Building tall isn't necessarily better for the environment, according to new research

2021-08-19T13:05:00-04:00

Vertical living may not be the most environmentally friendly way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Colorado, Edinburgh Napier University, and the University of Cambridge. The study, published in the journal npj Urban Sustainability, suggests that low-rise, high-density cities are more environmentally friendly than their high-rise, high-density counterparts, though both are still more sustainable than low-rise, low-density sprawling suburbs.

The researchers arrived at their conclusion through an analysis of an urban environment’s life cycle GHG emissions (LCGEs), which include both embodied and operational emissions. By feeding 5,000 urban environment simulations into an algorithm, with varying height and densities, researchers concluded that taller urban environments significantly increase LCGEs (+154%), while low-density urban environments significantly increase land use (+142%).

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Architect Vishaan Chakrabarti expresses his hopes for Philadelphia and the 'false choice' for cities

2021-03-12T19:11:00-05:00

The problem we have across the United States is we’ve been given a false choice for the future of our cities. We’ve been told that our cities are one of two things: the failing bankrupt, crime-ridden cities of the 1970s, or the bourgeois, gentrified cities of more recent history. And that’s our choice. If we want a tax base, then we need chain stores and gentrification. Otherwise, we have no tax base and cities become a horror story.

On March 11, architect Vishaan Chakrabarti presented a virtual panel for the Industry Intersections: Art, Design + Development, hosted by the Arts + Business Council in Philadelphia. Along with guest panelists, Lindsey Scannapieco (co-founder of Scout), Sven Schroeter (Director of Interior Architecture at KSS Architects), and Rachel Zimmerman (Executive Director of InLiquid) where the connection between design, real estate, and economic recovery for Philadelphia's creative community are discussed. Before Chakrabarti's virtual panel, he spoke with WHYY's PlanPhilly, Ariella Cohen.

During their discussion, he explained his "faith in density," city growth and renewal post-pandemic, and his confidence in Schuylkill Yards. Regarding the 'false choice' of cities and Philadelphia, he correlates it to the "full-scale withdrawal of the federal government from urban policy and public housing [...] cities don't have the wherewithal to resist the pressures of gentrification" without support fr...

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Building tall isn't necessarily better for the environment, according to new research

Architect Vishaan Chakrabarti expresses his hopes for Philadelphia and the 'false choice' for cities