, but the view that these retail stores have bestowed upon these Wicker Park residents is disproportionate in scale and inappropriately programmed. The east and west walls are blank walls with no entrance.

Figure 8.17: Building Isometric

In an effort to move away from oil dependence, parking along the perimeter of the site was removed, instead given to pedestrians and bicyclists. Along the west side of Ashland Avenue, past the south edge of the structure, these former parking spaces become a protected bike lanes for bicyclists, to facilitate merging onto the dedicated bike lanes on Milwaukee Avenue.

Figure 8.18: West Entrance

The east roof is covered with greenhouses featuring solar panels facing south, and skylights facing north. In the future, the west roof could also be dedicated to greenhouses, storage,

77 | P a g e

composting, and green growing space. Growing food on a roof is very effective, considering the challenges that we are facing, instead of the typical green roof strategy of native plants. Both can serve as added insulation and to address heat-island effect, but the food roof also addresses oil shortages, while localizing the food system. Food roofs also create local jobs.

Figure 8.19: West Entrance Detail

On the west side of the building facing Paulina, a space was designed for people in the community and those coming to this building for classes to enjoy. Permeable pavers, vegetation, and rain cisterns were added. The new main entrance takes the end-user through the educational gallery into the event space, where he/she can move into adjacent programs. New operable windows cover the west wall for added ventilation and sunlight.

78 | P a g e

Figure 8.20: East Entrance

The east side of the building also rain cisterns. The sidewalk was widened and a new main entrance was created, leading into the marketplace. A mural, and interactive wall cover this side of the building in order to draw community users to the site. This wall faces Ashland Avenue, which is a heavy traffic street. Additional vegetation and permeable pavers are also proposed.

Figure 8.21 South Entrance

The north and south entrance mirror one another. On the south entrance, new sidewalks cross \ the former parking lot, directing the users into the main entrance. The buildings are accessible

79 | P a g e

from either the east or west. There are operable doors, as well as oversized garage doors to be opened in warmer months. On the south side of the east building, Pivot doors allow ventilation from the southwest winds to permeate the marketplace.

The former parking lot was converted to a playground for families, community gardens, and a large transitional space for performances, ice-skating, festivals, neighborhood markets, etc. This park-like space, formerly serving cars has been returned to the community for year-round enjoyment.

Marketplace

Figure 8.22: Marketplace Plan

80 | P a g e

Figure 8.23: Marketplace Interior under Fret Solar Panels

Much like the BYOB design test, but on a much larger scale, this project seeks to create an organic indoor farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market that can spill out onto the former parking lot in warmer months. Chicago is lacking a marketplace of this sort and scale capable of bringing local farmers together to provide fresh vegetables, fruit, cheese and meat to the communities of Chicago. This market will also sell other home good items from the community, such as soaps, cleaners, etc. Similar marketplaces exist in cities like Seattle and Detroit where Pikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place Market and Eastern market respectively served their communities for years. This market would be accessible to many neighborhoods in Chicago due to the five bus lines, bike path, and blue line Division stop, thus cutting down on petroleum usage. The absence of parking at this site will reinforce this postpetroleum lifestyle.

Food typically travels 1500 miles to our dinner plate. If some of this food was grown on local

81 | P a g e

Figure 8:24: Marketplace with Booth Details

roofs or brought in from other urban farms, the petroleum need would be considerably decreased. This site seeks to be zero-waste. Food waste will be composted on site and used in the community gardens, green spaces, and greenhouses. Farmers will be asked to use biodegradable packaging or none at all. Consumers will be asked to bring their own bags, containers, and bottles and to not bring disposable plastic or non-compostable items on site. Even with the best efforts, there will be some garbage or recyclables. Storage has been built for curbside pick-up. Although, this is not ideal, it will minimize the amount of waste in the waste stream, thus reducing petroleum dependence.

Vendor booths were designed to a scale that reuses interior and exterior doors, which often end up in landfills. Some of the shelving that already exists in the existing big-box retail stores was also used.

82 | P a g e

Restaurant Bar

Figure 8.25: Bar Floor Plan

The restaurant/bar is accessible from the south side through two entrances. Food grown by local farmers and on the roof is utilized here. The furnishing and finishes are made with repurposed materials purchased from local sources, or transformed from elements in the existing big-box stores. It has a view of the adjacent patio and across the new green space of the former parking lot. At the back of the bar is a stage for performances. The kitchen is open to the restaurant along

83 | P a g e

Figure 8.26: Interior of Bar Facing West

the north wall. The structure and HVAC systems have been left exposed on the ceiling. Additional ventilation is supplied by windows and ceiling fans.

84 | P a g e

Educational Gallery

Figure 8.27: Gallery Floor Plan

The gallery is located in the west building between the education area to the north, the restaurant/bar to the south and the event space to the east. Art can teach many lessons. It has documented our own history prior to the invention of the camera. Without art, we would have no way of knowing what our world looked like in prior centuries, except through words.

85 | P a g e

This space is designed to be used for exhibits that can educate the public on the energy problems that we are facing. On exhibit in the illustration below are Edward Burtynsky’s Landscapes of Oil.

Figure 8.28: Gallery Interior Facing West

86 | P a g e

Cafe

Figure 8.29: Café Floor Plan

The café is accessible through an entrance on the southwest side. Doors link it to the patio and event space, which runs through the middle of both structures. The café also uses food grown by local farmers and on the roof. It is a study and hang-out space for the community. Here too interior furnishings and finishes are low or no-petroleum and repurposed items.

87 | P a g e

Figure 8.30: Café Interior Facing South

88 | P a g e

Patio

Figure 8.31: Patio Floor Plan

The patio is accessible to the public and to visitors and clients of the café on the east and to restaurant visitors and clients on the north. This is a space for the community to have more outdoor space during Chicago’s good seasons and to link the programs of the structure together. Permeable pavers were used, and the space was envisioned as being alive with vegetation.

89 | P a g e

Figure 8.32: Patio Facing North side of Bar and West Side of Cafe

Event Space

The event space runs on an angle to link all of the programs. It is a transitional space that can be closed off with the use of operable glass walls. It could be used for additional gallery events or rented out for other celebrations.

Educational Facility

An education facility is located on the northwest side of the site with administration offices, lecture spaces, computer labs, and a cooking classroom. This portion of the buildings has access to the roof, so that education can continue on the green roof and greenhouses.

90 | P a g e

Chapter | So What Now?

Connectivity: A New Website

Technology provides a key component of connectivity for a systems approach. This researcher has contacted Chicago city departments to investigate whether Chicago has a plan for postpetroleum. At the time of the completion of this thesis, there is is no post petroleum plan or task force in Chicago.

After graduation, I plan to create a website that Chicagoans can access in order to learn more about post-petroleum design. It will contain links on where to recycle, donate, or sell waste and where to buy sustainable non-petroleum based products. It would also include contact information for emergency planning, relevant links, books, documentaries, and leading peak oil theorists. The website would also include my design studies, to serve as examples for postpetroleum design strategies.

A resource list of where to take construction and demolition waste in Chicago can be found on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website. However, the site is difficult to navigate and very little information is provided about these businesses in the list. A website arranged by materials will develop into a resource of businesses accepting those materials. Clickable company titles will lead into information about the company such as hours, and whether they have drop off/pick-up services. It will also contain information about whether materials are accepted by donation, or whether one can sell by weight. Price by weight is useful for project managers when trying to determine benefits on cost analysis reports.

A physical resource center for non-petroleum or recycled products would assist Chicagoans to transition to a non-petroleum lifestyle. Perhaps this is another project down the road for me, as an extension of the website.

92 | P a g e

A Blog & An App: Sustainable Brain Candy

The blog will be designed to create dialog about current events, and to generate discussion about post-petroleum strategies. It will contain links to resources such as materials, books, documentaries and theorists. Eventually, an app could be developed that contains quick links to post-petroleum resources for data and materials in Chicago.

So What Now? Activate Your Own Reduction

We need to start taking personal responsibility and action to change our lifestyles, severing oil dependence. It is clear that current oil consumption rates cannot continue. It is in our best interest to begin the shift toward a post-petroleum lifestyle now. Economies need to become localized in order to end oil dependence. Consumerism is currently the biggest driver of oil dependency and waste. Shopping locally will assist in this shift. A dollar has a lot of power. An educated consumer is a powerful consumer. Education about products is necessary in supporting companies that are practicing sustainability. Purchasing power can have an enormous impact on our environment today, tomorrow, and every day. We each make choices that impact this system. By choosing to change your every day habits, taking public transit instead of driving, avoiding the use of plastic grocery bags, buying from local farmers and craftspersons, repurposing what we own, buying used, shopping at local retailers rather than big box retailers, we can impact this system positively and reduce our own consumption in order to prepare the imminent transition. Eliminating room for cars to encourage public transit, walking, and biking is one step.

93 | P a g e

Conclusion

“…most important is that we did everything that we possibly humanly could do to begin to mitigate one of the most important and critical issue of our time”.144 –Edward Burtynsky Design has enormous power to impact the consumer in the shift to a post-petroleum lifestyle. Design has the ability to create response and awareness. Materials are vital in fostering this awareness. It is up to designers to demand better products and to create spaces responsibly. It is a designer’s job to educate the public and clients all aspects of a product. Only through education and choice can we begin this transition towards a non-petroleum based future. Ignorance will only persist in feeding our blind spot, which may lead to devastation that we cannot even begin to comprehend in our current state of disassociation.

144

Burtynsky, Edward, Photographs the Landscapes of Oil, July, 2009. Accessed March 5, 2012. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/edward_burtynsky_photographs_the_landscape_of_oil.html.

94 | P a g e

Resources in Chicago

Education

Center for Green Technology 445 N Sacramento| 312-‐746-‐9642 | www.chicagogreentech.org

USGBC Illinois 222 Merchandise Mart, Ste 946| 312-‐245-‐8300 | www.usgbc-‐illinois.org/

Rebuilding Exchange

2160 N Ashland Ave| 773-‐252-‐2234 | www.rebuildingexchange.org/education.html

Building Materials, Fixtures & Interior Artifacts

American Barn Company 3808 N Clark St | 773-‐327-‐1560 |www.americanbarncompany.com

Architectural Artifacts Inc.

4325 N Ravenswood Ave | 773-‐348-‐0662 | www.architecturalartifacts.com Colonial Brick Co 312-‐733-‐2600 | www.colonialbrickchicago.com

Rebuilding Exchange

2160 N Ashland Ave| 773-‐252-‐2234 | www.rebuildingexchange.org

Finishes & Furniture

Architectural Artifacts Inc. 4325 N Ravenswood Ave | 773-‐348-‐0662 |www.architecturalartifacts.com

Green Home Chicago

213 N Morgan St | 312-‐432-‐9400 | www.ghcdesigncenter.com

Lenny & Me 213 N Morgan St | 312-‐432-‐9400 | www.ghcdesigncenter.com

95 | P a g e

Scout 5221 N Clark St | 773-‐275-‐5700 | www. scoutchicago.com

Salvage 1

1840 W Hubbard St | 312-‐733-‐0098 | www.salvageone.com

Recycle

ACME Scrap Metal (Electronics and Scrap Metal) www.acmescrapglobal.com/

Chicago Recycling Coalition (Resources) www.chicagorecycling.org/index.htm

Chicago Drop Off Locations Interactive Map www.chicagorecylcingdropoff.com

Chicago Blue Cart Program Interactive Map www.chicagorecylcingdropoff.com

United Scrap Metal

www.unitedscrap.com/

Petroleum Education

Post Carbon Institute www.postcarbon.org/

ASPO | Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas -‐ USA www.aspousa.org/

ASPO International| Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas www.peakoil.net/

EIA | United State Energy Information Administration www.eia.gov/

Richard Heinberg | Post Carbon Theorist www.facebook.com/richardheinberg

The Oil Drum www.theoildrum.com

96 | P a g e

Bibliography

Books

Addis, Bill, Building with Reclaimed Components and Materials, A Design Handbook for Reuse and Recycling. London, UK: Earthscan, 2006. Bonda, Penny and Katie Sosnowcik, Sustainable Commercial Interiors. Hoboken, NJ: John Riley & Sons, Inc., 2007. Charter, Martin and Ursula Tischener, Sustainable Solutions: Developing Products and Services for the Future. Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf Publishing Limited, 2001. Deffeyes, Kenneth S., When Oil Peaked. New York, NY: Hills and Wang, 2010. Heinberg, Richard and Daniel Lerch, The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Centruy’s Sustainability Crises. Healdsburg, California: Watershed Media, 2010. Johnston, David and Kim Master, Green Remodeling Changing the World One Room at a Time. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2004. Jones, Dr. Louise, Environmentally Responsible Design Green and Sustainable Design for Interior Designers. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons 2008. Lehner, Peter and Bob Deans, In Deep: The Anatomy of a Disaster, The Fate of The Gulf, And How to End our Oil Addiction. New York, NY: OR Books, 2010. Lerch, Daniel, Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, A Guidebook on Peak Oil and Global Warming for Local Governments. Sebastopol, CA: Post Carbon Press, 2007. McDonough, William and Michael Braungart, The Hannover Principles, Design for Sustainability. United States, 2003. McDonugh, William and Michael Braungart, Cradle to Cradle, Remaking the Way We Make Things. New York, NY.North Point Press, 2002. Montoya, Michael, Green Building Fundamentals: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Applying Fundamental Sustainable Construction Practices and the LEED Green Building Rating System. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. Panek, Victor, The Green Imperative: Natural Design For the Real World. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1995. Pellow, David Naguib, Garbage Wars The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2002. Pfeiffer, Dale Allen, Eating Fossil Fuels. BC, Canada: New Society Publishers, 2006.

97 | P a g e

Yeang, Ken, Designing with Nature: The Ecological Basis for Architectural Design. New York, NY:McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1995. Yeang, Ken, Ecodesign: A Manual for Ecological Design. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2006. Yeang, Ken, The Green Skyscraper: the Basis for Designing Sustainable Intensive Buildings. Munich, Germany: Prestel Verlag, 1999. Winchip, Susan M., Sustainable Design for Interior Environments. New York, NY: Fairchild Publications, Inc. 2007.

Documentaries

Blind Spot. Written and Directed by Adolfo Doring. Wallace Global Fund in association with Dislexic Films, 2008. Escape from Suburbia: Beyond the American Dream. Directed by Gregory Greene. Written by Dexter Ico. The Electric Wallpaper Co. 2007. The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and The Collapse of The American Dream. Directed and written by Gregory Greene. The Electric Wallpaper Co. 2004. http://www.endofsuburbia.com/. Gasland. Directed and Written by Josh Fox. Produced by Trish Adlesic, Molly Gandour, Josh Fox, David Roma. 2010. http://www.gaslandthemovie.com.

ICRAVE Robert Delpazzo, Lead Designer for The Collective, New York City, New York. Moss Design: Matt Lardella

Print and Online Journals

Dumke, Mick, “Why Can’t Chicago Recycle.” Chicago Reader.com (July 22, 2010) Accessed August 10, 2010. http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/chicago-recycling-blue-cartsservice/Content?oid=2135422. Fickes, Michael, “Waste and the Windy City.” Waste aGe.com (April, 1, 2008) Accessed August 11, 2010, http://wasteage.com/Collections_And_Transfer/waste_windy_city/. Helmen, Christopher, “The World’s Biggest Oil Reserves.” Forbes.com (January, 21,2010) Accessed April 10, 2012. Forbes.comhttp://www.forbes.com/2010/01/21/biggest-oil-fieldsbusiness-energy-oil-fields.html.

98 | P a g e

Huebner, Jeff. The Panic in Wicker Park. ChicagoReader.com (August 25,1994).Accessed October 10, 2010. http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-panic-in-wickerpark/Content?oid=885350. Krauss, Clifford, “Oil Price Would Skyrocket if Iran Closed the Strait of Hormuz”, NYTimes.com, (January 4, 2012).Accessed April 11, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/business/oil-price-would-skyrocket-if-iran-closed-thestrait.html. Lee, Joyce “Public and private approaches to Chicago waste.” English.xinhuanet.com. (July 16, 2010) Accessed August 11, 2010. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/201007/16/c_111963221.htm Logan, Katharine, “Sustainable Streets,” Green Source, The Magazine of Sustainable Design, (March/Apil 2011):40-43. Pardes, Zachary, “Packed landfills stink – for taxpayers, environment.” Medill News Service.com. (February, 25, 2010). Accessed August 11, 2010. http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=158446. Smith, Stuart. “BP OIL SPILL AND THE GULF ECOSYSTEM: "Deformed Seafood". Officials Close Gulf Waters to Shrimping” (April 26, 2012). Accessed May 2, 2012. http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=30551.

Lectures

Lecture 2/4/12 Lincoln Restaurant, Chicago, IL. John Edel “The Plant”.

Podcasts

Podcast. 3/20/11 Space, Earth & environment Study Confirms oil from Deepwater Horizion disaster entered food chain in Gulf of Mexico. http://m.phys.org/news/2012-03-oil-deepwaterhorizon-disaster-food.html.

Websites

AbsoluteAstronomy.com. West Town, Chicago. Accessed October 10, 2010. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/West_Town,_Chicago. Chicago Climate Action Plan pdf. Accessed July 10, 2011. www.chicagoclimateaction.org/. Chicago Traveler.com. Accessed October 2010. http://www.chicagotraveler.com/neighborhoods/wicker-park-bucktown-feature.htm. Chicago Transit Authority. “2011 Annual Ridership Report”. Accessed April 10, 2012. http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/ridership_reports/2011-Annual.pdf. Eoearth.org. Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill. Accessed May 6, 2012. http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill.

99 | P a g e

Energy Independence, American Energy Independence, Accessed April 8, 2012, http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/fuels.aspx. Free Dictionary.com. Accessed May 7, 2012. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/petroleum. Helio Design Build. Filter Café. Accessed February 2, 2011. http://www.heliosdesignbuild.com/about/press/press-release-filter-cafe.html. In.gredients website. Accessed April 11, 2012. http://in.gredients.com. InterfaceStudio.com. Accessed October 10,2010.. http://interface-studio.com/projects/wickerpark/. Metro Transportation Library. Great American Streetcar Scandal. Accessed August 14, 2011. http://metrotransportationlibrary.wikispaces.com/Great+American+Streetcar+Scandal. Metromix Chicago. Filter Café. Accessed February 2, 2011. http://chicago.metromix.com/restaurants/baked_goods/filter-bucktown-wickerpark/1140079/content. Moss Design. Accessed February 2, 2011. http://www.moss-design.com/. Moss Blog. Accessed February 2, 2011. http://strawville.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/wicker-parkelevated-back-to-bohemian-status/. National Restaurant Association Conserve. Accessed February 2, 2011. http://conserve.restaurant.org/. Oil Primer.com. Accessed May 6, 2012. http://www.oilprimer.com/oil-definition.html. Opec.org. Accessed August 13, 2011. http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/24.htm. PBS 2004. “Extreme Oil. History, A History. “ Accessed August 13, 2011. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/extremeoil/history/index.html. Post Carbon Institute website. The Oil Age Poster. Accessed April 2, 2012. http://www.postcarbon.org/publications/book-list/. Scraphouse.org. “Scrap House”. Accessed August, 2010. http://www.scraphouse.org/ SSD Architecture & Urbanism, “Big Dig House”. Accessed April 12, 2012. http://www.ssdarchitecture.com/works/residential/big-dig-house/. TheCollective.com. Accessed February 2, 2011. http://collectivecafe.com/index.html. ThePlant.com. Accessed April 11,2012. http://www.plantchicago.com/about-the-plant/. Wikipedia. “Hubbert Peak Oil Theory”. Accessed August 13, 2011. “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubbert_peak_theory. Wikipedia. “Oil Platform” Accessed August 13, 2011, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_platform.

100 | P a g e

Yelp.com. Filter Café. Accessed February 2, 2012. http://www.yelp.com/biz/filter-chicago.

Illustrations

Figure 2.1: Levittown, PA. Accessed November 11, 2011. bcplanningblog.blogspot.com. Figure 2.2: Gas Lines 1970s. Accessed January 15, 2012. http://media.artdiamondblog.com/images2/GasStationLine1974. Figure 2.3: City of Munster, Germany Space Poster. Accessed November 11, 2011. cooltownstudios.com. Figure 2.4: Los Angeles Traffic. Accessed November 11, 2011. carmageddon.28574.free-pressrelease.com. Figure 3.1: EIA Petroleum Trends. Accessed March 20, 2012.www.eia.gov/. Figure 3.2: Oil Barrel with Map of World. Accessed April 5,2012. http://www.iraqenergy.org. Figure 4.1: Hubbert’s Peak Oil Theory. Accessed July 9, 2011. http://www.blog.maxdunn.com. Figure 4.2: Pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico. Accessed February 21, 2012. Matthew Baker,ESRI. Produced from data at www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/pubinfo/repcat/arcinfo/index.html. Figure 4.3: Deepwater Horizon Explosion, April 20, 2010. Edited illustration from guardian.co.uk image. Figure 6.1: Interior of Filter | Chicago, IL. Moss Design. Accessed February 2, 2011. http://www.moss-design.com/. Figure 6.2: Scrap House Exterior | San Francisco, CA. Scraphouse.org. “Scrap House”. Accessed August, 2010. http://www.scraphouse.org/ Figure 6.3: Interior of The Collective | New York City, NY. Courtesy of Robert Delpazzo at ICRAVE. Figure 6.4: Exterior of Big Dig House | Lexington, MA. SSD Architecture & Urbanism, “Big Dig House”. Accessed April 12, 2012. http://www.ssdarchitecture.com/works/residential/big-dighouse/. Figure 6.5: in.gredients Concept | Austin, TX. In.gredients website. Accessed April 11, 2012. http://in.gredients.com. Figure 6.6: The Plant Concept | Chicago, IL. ThePlant.com. Accessed April 11,2012. http://www.plantchicago.com/about-the-plant/. Figure 6.7: Complete Streets Illustration. Logan, Katharine, “Sustainable Streets,” Green Source, The Magazine of Sustainable Design, March/Apil 2011:42. Figure 6.8: Complete Street Cermak Road Project | Chicago, Illinois. Wight & Company website. Cermak Road Streetscape. Accessed, November, 20111. http://www.wightco.com/portfolio/Default.aspx?filter=project&projectID=125&projectTypeID=7 Figure 7.1: Wicker Park | Chicago, IL. Author Illustration with Google Image from GoogleMaps.com. Figure 7.2: 2010-2011 Ridership Numbers from The Chicago Transit Authority.Transit Chicago.com. Accessed April 11, 2012. http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/ridership_reports/2011-Annual.pdf. Figure 8.1: Design Test Area Map . Author’s image. Figure 8.2: The New General Store | Exterior with Greenhouses. Author’s image.

101 | P a g e

Figure 8.3: The New General Store | Site Map. Author’s image. Figure 8.4: The New General Store | Exterior with Energy Systems. Author’s image. Figure 8.5: Residential Floor Plans. Author’s image. Figure 8.6: Residential Living Room and Kitchen. Author’s image. Figure 8.7: Residential Bedroom and Bathroom. Author’s image. Figure 8.8: Electric Alley Site Map. Author’s image. Figure 8.9: Electric Alley in Site. Author’s image. Figure 8.10: View of Building and Rooftop Theater. Author’s image. Figure 8.11: Electric Alley Theater Rooftop with Stage. Author’s image. Figure 8.12: Building Elevation. Author’s image. Figure 8.13: Elevation of Site with Subway. Author’s image. Figure 8.14: Thesis Site. Author’s image. Figure 8.15: Photograph of Current Site. Author’s image. Figure 8.16: Programming. Author’s image. Figure 8.17: Building Isometric. Author’s image. Figure 8.18: West Entrance. Author’s image. Figure 8.19: West Entrance Detail. Author’s image. Figure 8.20: East Entrance. Author’s image. Figure 8:21: South Entrance. Author’s image. Figure 8.22: Marketplace Plan. Author’s image. Figure 8.23: Marketplace Interior under Fret Solar Panels. Author’s image. Figure 8.24: Marketplace with Booth Details. Author’s image. Figure 8.25: Bar Floor Plan. Author’s image. Figure 8.26: Interior of Bar Facing East. Author’s image. Figure 8.27: Gallery Floor Plan. Author’s image. Figure 8.28: Gallery Interior Facing West. Author’s image. Figure 8.29: Café Floor Plan. Author’s image. Figure 8.30: Café Interior Facing South. Author’s image. Figure 8.31: Patio Floor Plan. Author’s image. Figure 8.32: Patio Facing North Side of Bar and West Side of Café. Author’s image.

102 | P a g e