Day two of our Austin visit started out at the Mueller Airport development information center parking lot. We had to go to another location before we went to the visitor/information center, as it was not open quite that early. We decided to check out the Austin Sustainable Food Center. This origination, which started in 1993, is a 501c 3 nonprofit that specializes in getting quality sustainably grown food to people in Austin.
They have three main programs that they oversee that were very interesting to me. The first of these programs was Farm Direct. This program is divided into three parts; Farm-to-Institution, Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Work. This group of programs is focused on making quality, locally grown food available to these groups so that they may replace the often lower quality/nutrition food that must be trucked in for far away. This is important because very often in these three environments people either don’t have the choice to eat well, they are rushed in their jobs that they can’t take the time to find and prepare food that is actually worth eating or quality food is economically beyond their reach. This leads to a lower quality of life for these people and for our community as a whole. The benefits of eating quality food are often difficult to assign a monetary value. The poor diets of the people in the program often leads to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease as well as a host of other health problems linked to nutrition. When they are able to incorporate good food into even one of their meals these conditions are often more manageable and sometimes eradicated. This means that they are less likely to need medical assistance which we as a community are likely to foot the bill for.
Their second program is Grow Local; this is where they organize and run three farmers markets in the greater Austin area. They also work to help people set up community gardens where various groups are able to grow their own food. Currently they have helped to start 16 of the approximately 30 community gardens that are in Austin. This is important in showing people that they have control over the future of their nutrition and health.
The third and final program that the SFC runs is the Happy Kitchen. This initiative focuses mostly on the education of lower income families and individuals. It instructs them on how to shop for nutritious foods, how to budget their finances to be able to afford quality food for their families. The final aspect of the Happy Kitchen is actual cooking classes which instruct participants on how to prepare foods in a way that maximizes their nutritional value.
Finally, they told us about their Farm Talk; this was a different kind of program. This one was specific to farmers. Farm Talk is an open forum where local farmers can talk to other farmers from the area and share tips and farming practices. They also sponsor replication training to spread ideas that one group might be working on or implementing that others might not know about or need some more information to get started.
After the SFC, we went over the Mueller Development. This area is a 700 acre site that was Austin’s original airport. The airport was closed over a decade ago and the land lay fallow and unused for many years. As early as 1984, there was a plan that called for a new town in-town, promoting compact and higher density development, compatible with the surrounding single-family neighborhoods. In 1996, a 16-member Task Force representing a complete spectrum of Austin interests reiterated this vision, calling for the creation of a compact and pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use community. Once completed they development hopes to be home to 10,000 people in 4,900 single and multi-family homes, 10,000 employees and to create 10,500 construction jobs. A full 25% of the homes are part of the Muller Affordable Homes Program, which helps out first time home buyers that are in a lower income bracket (80% or below MFI) to purchase a well built home in this new and exciting community. Seniors on a fixed income are also eligible for this program along with teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters and other essential service professions.
We were told that all of the homes in the area must be built to a 3-Star Austin Green Building standard, with many of the homes achieving higher ratings. The development is currently about 1/3 of the way complete with the remainder to be finished in the future. With over 4.5 million Ft2 of residential development, it is one of the largest (if not THE largest) developments in Austin’s history.
While these homes were not quite my style; I can see how they would be very appealing to folks who want a new home constructed out of quality materials. The current mindset in many large developments are only concerned with bottom line numbers, while quality of the product and it’s lifespan are not considered. I see this trend as extremely short sighted and just dumb. Why would you buy something that is poorly made and that will fall apart while you are still using (or living in) it. One thing that I really liked about the layout of the development is the strategic use of alleyways. This keeps the main streets from becoming clogged and congested by street parking with the placement of parking in the rear of the homes. The alleys also allow of municipal trash services to drive down one street and service both sides. This feature, in a small way, means that trash trucks are faster and use less gasoline and can be more efficient in their routes.
This neighborhood was built with sustainability in mind from the start of the project. The project is located in Central Austin, where the suburban sprawl is growing at an exponential rate. This area was designed to increase the local population density and reduce the amount of time and travel for its occupants. Also, the area is on track to be one of the next stops on the Austin Light-Rail project. This would be a great way to remove thousands of cars on the roadways and reduce (even in a small way) the overall air pollution in Austin. I thought it was also a smart idea to consult with the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center when planning the landscaping aspect of this development. The LJWC is one of the premier native plant research centers in the United States, with live plant labs that test out and experiment with the application of native Texas plants in modern landscaping. They also lead the way in water conservation ideas and work very hard to discriminate this information to as much of the Austin populace as possible. I also like the fact that the builders decided to use a great deal of the existing Tarmac in the construction of the road-bed. This is not only a great reuse of an expensive material; it also keeps thousands of Ft2 of non degrading material out of the local landfill. Finally, with such a large neighborhood I think that they are very smart to capture and reuse graywater to irrigate the 140 acres of open green space. This saves water, money and keeps the grounds looks great.
Our third destination on our second day in Austin was the Ronald McDonald House, located in the Mueller development. This location was the first LEED Platinum building in Austin. The house is a place to stay for families of sick children being treated at the newly constructed Dell Children’s Hospital.
The families are supplied with extremely affordable rooms ($10/night) with free food and places to shower and wash clothes. The site has a solar array that provides a great deal of power for the building. It was also constructed with environmentally sensitive materials (low VOC paint, non-off-gassing carpeting, etc.) We were also told that the construction was linked to the building of the Denver Airport. Apparently, they used many of the building techniques developed for the Colorado airport.
The next location was the SOL Sustainable Community in East Austin. We met with Chris Krager the principal designer for KRDB. I really liked the idea behind this little community. It is firstly a plan to in-build and to get away from the urban sprawl that is so common in today’s housing developments.
These modestly sized homes were designed to be as sustainable as can be. They were planned as Net-Zero Energy utility homes. While they all of the units may not be a 100% Net-Zero Energy, the idea of having this plan from the beginning is a great start. Overall the homes at SOL use 55% less energy than the usual homes constructed out of typical materials and regular design. Up front these homes are a little more expensive (15%-17%) than they typical home of comparable size. But, on the up side they have amazingly low utilities, including some that are as low as $30 a month. In addition to the use of solar panels on most of the roofs, the community also uses geothermal HVAC units that use the Earth as a heat sink. Not only do these improvements lower utility bills, they also lessen the overall environmental impact of the entire site.
The homes that were built here were a combination of low-income, affordable homes and full priced units. Overall the idea of smaller homes on smaller lots appealed to be as a way to combat the space wasting mindset that is so prevalent in today’s culture of “bigger is better,” where in my mind “better is better.” Personally, I would rather own and live in a home that was constructed with high quality materials that would last far longer and need less maintenance and repair over its lifetime. The site has its own water filtration and settlement pond to recharge the local aquifer in a more responsible manner than what is usually done. This is also not the norm for most developments that are built these days. Mostly, it’s “just let that water run into the storm sewer” and that just won’t cut it these days. I also like the fact that many of the lots have shared space like driveways that lead to the rear of both neighboring homes. This idea of shared space and use is also unique in my experience.
Overall, even though the homes have a little higher price-point up front I am still extremely impressed with the overall design concept and implementation of ideals into the real world.
Our final visit was the Austin EcoSchool, where we met with Cheryl Kruckberg. This school of about 32 students and six teachers gives an alternative educational model to today’s public schools. She told us all about the school and their philosophy; to quote from their principals page “We seek to nurture in our children a joyful understanding of themselves as important members of their communities, to empower them to think creatively and critically, and to foster practices that reflect our belief that each person has an important role in protecting the environment and building a positive future. We model and encourage constructive behavior, use positive redirection, and facilitate peaceful conflict resolution.” I was impressed with her passion and dedication to the quality of life she is bringing to the school’s students. While this school might be too “touchy-feely” for many folks, I believe that the ideas of mutual respect and group cooperation are very important and often lacking from many of today’s educational programs. Overall, individual worth is focused on and it makes the children behave better and helps them relate to each other better and as equals. While this might not be for everyone, if your child is already possessed of this mindset, I think it would be a great place to learn.
The most interesting curriculums used in the school is The Game of Village. This ongoing year-long game developed in 1971 by Dutch educator Cia Iselin, is an interactive role playing game that lets children make a representative person (peep) in 1/25th scale. Throughout the school year the child has a chance to develop the peeps life, by building a house on a set budget, wherein borrow money on their land at a land bank, without interest, and seek their fortunes as they will, for a stipulated period of time. It is meant as a way for letting them interact in a harmonious way with the other students. They also have the opportunity to construct governmental bodies such as courts, schools and independent businesses. I think back to when I was a kid; if there was a game like this back then it would have been one of my favorite things about school.
After a long and interesting day it was time for a little down time, and since Amy’s Ice Cream was just across the street from the school, it was an easy choice. Next stop; San Antonio. 
No comments:
Post a Comment