viaVIA 61 Contours of a new Decade

Page 22

Contours Tactical Urbanism of a New Decade

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Nowadays it is common knowledge that the earth as we know it is facing some serious climate problems. Carbon emissions are creating serious issues when not being stopped or reduced within a significant period of time. Changes related to this issue can already be found all around the globe, polar caps are losing Millenium-old ice (1), sea levels are rising (2) and endless other negative effects can be found in nature (3). As the built environment creates 28% of total emissions by the daily usage of the building (e.g. power, heat, light) (4) this article will look at unique, more energy-friendly solutions to how people can live their lives, contributing to a cleaner world while still living comfortably.

owners claim that it gives more financial freedom as well as fewer maintenance costs and lower monthly costs. Furthermore, it is easy to move and as there is less space, less property can be stored in the house resulting in a more conscious lifestyle. On the downside, it gives an extra challenge to live together with someone else in a limited space and the house can get dirty quicker as all the space is used relatively more compared to a normal-sized house. But above all, it is a great sustainable way as such a tiny house has fewer emissions and a smaller carbon footprint than the average house, on top of it, there are fewer possibilities to buy new things as there is not much room to store it (6).

The first solution that has gained more popularity over the last few years (5) is tiny housing. This housing concept provides on average a living space for two people with around twelve square meters, often with optimal use of space, creating half levels. Most of the time it is easy to move away because of the towing options given by the presence of wheels under the house. Since the house is relatively small,

Secondly, a relatively newer concept can be found on the market. After the construction of a house, no daily energy usage can be found on the monthly bills. The power, light or water bills are never too high as the second concept regards self-sufficient houses. These kinds of dwellings are fully autonomous which


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