CNC Report 08.26.24 8.5x11 - Flipbook - Page 9
At its core, the goal of reducing global carbon emissions is a straightforward task
- limit burning fossil fuels and sequester more atmospheric carbon.
However, when attempting to practically address it, the reality is extremely
challenging because the behaviors that are causing increased atmospheric
carbon are spread across many sectors: buildings, transportation, food, waste,
water, goods, data storage, medical services, and manufacturing. Two of the
largest sectors, buildings and transportation, can be significantly influenced by
land use planning and urban design. Both buildings and cars use substantial
amounts of energy to operate and require momentous carbon to construct
buildings, road infrastructure and vehicles.
The density and organization of the buildings as well as the design of the
streetscape is critical to reducing transportation driven carbon. Reducing
gasoline fueled car trips required for commuting, errands and entertainment both
drastically reduce carbon while improving quality of life.
Accommodating population growth with appropriate density and walkable
neighborhoods rather than suburban sprawl is a positive improvement, but the
construction still comes with significant embodied carbon. When we look at
the whole carbon lifecycle of a building, part is from operation and part is from
embodied carbon (the energy used to manufacture and transport construction
materials). While both are important to address, the embodied carbon occurs
upfront, not over time. Therefore, it is important to prioritize building reuse
and low embodied carbon construction such as biogenic materials, prefab
construction and decreasing waste.
The topics of building energy efficiency, electrification, grid carbon intensity and
PV electricity generation are all tied together to produce the carbon emitted
by a building’s operation. There are goals to reduce the carbon intensity of
the electricity grids across America, but when and if this happens is beyond
the control of any individual district. What can be controlled are the building
standards for energy efficiency, removing burning of natural gas in buildings with
electric heating and producing as much renewable photovoltaic electricity on site
as possible.
The final piece of the puzzle is sequestration. Vegetation sequesters and stores
carbon during its growth. It can enhance a city’s microclimate, having positive
effects on residents and buildings. Planning to maximize green space and trees
to create an effective shading canopy has a positive impact on the net carbon of
a district, as well as the well-being of people and local ecosystem.
When used all together in an integrated way, all these factors have the capacity to
work toward creating a carbon neutral future.
INTRODUCTION TOWARD A CARBON NEUTRAL CORRIDOR
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