Title:
The Carbon Positive City: Building in the Bio-Economy
The Carbon Positive City: Building in the Bio-Economy
Author(s)
Organschi, Alan
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Abstract
The contemporary mid- and high-rise city is constructed with mineral-based materials that are
extracted, smelted, sintered, or synthesized through intensive fossil-energy fueled industrial
processes with significant environmental footprints. Regional as well as global trends in urban
growth suggest that the demand for these materials and processes will rise sharply over the next
30 – 50 years, setting the stage for a significant spike in greenhouse gas emissions associated
with the construction of new buildings and infrastructure. Potential ecological and economic
synergies between an enormous southeastern continental woodshed and the rapidly urbanizing
landscapes that line the eastern seaboard of the United States offer a promising alternative: the
transformation of dense urban centers into massive carbon sinks that serve to mitigate—rather than simply adapt to—rapid climate change. The broad implementation of emerging mass
timber structural technologies and the regulatory and economic policies that promote both biobased
urban building and sustainable forest management will challenge the conventions of the
building sector but offer a wealth of opportunity to the planners, engineers and architects who
seek to reshape it.
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Date Issued
2018-11-07
Extent
101:04 minutes
Resource Type
Moving Image
Resource Subtype
Lecture