tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41818709514433081402024-02-06T23:22:03.134-05:00Building Our Sustainable FutureSwedish/ Scandinavian sustainability, design, construction, and culture with a specific focus on sustainable cities and neighborhoods in Malmo and Stockholm (Vastra Hamnen, Augustenborg, Rosengard, Hyllie, Sege Park in Malmo. Hammarby Sjostad, the Royal Seaport in Stockholm). Boston sustainable thinking and practice. Bringing home ideas from forward thinking, advanced cultures, focused on building our sustainable futureAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-5231883145260024232013-10-01T00:12:00.000-04:002013-12-04T01:40:14.370-05:00making the Green Triple Decker realonce we were awarded one of the five pilots to take our 1905 triple decker from HERS 135 (or worse - the lower floors had even worse HERS ratings than we did on the 3rd floor) to HERS 65 or better, we needed a plan. we sat down and developed some ideas about how to cut energy consumption while at the same time improve the living conditions of the building and make it a more comfortable home. <br />
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in a case like this we were trying to balance wants versus needs and think about the project as individual components and as a whole. wants versus needs is a tough one for anyone doing design and construction work. we needed to make a proposal and define a scope of work that would hit HERS 65 and there were some general guidelines set forth by the City which included specific targeted items such as insulation and systems as well as some bare minimums we needed to attain, but the specifics were up to us. we could, if it made sense financially and otherwise, choose a completely unique route to get from 135 to 65. that route could be replacing some or all of the systems, replacing some or all of the exterior of the house, insulating some or all of the house, etc.<br />
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not only were we choosing our own route, we were also working as three individual condo owners deciding what to do to our entire house. it might be that what makes sense for one floor makes less sense (or even no sense) for another. for example, the third floor had recently been renovated to add new electrical and all of the interior walls and ceilings were intact. the first floor was part way through a gut renovation that included removing all interior plaster. this meant that blowing insulation from the inside could be "easy" for the first floor, but would create havoc on the 3rd. similarly, we needed to insulate the roof. blown insulation was chosen as the best solution, but we (the 3rd floor) did not want to poke a hole in every single joist bay in every ceiling of our condo. so we had to develop a strategy to achieve the insulation value we needed/ wanted without unnecessarily inconveniencing any one specific unit owner and making unnecessary work (patching holes in poorly done popcorn ceiling is pretty much impossible and expensive).<br />
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the project strategy was simple: aim for the most valuable (energy wise) items first. scope items with big impact on energy reduction are more valuable than lesser (or more expensive) ones. for example, super insulating the house (built in 1905 with almost no insulation) is a huge improvement in energy need in both summer and winter. it's not glamorous, but it gets the job done. after tackling the biggest items (basically the exterior/ shell of the building), we aimed inward at the major systems (heating, cooling, hot water, etc). the third and final category of our project would be the interior and the users (this includes everything from ceiling fans to dual flush toilets and low flow fixtures to CFL or better bulbs). approaching the project in this manner (from big to little and from outside to inside) helped us make important decisions about where to invest our resources.<br />
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now that we've painted a bigger, overall picture, I will start to talk about specific strategies and scope of work, focusing first on the shell and exterior of the building. stay tuned!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com2Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA42.3097365 -71.11514310000001242.2627695 -71.19582410000001 42.3567035 -71.034462100000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-65894716370030351272013-09-21T14:16:00.000-04:002013-11-16T23:55:16.607-05:00Green Triple Decker Pilot Program - the catalyst<br />
we needed a catalyst, something to get us moving in the right direction or maybe something to get us to pull the trigger, to spend money, and to do the most sustainable project we could afford. most great projects and ideas need a catalyst. as you may recall, the <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/european-village-in-bo01.html" target="_blank">Bo01 project in Malmo, Sweden</a> used the European Housing Exposition as it's catalyst for masterplanning the Vastra Hamnen neighborhood and specifically constructing the European Village (note: if you are bored reading my description which was a combination of amazement, awe, and excitement, read this <a href="http://www.malmo.se/download/18.4a2cec6a10d0ba37c0b800012617/" target="_blank">more down to earth, fact filled description</a>). our Jamaica Plain condo upgrade catalyst started out casual and became very real very fast.<br />
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a casual meetup on the front porch over a beer got the deeper conversation started about sustainable living and fixing up our house(s). every one of the owners (one condo owner per floor) wanted to do something significant to improve each unit as well as the property overall. this meant coming up with individual strategies as well as thinking about overlap and shared strategies. in the end we wanted our individual condos to be more comfortable, efficient, and livable and we wanted the whole building to be a great place to call home. we immediately started talking about the building envelope, about super insulation, and about reduction of energy needs and energy use. everyone agreed that energy efficiency and sustainability were important, but we didn't know exactly how we would take it to the next level.<br />
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one of our crew stumbled upon an announcement from the City of Boston about a <a href="http://www.GreenTechBoston.org/2010/10/14/important-updates-green-triple-decker-demonstration-project/" target="_blank">"Green Triple Decker" Pilot Program</a>, <a href="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/RESNET2013_MR-Retrofits_2-27-13_v3.pdf" target="_blank">orchestrated by the BRA</a>. this program was exactly the catalyst we were looking for to get us going forward. the City of Boston (along with the energy utilities - NSTAR and NGRID) was offering up to $30,000 to deep energy retrofit approximately 5 triple deckers in Boston. according to the rules, there would be a preliminary application to narrow down the candidates. once selected, representatives from the City would work with the homeowners to develop a scope of work that attempted to achieve a <a href="http://www.resnet.us/energy-rating" target="_blank">HERS rating of 65 or better</a>. <br />
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HERS is a system that started in California in 2006 and is now respected across the globe as a method to attach home value (price) to energy use and consumption. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_energy_rating" target="_blank">HERS (home energy rating system)</a> basically takes a baseline (bare minimum) typical, wood stud, pink insulation home from 2006 and calls that 100 (as in 100%). that typical house uses 100% energy. a worse house (energy wise) uses more than 100 and a better house uses less. according to this scale, a zero energy house scores a ZERO on HERS and a typical 2006 house scores 100. an energy star house is 85 (15% better than a typical 2006 home). the program we were applying for through the City of Boston aimed at 65 (35% better than a typical 2006 home). our house existing 1000 sf condo, built in 1905 without insulation, would eventually be <a href="http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/how-home-s-hers-index-calculated" target="_blank">measured by an official HERS rater</a>. our unit topped out at 135 (35% worse than a typical home). going from 35% worse than a <i>new</i> home to 35% better must be a piece of cake, right?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUXMPbrEd9iMnb-xDTb-pgTy0w5hJ-kCMttRpgxZvTmiI3CBvJ9MGr1kHhyphenhyphene6vJeszGW2gsqim4ywai5hdfLvBKBjz0JpxMUlQM7vifzkY7KfYDtzmDEgJXQvDXu6cO92NQGt5yiDXvs/s1600/HERS+Index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="HERS rating, started in California in 2006, aims to tie home energy use to home value." border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUXMPbrEd9iMnb-xDTb-pgTy0w5hJ-kCMttRpgxZvTmiI3CBvJ9MGr1kHhyphenhyphene6vJeszGW2gsqim4ywai5hdfLvBKBjz0JpxMUlQM7vifzkY7KfYDtzmDEgJXQvDXu6cO92NQGt5yiDXvs/s400/HERS+Index.jpg" title="HERS index showing 100 as a typical home built in 2006 and 0 as a zero energy home. we needed to achieve HERS 65 or better to comply with the guidelines" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HERS, a scoring system developing and implemented in California in 2006, is the first successful system to tie home energy use to home value. the system scores 0 as a zero energy home and 100 as a new "typical" home in 2006. according to the Green Triple Decker Pilot Program sponsored by the City of Boston, we needed to achieve a HERS rating of 65 or better to receive the grant (35% better than a new home built in 2006). </td></tr>
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as soon as we discovered this potential cash inflow to jump start our sustainable makeover and aim us toward specific energy goals, we flew into production mode. we drafted an essay for the submission including resumes and appendices. several members of our condo association had previous experience in sustainable design and construction both in practice and in theory. in fact, half of us had worked on the 2009 Solar Decathlon project for the BAC/ Tufts zero energy 800 square foot solar home, called curio. that project could be a blog all to itself, but if you are interested in learning more, check out the <a href="http://www.solardecathlon.gov/past/2009/team_boston.html" target="_blank">department of energy's description of curio</a>.<br />
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we applied for the program, ended up on the short list, and eventually were awarded one of five grants to deep energy retrofit our 1905 Jamaica Plain condo. the next part was the hardest part. we knew the windows and doors were terrible, that there was virtually no insulation, and that the systems were old and wasteful. we just needed to figure out what to do, how to do it, where to invest, and how to stretch as far as we could...<br />
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to be continued...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA42.3097365 -71.11514310000001242.2627695 -71.19582410000001 42.3567035 -71.034462100000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-19600536246423525722013-09-06T19:00:00.000-04:002013-11-16T14:17:55.913-05:00our third floor condo in Jamaica Plain... some "before pics"when we bought the condo about three and a half years ago (january 2010), I promised that I would upgrade the place by making a prioritized list of things that needed to be fixed immediately, short term and long term projects, and wish list items. as soon as we moved in and started living in the house, we realized that the list was longer than we originally anticipated. things that you don't know are wrong with the house are suddenly horribly wrong and things you thought were kinda bad turn out to be terrible.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgpQR5efy8PF6FvC8xDmpG9woST8zWDZbulqEmtqNevKnwA2-YbPtKb1O52j4ONALsidGmvfFwY46xAp4LYkoM61hbQndbjT7lUc9r1TnsVDc5zwLQdbXjDXxQood1LTayywXvpR-xfLc/s1600/IMG_3365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="the entire cabinet interior was moldly, punky, soft, and completely rotten" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgpQR5efy8PF6FvC8xDmpG9woST8zWDZbulqEmtqNevKnwA2-YbPtKb1O52j4ONALsidGmvfFwY46xAp4LYkoM61hbQndbjT7lUc9r1TnsVDc5zwLQdbXjDXxQood1LTayywXvpR-xfLc/s1600/IMG_3365.JPG" height="300" title="leaky pipes under the sink caused complete rot" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I guess there was a leak under the sink... for a couple years!</td></tr>
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the electricity was pretty good. every outlet worked except one (and there certainly was not enough electricity in key locations such as the bathroom and the kitchen). the hot and cold water worked. some of the burners on the stove worked and the fridge worked (although every single plastic shelf in the door and in the main part of the fridge was broken completely, cracked beyond repair, or missing... oh, yeah, and there was a string on one of the door shelves serving to hold things from falling off). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4dhuTBZGOiyqXEhhNOc1WXBAVLZK4sbLL8t8qFAdscRYSG9LKSM4sslZfNwv29m2SufeLWuElDyamS-ixqJrWgehiu-vNClSYPy4VbBZpO2m2MZ9RbknyAGzXPpk6x42GTBhHL3E7-w/s1600/IMG_0733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="looking at possible kitchen cabinet and wall opening design" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4dhuTBZGOiyqXEhhNOc1WXBAVLZK4sbLL8t8qFAdscRYSG9LKSM4sslZfNwv29m2SufeLWuElDyamS-ixqJrWgehiu-vNClSYPy4VbBZpO2m2MZ9RbknyAGzXPpk6x42GTBhHL3E7-w/s1600/IMG_0733.JPG" height="300" title="falling apart kitchen cabinets needed to be completely demolished" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">envisioning a new kitchen: we put up blue tape on the existing cabinets and wall so we could see what would be left if we created an opening between the kitchen and dining room and adjusted cabinet locations.</td></tr>
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the gas boiler in the basement worked, but the radiators were finicky and kicked off very uneven heat, leaving the living room frigid and the bedroom burning up. the cabinets were totally melting off the wall, half of the doors were falling off the hinges and most of the interior shelving was sagging so bad you couldn't even put anything on them. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGJ8TYLl6wsO7r2pawd1gQtyzpWMoDR_C85aXwnFbRClDZg8xLsCdRFagSMpUA3Kzqtm49AFeKyJ5c0CJE9yvBFeGa9Qio9CZQtaGyufiGHxRdBjFEOGiGUGBObKdoQAQ2K-5TFwYDS8/s1600/IMG_0732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="hideous lower kitchen cabinets in our condo awaiting demolition" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGJ8TYLl6wsO7r2pawd1gQtyzpWMoDR_C85aXwnFbRClDZg8xLsCdRFagSMpUA3Kzqtm49AFeKyJ5c0CJE9yvBFeGa9Qio9CZQtaGyufiGHxRdBjFEOGiGUGBObKdoQAQ2K-5TFwYDS8/s1600/IMG_0732.JPG" height="300" title="lower kitchen cabinets literally falling off the walls" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">rotten, scratched, stained, and broken cabinets, doors, and hinges were literally falling off the walls when we moved in. we agreed to live with them until we had an overall plan of how to tackle the place. it turned out that we needed more than three years to renovate the kitchen and dispose of this eyesore!</td></tr>
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those are the basics.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOL851ACHo5n-AfCqV1bm8gSwvIrt-xpxKtdA3M7aVt_gnSAXOOQkOOV9LgnBb6pX-IKzZ07MMUcLFYlPEd1WoJ2_zzP5CuzMzkrIpLHno0CyHnfoycKdbs0n_zcnhHxcpWoohi1E8VY/s1600/IMG_3345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="window seals failed leaving condensation on all of the glass" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOL851ACHo5n-AfCqV1bm8gSwvIrt-xpxKtdA3M7aVt_gnSAXOOQkOOV9LgnBb6pX-IKzZ07MMUcLFYlPEd1WoJ2_zzP5CuzMzkrIpLHno0CyHnfoycKdbs0n_zcnhHxcpWoohi1E8VY/s1600/IMG_3345.JPG" height="400" title="seals on the replacement windows had failed leaving every single window foggy" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">every single window in the entire condo was foggy as all of the seals had failed. translucent windows anyone?</td></tr>
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most of the other issues we knew about in advance. every single window in the entire condo was foggy (the seals had failed, most likely due to improper installation). the basement often flooded a little and sometimes flooded a lot. there was no washer/ dryer, no garbage disposal, and certainly no dishwasher. the tub looked like it had a rare skin condition and my wife <strike>forbid</strike> forbade me to take an actual bath in it. and it turned out that all of the holes in the floor were designed to let mice in. quite a good first couple of months discovering traits of the place.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmR9BFPLKNF2SLZSxUAC6TthKAb1bC6X9gLYUDtkEPJYhDWID6wVhM1bbC1EAHakLEN09YlaNt6GwMceL7oFkKMa2a_GrZ_3W1YyNm-H8L8P8jMiGMaO0phZZAxUZQt9grvsfcixwjow/s1600/IMG_3351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="peeling paint and a rusty interior in the bathtub" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmR9BFPLKNF2SLZSxUAC6TthKAb1bC6X9gLYUDtkEPJYhDWID6wVhM1bbC1EAHakLEN09YlaNt6GwMceL7oFkKMa2a_GrZ_3W1YyNm-H8L8P8jMiGMaO0phZZAxUZQt9grvsfcixwjow/s1600/IMG_3351.JPG" height="300" title="the tub in the condo bathroom needed major work" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the tub needed a little work, to say the least</td></tr>
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when the warm weather hit we were ready for some action. we knocked down a wall right away between the living room and the dining room. this was quite an easy project and we felt great. but... now what? we had no specific plan other than we wanted a public side of the house (living room, dining room, and kitchen) and a private side of the house (2 bedrooms and the bathroom). we knew we had to open up this wall, but had no idea what to put back. a french door? a completely opening? a framed opening? lots of questions and no answers. so we lived with a stud wall for what ended up being almost two years.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe1JywIrDnC8qFt_FKVWBu8-DrjZHNNFFBHu3ipYXOiOtZt2V4kXJgA6i_peWaolLDPUTjR4tmpswIKu7B1283zGkye_3V-mctCJlNkxqRXDqbL3jKnFl6N3c2NQDbWfyqyXuEOTYUFls/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="creating an open flow between entry, living room, and dining room changed the house for the better" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe1JywIrDnC8qFt_FKVWBu8-DrjZHNNFFBHu3ipYXOiOtZt2V4kXJgA6i_peWaolLDPUTjR4tmpswIKu7B1283zGkye_3V-mctCJlNkxqRXDqbL3jKnFl6N3c2NQDbWfyqyXuEOTYUFls/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" height="300" title="we tore down the wall separating the dining room and living room to open up the house" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tearing down the wall between the dining room and living room was a good first step to open up the public side of the house</td></tr>
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we were ready to make some more significant improvements. we started planning more serious lists and trying to decide what to tackle next. do we redo the kitchen then the bathroom or try to tackle both at once. do we replace one busted item at a time or maybe remove everything that was unusable and start from that point. maybe we repair the wall we demolished and then decide on the next steps. it was quite a challenging time for us with so many daunting tasks. we needed an idea, something to help us prioritize and focus and get us to move forward, spend the money, and start the renovation. we needed... <br />
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to be continued...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA42.3097365 -71.11514310000001242.2627695 -71.19582410000001 42.3567035 -71.034462100000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-3086981141205509692013-08-31T22:31:00.000-04:002013-11-16T14:28:07.150-05:00I'm back!<br />
Hello folks! I'm baaaack! <br />
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after an entire year without posting on this site, I am officially back. much has happened over the last year in my personal and professional life so there's quite a bit to share with you. thanks for sticking with me while I worked through some of the most exciting and joyous challenges in my life so far. I look forward to reconnecting with you and telling you all about my adventures both in Scandinavia and back home in Boston.<br />
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speaking of Boston, I'm back living in a triple decker in jamaica plain. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple-decker" target="_blank">triple deckers</a> are the most common type of housing in Boston. in fact, tens of thousands of these homes were built in the first twenty five years of the twentieth century in and around Boston and New England. <a href="http://www.cityofboston.gov/3D/whatis/history.asp" target="_blank">simply designed</a>, well built, and economically viable, this style of house flourished during that time period and continues to be an important part of residential living today in the Hub. in neighborhoods like <a href="http://www.jphs.org/sources/a-brief-history-of-jamaica-plain.html" target="_blank">Jamaica Plain</a>, often called <a href="http://www.jphs.org/" target="_blank">"streetcar suburbs"</a>, these houses account for the vast majority of the housing stock. they have held up well over the years and are often converted into condos. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOwruEm3EpoTrdF7h7Wpz7i8nA5IubT9pQwxAnZJgBdlmUAj-Ksot71pBkXbGXN2N1DiVvF0BzvQqeOEp1SiaynuCMZpe1jZGIAMR8FIyxOO4q9JWYBvtHmOqK2kE8G-gXAsi4uWjrps/s1600/IMG_0768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="our three decker in jp right as we started the deep energy retrofit" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOwruEm3EpoTrdF7h7Wpz7i8nA5IubT9pQwxAnZJgBdlmUAj-Ksot71pBkXbGXN2N1DiVvF0BzvQqeOEp1SiaynuCMZpe1jZGIAMR8FIyxOO4q9JWYBvtHmOqK2kE8G-gXAsi4uWjrps/s1600/IMG_0768.JPG" height="400" title="our triple decker in jamaica plain, ma " width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our (soon to be) green triple decker in Jamaica Plain at the beginning of the deep energy retrofit</td></tr>
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our condo is a 1,000 square foot space comprising the entire top floor of a three decker built in 1905. before it was converted into a condo in the 1990's, the owner turned it into a three bedroom apartment, maximizing the rent potential. rent prices, neighborhood demographics, and questionable decisions by the building owner led to the decline of the building. at one point it had a leaky roof, mold growing in the walls, and a tenant suing the owner. it seemed on the brink of collapse. after a series of events including foreclosures and lawsuits, <a href="http://mchughlawboston.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">a thoughtful, forward thinking real estate lawyer</a> came along and revitalized the ailing condo association and purchased the second floor unit. <br />
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the first floor, easily in the worst condition of the three, was purchased soon after, opening the door for a sale of the top floor. suddenly we found ourselves handing over a check with our entire life savings to buy a beaten up condo. since buying the condo more than three years ago, we've re-spent that initial "life savings" several times and completely renovated the inside and outside of the house. one of the most exciting parts of this work is the overall building project that the three condo units tackled together. this project, called a "<a href="http://www.rmi.org/retrofit_depot_101" target="_blank">deep energy retrofit</a>" involved drastically improving the energy efficiency of the entire property. it took more than a year of planning and preparation, quite a bit of teamwork and know how, and a grant from the City of Boston and the local energy companies to make it all happen.<br />
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rather than hit you over the head with all of this in one post, I will put together a series of posts, each explaining one aspect or theme of the project, hopefully making the subject interesting and digestible. so... please let me know if you want to hear more about any specific aspects of the planning, design, construction, sustainable initiatives and strategies, or even just how the heck we survived renovating our entire home, inside and out, while living in in. I will do my best to paint a relatively accurate picture of both what we did and how we did it.<br />
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as always, thanks for reading. enjoy!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA42.3097365 -71.11514310000001242.2627695 -71.19582410000001 42.3567035 -71.034462100000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-9924931388685389782012-10-14T19:01:00.000-04:002012-10-22T18:57:16.812-04:00weather comparison - Boston, MA to Stockholm, Sweden<br />
regardless of what international weather data says, in my mind I felt like Stockholm would be similar to Boston in terms of weather. both cities are harbor cities located on the east coast, both have prevailing winds from the west (ish). both get cold in the winter and warm in the summer and have high humidity. the latitude difference did not seem that much too me on the globe that I once spun around (which was the extent of my geographical research before coming over to Sweden). <br />
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it turns out that I was wrong and my impeccable and detailed research was unfounded. in actuality it is often more than slightly colder here in Sweden, even in "the middle" of the country. I put it in quotes because if you look on the map how far north sweden stretches, you'd be amazed. Stockholm is not close to the midpoint, even though everyone says it's in the middle. up north? yeah, I hear it gets real cold up there... <br />
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it turns out it gets cold in Stockholm too, just in case you were wondering. besides the cold, word on the streets is that the sun doesn't shine so much. everyone knows that it rises late and sets early up here, but the according to my sources it is a little extreme. Stockholm gets an average of <a href="http://www.holiday-weather.com/stockholm/averages/" target="_blank">two hours of sunshine</a> (yes, I said two hours) in january to go along with that balmy average high temp of -1º C (30º F). good times. good times indeed.<br />
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so, the main point of this post is not to complain about the weather, but to share what I have seen and felt first hand while here and to help people draw some comparisons.<br />
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the weather in Boston this week is projected to be this:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEMlAjUF_ycmyAClz495XWbCJ0z9w1fcSHTWiUawIfHq7rQvJW6OpGIaCPyP8EBa_yIsQgFaAKvlNRg7WrXPUaXS7zEvnH2UyelQkQoYVvLwfnKcb2GUb_DfWc8KcoBMy2yfJCwA7pHc/s1600/IMG_4292.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jamaica Plain weather, according to weather bug, for the week of October 15th, 2012 " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEMlAjUF_ycmyAClz495XWbCJ0z9w1fcSHTWiUawIfHq7rQvJW6OpGIaCPyP8EBa_yIsQgFaAKvlNRg7WrXPUaXS7zEvnH2UyelQkQoYVvLwfnKcb2GUb_DfWc8KcoBMy2yfJCwA7pHc/s1600/IMG_4292.PNG" height="400" title="Jamaica Plain (Boston) weather, according to weather bug, for the week of October 15th, 2012 " width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jamaica Plain weather, according to weather bug, for the week of October 15th, 2012</td></tr>
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and the weather in Stockholm projected to be this:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYH7XaXlgWbasXLy41MswaKi5Hw-kZG1ykAPTLWcbFKPTE3T3h5hx2fS4FBJ61HZY5yU0OIXb3Rz6etKG5C9xFyDHV9WZfevl2VOEYBStI4_ii3bu_UMX_wNh7-vysXM3Y1VVzbZ_UWBc/s1600/IMG_4293.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stockholm weather, according to weather bug, for the week of October 15th, 2012 " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYH7XaXlgWbasXLy41MswaKi5Hw-kZG1ykAPTLWcbFKPTE3T3h5hx2fS4FBJ61HZY5yU0OIXb3Rz6etKG5C9xFyDHV9WZfevl2VOEYBStI4_ii3bu_UMX_wNh7-vysXM3Y1VVzbZ_UWBc/s1600/IMG_4293.PNG" height="400" title="Stockholm, Sweden weather, according to weather bug, for the week of October 15th, 2012 " width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Stockholm weather, according to weather bug, for the week of October 15th, 2012</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">on average based on this week, according to weather bug, sponsored by the always super sustainable McDonalds, Stockholm appears to be about 12-15 degrees cooler per day and has about 50% less sunshine. that's a scientific fact. if that is confusing, let me say this: judging by this week alone, Boston appears to be about 12-15 degrees warmer on average and have double the sunshine overall. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">for more information about weather in Stockholm, spin a globe around a couple times and then google "Stockholm weather". trust me, it'll work.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com1Stockholm, Sweden59.32893 18.0649159.199335 17.749053 59.458525 18.380767000000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-11543173451660669212012-10-12T09:45:00.000-04:002012-10-15T05:45:33.153-04:00City Bikes Stockholm - Part II - it's no Copenhagen (or Boston)<br />
so now that you have read my description of the <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/10/city-bikes-stockholm-part-i-how-bike.html" target="_blank">bike share system in Stockholm</a>, it's time to talk about the pros, the cons, and the comparison between this system and others, most notably the two systems that I have seen and experienced, <a href="http://www.thehubway.com/home" target="_blank">Boston</a> and <a href="http://www.bycyklen.dk/english/thecitybikeandcopenhagen.aspx" target="_blank">Copenhagen</a>. what? you haven't read my previous post? shame on you! it's all about the Stockholm bike share system, City Bikes. <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/10/city-bikes-stockholm-part-i-how-bike.html" target="_blank">read it</a>. you'll like it.<br />
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you may remember my not so glowing description of the <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/copenhagen-bike-share.html" target="_blank">free bicycle share system in Copenhagen</a> where you only need to slip a small coin (20 kroner or 2 Euro) into a slot to reserve a bike for as long as you want. at the time this system was launched (1990's), it was groundbreaking in many ways, especially for a well developed city and at such a large scale. my biggest complaint about that system is that because it is free, (some) people do not take responsibility for their actions and there is no accountability. I read articles about people putting the coin in the slot, riding the bike around, and literally throwing the bike(s) into the ocean and canals. vandalism of this nature is possible because there is no system to connect the person who "rents" the bike to the actual bike.</div>
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Stockholm took bike sharing to the next level by charging a fee to rent the bikes, by making a direct relationship between the bike and the renter, and by establishing some simple rules (including a slap on the wrist style punishment for violating the rules). so, how does the bike share in Stockholm compare to Copenhagen? well, for sure it is a step up in many ways, but it is not perfect either.</div>
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I made up a little chart to compare the three bike share programs using a 1-10 scale and assigning a score for each category with 9 as excellent and 1 as pretty bad. I compared the bike shares looking at these categories: number of stations, number of bikes per station, cost (guest), cost (season), bike quality, access (locations), access (availability of bikes), support, web/ app, ease of use of the system, and range/ time.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWN-UKJbMypIGFVewSR0allSWTTsZQa9HXEl9Yc6pZyKaY9r7uWKLmnYkVG-ZIwmFBxQpyK5k6B0xfRflLGqA3GqMIQ3R3tB7nPvsbCWVMQ4Y4gDSoWLPYNdJMsz0-f4NmQlMsfbitTTM/s1600/bikesharecomparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="bike share comparison chart" border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWN-UKJbMypIGFVewSR0allSWTTsZQa9HXEl9Yc6pZyKaY9r7uWKLmnYkVG-ZIwmFBxQpyK5k6B0xfRflLGqA3GqMIQ3R3tB7nPvsbCWVMQ4Y4gDSoWLPYNdJMsz0-f4NmQlMsfbitTTM/s400/bikesharecomparison.jpg" title="bike share comparison by category between Boston, Stockholm, and Copenhagen" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">comparison chart of three bike shares: Boston, Stockholm, and Copenhagen</td></tr>
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let's start with <b><a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/copenhagen-bike-share.html" target="_blank">Copenhagen</a></b>. the system is free (you put a 20 kroner coin in as a deposit but you get it back when you lock up the bike) which is amazing. but as I have said before, this leads to issues of vandalism and the feeling that there is no accountability because there is no way to track who is borrowing the bikes. an additional problem with this system is that people use their own locks on the bikes and basically treat them as personal bikes, riding them around and locking them up anywhere (often not at stations). almost every station I saw was without bikes and the few stations that had bikes often had problems (the bikes were stuck or locked with personal locks). </div>
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the other major problem with this system is that the stations are hard to find (they don't have a kiosk, signage, or any other way to recognize them). they basically look like regular bike racks. because there are so many bikes in Copenhagen, you might not even see the share rack buried under other bikes. in addition, people use the rack as a place to lock their personal bikes so the bike share rack might be completely full with non share bikes. the bike share in Copenhagen was innovative and impressive when it was started more than 15 years ago, but it has flaws that make it less successful than some of the newer systems, especially when directly compared categorically.</div>
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so let's look at <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/10/city-bikes-stockholm-part-i-how-bike.html" target="_blank"><b>Stockholm's</b> bike share</a>, starting with the good aspects. Stockholm made some great improvements when compared to Copenhagen. they added inherent value to the system by making people pay to join. the amount per season is pretty reasonable, especially if you use the bikes a lot. they created many stations and spread them out well all over the city, which must have been a challenge because much of Stockholm central is a conglomeration of islands. the bikes are well distributed and there are almost always bikes at most stations and empty slots to return the bikes. the swipe NFC card seems to work well (although I had a problem once or twice and had to call the helpline) and the bike locking also seemed successful. the system is relatively easy to use. lastly, and most importantly (especially when compared to Boston), the allotment of time on the bike is long and the penalty for going over is minimal. you have three hours per trip and you get three strikes if you go over before they cut off your card (if you go for more than 5 hours they lock your card). three hours gives you quite a bit of time to travel around the city and even stop (not at a bike stand) if you are running errands. I would guess that these simple rules (along with a method to know who checked out the bike) keeps most people in line and keeps vandalism and other problems to a minimum.</div>
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the weaknesses in Stockholm are apparent once you've ridden a little bit. there are a bunch of bikes out there with problems (such as flat tires, broken lights, and wobbly wheels/ hubs). several of the bikes I picked up did not shift properly or the seats did not adjust and if there was another bike on the rack I would return the first one, which did present a problem once or twice. one time I rode home on a bike that had a really wobbly front wheel. I was going down a hill fearing a little for my life. another weakness of the Stockholm bike share is the 22.00 (10pm) curfew. I am not sure whether this is enforced, but it seems silly to limit the bikes to this arbitrary time. it's pitch black at 7pm now in October here, so why 10pm? and speaking of 10pm, why 6am for the start time? what if you need to be somewhere at 6am? and finally, the app to tell you where there are available spots to pick up a bike or lock your bike back to a stand costs $3. this should be free. you're already paying for a membership to use the bike.</div>
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so how does <b>Boston</b> compare? before we go too far here let me say that I have the least personal experience with this system because at home I ride my own bikes to work and around town. let's start with the good stuff. Boston's system is clearly the newest. the bikes are mostly in excellent shape. they shift properly, the lights work, etc. they are pretty well distributed throughout the central parts of the city and have expanded significantly in the second year of operation, which is hopefully a good sign of things to come. the app (run by an independent company called Spotcycle) is excellent and easy to use, as is the website. people that I have talked with who use the system say very positive things about getting around town on the bikes. the one time I called the helpline they were very supportive (although they could not fix the specific problem). </div>
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another excellent feature of the Hubway bike share is the range of options. you can sign up for one (24 hour) day for $5, a three day for $12, or a season membership. the one day pass is great if you know you are going to take two or more trips in and around the city (a subway/ metro pass costs about $2 per trip). the three day is great for a tourist or guest in the city. the system is versatile. one of the best parts about the Boston bike share system, especially when compared to Stockholm, is the overnight hours. you can use the bikes whenever you need (during the season) regardless of the time of day. this means the bikes are accessible to people outside of the 9-5 crowd such as dinner shift waiters, over night workers, and anyone who might need to be somewhere early (or late) in the day.</div>
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now to the "room for improvement". the thirty minute trip. I am not sure how Boston came up with 30 minutes (I have some guesses), but this does not give you much time to dilly dally. stations are close together and easily reachable within a couple of minutes, but what if you want to stop and smell the roses? or what if you want to roll somewhere quick to run an errand and then get back to drop the bike where you started? or what if you arrive to a station and the slots are full? now you have to book it to the next closest station. if you are cruising around town, it is annoying to have to always be on the lookout for a new station to swap bikes. the three hours of Stockholm might be too much, but 30 minutes seems too quick. how bout 45 minutes? </div>
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the other major problem is that the system has been seen by people as complicated. there are lots of instructions to read and understand and many people have complained that it is not crystal clear that you are automatically charged for more than a 30 minute trip. there are very heavy penalties for running over your time limit ($2 for the first 30 minutes over for a guest and up to $100 for 24 hours over). ouch. I understand the desire to keep the bikes circulating quickly and I am sure that there are specific reasons for heavy fees for overages and for the 30 minute trip, but (as someone who often pushes to the last possible minute) this seems pretty harsh. I'd love to see a less sharp fine, maybe some kind of warning, or even having 45 minutes instead of 30.</div>
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so who wins? well let's just say that when I ran the numbers, magically there was a tie between Boston and Stockholm. but, to satisfy those of you out there who need winners and losers, let me say two things. one, I think cities and bike culture are different across the world and needs vary depending on location, climate, culture, market demand, etc. what might work in Stockholm might not in Boston. for example, most people in Stockholm ride what people in Boston might call "crappy" bikes. they are not crappy, they are (often) old, beat up, and simple. this is acceptable because Swedish people have a stronger and older tradition of simple, functional bikes. so the bike share bikes are more aligned to that Swedish style than to Boston, which needs sharper looking and operating bikes to meet the market expectations. if the Boston fleet deteriorates to the level of Copenhagen, Boston people might simply stop riding the bikes. this may not be an issue in Stockholm or Copenhagen. </div>
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the second thing: any city that can successfully run a bike share system and support not polluting transportation options is a winner in my book. having the option of personalized transportation that puts air in your lungs, wind in your hair, and human powered wheels on the street is an excellent choice. thank you to all of the people who are making an effort to make bike travel, awareness, and sharing a successful strategy for transportation in Boston and in other places around the world. if you have never tried the bike share program in your city, check it out. you might be surprised about how easy it is and how it makes you feel.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Östermalm, Stockholm, Sweden59.3366845 18.085292459.304292499999995 18.0063284 59.3690765 18.1642564tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-18614555427987781262012-10-07T18:42:00.000-04:002012-10-15T05:40:17.504-04:00City Bikes Stockholm - Part I - how the bike share works<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oJIxIM9IWymnCHGNxIg3YWOdtA3uqn8IEsMwljvxmTIMmlls1xQHvY_siFfdFfz72TWF_cW8g8oooar_7E2uZOqjwbWTRkQwCa8GrLylxlEVkyDM_pajkLimIichlizuOogy7ldipHg/s1600/IMG_3800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stockholm bike share locking mechanism where bike locks to stand" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oJIxIM9IWymnCHGNxIg3YWOdtA3uqn8IEsMwljvxmTIMmlls1xQHvY_siFfdFfz72TWF_cW8g8oooar_7E2uZOqjwbWTRkQwCa8GrLylxlEVkyDM_pajkLimIichlizuOogy7ldipHg/s1600/IMG_3800.JPG" style="cursor: move;" title="location where front basket of bike locks onto bike stand" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bike slot #18 at a bike station. you can see the two access points that lock the bike front basket frame into the bike stand to secure the bike. red light indicates that the bike is locked. after swiping the card this little light turns green and the bike is unlocked and can be picked up off the stand.</td></tr>
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you may remember my not so glowing description of the free bicycle share system in Copenhagen from a couple of weeks ago. Stockholm's system started more than ten years later and has a slightly different philosophical approach and structure. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9ZCp8ZxkJfvKyeoz7LTUbJpNlECpIABwXNfmJ0jOabAbcA8wHzt4og3GMO4mQTgr41j0uBW_5b0HPx8cyyUI7IANJEktMbTJgfrn1h5iQwQydinLVOPtszuHygGEYD61FwsIuJU9Sno/s1600/IMG_3792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="bikes locked to bike stand in Stockholm" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9ZCp8ZxkJfvKyeoz7LTUbJpNlECpIABwXNfmJ0jOabAbcA8wHzt4og3GMO4mQTgr41j0uBW_5b0HPx8cyyUI7IANJEktMbTJgfrn1h5iQwQydinLVOPtszuHygGEYD61FwsIuJU9Sno/s1600/IMG_3792.JPG" title="typical bike stand for Stockholm's bike share, called city bikes" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">typical City Bikes bike stand in Stockholm. bikes are attached to the stand with two metal pieces that are welded to the underside of the front basket. these click into a locking mechanism to secure the bike and announce to the system that the bike has been returned by the renter (as well as to update the online/ app digital bike counter)</td></tr>
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I will compare the two systems (along with Boston's Hubway system) in <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/10/city-bikes-stockholm-part-ii-its-no.html" target="_blank">Part II</a>. for this post I will explain how the <a href="http://www.citybikes.se/en/Home/" target="_blank">Stockholm bike share system</a> (called City Bikes) works and how I have been using it here in the city.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuA8HcOjPsfNIs0YdgqK12sQo9Qa7VN_Wm3P3AHudU4OQTDFSKFXADXlboFsxWC_aLgrprQkCCW4aTxvYKD7dKEGc4Dr-8IfgyiGoZjftH7qqP_fbDd5W6UKaLHybqvCN9EuxqHvwJDQo/s1600/IMG_3793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="all bike stations in Stockholm have the same general setup" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuA8HcOjPsfNIs0YdgqK12sQo9Qa7VN_Wm3P3AHudU4OQTDFSKFXADXlboFsxWC_aLgrprQkCCW4aTxvYKD7dKEGc4Dr-8IfgyiGoZjftH7qqP_fbDd5W6UKaLHybqvCN9EuxqHvwJDQo/s1600/IMG_3793.JPG" title="typical Stockholm bike stand with map, LCD screen, and card reader" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at every bike stand/ station, there is a card reader, a description of the program, an LCD screen, a helpline number and email address, and a map of all of the bike stands in the city</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
there are two ways to rent bikes through Stockholm's "City Bikes" bikeshare system. <br />
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1. you can buy a season pass (good from April through October) for 300 SEK (<a href="http://www.x-rates.com/calculator/?from=SEK&to=USD&amount=300" target="_blank">about $45</a>) at the tourism or information offices in the city as well as a couple of major retail locations (there are about 7 places in or near downtown). you can also order the pass online and save 50 SEK (it takes about 5 business days to receive the pass). you must be 18 or older and have a valid identification.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8j8hTAEkQwmyGUT9Il5J2sv_detAiHX1WQk_-PHgLp1-fwDUwvijSjtOtWCNZxkpJ3xy_DMNXjDndcoqVIG4f0HbbiycaOQpusxPkt9caiCU2u3S5oRKHQbIWGKjg2_w-y-lTQ7DAjE/s1600/IMG_3917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="bike has 3 speed internal hub, coaster brakes, lever brake, kickstand, front and rear fenders, front basket, adjustable seat post, and front and rear lights" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8j8hTAEkQwmyGUT9Il5J2sv_detAiHX1WQk_-PHgLp1-fwDUwvijSjtOtWCNZxkpJ3xy_DMNXjDndcoqVIG4f0HbbiycaOQpusxPkt9caiCU2u3S5oRKHQbIWGKjg2_w-y-lTQ7DAjE/s1600/IMG_3917.JPG" title="typical bike on a bike stand in Stockholm" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bike stand near Gardet in Stockholm. one bike left. the bikes all have front and rear lights (though many don't work), front and rear fenders, adjustable seat posts, front basket, 3 speed internal hub grip shifters, coaster brakes, a kickstand, and a left hand activated "typical" lever brake.</td></tr>
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2. you can buy a three day pass (this seems specifically geared towards tourists). it costs 165 SEK (about $25) and is not activated until the moment when you first swipe the card to rent your first bike.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIedd0dwI_HewZ9_chaNbVPdT-vUIEacYOtKiiBD1-I5BZG9bYX5zjecwmKsDTY_W2-e7d4hYb-F6zaVOw0wL5DBuThGIfB9wdD4eusfQpFC6s4oNBLJWBzwHP8Me7_XBUG1kPcpDOJVM/s1600/IMG_3799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="each bike stand has an explanation of the system as well as a map" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIedd0dwI_HewZ9_chaNbVPdT-vUIEacYOtKiiBD1-I5BZG9bYX5zjecwmKsDTY_W2-e7d4hYb-F6zaVOw0wL5DBuThGIfB9wdD4eusfQpFC6s4oNBLJWBzwHP8Me7_XBUG1kPcpDOJVM/s1600/IMG_3799.JPG" title="Stockholm bike share uses near field communication cards to release a bike from the rack" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">signage at every bike stand in Stockholm explaining the system with the NFC card swipe at the bottom</td></tr>
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even though I arrived in Stockholm in September, I chose to rent for the rest of the season (still full price) because Lauren was here visiting and two weekends worth of riding with the three day pass costs more than a season (300 vs 330 SEK). we picked up the pass at Central Station and also received a map of all of the bike stations, which is also available online. there's an app for the station locations and bike availability, but it costs $2.99 which is ridiculous, IMHO (In My Humble Opinion).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTF2IwbvF5GUhi4jg1k41WMzhO8rpAK-AekKSaIFt4u61SCkXuq-Up4v89DKkNB2blwEj82AdpRAZEDDHAIUgbUclmu9p0Whq6sFEfTXA_oaro_H9FnUWFuAfyDdkavwjs7Ep7n1VTnUs/s1600/IMG_3933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="right before swiping the card to unlock a bike" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTF2IwbvF5GUhi4jg1k41WMzhO8rpAK-AekKSaIFt4u61SCkXuq-Up4v89DKkNB2blwEj82AdpRAZEDDHAIUgbUclmu9p0Whq6sFEfTXA_oaro_H9FnUWFuAfyDdkavwjs7Ep7n1VTnUs/s1600/IMG_3933.JPG" title="bike station at Karlaplan in Ostermalm" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">typical bike stand info pole. this one is at Karlaplan in Ostermalm. Lauren is about to swipe the card to access a bike.</td></tr>
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there are approximately <a href="http://www.citybikes.se/en/Here-are-our-cycle-stands/" target="_blank">107 stations</a> throughout the downtown area and beyond, including the most densely populated areas in the outskirts of the central part of the city. there are multiple stations in a close proximity in areas that are heavily traveled, especially near major streets and subway stations. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uzUeHuqbyFuTA7dgyRvTsq8jTw4bvuR9xeYQt_kCFHbLfk_2j15_lW1zq7e-T9eJ9TcJKcdJSJ9QDd2CHMN8gNZPP4Q36PFcNdUT1VLL9BJj3J1bj76wOUtNl6JbI0igEyhyphenhyphenOyqENxM/s1600/IMG_3797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="map of all bike stations in Stockholm" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uzUeHuqbyFuTA7dgyRvTsq8jTw4bvuR9xeYQt_kCFHbLfk_2j15_lW1zq7e-T9eJ9TcJKcdJSJ9QDd2CHMN8gNZPP4Q36PFcNdUT1VLL9BJj3J1bj76wOUtNl6JbI0igEyhyphenhyphenOyqENxM/s1600/IMG_3797.JPG" title="map at each bike stand shows locations of all bike stands throughout the city" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is the map at each bike stand which shows locations of all bike stands in the city</td></tr>
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you can rent a bike between the hours of 6am and 10pm any time from April through October for up to three hours at a time. if you want to have more than three hours you simply return the bike to a station and take out a new one for a new three hour slot.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5T_bKFLXCzqKEWYWFmXVHBgYXZNWC5sUDhpZoGs0rK6qT3BHtos9yOOAUKJDAdFmVyBQMOn4frD0G0dCenRNbtv9Yx5v3ii0KrR21n2Adss4Og6t51g13MEcm19USfEWVcz2V0-7tJBM/s1600/IMG_3798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="tells you what number bike you are renting as well as other information" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5T_bKFLXCzqKEWYWFmXVHBgYXZNWC5sUDhpZoGs0rK6qT3BHtos9yOOAUKJDAdFmVyBQMOn4frD0G0dCenRNbtv9Yx5v3ii0KrR21n2Adss4Og6t51g13MEcm19USfEWVcz2V0-7tJBM/s1600/IMG_3798.JPG" title="LCD screen at bike station" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LCD screen at each bikestand announcing information such as the number of the bike you are renting</td></tr>
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once the card is paid for renting a bike is easy. there are a few simple strategies to ensure a smooth process. in the morning before I leave the flat, I look up on the bikeshare website to see that there are bikes available at the closest stand to my location. then I look to make sure there are empty slots at the stand closest to where I am headed. as long as these two conditions are met, I can easily go from point a to point b without trouble. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2lOyCX_MaHQACBFVR3nyFeHvENbmU6uPHIFJqgZPvXkvgJ8h7FBUkD93lrCGbjxKNuw1IZX7AZs5DTG-knHM1lIfEGNcPCxAMg-ZfYr9xhySq-TzoIoLjqgk0Jterv-88qavEUUO_W4/s1600/IMG_3935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="bike share card reader in Stockholm" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2lOyCX_MaHQACBFVR3nyFeHvENbmU6uPHIFJqgZPvXkvgJ8h7FBUkD93lrCGbjxKNuw1IZX7AZs5DTG-knHM1lIfEGNcPCxAMg-ZfYr9xhySq-TzoIoLjqgk0Jterv-88qavEUUO_W4/s1600/IMG_3935.JPG" title="swiping a card on the card reader at a bike share station in Stockholm" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren swipes the card on the card reader to get a bike from the stand</td></tr>
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for a tourist (or anyone without internet access) this is possibly slightly harder because conditions could change. for example if there is only one bike at the location closest to my place and between the time I leave home and arrive at the stand, someone could have taken the last bike and I'll need to walk to the second closest station to get a bike. this has only happened once to me so far, so it doesn't seem to be a huge deal.<br />
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when you arrive at the bike stand, you simply swipe your card against the NFC (<a href="http://www.nearfieldcommunication.org/" target="_blank">near field communication</a>) style card reader. the system thinks for a second and then spits out a number. this number corresponds with the location of the bike you have rented. you go over to the spot and lift the bike off the rack (within 45 seconds or so) and now you have three hours to return it to one of the 107 stations around Stockholm. it's that simple.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBbvBEy3m_-ZdFgbbm1e4sXT8d4PUdKPaxmdb0J5RpcpQidRIw8vN_DzGtWjgBvRF0G6nXGyomD9KCfJEyGISEK0SMmQva6ZHmo3pgxnLLRLvHOv5Pty1Bzow1Zs1kiB0BUvyeutvbic/s1600/IMG_3938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="bike unlocked after swiping card at bike stand LCD screen" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBbvBEy3m_-ZdFgbbm1e4sXT8d4PUdKPaxmdb0J5RpcpQidRIw8vN_DzGtWjgBvRF0G6nXGyomD9KCfJEyGISEK0SMmQva6ZHmo3pgxnLLRLvHOv5Pty1Bzow1Zs1kiB0BUvyeutvbic/s1600/IMG_3938.JPG" title="bike station LCD screen after card swipe releasing bike #1" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">after swiping card the screen tells the user what bike slot will unlock (be released), allowing renter to pick the bike up off of the stand and use for up to three hours</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oJIxIM9IWymnCHGNxIg3YWOdtA3uqn8IEsMwljvxmTIMmlls1xQHvY_siFfdFfz72TWF_cW8g8oooar_7E2uZOqjwbWTRkQwCa8GrLylxlEVkyDM_pajkLimIichlizuOogy7ldipHg/s1600/IMG_3800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stockholm bike share locking mechanism where bike locks to stand" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oJIxIM9IWymnCHGNxIg3YWOdtA3uqn8IEsMwljvxmTIMmlls1xQHvY_siFfdFfz72TWF_cW8g8oooar_7E2uZOqjwbWTRkQwCa8GrLylxlEVkyDM_pajkLimIichlizuOogy7ldipHg/s1600/IMG_3800.JPG" style="cursor: move;" title="location where front basket of bike locks onto bike stand" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bike slot #18 at a bike station. you can see the two access points that lock the bike front basket frame into the bike stand to secure the bike. red light indicates that the bike is locked. after swiping the card this little light turns green and the bike is unlocked and can be picked up off the stand.</td></tr>
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the bikes are all similar in style, although there seem to be newer ones and older ones. the newer ones have better functioning (or at least functioning) front and rear lights that work as soon as you start pedaling. the bikes all have <a href="http://sheldonbrown.com/internal-gears.html" target="_blank">three speed internal hubs</a> (enabled by grip shifters), plus the old school brakes that work when you push backwards on the pedals (called coaster brakes). they also all have a left hand regular brake (that you squeeze) which is what most typical bikes use across the globe. they have front and read fenders, quick release adjustable seat posts (to change the height), and two odd sized wheels (smaller in the front and larger in the back).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGU6tn9mRHBv103IXLgoB0thmNAkcdw9V-LXtzE2IIgT5EG6WYfHr0CExOXxjKQ7hd96qdymEW0mp_fGlniLnzH-2kpbcjWLUai91HoTp7b2gEUSiuDJ2LiH04TZtMZrzJv7zuCF3WQzY/s1600/IMG_3802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="3 speed internal hub grip shift" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGU6tn9mRHBv103IXLgoB0thmNAkcdw9V-LXtzE2IIgT5EG6WYfHr0CExOXxjKQ7hd96qdymEW0mp_fGlniLnzH-2kpbcjWLUai91HoTp7b2gEUSiuDJ2LiH04TZtMZrzJv7zuCF3WQzY/s1600/IMG_3802.JPG" title="internal 3 speed grip shift geared hubs are standard for all Stockholm City Bikes" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">grip shifter for 3 speed internal hub gears is standard for all City Bikes. most bikes shift reasonably well, but some don't like to go down to first gear</td></tr>
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most of the bikes are in decent condition, but I have found quite a few that have either a flat tire, don't shift properly, can't adjust the seat post, or have wobbly wheels. when a bike is not properly functioning (or if you have a problem at any time) you can call the number on the bike stand and report any issues. I have called a couple of times to report problems with bikes although judging by the fact that I have found more than a handful of bikes with issues, I would say most people probably don't bother to call. if a bike is not up to your standards or has a problem, you can simply replace it back on the rack. in about 15 seconds it locks back into place and then you can re-swipe your card to get a new bike (the system gives you the next bike on the rack in numbered order).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhQ0CmGWNX0j6n4AG7AZktTK_AK0C-oYj6jvY8ZPDdreugrHS73jKKH3kqLGk5hMePPGvi_A40iybd1g65Ptocolf6g7TTLA8aTIbPi8J8F5U0k76oJoGJTqwWHowa5MGGw_beG9wLmo/s1600/IMG_3795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="metal basket connects bike to bike stand" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhQ0CmGWNX0j6n4AG7AZktTK_AK0C-oYj6jvY8ZPDdreugrHS73jKKH3kqLGk5hMePPGvi_A40iybd1g65Ptocolf6g7TTLA8aTIbPi8J8F5U0k76oJoGJTqwWHowa5MGGw_beG9wLmo/s1600/IMG_3795.JPG" title=""cockpit" of the Stockholm City Bike" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">another view of the "cockpit" of the Stockholm City Bike attached to the stand. the basket has the locking mechanism (on the bottom) and the light (on the front) as well as a strap to hold stuff in its metal grasp.</td></tr>
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if you are going further afield or not near a bike stand and you want to leave the bike, you are taking a slight risk. the bikes are not equipped with locks and the only way of guaranteeing the bike is safe is reconnecting it to a stand (there are two metal pieces that click into the bike stand and activate a locking mechanism). several times recently I wanted to run into a shop or museum (or the Ostermalm Saluhall) for a minute or longer and there were no bikestands nearby and I have left the bike unlocked. I try to make it inconspicuous or block it with another bike. I haven't had a problem yet. <br />
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more information as well as a comparison in <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/10/city-bikes-stockholm-part-ii-its-no.html" target="_blank">Part II</a>.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com3Stockholm, Sweden59.32893 18.0649159.199335 17.749053 59.458525 18.380767000000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-44463992792940805752012-10-04T18:00:00.000-04:002012-10-14T06:19:03.663-04:00the world's greatest cookie... the Sarah Bernhardtyes. I said it. the world's greatest cookie...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGf_QY722vGuE6jqGpdr0hxZfo0koySNUFvuC2JkbVMTv20dD871r1BFoye2m3suYdTdRtPK-Rc0viQNt5-dPcuv4kFAJa3iey0mm45Q_cgXnIPnBNuhBHNB0uQZoZVOgV4y-Uc8et3X8/s1600/IMG_5175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="the world's greatest cookie" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGf_QY722vGuE6jqGpdr0hxZfo0koySNUFvuC2JkbVMTv20dD871r1BFoye2m3suYdTdRtPK-Rc0viQNt5-dPcuv4kFAJa3iey0mm45Q_cgXnIPnBNuhBHNB0uQZoZVOgV4y-Uc8et3X8/s1600/IMG_5175.JPG" title="the world's best cookie, the Sarah Bernhardt, also know as a biskvi" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the world's greatest cookie, nicknamed the "Sarah Bernhardt", also commonly called a "<a href="http://northernveg.blogspot.se/2011/09/swedish-choklad-biskvi-why-cant-i-find.html" target="_blank">biskvi</a>" by Swedes</td></tr>
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if you ever go to Sweden, or ever stumble across a Swedish bakery, there is only one thing you need to buy. it's simply the world's greatest cookie. if you can even call it a cookie. it's called a Sarah Bernhardt. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCksXP-Q72UuuIhym-MN4U5M5mDVvLVD4uqhqpMsB9qdAymqNiDogy1gOEcCYd2lM6f5SPa4GyGFLhJqdasTCRCZZsLWiCpthNlgTWhyWSFAWoVLTvooTLMT_Ees-aySZagCE9K_oYGWI/s1600/IMG_4233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sarah Bernhardt cookies and other assorted pastries and treats" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCksXP-Q72UuuIhym-MN4U5M5mDVvLVD4uqhqpMsB9qdAymqNiDogy1gOEcCYd2lM6f5SPa4GyGFLhJqdasTCRCZZsLWiCpthNlgTWhyWSFAWoVLTvooTLMT_Ees-aySZagCE9K_oYGWI/s1600/IMG_4233.JPG" title="the first shop on the right when entering the Ostermalms Saluhall" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the first shop on the right when you enter the <a href="http://www.ostermalmshallen.se/en/" target="_blank">Ostermalms Saluhall</a> (the Saluhall gets its own separate post) from the square serves sandwiches, cakes, and pastries of all kinds, including the unforgettable Sarah Bernhardt</td></tr>
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the short story is that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Bernhardt" target="_blank">Sarah Bernhardt</a>, a world famous French actress ("the most famous actress the world has ever known"), stumbled upon a a bakery in Amsterdam around the turn of the 19th century and tasted this immaculate confection and told the shop owner it was the best thing she'd ever eaten. in her honor he named the cookie after her. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvU1A-JttKBNIfBP9O-mNGkI6TzrDeDlKYNrufHcYsVW3VnnQweYTrGz5tYi7QK4u4VKVP6Ggy76YrRtc1vaGFifDagT8bJk2uT0SEzd6XZy8wsoXL4tfvScwQNXuYRyX5BF4CV67i1X4/s1600/IMG_4234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="almond macaroon, chocolate mousse buttercream, and chocolate on top" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvU1A-JttKBNIfBP9O-mNGkI6TzrDeDlKYNrufHcYsVW3VnnQweYTrGz5tYi7QK4u4VKVP6Ggy76YrRtc1vaGFifDagT8bJk2uT0SEzd6XZy8wsoXL4tfvScwQNXuYRyX5BF4CV67i1X4/s1600/IMG_4234.JPG" title="Sarah Bernhardt cookie" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the Sarah Bernhardt is a delicacy like none other. a soft, chewy almond macaroon on the bottom, a dark chocolate mousse buttercream in the middle, with the top dipped in chocolate.</td></tr>
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during World War II, <a href="http://toomanycookies.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/such-a-drama-queen-martha-sarah-bernhardt-cookies-38-eggs-34-34-cups-of-sugar-22-34-sticks-of-butter-and-21-14-cups-of-flour-used-so-far-154-recipes-to-go/" target="_blank">the cookie</a>, which resembled a radio dial was used as a code to connect members of the resistance. after entering the shop, one would ask for a "Sarah Bernhardt" which served as a signal identifying the shop patron as a member of the resistance. if I thought starting a revolution could somehow bring these delights to the United States, I'd do it in a heartbeat. viva la Sarah Bernhardt!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAs0nQ0jSHqQ66jEV_gS87_EKIrGcXj87VfGaLUJlRGodGn7qEhSZnbYa0MJPEZILQNQP9U-BOqc7dFjqjVrPLjEDQsD6mWygZV80TCqvN9JPL-ix3N_Axm6EtvoRDAUjkXKm7NGEyHq4/s1600/IMG_3756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="macaroon, chocolate creme, and chocolate coating of a Sarah Bernhardt" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAs0nQ0jSHqQ66jEV_gS87_EKIrGcXj87VfGaLUJlRGodGn7qEhSZnbYa0MJPEZILQNQP9U-BOqc7dFjqjVrPLjEDQsD6mWygZV80TCqvN9JPL-ix3N_Axm6EtvoRDAUjkXKm7NGEyHq4/s1600/IMG_3756.JPG" title="the biskvi (Sarah Bernhardt) right before the urge to finish it becomes too great" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is a Sarah Bernhardt right before it disappears. at this point one takes smaller sized bites to fully enjoy the delicate but palpable crunch of the chocolate shell and the smooth, soft, melt in your mouth creme inside. once you get past about half way, it takes all the willpower in the world not to devour it in one bite.</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Ostermalms Saluhall, Stockholm Sweden59.32893 18.0649159.32083 18.045169 59.33703 18.084651tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-61278524802888687392012-10-02T15:00:00.000-04:002012-10-11T16:25:41.948-04:00a dip in the Oresund Strait before sunset<br />
the day after I took a walk along the western edge of Daniaparken in Bo01, I stumbled across a series of people jumping (or dipping) into the ocean. when I arrived at a stepped stonework area that led directly into the ocean, I knew this was the place. the water must be cold, but if they are doing it, I try it too. I pedaled home as quickly as possible. even me, a crazy person who is willing to jump in the cold waters of Sweden, knows that scary monsters inhabit the ocean after dark. <br />
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I returned with a backpack loaded with a towel and an ice cold 50 cl (500 ml) Swedish beer. I leaned the bike against the concrete wall, stripped down to my suit, carefully removed my flippie floppies, and waded ankle deep onto the wooden platform. I stood for quite some time, skeptical of the temperatural (yes, that is definitely a word) effect of the sea on my body. finally, after courage came and went several times, I swan dived into the icy blue water...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglVpyYOGgyGRtEY5EB4KOcq0kmpeHu8MONgK4jVMNFSL7Os5CrGARNiQfZ0gpkOHu6yvtOAk4-NNKzSjZs6SbgRRKUljIvUTErI1BTPLmeF_UMW3TUU7C8CW1MDqlsTjN6As-YykZCiE/s1600/IMG_3099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="beer, flip flops, and the Oresund Strait" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglVpyYOGgyGRtEY5EB4KOcq0kmpeHu8MONgK4jVMNFSL7Os5CrGARNiQfZ0gpkOHu6yvtOAk4-NNKzSjZs6SbgRRKUljIvUTErI1BTPLmeF_UMW3TUU7C8CW1MDqlsTjN6As-YykZCiE/s1600/IMG_3099.JPG" height="300" title="after stepping off into the ocean in Daniaparken, Vastra Hamnen " width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the aftermath of a dip in the ocean before sunset, as evidenced by flip flops and beer</td></tr>
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nothing solves the world's problems like taking a dip in the ocean at sunset and drinking a cold beer. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Daniaparken, Hamnen, Malmö, Sweden55.6138596 12.972040955.611617599999995 12.9671054 55.6161016 12.9769764tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-9017639288213628022012-10-01T15:24:00.000-04:002013-11-16T14:36:52.593-05:00sunset in Vastra Hamnen<br />
as the sun began to dip lower in the sky, I made my way along Ribersborg beach, aiming back toward Vastra Hamnen. I stopped several times along the way to admire the kite surfers. or are they called wind surfers. judging by the amount of wind along the Western Harbor, this must be a great place to surf, regardless of what it's called.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicc4-BSSO2phipH7JpXZ3BAMTqXsLOIw1uCap5oHkIVG-YwbsIeRzMX0ws19GpnE7IG69Vw7MNZnAC_7stjbiMyEvfdpx5CmiyM5MVHSon075lVgJFh4NjWC0GMCuCNs5_N_EilOVRRo/s1600/IMG_2967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="kitesurfing in Sweden" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicc4-BSSO2phipH7JpXZ3BAMTqXsLOIw1uCap5oHkIVG-YwbsIeRzMX0ws19GpnE7IG69Vw7MNZnAC_7stjbiMyEvfdpx5CmiyM5MVHSon075lVgJFh4NjWC0GMCuCNs5_N_EilOVRRo/s1600/IMG_2967.JPG" height="300" title="kitesurfing off of Ribersborg beach near Vastra Hamnen in Malmo, Sweden" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">if you google kite surfing while in Sweden, "<a href="http://www.kitesurfatlas.com/spots/sweden" target="_blank">kitesurf Sweden</a>" comes up second, behind only the wikipedia page. clearly there is a lot of wind here, even if Malmo is not listed as one of the hotspots.</td></tr>
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as the sun went down, I walked along the boardwalk at <a href="http://www.malmo.se/Medborgare/Idrott--fritid/Natur--friluftsliv/Parker/Parker-A-O/Daniaparken.html" target="_blank">Daniaparken</a> in Vastra Hamnen on the edge of Bo01. the weather was mild, maybe 64 degrees and the wind was not fierce. as I walked along the boardwalk I saw many people eating bread and cheese, drinking wine, and sitting atop the wooden planks on the water's edge. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabGkz7shwMWvXm_y2_k81PiGvsjQH91rkFvs7JPkv0Ifg3I_OvyMGi9jlo3eRQibxEWUgbc1m1ED3DR_B0iZtPTpSqRjbEFcckzIc6faBTfAbHsNa7j62SU-bv_UcCSQszq7cZpjua9c/s1600/IMG_3094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Daniaparken Malmo" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabGkz7shwMWvXm_y2_k81PiGvsjQH91rkFvs7JPkv0Ifg3I_OvyMGi9jlo3eRQibxEWUgbc1m1ED3DR_B0iZtPTpSqRjbEFcckzIc6faBTfAbHsNa7j62SU-bv_UcCSQszq7cZpjua9c/s1600/IMG_3094.JPG" height="300" title="people eating and drinking on the water's edge in Vastra Hamnen" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">people eating, drinking, and watching the sunset on the western edge of Daniaparken in Vastra Hamnen</td></tr>
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I passed by wooden steps leading down into the ocean and admired the platform, complete with a ladder into (or out of) the ocean. the waves calmly lapped over the metal grating and splashed softly against the lowest steps of the wooden descent.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-icdtyOUqUdP3Txi4BnCXpR7kKrhy5YufRGml-J0Ew4jhyphenhyphenBk6lVLoLQv84DnMZWm9ur_kdlXwop1REPwnHurYML52Hfv2SbhSc06VrfJADzJAmX_nzaQzxRvyvxM7Zq0pJq8pWNaUAI/s1600/IMG_2981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="wooden steps dropping directly into the ocean" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-icdtyOUqUdP3Txi4BnCXpR7kKrhy5YufRGml-J0Ew4jhyphenhyphenBk6lVLoLQv84DnMZWm9ur_kdlXwop1REPwnHurYML52Hfv2SbhSc06VrfJADzJAmX_nzaQzxRvyvxM7Zq0pJq8pWNaUAI/s1600/IMG_2981.JPG" height="400" title="the best place to jump into the Oresund Strait in Malmo, Daniaparken" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wooden steps leading into the ocean in Vastra Hamnen along the westernmost edge of Daniaparken. in the summer this is, according to locals of Malmo, the best spot to jump into the ocean in all of Skane. </td></tr>
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I continued along the boulevard, admiring the quantity of people who were enjoying the setting sun, the mild air, and the light breeze. it tasted like a perfect combination of summer and fall, neither too hot nor too cold. people were sitting out at the restaurants, sipping wine and eating dinner.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCGmtWbVlvpL43ndhU1N6K0Y8l7CLveXOJZ9_JKgHd_0RxwW-oWo7z19LVBcYmwN0NKLdeIJ_y69RTZZtQsLKFhUZlRrxnUMNlMZKcDFfccQMj9Fi4slRV933iLW_80S-TifxAtKO_v9c/s1600/IMG_3093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="restaurant on the westernmost edge of Bo01" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCGmtWbVlvpL43ndhU1N6K0Y8l7CLveXOJZ9_JKgHd_0RxwW-oWo7z19LVBcYmwN0NKLdeIJ_y69RTZZtQsLKFhUZlRrxnUMNlMZKcDFfccQMj9Fi4slRV933iLW_80S-TifxAtKO_v9c/s1600/IMG_3093.JPG" height="300" title="dinner at sunset at the restaurant next to Salt Och Brygga" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">people eating dinner as the sun set in Vastra Hamnen along the edge of the Oresund Strait</td></tr>
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I passed by the corner building of Bo01 that houses <a href="http://www.saltobrygga.se/" target="_blank">Salt Och Brygga</a>, a well known eatery anchoring the restaurants along the waterfront's western edge. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjyH13W4iOMAC5f2fl17UytY4JVezxitOdNsmeTGjU5WNZFJZVjWyAQXgB0nzmvV3pD6Axub7MwoxA8auYZoHj8fCsEdoLEyspoMsMCLRcPZDnCbTm7a4v05CLWYC_aKKudwpb4vBDj70/s1600/IMG_3092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="solar thermal panels in Vastra Hamnen" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjyH13W4iOMAC5f2fl17UytY4JVezxitOdNsmeTGjU5WNZFJZVjWyAQXgB0nzmvV3pD6Axub7MwoxA8auYZoHj8fCsEdoLEyspoMsMCLRcPZDnCbTm7a4v05CLWYC_aKKudwpb4vBDj70/s1600/IMG_3092.JPG" height="400" title="corner building of Bo01 that houses Salt Och Brygga" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one of the most notable buildings in Bo01 is the building that houses Salt och Brygga (salt and bridge), a well known restaurant marking the corner of the first phase of Vastra Hamnen, easily picked out in photographs due to the giant wall of <a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/energy-production/solar-thermal-power.htm" target="_blank">solar thermal</a> "panels" on the southwest corner of the building </td></tr>
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this building is known for two things besides the restaurant: 1. it is the least energy efficient building in Bo01 according to post occupancy studies. 2. it has a giant vertical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_heating" target="_blank">solar thermal</a> array that ended up being slightly under efficient because its <a href="http://www.solarpanelsplus.com/evacuated-tube-collectors/" target="_blank">evacuated tubes</a> partially shade themselves.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzMF-NVc9k6BuG9v2rwNna6UwTl6FseS4d0f3xWV3ut42yC7Dr7qdepag03pe8NOYNCyGlw6ITEWV2F8StdMbVkNMVjsTN_s2qJBU7h_JiLQEcbTI2Vnv71_tlCbSwsudz4VH_ntRdxOA/s1600/IMG_3080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="sunset in Oresund as seen from Bo01 in Vastra Hamnen" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzMF-NVc9k6BuG9v2rwNna6UwTl6FseS4d0f3xWV3ut42yC7Dr7qdepag03pe8NOYNCyGlw6ITEWV2F8StdMbVkNMVjsTN_s2qJBU7h_JiLQEcbTI2Vnv71_tlCbSwsudz4VH_ntRdxOA/s1600/IMG_3080.JPG" height="300" title="sunset on the Oresund Strait with the Oresund Bridge" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sunset along the Oresund Strait with the Bridge to the left</td></tr>
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as I continued north along the water's edge, I stopped to capture the sun as it dropped lower in the sky and highlighted the Oresund Bridge. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmzNBTSLZA2lyQIa1G3IA8Tb8m0lD-wwswEO4RQlzitp0rzTLs8Ot2SF_o9BJLUKVb4oPrAOveFUQ1ir1hm9RiK5YHBl1xfaivrOD_JTuAHUZTXvCPs_w_IDFh76YQc_QZYxdZBt2_kc/s1600/IMG_2982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="sunset in the Oresund Strait as seen from the western shore of Vastra Hamnen" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmzNBTSLZA2lyQIa1G3IA8Tb8m0lD-wwswEO4RQlzitp0rzTLs8Ot2SF_o9BJLUKVb4oPrAOveFUQ1ir1hm9RiK5YHBl1xfaivrOD_JTuAHUZTXvCPs_w_IDFh76YQc_QZYxdZBt2_kc/s1600/IMG_2982.JPG" height="300" title="Finnlines ship passing under the setting sun in Oresund" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finnlines ship sliding along under the setting sun in Oresund</td></tr>
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a Finnlines ship, which seemed to arrive in the harbor at least once per day, slipped under the sun toward the north harbor, the only area of the harbor that remains industrial in the 21st century.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitm4DWHxVlurqvnYBJgtmcFXMvtE4YySHV_9a3GTvPc4Ogxhads_TioURd6IGtCG_FGyv91CDuSJMnDcyLMxwydHXjFztNJ2SOyOZB6U7jfAWUMZkPvLqK3y2Lbnk6LdQyjTZFqJ-yu8U/s1600/IMG_2984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Finnlines ship north of Vastra Hamnen" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitm4DWHxVlurqvnYBJgtmcFXMvtE4YySHV_9a3GTvPc4Ogxhads_TioURd6IGtCG_FGyv91CDuSJMnDcyLMxwydHXjFztNJ2SOyOZB6U7jfAWUMZkPvLqK3y2Lbnk6LdQyjTZFqJ-yu8U/s1600/IMG_2984.JPG" height="300" title="Finnlines ship passing just north of Vastra Hamnen" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finnlines ship passing just north of Vastra Hamnen</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Barometergatan 80, 211 17 Malmö, Sweden55.6138596 12.972040955.6093756 12.9621704 55.618343599999996 12.9819114tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-31212595183942116062012-09-27T04:38:00.000-04:002012-10-14T06:11:52.260-04:00Turning Torso: the anchor of Vastra Hamnen<br />
you can't spend several weeks in Malmo and not take pictures of the Turning Torso. in fact, many would argue you can't spend several hours in Malmo and not take pictures of it. you may even recall that I took a picture of it <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/malmo-train-station-trifecta-of.html" target="_blank">the first night I arrived in Malmo</a>. once the tallest apartment building in Europe, the Turning Torso twists upward 54 stories and 623 feet, the top floor at a 90 degree angle from the ground floor. the Torso was envisioned by the government of Malmo as a new beginning, a fresh start, and a much needed strengthening of the skyline to the north of the city center. it rises 2 times higher than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronprinsen" target="_blank">Kronprinsen</a>, the previous tallest building in Malmo.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH62rjJc0eY051gZmysmzyutdHZ_IUP07qhhsvduyM6O02O6Q8CxM6Aiz9dQi2C0839PJS7FJr-gKAuc6ZaJrJktt8ubXseNU8ijCrUPd8A7tqlEr6lQDokimZiV0k1sLRwMRnh8Pejl8/s1600/IMG_4038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="turning torso by Santiago Calatrava" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH62rjJc0eY051gZmysmzyutdHZ_IUP07qhhsvduyM6O02O6Q8CxM6Aiz9dQi2C0839PJS7FJr-gKAuc6ZaJrJktt8ubXseNU8ijCrUPd8A7tqlEr6lQDokimZiV0k1sLRwMRnh8Pejl8/s400/IMG_4038.JPG" title="Turning Torso in Vastra Hamnen Malmo Sweden" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the Turning Torso approached from the southern main access road to Vastra Hamnen from the city center. the Torso, designed by <a href="http://www.calatrava.com/" target="_blank">Santiago Calatrava</a>, rises 623 feet and 54 stories.</td></tr>
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the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kockums_Crane" target="_blank">Kockums crane</a> (Kockumskranen) which was sold to a Korean company in the early 2000's was the last and highest symbol of the working class city of Malmo's shipbuilding industry. it's last duty was to assist in the building of the Oresund Bridge, the lifeline connection between Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9Msgot02rObsL91WGMwQTzhPcsOXfF9oOP0EE01kP-uHqu-6pzyIcv3icvD-6UysTyPa9Jbr4xFbAgIu2AwqQPrO5Pi9lZYRgtPwH6XLuiCPlX46Si4G9sDI0cMV5E33A_Ys6yhireg/s1600/IMG_4041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="looking up" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9Msgot02rObsL91WGMwQTzhPcsOXfF9oOP0EE01kP-uHqu-6pzyIcv3icvD-6UysTyPa9Jbr4xFbAgIu2AwqQPrO5Pi9lZYRgtPwH6XLuiCPlX46Si4G9sDI0cMV5E33A_Ys6yhireg/s400/IMG_4041.JPG" title="turning torso in vastra hamnen" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">looking up at the Torso from the street</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
in the years leading up to the decision to construct the <a href="http://www.hsb.se/malmo/turningtorso/in-english" target="_blank">Turning Torso</a>, there were three major focused objectives of the city of Malmo, partly in an effort to move forward after the financial collapse caused by the shipbuilding industry abandoning the city (among other financial challenges), partly to jump into the 21st century, and partly to recreate and rebrand the city and its identity. the three objectives were, at first blush, quite simple:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>improve education and heighten the focus of the city on advanced education</li>
<li>strengthen connectivity and interconnectedness of Malmo within the region of Skane and beyond</li>
<li>use sustainability and sustainable initiatives as a method to advance the city and its planning</li>
</ol>
<br />
these three objectives were simultaneously addressed starting in the 1990's and moving into the first decade of the 21st century. though the Turning Torso was not, in itself, a cornerstone of any of these three specific objectives, it played a significant role as a new symbol of Malmo, the city of the future. the Torso is an excellent example of how cities use architecture (tall, unique, or important buildings, often designed by famous architects) to promote an agenda and "put themselves on the map" as Malmo has been doing for the last 15-20 years.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGks3KRIH8EIXGqDyiOHhjVkp-HXyUSxz4lvkRyV5UIqtwbHh3cjHISa1hD93RYHK8rUQKiDywhyphenhypheniPr_GvOhgSW7CfEHXMWjrBr6LfnnNdx4hyphenhyphenH-jrmm5pa5Zzj4eSjywDYToyE_XEE3g/s1600/IMG_4039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="the tallest building in malmo" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGks3KRIH8EIXGqDyiOHhjVkp-HXyUSxz4lvkRyV5UIqtwbHh3cjHISa1hD93RYHK8rUQKiDywhyphenhypheniPr_GvOhgSW7CfEHXMWjrBr6LfnnNdx4hyphenhyphenH-jrmm5pa5Zzj4eSjywDYToyE_XEE3g/s400/IMG_4039.JPG" title="looking up at Turning Torso" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turning Torso in Vastra Hamnen, Malmo as seen from the neighborhood</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
the three most obvious physical manifestations of the three objectives are quite powerful, and together have helped shaped Malmo as a growing, changing city with an eye toward the future. <br />
<br />
1. one of the brightest examples of the city of Malmo putting a new focus on higher education was the creation of Malmo's first University, <a href="http://www.mah.se/english" target="_blank">Malmo Hogskola</a>. the University, now a central hub of the Dockans neighborhood adjacent to the central train station and Vastra Hamnen, has grown to more than 24,000 students in just over ten years of operation (the school opened officially in 1998). the school has many disciplines and areas of study, including several in sustainability such as master's degrees in "Leadership for Sustainability" and "Sustainable Urban Management".<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYESf68bIh16kqqfGbLpha5bcg5AWHzJQt2m4wDMGE0BaDJPhPzfK48JROMkhWHYXmYbMZyUnXAnniJVsZPYkhsdwwINsMNQhO-3Ai06mP05Lnx1aFbLLpaIL9ikObhuazhu3Qi9MNHUk/s1600/IMG_4042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="structural expressionism" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYESf68bIh16kqqfGbLpha5bcg5AWHzJQt2m4wDMGE0BaDJPhPzfK48JROMkhWHYXmYbMZyUnXAnniJVsZPYkhsdwwINsMNQhO-3Ai06mP05Lnx1aFbLLpaIL9ikObhuazhu3Qi9MNHUk/s400/IMG_4042.JPG" title="structural expressionism in architecture as evidenced in Calatrava's Turning Torso" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the style has been called "structural expressionism" and is most evident in the exposed structural elements on the building exterior </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
2. the most obvious physical manifestation of the idea of interconnection in Skane and beyond is the Oresund Bridge and the improvements in the train transportation into Malmo. <a href="http://www.oeresund-bridge.com/" target="_blank">the Oresund Bridge</a>, completed and opened in July 2000, has created amazing opportunities for growth in Malmo as well as the opportunity for people living in Malmo to commute easily to Copenhagen. besides the construction of the bridge itself, Malmo created new and improved train stations and rail lines from the bridge through the city center (called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Tunnel_(Malm%C3%B6)" target="_blank">the City Tunnel Project</a>) that simplify, enhance, and speed up travel to and from Malmo as well as through it up the western coast of Sweden and beyond.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGq770aRhIgtM6E3Ff92drpTnBN9gWXwnn2nADOacWIO1p2VwmJzL7sGDp9m_oxr1OUT1EknSbFAQtxy3tWGyNdhdjuZmWrRbLS18FouB9L5si2YPmKyEgdFNGUw0LFLwiooApdxkHeS4/s1600/IMG_4040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="green sustainable grocery store in the adjacent parking garage" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGq770aRhIgtM6E3Ff92drpTnBN9gWXwnn2nADOacWIO1p2VwmJzL7sGDp9m_oxr1OUT1EknSbFAQtxy3tWGyNdhdjuZmWrRbLS18FouB9L5si2YPmKyEgdFNGUw0LFLwiooApdxkHeS4/s400/IMG_4040.JPG" title="turning torso base sitting in water" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the Turning Torso sits in a pool of water at the base (the parking complex in the background contains a sustainable grocery store and restaurant on the ground floor)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
3. in terms of sustainability, the list, as you may have seen from earlier entries in this blog, is endless. I would argue that the most notable catalyst for the physical manifestation of making sustainability part of the city's future is Bo01, brought about as part of the European Housing Exposition in 2011, and evidenced in the <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/european-village-in-bo01.html" target="_blank">European Village</a> as well as the surrounding neighborhood and corresponding infrastructure. this neighborhood, anchored on one corner by the tallest building in Scandinavia, is a beacon of hope for the future of sustainable cities and neighborhoods.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxjrdDUA4xSB-1idQ_8g9e_fxe4Uio859KvBigiuw0h9Cn81q7UI0vx7EncnqAed6J3HuaRaGvu7Vv8-G-6SZG3cx_R6XErPS0nAUuG1AeGZIS5B5AZU8nGUGjTiN5XwLf5Zm32zjZDw/s1600/IMG_4047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="the top twists 90 degrees from the base" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxjrdDUA4xSB-1idQ_8g9e_fxe4Uio859KvBigiuw0h9Cn81q7UI0vx7EncnqAed6J3HuaRaGvu7Vv8-G-6SZG3cx_R6XErPS0nAUuG1AeGZIS5B5AZU8nGUGjTiN5XwLf5Zm32zjZDw/s400/IMG_4047.JPG" title="turning torso as seen from neighborhood school" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the Turning Torso as seen from the neighborhood school. the top is 90 degrees twisted from the base.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com1Malmö Turning Torso, Hamnen, Malmö, Sweden55.6125102 12.9773155.6102682 12.972374499999999 55.614752200000005 12.9822455tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-44323383625119696372012-09-26T13:04:00.000-04:002012-10-14T06:12:12.199-04:00bike repair in Malmo - Part Two - "the cycle kitchen"<br />
if you missed the exciting beginning of the story of the flat tire, <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/bike-repair-in-malmo-part-one-free-city.html" target="_blank">here's Part One</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Part Two:<br />
<br />
so the all day conference on Monday ended at 17.30 and I hopped on the train in Hyllie (by the way, it's not pronounced "hill e" as I was saying for the first few days when I arrived here in Malmo. it's actually pronounced "hill you" in a kind of french manner where they roll the tongue during the you part). I was home in less than 35 minutes after a quick train ride and a quick bus trip. the transport was free because the conference gives every participant a 72 hour free public transportation card! imagine that... the conference you are attending in a city offers a free method to use public transportation. what a nice idea... thanks Malmo!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7cP6EhUVfxd1UBVk-3BP9Y95T_5E5YIQbAxAhYG5QQA_Xpltnl9jpKoujJArWcqhnWVDyG6rLPeervyhJTcPlkV0eI1FCZuGnzMnee4mUENepw2wsKfpoetk-HM0bMj0lRsg-uLnwSM/s1600/IMG_3456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="now a hub for local non profits in Malmo, including cykelkoket, the cycle kitchen" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7cP6EhUVfxd1UBVk-3BP9Y95T_5E5YIQbAxAhYG5QQA_Xpltnl9jpKoujJArWcqhnWVDyG6rLPeervyhJTcPlkV0eI1FCZuGnzMnee4mUENepw2wsKfpoetk-HM0bMj0lRsg-uLnwSM/s400/IMG_3456.JPG" title="Stapelbaddsparken building (underneath where ships were pushed out to sea from the shipbuilding port, Dockan)" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stapelbaddsparken building (underneath where ships were pushed out to sea from the shipbuilding port, Dockan) is now a hub for local non profits in Malmo, including cykelkoket, the cycle kitchen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was home just past 18.00 and the cycle kitchen was open until 21.00. I hopped on my bike with the wheel in my hand and pedaled over (five minute trip from northern Vastra Hamnen to <a href="http://www.stpln.se/about-us/stpln-info.aspx" target="_blank">Stapelsbaddsparken</a>) to the center of what was once one of the largest ship building areas in the world. this area (also located north of the city center) is in Dockan, on the edge of what is now called Vastra Hamnen (western harbor). this used to be the home of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kockums" target="_blank">Kockums</a>, the center of the shipbuilding universe for much of the 20th century. they don't make ships here any more, but guess what they currently make. that's right: wind turbines!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekHOc8XLWiWDTCOLR-ePoYjYM5VSufxtzcVmOn1zgfElpOxMqrjTX-Z8ZLl5yypd4LB0ZUtEr1cQcjkUoUjt2mP8xcUVBe4gLzFadJ2zRJChlrm0xA4DF18ihnymr1WT5lxFSe4MmaQc/s1600/IMG_3459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="bike repair space in Dockan, Malmo" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekHOc8XLWiWDTCOLR-ePoYjYM5VSufxtzcVmOn1zgfElpOxMqrjTX-Z8ZLl5yypd4LB0ZUtEr1cQcjkUoUjt2mP8xcUVBe4gLzFadJ2zRJChlrm0xA4DF18ihnymr1WT5lxFSe4MmaQc/s400/IMG_3459.JPG" title="free tool time in Dockan at cykelkoket" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cykelkoket (the cycle kitchen) in Dockan where free tool time combined with volunteer bike experts leads to an amazing experience</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
the building is sloped from about 5 meters to nothing where it meets the ground at the new skate park and served as the location where giant ships were pushed into the ocean when this area was a shipbuilding hub. the area below the slope has been converted from a workers area for Dockan into an incubator/ center for local non profits (called Stapelbaddsparken) including <a href="http://www.stpln.se/@stpln/cykelkoket-.aspx" target="_blank">cykelkoket</a> (the bike kitchen).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfCE4ZHMvlG-8uxTo40OAQ5UJ-8ktF2pbAM_FxZuHsKoLdyjGitAQTn_UBJCdEvVsxWe54Ekj33IJjn9gb_8k_mLtOhb5qWMyS3kilBYwSfPYLlQZtBO3N0UtD5aXNeUlcLK1H0wq4fQ/s1600/IMG_3460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="area for relaxation and computer/ art work in cycle kitchen in Dockan" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfCE4ZHMvlG-8uxTo40OAQ5UJ-8ktF2pbAM_FxZuHsKoLdyjGitAQTn_UBJCdEvVsxWe54Ekj33IJjn9gb_8k_mLtOhb5qWMyS3kilBYwSfPYLlQZtBO3N0UtD5aXNeUlcLK1H0wq4fQ/s400/IMG_3460.JPG" title="creative workspace in cykelkoket in Malmo" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"creative space" in cykelkoket which sits immediately adjacent to the bike repair area. looks like a great spot for lounging when there are no bikes being fixed. it was empty when I was there because everyone in the shop was working on bikes or bike parts.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I arrived at the bike kitchen and went down some stairs into the depths. I talked with a very nice guy about my situation. he told me all of the tools were free to borrow and he would help me if I needed it. as it would turn out, I needed help and about two hours to get to the bottom of this seemingly simple flat tire... <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuSLBAsKGMb_qULrRZv45t9YZj70DL49zNN0LJQMjIlyiy-2eMe1O4ZiKWy4E-gqkebS6MEvuBBtRIWedQEU7CpL1F14VlprNsjEPNla4ELi08Q6Nf0-iETEiqUDApLIig0diT98xsjM/s1600/IMG_3461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Swedish military bike in progress" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuSLBAsKGMb_qULrRZv45t9YZj70DL49zNN0LJQMjIlyiy-2eMe1O4ZiKWy4E-gqkebS6MEvuBBtRIWedQEU7CpL1F14VlprNsjEPNla4ELi08Q6Nf0-iETEiqUDApLIig0diT98xsjM/s400/IMG_3461.JPG" title="Swedish military bike being worked on in cykelkoket" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">work being done to fix up a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_military_bicycle" target="_blank">Swedish military bike</a> which are surprisingly common in Malmo. the guy fixing it up comes to cykelkoket every monday night to work on it. he bought it on Craigslist. he was riding it around the city with no brakes for awhile.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Bert (Bertil), who helped me off and on for the entire time I was in the shop, is a volunteer at the kitchen. I asked him how it worked and he said basically some people pass away without a will or relatives and their money goes to the state. the state divides the money into a wide range of non profit organizations that help people in communities. the cycle kitchen is one of those organizations. it uses the money from the state to pay to rent the space, keep the lights on, and buy tools as necessary. all of the people working in the shop are volunteers. pretty neat! Bert said that there are other cycle kitchens opening up around Skane (southern Sweden) including places like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothenburg" target="_blank">Goteborg</a> (the second largest city in Sweden).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxUs8XuPVRz16599iwB6cMjBxYugCrFCBLKRuRBdjSjsNxi325NyLrcRQMk_iq9RrwqzAYuk5jBFWOtgqh22uh-RagAiqzlUEiEiA-nYeNSL_is-OPfCZDuAEo7sIbyOuVIpnXkHGsIw/s1600/IMG_3470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="free tools at the cycle kitchen in malmo" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxUs8XuPVRz16599iwB6cMjBxYugCrFCBLKRuRBdjSjsNxi325NyLrcRQMk_iq9RrwqzAYuk5jBFWOtgqh22uh-RagAiqzlUEiEiA-nYeNSL_is-OPfCZDuAEo7sIbyOuVIpnXkHGsIw/s400/IMG_3470.JPG" title="free tools for use at the cykelkoket" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">some of the free tools available for use to fix up your bike. the shop also collects and fixes up old bikes that have been confiscated by the city or abandoned.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
so my flat was a complete pain. I will not bore you with all of the long drawn out details, but I will tell you what happened anyways. if you are bored by bike talk, skip the next two paragraphs or simply look through the pictures.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDpnA5epYrdezsXTg_x_ZgOsfP_sMJ4RnVSfPVhs-hgJbCerfIjD6saPLs6g41SqWYDS79ffZm9bgwiVJIcF4Pg-MBjFWVC6y_fRfHFzMJR5aKLGsi2VgwhR9SCAmO4LJJ2Y7tDjzKBU/s1600/IMG_3468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Swedish style valve stem in unheard of in the United States" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDpnA5epYrdezsXTg_x_ZgOsfP_sMJ4RnVSfPVhs-hgJbCerfIjD6saPLs6g41SqWYDS79ffZm9bgwiVJIcF4Pg-MBjFWVC6y_fRfHFzMJR5aKLGsi2VgwhR9SCAmO4LJJ2Y7tDjzKBU/s400/IMG_3468.JPG" title="Dunlop valve step is used in Sweden, not Presta or Shrader" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">most common style of valve stem in Sweden is actually English, called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunlop_valve" target="_blank">the Dunlop valve</a>. in the US, almost all tubes have a German or Italian style (Schrader or Presta). I had never seen this English version before.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
the wheel was a very old 26" (which was actually somewhere between a 26" and a 700), but the tire was a true 26" so it wouldn't come off without a <a href="http://www.parktool.com/product/heavy-duty-steel-tire-lever-set-tl-5" target="_blank">special "heavy duty" Park Tools tire lever</a> that Bert had to get in the back of the shop. because the wheel was not a real size, the tube we had didn't properly fit, but we decided to use it anyway. the rim was so old and rusty that I decided to scrape it with a brush to get off the rust burrs and then wrap the rim in homemade rim tape (really just duct tape ripped to the right width and stuck on). <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0JFcW3AoBr3JxEEotkA-e9RjqDQm_mhNQvYxzh3uzLTQNGr36I257EiO0WF7fJrbqeDATyhpq1n4p_KOP4wSX_4FONXoYFjX6Lz5V09O_Lg5Hh-Cb_Gvhg8fvo2VdwLN8dvkwS3rvqY/s1600/IMG_3457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="trying to retrofit the old wheel to change the flat, unsuccessfully " border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0JFcW3AoBr3JxEEotkA-e9RjqDQm_mhNQvYxzh3uzLTQNGr36I257EiO0WF7fJrbqeDATyhpq1n4p_KOP4wSX_4FONXoYFjX6Lz5V09O_Lg5Hh-Cb_Gvhg8fvo2VdwLN8dvkwS3rvqY/s400/IMG_3457.JPG" title="26" ish wheel with homemade duct tape rimstrip" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">desperate first attempt to replace the flat tire involved using a special heavy duty tire lever to remove the tire, sanding off the rust and burrs in the rim, lining the rim with makeshift (duct tape) rim tape, and two grown men manhandling the tire to get it back over the rim with the new tube. let's just say that this method failed and we ditched the entire wheel for another one (after about an hour of effort).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
after struggling (the two of us plus some other folks who were there fixing their own bikes and volunteered to help as well) to get the tire back on over the tube and rim, we inflated with a foot pump. slow hiss. sad face. after fiddling around some more we decided to ditch the wheel altogether and find another used wheel that was a true 26" to replace it. we pumped it up and it was good to go. Bert even took the time to take apart the hub and lube it up so that it ran smoother. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZNUUpm13H5-9FYKVAQwO1U_jY8G0cndTkm7ylDFxTbF0bvmvMHq4IFkRazsEllEHlRTo-Ti4mIUR38orNjqiD_fTVO1Z-Ib-nQ3JB4OgTcxgOTY6h1-U7yCmp3oeNa4d-9gx-d8x4AI/s1600/IMG_3465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="recycling at the cykelkoket" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZNUUpm13H5-9FYKVAQwO1U_jY8G0cndTkm7ylDFxTbF0bvmvMHq4IFkRazsEllEHlRTo-Ti4mIUR38orNjqiD_fTVO1Z-Ib-nQ3JB4OgTcxgOTY6h1-U7yCmp3oeNa4d-9gx-d8x4AI/s400/IMG_3465.JPG" title="recycling at the cycle kitchen" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">recycling at the cycle kitchen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
all in all it was under two hours of exploring, talking, and learning about the place as well as fixing the flat and replacing the tire altogether in the end. Tamara got back a new (used) wheel with a smoother hub (a better feeling roll) and a more common sized setup (so if she ever gets a flat again it will be easier for the next person to fix). I got to learn about this cool and amazing place in Malmo where community building, sustainable practices, and education are taking place. it reminds me quite a bit of one of my favorite Boston non profits that connects people, communities, and bikes for the betterment of the local area as well as for people all over the globe. it's called <a href="https://bikesnotbombs.org/" target="_blank">Bikes Not Bombs</a>. maybe you've heard of it? if not, I highly recommend you read a little about what they do. if you are in a giving mood, they stretch dollars (and all kinds of currency) quite far. it is a fantastic organization!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPAbUyDRaDsO9_EpANybWOzCe07bLl0mBOX2HmIA4wysq2V1I4-76gNULIX8WPCikkzcunjSNtmjnn1VKZl7XT_6iHUrD8gCQujh1VlVVmiAl-nUxR-VSrM6-eTi9d-WzljUOxcEo6fI/s1600/IMG_3471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bert, an expert bike mechanic at the cycle kitchen" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPAbUyDRaDsO9_EpANybWOzCe07bLl0mBOX2HmIA4wysq2V1I4-76gNULIX8WPCikkzcunjSNtmjnn1VKZl7XT_6iHUrD8gCQujh1VlVVmiAl-nUxR-VSrM6-eTi9d-WzljUOxcEo6fI/s400/IMG_3471.JPG" title="Bert, a volunteer for cykelkoket in Dockan, Malmo, Sweden" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bert, a volunteer for cykelkoket, helped me solve what turned out to be a very complicated flat tire (I don't think I have ever heard the words complicated and flat tire in the same sentence)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
thanks very much to Bert and the crew at <a href="http://cykelkoket.blogspot.se/" target="_blank">Cykelkoket</a> (in Swedish) and the other folks who were there fixing their own bikes (including Joakim) in <a href="http://www.stpln.se/about-us/stpln-info.aspx" target="_blank">Stapelbaddsparken</a> in the <a href="http://www.dockan.se/" target="_blank">Dockan</a> (also in Swedish) area of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malm%C3%B6" target="_blank">Malmo</a>, right beside <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/skate-park.html" target="_blank">the skate park</a>.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Stapelbäddsparken, Stapelbäddsgatan 3, 211 19 Malmö, Sweden55.61189 12.985208955.602922 12.9654679 55.620858000000005 13.0049499tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-63100086729997380862012-09-25T14:01:00.000-04:002012-10-01T07:36:54.143-04:00bike repair in Malmo - Part One - free city infrastructure<br />
so you borrow the old city bike from the owner of the apartment that you are renting. you ride around town with your buddy who is visiting for a couple of days. bam! a flat tire. now you have this bike with a flat that is not yours and needs a fresh tube or at least a patch and some air. it's sunday afternoon and most of the bike shops are closed. monday you're at a conference all day and won't get out til after 6pm at least, when all of the shops are closed again. the repair could be simple, pop off the tire and replace the tube. a matter of minutes....<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnTfsmSldUQaSB7Yoo-LvLiPQktVlLg11FQnf5RxbS0hHP90RNQ13M_xXwNHk_9D0lTQ31KNtaSaXB5K7KCVPkB-9lpVL87tN1cSKMqrjkrMQUp8skOHd_AG4cl9Ka95s3UFRNMHIxQc/s1600/IMG_3443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="public posted bike map in Malmo" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnTfsmSldUQaSB7Yoo-LvLiPQktVlLg11FQnf5RxbS0hHP90RNQ13M_xXwNHk_9D0lTQ31KNtaSaXB5K7KCVPkB-9lpVL87tN1cSKMqrjkrMQUp8skOHd_AG4cl9Ka95s3UFRNMHIxQc/s400/IMG_3443.JPG" title="cykelkarta in Malmo" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cykelkarta of Malmo. a map of (free public) bike pumps, bike lanes, and everything else relevant to bicycles in Malmo. these maps are handed out like candy in the city, <a href="http://www.malmo.se/karta?center=19671,19469&zoomlevel=2" target="_blank">online</a> for download or viewing, posted all over the place as physical maps, and at major bike intersections, etc</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
so, you pull out your trusty Malmo bicycle street map - cykelkarta (they give these away free all over the city). this map has all sorts of useful information including:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>all bike paths and bike lanes in the city (differentiated so you can choose one or the other if you prefer - paths separate from the traffic or lanes next to the traffic)</li>
<li>"cycle tracks" - dedicated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_infrastructure#Bikeways" target="_blank">bike highways</a> to get into and out of the city center, especially for commuting and long distance connections </li>
<li>public water closets to change or "freshen up"</li>
<li>bathing locations (showers) </li>
<li>free public air pumps to fill the tires</li>
<li>bridges and tunnels (for bikes) </li>
<li>a radius that tells you how far you are from the city center in minutes of bicycle travel</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtVBTHNtQN1QoQySsN9zMvrng0WhyphenhyphenqVZE1pflRhY7iX_bN9BJLaHweupeBCU0FkghKvL46VVAOpSuTiejXame7VnkfXjB73wngI32UPPt6R0zElp2S_ruNwrwXCAVYJ05IUM7_HgPZI0/s1600/IMG_3441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="free public air station" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtVBTHNtQN1QoQySsN9zMvrng0WhyphenhyphenqVZE1pflRhY7iX_bN9BJLaHweupeBCU0FkghKvL46VVAOpSuTiejXame7VnkfXjB73wngI32UPPt6R0zElp2S_ruNwrwXCAVYJ05IUM7_HgPZI0/s400/IMG_3441.JPG" title="guy filling tires at a free public bike pump in Malmo" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">guy filling his tires at a free public bike pump station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
the street map helps you locate a city pump (you don't know yet that your super new super sustainable apartment complex has a pump and bike workstation in the basement garage). you hop on your working bike with the tire dangling off the handlebar to the nearest pump, about five minutes away. when you arrive you set up to remove the tire from the rim and replace the tube (like a complete bike nerd you brought a spare tube from home). unfortunately, you can't get the tire off the rim because the tire is too small and you need heavy duty tools to wrench it off. who knew? </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfL2g7KDgpdhfNPq4Jr1ypyRiqic5tzF7trm9dPqEMuZtNb7ha9Ni0_pA8HMKYosdmzJY8e7MyrZjOYrfOarcvtvLiKlbuD5g9xPhH_WYCHE89DZuaAMjS-ryYCFOZ5UFBAAmO2CAt6IM/s1600/IMG_3442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="guy filling bike tires at free public air station" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfL2g7KDgpdhfNPq4Jr1ypyRiqic5tzF7trm9dPqEMuZtNb7ha9Ni0_pA8HMKYosdmzJY8e7MyrZjOYrfOarcvtvLiKlbuD5g9xPhH_WYCHE89DZuaAMjS-ryYCFOZ5UFBAAmO2CAt6IM/s400/IMG_3442.JPG" title="free public air filling station in Malmo, Sweden" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">snapped a couple of pics while waiting at a free public air pump station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
so you watch the guy in front of you fill his tires, followed by a couple who fill their tires, then a family, then another guy, then another couple. the whole time you are struggling to remove the tire from the rim to no avail. you feel like you are the star in a show called amateur hour. sad face</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
so... you take your working bike and your not working tire and go home, disheartened by the circumstance and your apparent ineptitude with bikes (but mostly because you don't have the proper tools to do your repairs). on the way home you think about what Boston is doing to benefit cyclists, such as the <a href="http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/cambridge/2011/03/cambridge_installs_free_bike_m.html" target="_blank">new repair stations</a> cropping up all over the city that have free tools chained to a "mobile" repair station. pretty innovative and exciting, especially when you think about the fact that this kind of stand might have helped you in this specific situation in Malmo...<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAh2kizy3KXCQiH4Q1fGGeqgo_5-tQ6ufJJIuE4U7A2pSNbsksQmpz3mtZ6Y8BPhNyX15B2pAEI5aRaxXWRhy_QdjwRQ0f9QJ3PK1HQZiXkoCzIOgELKe1LBxSYE2AVH0tZ9ZIoNA5Vg/s1600/IMG_2040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="these kinds of bike repair stands are being installed all over the cities (Boston/ Cambridge)" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAh2kizy3KXCQiH4Q1fGGeqgo_5-tQ6ufJJIuE4U7A2pSNbsksQmpz3mtZ6Y8BPhNyX15B2pAEI5aRaxXWRhy_QdjwRQ0f9QJ3PK1HQZiXkoCzIOgELKe1LBxSYE2AVH0tZ9ZIoNA5Vg/s400/IMG_2040.JPG" title="bike repair stand in Cambridge in Kendall Square" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cambridge/ Boston is installing <a href="http://www.dero.com/products/fixit/" target="_blank">free publicly accessible bike repair stations</a> for cyclists to make small to medium repairs such as a changing a flat tire, adjusting saddle height, and other repairs that can't easily be done in your office but could be done by many commuter/ average cyclists if they have access to the proper tools</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2f3vbMKXhgKSr5-a35QoPhIg1dJitnGvAOGj9Cgpyl4b6yvg1dHmNOhNLt3ZCgbxgVvoXNaZ8bcCxPxH9PeTATeFXuF3Vhvjod-T6zQ7bQzJy3T0rsrmepuHLsrOmoyEXCYNq2TEj-E/s1600/IMG_2042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="allen wrench, tire lever, pump, 15mm open wrench, etc" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2f3vbMKXhgKSr5-a35QoPhIg1dJitnGvAOGj9Cgpyl4b6yvg1dHmNOhNLt3ZCgbxgVvoXNaZ8bcCxPxH9PeTATeFXuF3Vhvjod-T6zQ7bQzJy3T0rsrmepuHLsrOmoyEXCYNq2TEj-E/s400/IMG_2042.JPG" title="tools available at a local Cambridge bike repair stand" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tools available on the bike repair station next to my office in Kendall Square include tire levers, allen wrenches, screwdrivers, and of course (for the fixie crowd) a 14/15 mm open ended wrench</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
when you arrive home, saddened by your un-success and by the fact that you will have to admit in your blog and to your bike buddies that you couldn't change a simple flat tire, you are greeted by the owner of the apartment. guilty, you explain to her that you have a flat that you can't fix without some better tools. she smiles brightly (she always smiles brightly, which makes everything seem a little less bad) and tells you about a free bike shop where they allow you to use the tools for free and do repairs on your own bike. "they even have volunteers that will help you if you don't know how to solve a problem with your bike," she says. it sounds too good to be true. you google it together. she tells you to look up cykelkoket, which literally means the cycle kitchen. sure enough, there's a <a href="http://cykelkoket.blogspot.se/" target="_blank">website</a>...<br />
<br />
stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of the flat tire experience in "Part Two" tomorrow. <br />
will I get out of the conference in time to get to the open hours for the shop? <br />
will I be able to fix the flat? <br />
will I meet cool and exciting people doing interesting things? <br />
<br />
the answers to these questions and more... in <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/bike-repair-in-malmo-part-two-cycle.html" target="_blank">tomorrow's post: Part Two</a>!<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com4free air/ bike pump in Malmo55.605650957582931 12.99201965332031255.605090457582932 12.990785653320312 55.60621145758293 12.993253653320313tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-72579529825508216222012-09-23T20:44:00.000-04:002012-10-14T06:12:28.805-04:00energy use reduction through behavioral changes<br />
another very interesting presentation at the <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/clicc-conference.html" target="_blank">CLICC Conference</a> was made by Wictoria Glad of <a href="http://www.liu.se/?l=en" target="_blank">Linkoping University</a>. her focus is on energy use reduction through behavioral change with a specific angle of the psychology of choice, action, and change.<br />
<br />
Ms. Glad started with the most important, perhaps obvious, fact that people are hard to change. we are stuck in our ways and there are many reasons for that. then she delved quickly into the fact that much of energy use is not about behavior but about other factors such as physical factors (location, climate, building type, building systems, etc). she also pointed out that there are studies directly correlating energy consumption to social factors such as employment status, income, etc.<br />
<br />
after the basics were out of the way, she got into the meat. behavior and choices are clearly linked. she cited a psychological explanation of how we choose to buy energy consuming goods and services. there is habitual (unconscious), rational (conscious), and symbolic (status). one might buy the same brand of recycled toilet paper without thinking every month from the store (habitual), but one might look carefully at buying a long lasting reusable wash cloth to replace throw away dish sponges (conscious). and then there's the symbolic prius sitting in front of your house...<br />
<br />
then Glad started getting into some interesting explanations about choice and behavior. she talked about the opposite of economies of scale (she called it the un-economies of scale). she cited several examples about household consumption. for example, some people think that there needs to be a tv in the bedroom and one in the kitchen and one in the living room. they are all plugged in all day, wasting <a href="http://standby.lbl.gov/" target="_blank">phantom load</a> (more commonly called standby power). the need to have multiples of the same thing does not end with seemingly identical items such as tvs or computers. lots of households have more than one kind of coffee maker (french press, espresso machine, etc) or toaster (toaster and toaster oven, etc). many households prepare multiple meals simultaneously (parents' dinner and baby's dinner, special meal due to allergy or health condition, etc). children of the current generation won't think it strange to have several televisions, cook several versions of the same meal, or be able to prepare an item such as toast using more than one different appliance. my parents' generation only had one (or less) tv, coffee pot, or dinner option.<br />
<br />
Glad then talked about feedback. she explained that feedback has been proven more successful when it is easy to understand by the user, clear in content, and timely. if you want to give direct feedback to someone about energy use, here is a worst to best example:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>WORST: a yearly summation of the energy use presented in therms to the homeowner</li>
<li>BETTER: a monthly update on energy use in dollars for the homeowner</li>
<li>BEST: a weekly (or monthly) comparison of energy use versus last year's use and also compared with a neighbor (or neighbors)</li>
</ul>
<br />
it sounds obvious, but most people (especially in the US) get energy bills (electricity, gas, etc) in a monthly bill that does not easily translate or compare to anything else, so the information feels like it is in a vacuum. the user does not know if this is better or worse than last year or last month. changing behavior cannot be directly linked to any specific improvement. additionally, many people have changed their energy bills to be automatically deducted online, so the connection between energy use has been strained even further by technology in the 21st century.<br />
<br />
as a conclusion to an interesting and unique presentation, Glad makes some key points. penultimately, she describes eight (8) influential factors in decision making, choice, and behavior. understanding these factors and using them to one's advantage can, she says, greatly improve the quality of the message as well as the rate of success, both of which are important in a campaign to influence people to change.<br />
<ol>
<li><b>the messenger. </b>it's important who gives you the information and what that person's status is. is the person an authority, a friend or family member, someone with status in the community, a hero or star?</li>
<li><b>incentives.</b> having incentives can be useful, especially if the incentives are explicit.</li>
<li><b>norms.</b> these can be learned at school, work, or home. kids often learn from their parents, but there are plenty of examples where children learn about recycling at school and come home to school mom and dad...</li>
<li><b>default.</b> our material world (what we face every day) is, in itself, an influence. customary procedures and standards will need to be broken for change.</li>
<li><b>salience.</b> we are influenced by our surroundings, by beautiful things. people pay more for pretty or well designed objects (iphone, etc).</li>
<li><b>priming.</b> we prioritize what we talk about and we are heavily influenced by mass media and certain kinds of messages. change doesn't typically come from nothing, it is built over time through messaging and targeted communication, as well as through consensus building.</li>
<li><b>"affects".</b> this is really emotions. we are driven by our emotions (some more than others) not only logic. emotions can sell ideas (this is common in tv commercials for example).</li>
<li><b>commitments.</b> most people set some kind of goal or goals for life (sports, health, exercise, etc). some people keep these goals to themselves and others talk about them. communicating goals in an explicit fashion makes them more real, more attainable, and more likely to be reached.</li>
<li><b>ego.</b> we aim to better ourselves and no matter what we think, there is some piece of every person that is about an attempt to be successful. this takes many forms, but can be reinforced by simple understanding of self and desire to be what we say we are. "I take my bike to work every day."</li>
</ol>
<div>
at the end of the presentation, Glad made a simple point that is quite relevant when talking about climate adaptation, energy consumption, and aiming toward a more sustainable future. she said (this is paraphrased but pretty accurate): </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"we need to design the message... maybe we should learn from other fields or parts of society. shouldn't we learn from advertising, marketing, and industries that are aimed at influence?"</blockquote>
<div>
Glad's presentation was intriguing to say the least. her work for Linkoping University falls into the category of "thematic studies, technology, and social change", but clearly it directly relates to issues that we are grappling with today as we aim toward a more energy conscious and sustainable future.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
for more information on Linkoping University's work in this area, visit their <a href="http://www.tema.liu.se/?l=en" target="_blank">website</a>.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Hyllie, Malmö, Sweden55.5613889 12.975555655.543429399999994 12.9360736 55.5793484 13.0150376tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-35434174854279548202012-09-23T14:41:00.000-04:002012-10-14T06:12:47.210-04:00energy action: a UK case study on addressing fuel poverty<br />
Rachel Jones of the <a href="http://www.nea.org.uk/" target="_blank">Energy Action program in the UK</a> spoke in the afternoon at Covenant Capacity about some of the projects she has worked on related to energy, comfort, and health. she talked about something scary that is a big problem in the UK that I had not heard about before her presentation. one of the biggest issues in the region is "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_poverty" target="_blank">fuel poverty</a>". fuel poverty (or energy poverty, depending on the specifics of the issue and the country/ location) takes place when a person or family cannot afford to adequately heat the home. in the UK the figure used as a starting point to determine fuel poverty is if it costs more than 10% of the household income to heat the home. according to statistics, approximately 20% of the UK suffers from fuel poverty. Jones explained that not just elderly people with lower incomes, but young people and even families with babies or small children are suffering from the high cost of heat.<br />
<br />
not being able to heat the home is more than just a little problem, especially in places like the UK. it leads to unhealthy and uncomfortable living and actually creates significant health problems and causes thousands of "excess winter deaths". according to Jones, approximately 25,000 people die in the UK every year from "excess winter death", much of which can be directly attributed to fuel poverty. to me this sounds like an alarming and almost unbelievable idea, that people are dying because they cannot afford to heat their homes.<br />
<br />
I had a chance to talk with Jones after the conference. the story gets even worse when she explains how challenging it can be for her organization to support people. she tells me an anecdote about how sometimes people don't want something, even if and when you think it is in their own best interest... <br />
<br />
the government started trying to address this problem (fuel poverty) along with huge inefficiencies in older homes by offering heavy rebates on home insulation (this is a current strategy in many places, including the US). owners were skeptical and typically refused support. eventually the government started offering the insulation for free (much of the funding was coming from the EU and the money needed to be spent by a certain date). still, most homeowners did not want the free insulation. in an amazing and unheard of strategy, the government even offered to install the insulation for free and then give the homeowner a cash gift with no strings attached. we are talking free insulation that will make your house warmer, save you money every year starting immediately, and we will give you cash in addition to the free insulation. still, it was a struggle to spend the money down and reach the households and homeowners in need.<br />
<br />
this story put my jaw on the floor. I will admit that I am naive and always imagine people jumping at the chance to do good in the world, but in this case we are talking about what may be the single most influential strategy for sustainable living: saving money. I can't imagine people not wanting to do something that saves money, especially in an extreme case like this, where the work is free. <br />
<br />
Jones explained very simply in her presentation; it's about more than energy efficiency and more than improving the homes. the issues need to hit the people directly and in a way that is both personal and significant. she listed off some of the key strategies and factors for connecting people directly to their energy use:<br />
<ol>
<li>it has to be about the people (not about their houses)</li>
<li>you need to understand the audience and their needs</li>
<li>it has to be personal. the message, the idea, everything</li>
<li>partnerships need to be formed</li>
</ol>
Jones told a story about a project she worked on called "<a href="http://www.warmerworcestershire.com/" target="_blank">Warmer Worcestershire</a>", which was directly related to the fuel poverty issue. she explained that everything from the concept to the story to the strategies was about cultivating and sending a clear message, about understanding the audience and really connecting with them, and about being simple and clear. why call it Warmer Worcestershire? because it is about the people, about their lives, and it touches everyone, especially people who are suffering from the circumstances of cold, uninsulated homes.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXngEn1T5Q574oI3aiewfQQnxzDsx8VgumQLVYHtNylvy0M5ZOZqtlXW5njZBM-Aeg4KtLj02xuDL7z6JChtQ5wUwHSFAxQbFsf8h8QkCKrG8yEwPZKi6xemzBh4SMtyUnRJhYGrwSMiQ/s1600/warmer+worcestershire.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="warmer worcestershire home heat loss map" border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXngEn1T5Q574oI3aiewfQQnxzDsx8VgumQLVYHtNylvy0M5ZOZqtlXW5njZBM-Aeg4KtLj02xuDL7z6JChtQ5wUwHSFAxQbFsf8h8QkCKrG8yEwPZKi6xemzBh4SMtyUnRJhYGrwSMiQ/s400/warmer+worcestershire.png" title="warmer worcestershire home heat loss map" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">screenshot from Warmer Worcestershire website showing homes and their heat loss scores. red is bad. green is good.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
one of the ideas that they came up with for this project was called a thermal flyover. during the winter of 2009 they flew over the entire county, taking thermal images measuring the heat escaping from each home. <a href="http://gis.worcestershire.gov.uk/website/warmerworcestershire/" target="_blank">they compiled this information onto a gis map and put it on the internet</a>, color coding each house. now, any person in the area can look up any property and discover how the home performs in terms of heat loss through the roof. red is bad. green is good. simple. and on the same page where the person discovers how badly the house is performing: links to government and other sponsorship opportunities, advice and more information, and even direct connections to installers. simple. effective. successful.<br />
<br />
and one last related anecdote that Jones told about energy use and conservation. her agency asked the people to come together and help strategize ways to decrease energy use to show the effectiveness of conservation as well as more thoughtful energy use. they picked a specific week to showcase these ideas and lots of folks got involved. one of the ideas: local restaurants offered "dine by candlelight dinners". what a concept: the restaurants are saving energy (and hopefully money) and the patrons are getting what many would consider a better, intimate, more cozy experience. simple. effective. genius.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Hyllie, Malmö, Sweden55.5613889 12.975555655.543429399999994 12.9360736 55.5793484 13.0150376tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-67156528215734364512012-09-22T10:52:00.000-04:002012-10-14T06:13:04.442-04:00Covenant CapaCITY Conference<br />
I went to two conferences back to back during <a href="http://malmo.se/English/Sustainable-City-Development/Sustainability-Week-17-21.9.html" target="_blank">Sustainability Week</a> in Malmo. one was the <a href="http://malmo.se/English/Sustainable-City-Development/Sustainability-Week-17-21.9/CLICC-conference-17-18.9.html" target="_blank">CLICC Conference</a> and the other one was <a href="http://malmo.se/English/Sustainable-City-Development/Sustainability-Week-17-21.9/Covenant-CapaCITY-conference-18-19.9.html" target="_blank">Covenant CapaCITY</a>. both conferences were relevant to the idea of making cities and neighborhoods more sustainable though each had a slightly different focus. to hear my description of CLICC, read my <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/clicc-conference.html" target="_blank">earlier post</a>. to hear more about Covenant CapaCITY, read on:<br />
<br />
Covenant CapaCITY is a multi national/ international European program, co-funded by <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/" target="_blank">Intelligent Energy Europe</a>. it is a three year program that is mostly focused on helping cities and municipalities get up to speed on creating local Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) to reach the goals set by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_of_Mayors" target="_blank">Covenant of Mayors</a>. a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_of_Mayors#Sustainable_Energy_Action_Plans" target="_blank">SEAP</a> is exactly what it sounds like, it is an attempt by the city to figure out how to move towards a better, more efficient use of energy over the short term and beyond. <br />
<br />
what is happening in Europe around SEAPs is truly amazing. cities are coming together, talking about what they are doing and how, and readily sharing information, best practices, and lessons learned. everyone is benefitting from each city's experience. in fact, many SEAPs are posted online for all to see. here is an example of <a href="http://www.dublincity.ie/WaterWasteEnvironment/Sustainability/Documents/SEAP-FINAL%20version%20for%20website.pdf" target="_blank">Dublin's SEAP</a> (opens slowly!) which is well put together and contains all of the requisite information.<br />
<br />
a SEAP is a combination of:<br />
<ol>
<li>researching, documenting, and better understanding a municipality's energy use</li>
<li>collaborating across departments with communication and information</li>
<li>developing ideas and strategies to create a more sustainable future</li>
</ol>
<br />
because most people live in cities, how municipalities address climate change (and share and market their methodologies and ideals) has a significant impact on human behavior as well as on overall energy consumption on the planet. one could argue that if every city in the EU formed a comprehensive and well drafted SEAP, the overall energy creation, consumption, and distribution for the EU would vastly improve over a short period of time. if such an approach could take place in major cities around the world and/ or in the United States, the impact would be just as significant.<br />
<br />
if Shanghai, Mexico City or even Boston can implement strategies that directly affect or influence 50% of their populations, these ideas, directives, and approaches can touch 9 million, 5 million, or 300,000 people. that is an opportunity that is has vast potential, especially if we are looking to make change on a massive scale around energy understanding, consumption, and creation.<br />
<br />
so, the short version is that even though I am not a city in the European Union, I greatly enjoyed the Covenant CapaCITY Conference in Malmo. besides learning quite a bit about what is being done in cities across Europe, I had the opportunity to meet many people who are making climate adaptation a reality on a large scale. I must take this opportunity to say that I appreciate and applaud their efforts and I am excited by the prospect of improving our situation with respect to global warming. they are doing amazing work and as a collective are making great strides.<br />
<br />
<br />
for more info:<br />
to learn more about Covenant CapaCITY from their perspective, check out <a href="http://www.covenant-capacity.eu/" target="_blank">their website</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Hyllie, Malmö, Sweden55.5613889 12.975555655.543429399999994 12.9360736 55.5793484 13.0150376tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-32821240807876188402012-09-21T10:54:00.000-04:002012-10-14T06:13:20.437-04:00feedback: the next evolution in energy<br />
in the afternoon during the CLICC Conference, Stina Wessman of the <a href="http://www.tii.se/" target="_blank">Interactive Institute of Sweden</a> gave a very interesting presentation about feedback focused on sustainability. though the entire presentation was in Swedish and the slides were rich with text (also in Swedish), I did manage to get the gist of some of what she was saying. I also used this thing called "<a href="http://www.google.com/" target="_blank">the google</a>" to look up some of what she was talking about to learn more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcvDVq3y41wBoymD3jgrd5MiuHyv0zHqjKiCHjUz_HYiKo6r6chhrvbHGm50IMxgRn8UdxGPj5AABm-Ua81vgH482Jfo7Tq6UiNYkxC7gOfRscFB9PwWZcREDz71moRKVf-JC9RsQ0LU/s1600/IMG_3452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcvDVq3y41wBoymD3jgrd5MiuHyv0zHqjKiCHjUz_HYiKo6r6chhrvbHGm50IMxgRn8UdxGPj5AABm-Ua81vgH482Jfo7Tq6UiNYkxC7gOfRscFB9PwWZcREDz71moRKVf-JC9RsQ0LU/s400/IMG_3452.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stina Wessman, from the Interactive Institute of Sweden, talking about feedback and <a href="https://www.tii.se/node/5981" target="_blank">energy awareness</a> at the CLICC Conference at Malmomassan in Hyllie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
the Interactive Institute of Sweden is an experimental company that combines Information Technology, design, and research together and applies this learning and knowledge to a wide variety of fields and applications. as usual, their website describes themselves better than I can:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Interactive Institute is a Swedish experimental IT & design research institute that conducts applied research and innovation through creative and participatory processes.</blockquote>
the Interactive Institute works ons lots of stuff, more than I can even get into in this post, so I will focus on what I gleaned from Stina's presentation and from reading a little on their website. the Institute has a focus on sustainability (among other topics) and has engaged in many research projects and experiments about behavior and feedback, which ties in perfectly to the idea of CLICC, which is all about engaging city inhabitants on the issue of carbon footprint and helping people living in the city understand their own individual role(s) as a part of the citywide effort to become carbon neutral in the next 20 years. yes. I said it. the city of Malmo would like to be carbon neutral in the next 20 years. and the city is actively aiming toward that goal.<br />
<br />
Stina talked about projects that are geared toward helping people see (and therefore better understand) their energy use and consumption. she cited some very cool examples that are prototypes and/ or soon to be marketed and sold ideas that connect people and energy use. much of what she talked about reminded me of the thinking and initiatives that were undertaken as part of the <a href="http://www.solardecathlon.gov/past/2009/" target="_blank">2009 Solar Decathlon</a> competition that I worked on through the BAC and Tufts. our project, entitled <a href="http://www.livecurio.us/" target="_blank">curio</a>, focused on sustainable living and awareness as much (if not more) than designing and constructing an 800 square foot zero energy house.<br />
<br />
here are a couple that were neat. there are many more on the <a href="http://www.tii.se/" target="_blank">website</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuEBDP2WJB3jJCYtLbXMtb_0rFUi-ypJK9BuTH8dbgNtHrTQvka8g58LY5cNKXyk8H2q4HrWafbWkY_9TxuAauYc1rAWIIyHISHbrCEgLlffjYt1fzmSzrYoXfjHo-yayLHHfB_No6F4/s1600/powerc.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="picture taken from Interactive Institute website" border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuEBDP2WJB3jJCYtLbXMtb_0rFUi-ypJK9BuTH8dbgNtHrTQvka8g58LY5cNKXyk8H2q4HrWafbWkY_9TxuAauYc1rAWIIyHISHbrCEgLlffjYt1fzmSzrYoXfjHo-yayLHHfB_No6F4/s400/powerc.png" title="Power Aware Cord" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Power Aware Cord is designed to visualize the energy of the current use of electricity of the appliances connected with it through glowing pulses, flow, and intensity of light." this picture is from the <a href="https://www.tii.se/node/5990" target="_blank">Interactive Institute</a> website </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
the <a href="https://www.tii.se/node/5988" target="_blank">Flower Lamp</a> is another example of innovative thinking around energy use and visualization. the lamp changes form and becomes dimmer/ brighter based on energy use. the lamp is an attractive and interactive monitor of energy consumption that can, in turn, affect behavior.<br />
<br />
the Element is an attempt to change energy from an unseen source to a visible source. in this case the energy is heat, as evidenced in a radiator. the experiment is to showcase the amount of heat being emitted from a radiator in a new form, light. the light emission is directly matched to the heat emission, thus the brightness of the "radiator" tells you how hot it is. from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/interactiveinstitute/4378033917/" target="_blank">the flikr site</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It is usually hard to tell whether radiators are on or off except by laying a hand upon them. This prototype is made out of glass, metal, and enough light bulbs to reach the same efficiency as an electric radiator, and the current energy level is visible at all times.</blockquote>
I will tell you about two more, but I recommend if you are interested to read up on the Interactive Institute. they are doing some amazing work in the field of interaction, sustainability, and energy.<br />
<br />
the <a href="http:/" target="_blank">Energy AWARE Clock</a> is an electricity meter that resembles an ordinary kitchen clock. it measures your energy consumption and tells you the time simultaneously while also allowing you to compare previous energy use to today's consumption, thus you become aware and notice improvements and changes in consumption.<br />
<br />
lastly, <a href="https://www.tii.se/node/5985" target="_blank">BoEL</a> is a chance to compare your energy use to your neighbors. a web based interface and simple glowing orb in your window shows how much energy you are consuming. red, green, and yellow are comparative measurements that allow each user as well as the neighbors to see how one unit performs. this could lead to healthy competition, shared knowledge and team building, or even a little pang of guilt, all of which have been shown to affect behavior. according to the website:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
BoEL is an experimental social ambient interface and web service that presents daily consumption figures to home owners and neighbors to promote joint savings and foster competitive energy saving bahaviors. The service includes an ambient lamp that provides feedback on the energy consumption in the household and these interfaces are installed so that the neighbors can observe each others energy status.</blockquote>
check out the <a href="https://www.tii.se/node/5981" target="_blank">Interactive Institute of Sweden's website</a> for more cool strategies about using interaction and communication to affect behavior and sustainable living.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com1Malmomassan, Hyllie, Malmö, Sweden55.5613889 12.975555655.543429399999994 12.9360736 55.5793484 13.0150376tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-47953161653572231072012-09-20T10:50:00.000-04:002012-10-14T06:13:37.247-04:00CLICC Conference<br />
in a classic "oh, by the way" moment, I was emailing back and forth with someone who works for the city of Malmo in the Department for the Environment and he mentioned "Sustainability Week". I was asking about finding someone to give me a tour of Augustenborg, a 1960's affordable housing urban development that had been falling into disrepair until, starting in the 90's, the city had targeted the buildings and neighborhood for upgrade and redevelopment using sustainable strategies as a driving force. he said, "oh, maybe you should go to the conferences taking place next week as part of <a href="http://malmo.se/English/Sustainable-City-Development/Sustainability-Week-17-21.9.html" target="_blank">Malmo's Sustainability Week</a>. they are giving tours of Augustenborg, Sege Park, Vastra Hamnen..."<br />
<br />
I couldn't believe my luck that an entire week of one day conferences and study tours was taking place while I happened to be here in Malmo. I immediately emailed the conference organizers of two of the most exciting conferences, CLICC and Covenant CapaCITY. both organizers responded quickly and allowed me to join the conferences past the registration date, for free, and said if there is space on the bus for the tours then I could join those as well.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPN2r7lE-7knuWQN8JAqd2O599ZYnOmTZgCQ7cLduIlK5kIybvWaEcoARqAeGhTTRudV-rZS45QaBlRpP0zXtLaZ2YA-HyEk_MIa6IBXk3XaX-xQa2YTb1A1bChm1uPhpvvmGRH5MPxIA/s1600/IMG_3444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="CLICC Conference welcome speech by Kerstin Rubenson" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPN2r7lE-7knuWQN8JAqd2O599ZYnOmTZgCQ7cLduIlK5kIybvWaEcoARqAeGhTTRudV-rZS45QaBlRpP0zXtLaZ2YA-HyEk_MIa6IBXk3XaX-xQa2YTb1A1bChm1uPhpvvmGRH5MPxIA/s400/IMG_3444.JPG" title="CLICC Conference held at Malmomassan in Hyllie, Malmo" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">start of the CLICC Conference in Malmo at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malm%C3%B6m%C3%A4ssan" target="_blank">Malmomassan</a> (conference center in Hyllie) presented by Kerstin Rubenson of Malmostad Environment Department</td></tr>
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I will do separate postings about the neighborhood tours and even about some of the presenters, but here's a little bit about CLICC. <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&tl=en&sl=sv&u=http%3A//malmo.se/clicc" target="_blank">CLICC</a> stands for Climate Living in Cities Concept (I think this link will take you to the auto translated Swedish page for more information). the main goal of the four year pilot project is to provide opportunities and create successful strategies to drastically reduce the carbon footprint of people in cities. with some funding from the country of Sweden, some from the EU, and some funding, participation, and organization from the city of Malmo (and other participating cities around the country), this program is a combination of grass roots movements and government facilitation. the conference itself, called the midterm (program runs from 2010 to 2014) is an opportunity for stakeholders to get together and learn from the past and prepare for the future.<br />
<br />
the conference website invites participants in by describing the conference:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Take part of project experience CLICC (Climate Living In Cities Concept), which presents a method for cost-effective climate renovation of buildings. By combining investments with changes in behavior, climate impact from living in apartment buildings, together with costs, can decrease.</blockquote>
the conference was amazing and I sat on the edge of my seat all day, even when the presenter was talking only in Swedish and showing only Swedish slides. thank goodness for google translate and free wireless access. I learned quite a bit about what the city is doing and how it is tackling the immense job of helping its citizens learn about their part in the effort to become zero energy as a city (of 300,000 inhabitants!) and I spent much of the day in awe of the ongoing and long term effort and coordination taking place here in Malmo.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfIeEBcyFnEVxoxhk-2p_jo_I_guOmVdTU3dVeEi85kMdI8M8mSv2TfRLx-ZfXDa1iaSPSh0k21koJyQSRXvNHbid3s8AKrWTGJiBKKw_PEUGHsOGDSWLmWI4obD0Es4kuZHzaalUYUo/s1600/IMG_3446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Trevor Graham and Johanna Ekman" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfIeEBcyFnEVxoxhk-2p_jo_I_guOmVdTU3dVeEi85kMdI8M8mSv2TfRLx-ZfXDa1iaSPSh0k21koJyQSRXvNHbid3s8AKrWTGJiBKKw_PEUGHsOGDSWLmWI4obD0Es4kuZHzaalUYUo/s400/IMG_3446.JPG" title="Trevor Graham of the Department of the Environment talking about the history of Malmo" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trevor Graham of the Department of the Environment talking about the history of Malmo and the relevance of the idea of CLICC on the progress of the city toward carbon neutrality in the 21st century</td></tr>
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I will post more as time allows on the conference and study tours. the whole experience was... wait for it... yes... you guessed it... amazing!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Hyllie Boulevard 19, Hyllie, Malmö, Sweden55.5613889 12.975555655.552409399999995 12.9558146 55.5703684 12.9952966tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-50795591240228375902012-09-19T07:58:00.000-04:002012-10-15T05:46:16.333-04:00Copenhagen bike share<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oJIxIM9IWymnCHGNxIg3YWOdtA3uqn8IEsMwljvxmTIMmlls1xQHvY_siFfdFfz72TWF_cW8g8oooar_7E2uZOqjwbWTRkQwCa8GrLylxlEVkyDM_pajkLimIichlizuOogy7ldipHg/s1600/IMG_3800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stockholm bike share locking mechanism where bike locks to stand" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oJIxIM9IWymnCHGNxIg3YWOdtA3uqn8IEsMwljvxmTIMmlls1xQHvY_siFfdFfz72TWF_cW8g8oooar_7E2uZOqjwbWTRkQwCa8GrLylxlEVkyDM_pajkLimIichlizuOogy7ldipHg/s1600/IMG_3800.JPG" style="cursor: move;" title="location where front basket of bike locks onto bike stand" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bike slot #18 at a bike station. you can see the two access points that lock the bike front basket frame into the bike stand to secure the bike. red light indicates that the bike is locked. after swiping the card this little light turns green and the bike is unlocked and can be picked up off the stand.</td></tr>
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<br />
the Copenhagen bike share has been on my list of "things to see" long before I knew I was coming to Sweden/ Malmo/ Scandanavia/ Denmark. the Copenhagen bike share, started in 1995, was successful many years before Paris, Barcelona, and even Boston jumped into the fray. though it was not the first bike share program in the world, it was the first large scale, "free" city system that had unique bikes (parts could not be easily interchanged with other bikes). unlimited bike use for a small deposit, bike stands throughout the downtown area, and a strict boundary of where the bikes could be used (police fine bike users if caught outside downtown city limits) factored into making the system a huge success.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkurSsig42gErCOdWBNag4buMmF4b5Ao9F_WUPEKycnjntGSUMqNIWixVX1KcNRyIgM61gOaeeA9tArVnDxoTm2e2wZjhq85QdVvbOKKKuemDMVZTc8p1zb_0iO_-rgt4ayAV0fW1h44/s1600/IMG_3298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="copenhagen bike share bike" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkurSsig42gErCOdWBNag4buMmF4b5Ao9F_WUPEKycnjntGSUMqNIWixVX1KcNRyIgM61gOaeeA9tArVnDxoTm2e2wZjhq85QdVvbOKKKuemDMVZTc8p1zb_0iO_-rgt4ayAV0fW1h44/s400/IMG_3298.JPG" title="Copenhagen bike share bike in the street in a pedestrian zone in front of the lego store" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copenhagen bike share bike lying in the street. maybe the borrower of this bike went into the lego store?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I couldn't wait to try it out when Devo (visiting for a long weekend from Paris) and I hopped the train to Copenhagen. in fact, we went directly to the tourist info location near Tivoli and the Central Train Station to get a map and break down some bills to the 20 kroner coins that one needs to unlock the bikes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmMGFt8m_uaJCmRng2BBfXDEpqzoHAJrGeUzOqlQAd65-x3UJ1qGR5Ez0zszO-ISH3prGEwbZvNxwaoeoTKpvK0S-Vhkn4xaetCFRENgyGtZVd2ND8wd7R3LN_PXjON_tJ1nnLrFI-Xk/s1600/IMG_3300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="key is released by a 20 kroner danish coin" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmMGFt8m_uaJCmRng2BBfXDEpqzoHAJrGeUzOqlQAd65-x3UJ1qGR5Ez0zszO-ISH3prGEwbZvNxwaoeoTKpvK0S-Vhkn4xaetCFRENgyGtZVd2ND8wd7R3LN_PXjON_tJ1nnLrFI-Xk/s400/IMG_3300.JPG" title="key that locks copenhagen bike share bike to the rack" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">key that keeps bike locked. to release the key the user inserts one 20 kroner coin. once the coin has been inserted, the key pops out and the bike is free to roll. upon returning the bike, the user inserts the key and the 20 kroner coin pops out and the key holds the bike locked.</td></tr>
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we should have known from the start that getting onto the bikes would be easier said than done. when talking to the woman at the tourist center we were handed our first clue of what was to come. "good luck finding one," she said when we asked about the bike share, "you're better off renting a bike." undeterred we bought a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_(pastry)" target="_blank">Danish</a> (yes, this is where they come from) to create two of the necessary 20 kroner coins to unlock the two bikes.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0kfBWhC4bQ_F73e6mhH8XQIUPqhsnCcEIjZh0F2JIPObU3G6dGuatZWQePlHxku667pEO3raiXAbmB0h0st4lJweDUfw-4tWPgWCRWlVSvDAXt0X4UNfPF-Wc_3_yvm7HzxWa7Ibp1M/s1600/IMG_3301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="no bike share bikes are here. instead there are regular bikes locked to the rack" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0kfBWhC4bQ_F73e6mhH8XQIUPqhsnCcEIjZh0F2JIPObU3G6dGuatZWQePlHxku667pEO3raiXAbmB0h0st4lJweDUfw-4tWPgWCRWlVSvDAXt0X4UNfPF-Wc_3_yvm7HzxWa7Ibp1M/s400/IMG_3301.JPG" title="copenhagen bike share rack location in central square" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bike share bike rack in popular square in Copenhagen. all of the bike share bikes are gone and regular bikes are locked in their place. you can see the chain with the key at the end dangling down to the cobblestones.</td></tr>
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as we walked through the city, we realized that the bike share locations are nothing more than simple nondescript metal racks that look pretty much like any other. one of the reasons that we had trouble finding them is that there are no signs, every one we found was devoid of bike share bikes and instead were surrounded by normal bikes locked where the share bikes would have been.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsi3lnG_FBLFzyizIasxcfsbUQ4LES6GpLN_gVfNykBuBFeUFSL2iyp_jWVp661ASYHn-MXqHmkdzFUpNWuL9CpDPW9v15AgWMg_GhsMTa1VUQOIl-7a6D1Oz-aYlCiA09LQEwdV6Ym8/s1600/IMG_3316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="front of Copenhagen bike share bike" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsi3lnG_FBLFzyizIasxcfsbUQ4LES6GpLN_gVfNykBuBFeUFSL2iyp_jWVp661ASYHn-MXqHmkdzFUpNWuL9CpDPW9v15AgWMg_GhsMTa1VUQOIl-7a6D1Oz-aYlCiA09LQEwdV6Ym8/s400/IMG_3316.JPG" title="Copenhagen bike share bike map and locking mechanism" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copenhagen bike share bike locked via chain to the rack. each bike comes with a map showing the boundary inside which the bike must be kept (or the user is fined by police). notice the (incorrect) silver coin sticking out where the 20 kroner coin should be inserted to release the bike. this bike cannot be freed from the rack due to the improper coin blocking the path for the correct coin to release the key.</td></tr>
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we gave up the search for bikes because we were having no luck, but continued walking the city and enjoying the pedestrian streets, amazing people watching, monuments and beautiful buildings, and general scene (the neighborhood was very crowded with everyone from locals to tourists to street performers). we wandered, checking out the amazing surroundings and enjoying the freedom of the Copenhagen city streets.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkCHv4Y-ziEx_up_MM6bNCufhLcQxoKa2lRw5b3s5yTy10K9efpsMAWLhreDAa4KD2chensWCjKYQHRWQj1MA5TLYh565s-t07UMQIj41I-7htftGTk-zSYb4G5cHSkLY-PnOfRHHeFBY/s1600/IMG_3318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="bike rack, 20 kroner coin, and key connect together to secure the bike when not in use" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkCHv4Y-ziEx_up_MM6bNCufhLcQxoKa2lRw5b3s5yTy10K9efpsMAWLhreDAa4KD2chensWCjKYQHRWQj1MA5TLYh565s-t07UMQIj41I-7htftGTk-zSYb4G5cHSkLY-PnOfRHHeFBY/s400/IMG_3318.JPG" title="releasing the bike from the rack via a 20 danish kroner coin" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">inserting 20 dkk into the locking mechanism to release the key (top) that frees the bike to be ridden. the chain in the picture connects the key to the bike rack and dangles freely once the bike is released.</td></tr>
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of course as soon as we gave up looking for a bike rack with share bikes on it, we found one. five bikes locked up on one single rack off the beaten path from the busiest pedestrian street, near the state house, stock exchange, and one of the main canals downtown. jackpot.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxo9PDKv5Tg7ASxUR57M7yxpZtaNPBnJzEvhayUcxp18pakcGgtuOYT6GUXBSWboYrC0LjthyphenhyphencW_89sYqv3O7qkEYkyz4JH5qbEkM9uuAINYwnGhmHhS_MoXD3FidTss2yqnY92V0vjns/s1600/IMG_3322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="turns out they were either locked improperly, broken, or otherwise unusable" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxo9PDKv5Tg7ASxUR57M7yxpZtaNPBnJzEvhayUcxp18pakcGgtuOYT6GUXBSWboYrC0LjthyphenhyphencW_89sYqv3O7qkEYkyz4JH5qbEkM9uuAINYwnGhmHhS_MoXD3FidTss2yqnY92V0vjns/s400/IMG_3322.JPG" title="five bikes locked to rack as part of the bike share system" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">five bike share bikes all locked to the rack on a street near downtown. jackpot. or maybe not...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
again it should have been obvious that it was too good to be true. two of the five bikes were locked together by a personal lock which basically means the bikes were no longer shareable and could only be used by the j#*ks (jerks) who decided that sharing is not caring. so those two were out. the next bike opened up successfully by sliding the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_krone" target="_blank">20 kroner coin</a> into the slot and releasing the key and freeing the bike. but (sad face) the last two bikes had been jammed with the wrong size coins and these coins were stuck, preventing either removing the existing coin or freeing the key and taking the bike.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7oYg6JyWvA2e6saQiesfQsQwWzbRA6YFkTetYduQ8leolW4uGmwb5EIZBeGJDgxrjSmmL4wTQwXzCO7_SJ2rFdt-zoudoOHdbOaa-UWwFRkBMe_WG7XkR9qqAhh_sUFmmUfzyZOG3Ak/s1600/IMG_3319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="key released by adding a 20 dkk coin" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7oYg6JyWvA2e6saQiesfQsQwWzbRA6YFkTetYduQ8leolW4uGmwb5EIZBeGJDgxrjSmmL4wTQwXzCO7_SJ2rFdt-zoudoOHdbOaa-UWwFRkBMe_WG7XkR9qqAhh_sUFmmUfzyZOG3Ak/s400/IMG_3319.JPG" title="after adding the correct 20 dkk coin into the bottom slot, the key releases from the top" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">after adding the correct 20 dkk coin, the key releases, freeing the bike</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
the lesson here to me is that the free bike share system with a low entry fee (20 Danish kroner is less than $4 American) allows for the user group to not respect or take responsibility for the bike and the system itself. I agree with the low entry fee and support the idea that everyone can use the bike(s), but the result is that most available bikes are either being improperly used or are in use and not available. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFC7UcSu3QOyS73_eQjOvtHy3rWKML5fzZXJ6n2N7kn754ImUXdWNe9J3uQ3UgvVekxtDkE0tiWLnsHt9YaoCStKujlwYGo4r1DxaWgruITPd6gby_55iuJIzNSdMVd94fFDJ3q5tL4E/s1600/IMG_3321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="coin released after key is reinserted" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFC7UcSu3QOyS73_eQjOvtHy3rWKML5fzZXJ6n2N7kn754ImUXdWNe9J3uQ3UgvVekxtDkE0tiWLnsHt9YaoCStKujlwYGo4r1DxaWgruITPd6gby_55iuJIzNSdMVd94fFDJ3q5tL4E/s400/IMG_3321.JPG" title="after reinserting the key (top) the coin pops free at the bottom" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">once the key is reinserted, the coin pops free from the bottom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
one could argue that the <a href="http://www.cityofboston.gov/bikes/" target="_blank">Boston</a> share program (called Hubway) has its own problems, but the system works effectively and does not have the same problems as the Copenhagen one. the Boston system, like many newer ones across the globe, requires a credit card to borrow a bike. this makes the system no longer anonymous. in addition to the credit card identifier making each borrower accountable, each bike is "checked in" when returned to the rack via a click digital connection point, ensuring that bikes are returned and also allowed for the system to know where all bikes are located. this check in system allows a simple iphone app to tell users where there are bikes to pick up and where there are empty spaces to return the bike. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__6W4hpwxx3xTKlm0LjOANE5ufgrmi06q-bf0AOKKGtGhYkkAm0LMWzSaedg2BlRaQSv3T_bzkV8Dwr5f9I2vUubivUxsnoruebMRMG9GEZ6BwgNvnXpHT8IfGp7EtWSkfC08SKy4A8M/s1600/IMG_3317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="inaccessible bike share bikes locked together" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__6W4hpwxx3xTKlm0LjOANE5ufgrmi06q-bf0AOKKGtGhYkkAm0LMWzSaedg2BlRaQSv3T_bzkV8Dwr5f9I2vUubivUxsnoruebMRMG9GEZ6BwgNvnXpHT8IfGp7EtWSkfC08SKy4A8M/s400/IMG_3317.JPG" title="Copenhagen bike share bikes locked together with personal lock" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">two Copenhagen bike share bikes locked together with personal lock, making them inaccessible to regular people</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
the Boston system just completed it's first full year to rave reviews and membership was, for the first year, above predictions. hopefully it will continue to be a success and build upon what has come before it, including the Copenhagen bike share, one of the first of its kind anywhere on the globe in 1995.<br />
<br />
for more info on:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>the history of bike sharing, check out <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_sharing_system" target="_blank">wikipedia's bike share description</a> which is quite detailed and informative</li>
<li>Copenhagen's city bikes via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_City_Bikes" target="_blank">wikipedia</a> or the <a href="http://www.bycyklen.dk/english/thecitybikeandcopenhagen.aspx" target="_blank">Danish website</a></li>
<li>Boston's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubway" target="_blank">Hubway bike share</a></li>
<li>the <a href="http://www.spotcycle.net/" target="_blank">free iphone app</a> that locates available share bikes (certain cities only)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com1Copenhagen, Denmark55.6760968 12.568337155.604469300000005 12.4104086 55.7477243 12.726265600000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-36180403673572435002012-09-17T18:07:00.000-04:002012-10-10T10:37:45.984-04:00food scraps = energy in Malmo: the food grinder<br />
it's 6.30pm and you just arrived home from work. it's time to make dinner. it is a simple meal. pasta with veggies and sauce. you pull out the cutting board and your favorite knife. you scrub all of the terrible pesticides and toxins off your vegetables, hoping that this <a href="http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/" target="_blank">shiny red pepper</a> is not the one that puts one nano gram too much of whatever you don't want in your body. you chop and cut and chop and suddenly you are sauteing it all in a pan. the water is boiling for the pasta and voila! you have dinner. it's delicious, by the way.<br />
<br />
cleanup in this kitchen is almost as easy as making the mess. you finished the pasta sauce so you splash some water around in the jar and dump it down the drain. you open the door under the sink and deposit the jar into the clear glass recycling bin. the scraps of vegetables go into the food grinder (what we used to call the garbage disposal). you splash a little water on the plates and silverware and put it all in the dishwasher. you always win the clean plate award so there are no scraps on the plate, but if there were any scraps or anything else that could be ground in the food grinder, you'd dump them into the sink and wash them "away" as well. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxZfat9xeUOA-ndpSv7RvabKXHwz05TuaGeqjK3RFdtH9TeTR8HLrjdsYkSpP6ATKiiJm5K6OweNy6KsoMRpc-z7LuE6Q6cTuRbEhVXEpu_mauDVGxaLwmRkWXdGnqp7NX_JdwLuQGL4/s1600/IMG_3101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="food grinder in kitchen sink" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxZfat9xeUOA-ndpSv7RvabKXHwz05TuaGeqjK3RFdtH9TeTR8HLrjdsYkSpP6ATKiiJm5K6OweNy6KsoMRpc-z7LuE6Q6cTuRbEhVXEpu_mauDVGxaLwmRkWXdGnqp7NX_JdwLuQGL4/s400/IMG_3101.JPG" title="kitchen sink in apartment in Vastra Hamnen Malmo" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kitchen sink in the apartment. pretty "normal" looking. the silver button on the upper left turns on the food grinder.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
then the magic starts. you turn on the water and press the little silver button. a loud gurgling sound emits from inside the sink drain, gradually getting more uniform and higher pitched. when the last of the food remnants are gone, you press the silver button again and it's done. your "wasted" food is on it's way to becoming energy.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qcJiGHMCOTsSc5OLlVOBICtdrnknMyHQJQrut7znYMsv8UobQftU4W7H4sFN3RrKdknYKPj3k5PnNO9qXx10fWIifh299Q-xf8wDDAp3FVczGZlpoh1UQSt1wIa0jdS525TFIDK0ru0/s1600/IMG_3102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="food grinder in kitchen sink" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qcJiGHMCOTsSc5OLlVOBICtdrnknMyHQJQrut7znYMsv8UobQftU4W7H4sFN3RrKdknYKPj3k5PnNO9qXx10fWIifh299Q-xf8wDDAp3FVczGZlpoh1UQSt1wIa0jdS525TFIDK0ru0/s400/IMG_3102.JPG" title="titan food grinder under the kitchen sink in Malmo" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it's a titan. food grinder.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
a separate piping system takes the water and ground food waste to a nearby storage tank. it's surprisingly simple. sedimentation allows the liquid to skim off the top inside the tank and join the rest of the waste water on it's way to a treatment plant in the harbor. what settles at the bottom of the tank is pumped away to a nearby plant where they tank it all back together in a specific method that turns this "waste" into something called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas" target="_blank">biogas</a>. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxv68tateJp1sDOv2USs4Q5QDZI4N42Bt-xD8BoJOwFvZLPVqzA4Qm3S9Jqz5h-nPvp_SFrwUkA7DnpOIv06p5pD6DiiiSKUvYIktwOn1hb58YW-yjeojPs-NxYQlJzFn9Q1g1vywBgg/s1600/IMG_3103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="separate pipes under sink collect food waste and water" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxv68tateJp1sDOv2USs4Q5QDZI4N42Bt-xD8BoJOwFvZLPVqzA4Qm3S9Jqz5h-nPvp_SFrwUkA7DnpOIv06p5pD6DiiiSKUvYIktwOn1hb58YW-yjeojPs-NxYQlJzFn9Q1g1vywBgg/s400/IMG_3103.JPG" title="separate pipes taking food waste to the sediment tanks" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pipes from both sink drains joining to go separately out of the building to a sediment and storage tank where the food waste separates and is pumped offsite for transformation from food waste to biogas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
biogas, as you can imagine, is just like other gases that you know. it can be burned like natural gas to heat your home boiler or hot water. it can be refined into fuel to power your car. it is basically like oil except we didn't have to dig for it or destroy anything like forests or water supplies or the environment to get it. it is a natural byproduct of human consumption. oh, and in case you are wondering (which I am sure you are) it is:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>"clean"</b> (meaning that the stuff that goes into the food grinder is food, not plastic or other undesirable items that dilute or destroy the biogas process)</li>
<li><b>hygienic</b> for the inhabitant (what you put into the grinder is what you have already touched)</li>
<li><b>natural </b>(no cleaning products, chemicals, or other stuff needs to be added)</li>
<li><b>simple</b> (press a button and it's done)</li>
<li><b>cleaner burning</b> (biogas is much lower emission and cleaner burning than many other fuels, especially oil based fuels such as gasoline and diesel)</li>
</ul>
if you are looking for an alternative to oil to power cars, buses, and other transportation, biogas could be a very successful option. we've all seen how much food goes down the drain (which is, in itself, an area that needs some improvement). the city of Malmo is making great strides to use food waste to produce energy and hopes to have the entire city bus fleet on biogas within ten years. there is also a campaign to collect compost style food waste in all neighborhoods of the city as well as using the new grinder method. <br />
<br />
want more info?<br />
a company called <a href="http://www.vasyd.se/en/" target="_blank">vasyd</a> is a main stakeholder in this process. their (vasyd) website is also very informative (and has english translations). I met with Mimmi Bissmont from the vasyd Malmo office. she was extremely helpful and supportive. thanks Mimmi! her work focuses on connecting action, behavior, and sustainable efforts. for more info on improved use of energy through behavior, check out this post on <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/energy-use-reduction-through-behavioral.html" target="_blank">the psychology of energy reduction</a> or this post about <a href="http://buildingoursustainablefuture.blogspot.com/2012/09/feedback-next-evolution-in-energy.html" target="_blank">energy reduction through feedback loops</a>.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com2Malmö, Sweden55.6116622 12.977364655.609420199999995 12.9724291 55.6139042 12.9823001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-63928469360540166942012-09-17T17:50:00.000-04:002012-10-14T06:14:14.695-04:00kids playing in Vastra Hamnen schoolyard<br />
I know this has little if anything to do with sustainable design, but I was riding my bike by the school in Vastra Hamnen and a bunch of kids were at recess. I am always intrigued by children and how they interact and often wonder if their relationships and interactions have anything to do with culture and/ or the society into which they grow as they get older. when I saw the kids playing I stopped to watch for a minute. what I saw was amazing. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiywAD9H5mLwwiqszqIIrDeqThzuGwBKMNPHe5iXGPiXPL2IZAYk-94-KzRcHyzjDTyQS3MVzXr5XLBpQh3H0HcRjaP4cND0-7h5Fw0uPmjXv_5JzWGKrC6IpWMBbErReoJqRK2j526xk/s1600/IMG_4044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="kids playing in the sand in Vastra Hamnen" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiywAD9H5mLwwiqszqIIrDeqThzuGwBKMNPHe5iXGPiXPL2IZAYk-94-KzRcHyzjDTyQS3MVzXr5XLBpQh3H0HcRjaP4cND0-7h5Fw0uPmjXv_5JzWGKrC6IpWMBbErReoJqRK2j526xk/s400/IMG_4044.JPG" title="kids playing in a Malmo schoolyard during recess" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kids playing at the Vastra Hamnen school during recess</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I realized almost immediately that I needed to take a picture of the scene because it was so interesting. the kids were rough housing in the sand in a way that was absolutely amazing. I'm not entirely sure if it was a game or just kids being kids, but I've never seen anything like it. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KmHRuJpFhn6SJzNpp-tXMDPHMHWPFYnmBuUNad-AMZ94QeL_tb5lEAzdmCZP3fxXuryiNe40YkoVbKuDDu4k9bmhx0OKCda_RYHF4MTlWGS9aoLtILZzVW21wiPhttLPLcDy8v8P8-s/s1600/IMG_4045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="rough housing during recess" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KmHRuJpFhn6SJzNpp-tXMDPHMHWPFYnmBuUNad-AMZ94QeL_tb5lEAzdmCZP3fxXuryiNe40YkoVbKuDDu4k9bmhx0OKCda_RYHF4MTlWGS9aoLtILZzVW21wiPhttLPLcDy8v8P8-s/s400/IMG_4045.JPG" title="kids playing in a Vastra Hamnen schoolyard" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the kids were rough housing and knocking each other into the sand. it was madness and mayhem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
basically a kid would run up to another kid and shove him off his feet onto the ground. then another kid would do the same to that kid or someone else. it seemed random. boys were knocking down boys, boys were knocking down girls, girls were knocking down boys. it was a free for all. yes, the teacher was standing about 10 meters away watching (to the right in the first picture). <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3HLSWm9ErNI-TtSch3ML1S27jWyMKBGRmpGviA_kHc5r_iZASC2RLRdLQWgSQ1bSNiQdI75VIafWr8g3G68IWEKqrTHKZGAl6i8PQuqKLNRPSLtpCji-nk2D0fN-JD-DNCV8xNeyI9A/s1600/IMG_4046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="kids lying all over the place in the sand" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3HLSWm9ErNI-TtSch3ML1S27jWyMKBGRmpGviA_kHc5r_iZASC2RLRdLQWgSQ1bSNiQdI75VIafWr8g3G68IWEKqrTHKZGAl6i8PQuqKLNRPSLtpCji-nk2D0fN-JD-DNCV8xNeyI9A/s400/IMG_4046.JPG" title="the aftermath right before recess ended in Malmo schoolyard" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the aftermath right before the end of recess</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and yes, it was awesome.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Vastra Hamnen schoolyard, Malmo, Sweden55.604981 13.00382255.587041500000005 12.96434 55.6229205 13.043304tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-19622523947849843502012-09-16T13:12:00.000-04:002012-10-14T06:17:02.962-04:00beer experimenting<br />
I like beer. lots of other folks like beer. beer is delicious. beer is flavorful. beer has bubbles. in Sweden lots of people also like beer. as I have said before, beer is expensive. by expensive I mean that when I got off the train and was hanging around in the train station and ordered a beer, it cost 73 SEK (Swedish Kroner) which, depending on the exchange rate (I have gotten about 6.4 SEK to 1 USD so far) is about $11.50 for the beer. what kind of beer, you ask. well, let me tell you. it was Swedish beer (meaning local). not specialty local. not microbrew local. it's the most common and popular beer in Sweden (besides Carlsberg which is Danish). that's like going into a bar in the Unite States and ordering a draft budweiser and having the bartender charge you $11. you'd probably laugh at the bartender, refuse the beer on principle, and go to the nearest liquor store (or supermarket) and buy a six pack of cans for less than $10.<br />
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not in Sweden. people willingly pay $10 or more for regular beer. why? I am not so sure. but I think systembolaget might have something to do with it. systembolaget is a government run (yes, the government regulates the purchase of liquor here!) organization that regulates the sale of alcoholic beverages that have more than 3,5% alcohol. <a href="http://www.alcoholcontents.com/beer/" target="_blank">budweiser</a>, for comparison, is 5,0% alcohol. so if you want <strike>water</strike> beer you need to go to a 9-5 store (with an armed guard) to buy it. this obviously includes liquor and wine as well.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FBd_82ff8CLe6E0tgMUBjFOKPa6Fg4xVhuKMf00JYHFCEoaB7Hzy0u28TRZWoHFvLj_84MASLzMua0T_qFYsBXCSFIH3Kp4H266tOxi74DtFUj7sKdkz24gsexOZ5dx2lYQsKURTSBo/s1600/IMG_4059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="beers purchased at the systembolaget in Malmo, sweden" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FBd_82ff8CLe6E0tgMUBjFOKPa6Fg4xVhuKMf00JYHFCEoaB7Hzy0u28TRZWoHFvLj_84MASLzMua0T_qFYsBXCSFIH3Kp4H266tOxi74DtFUj7sKdkz24gsexOZ5dx2lYQsKURTSBo/s400/IMG_4059.JPG" title="buying beer in sweden is tough but we muddled through it" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a beer lineup from the systembolaget in Malmo</td></tr>
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anyways, I was in the country for more than a week (almost two) before I made my way to the systembolaget with Devo who was visiting for a couple of days via Paris (yes, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/se/app/systembolaget-sok-hitta/id486802368?mt=8" target="_blank">there's an app for that</a>). of course we went crazy and bought a bunch of specialty and local beers including microbrews, as well as some wine. you know what they say... when in rome! we lined up the beers afterwards on the table after deciding it was worth a picture. I am not a beer expert, but most of the beers have been excellent so far. more to come if I find a favorite.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQ9tkld2Wu-xBaSqrP6k42jFVHkycK8qtlStTn5FnXPm0smQTypl5KR22_AaDk5IP_dl4NnqK3Dl2jGb46cnAk29ZoeQW5pb5abe-pt48G5SgWnaRPMk_jwa21vsnvLGB4eGL-7DV3H8/s1600/IMG_4061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="local beers purchased at the systembolaget" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQ9tkld2Wu-xBaSqrP6k42jFVHkycK8qtlStTn5FnXPm0smQTypl5KR22_AaDk5IP_dl4NnqK3Dl2jGb46cnAk29ZoeQW5pb5abe-pt48G5SgWnaRPMk_jwa21vsnvLGB4eGL-7DV3H8/s400/IMG_4061.JPG" title="beers purchased at the systembolaget in Malmo Sweden" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the close up of beers bought at the systembolaget in Malmo</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.awa.dk/glosary/slainte.htm" target="_blank">skål</a>! (pronounced skole)<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Systembolaget Malmborgsgatan 6, Malmö, Sweden55.6028355 13.003668855.600592999999996 12.9987333 55.605078 13.0086043tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-41997389426505523482012-09-15T08:53:00.000-04:002012-09-28T07:47:50.816-04:00rush hour in Malmo<br />
rush hour in Malmo is like rush hour anywhere else; many people have completed a hard days work and are excited to get home to see their families, loved ones, eat a nice meal, maybe even sit like a vegetable in front of the television watching the evening news or another in the endless stream of reality tv shows. <br />
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Malmo, like most other cities, has a city center, other popular destinations for business and social life, and shops, restaurants, and bars downtown. there are tourist attractions (although the town itself is not specifically touristy) such as city squares, churches, a cathedral, old buildings, a giant park, a beautiful library, and much more. the city bustles with activity in these downtown areas throughout the day, and in certain areas, throughout the evening. <br />
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like most cities, these central and downtown areas are higher rent and typically geared toward wealthier people or visitors. a vast majority of the people who work or spend time in the heart of the city live somewhere else, somewhere further afield in the city or even in the suburbs. Boston, with approximately 600,000 people in the city proper, receives about 300,000 commuters each day. Malmo is much the same. about 60,000 people commute into the city of 300,000 people and another 30,000 commute out (most commonly to Copenhagen over the Oresund Bridge via train). as one would expect, the commuters take typical means to get into and out of the city, including buses, cars, and trains. <br />
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there is no metro in Malmo as there is in a larger city such as Boston or Copenhagen, but what Malmo does have moreso than either of those much larger cities is bike lanes. the dedicated bike lanes are everywhere throughout the city center and into the suburbs. I have never (even in Copenhagen) seen so many well constructed, thoughtful, easily navigable, dedicated bikes lanes. so the other night around 17.30 I stopped at an intersection to the south of the city center and filmed a couple of minutes of rush hour.<br />
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the traffic signals seemed to be on about a 1:15 cycle alternating between perpendicular (the minor street) and parallel (the major street). I stood on a corner in front of a subway (restaurant) and filmed for one light cycle at a time. these videos represent what I would call a typical, fair weather, rush hour, light cycle at a populated/ popular intersection.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-20319757743778534712012-09-14T09:21:00.000-04:002012-09-16T08:53:13.188-04:00there's no such thing as a utopia, even here in Sweden<br />
so there aren't any pictures to go along with this post, it is simply an observation that I think means something for all of us, regardless of whether we are designing or building or investing or creating. this is about the fundamentals of being human, of sharing a space on this earth together, and about breathing the same air. I have, and always will, abide by the "we're all in this together" philosophy about pretty much everything from sports to work to politics. I think everyone on this planet should live with a little or a lot of that philosophy...<br />
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I was performing my evening "ride around and look for pickup soccer games" routine the other night when I arrived to a neighborhood park (the neighborhood is not important here, but I can say that I had been there before and the people were hospitable and that the area is generally perceived, according to local residents, as a less desirable and certainly less affluent location in the city). <br />
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I was on the edge of the park, mostly out of the mainstream sight from the kids on the soccer field. there was a ball sitting about 15 meters off of the field in the sand and there were about 8 kids, ages 6-12 or so sitting in the middle of the field talking. the kids looked to be persian in descent and seemed to be speaking swedish. two young black kids, probably about 6-10 years old slowly approached the field from my left as I watched.<br />
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the oldest and tallest of the group of kids in the middle of the field jumped up and started yelling loudly at the two boys, who slowly continued approaching the field. immediately the rest of the kids stood up and began yelling as well. there were hand motions and more yelling and the group in the middle of the field started to advance toward the boys who were approaching from the side. the two boys approaching the field slowed drastically, to the point where it was clear as an outside observer that they were no longer going to enter the field itself. they turned onto an altered course and paralleled the field, aiming to go around it or at least not onto the soccer pitch.<br />
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wheels were turning in my head as I started to pedal off. I got about 50 meters before I slowed, turned a 180, and went back to the field. <br />
"hey kid, can I ask you a question" I said to the tallest boy, who was still near the edge of the field. "yeah"<br />
what were you all yelling to those two boys?"<br />
"nothing"<br />
"it didn't sound like nothing"<br />
"it was nothing"<br />
"what did you say to them?"<br />
"I told them that my cousin was getting the ball and they didn't need to get it"<br />
"oh"<br />
<br />
I could tell by the look on his face that his story was adjusted to suit my needs and he was hoping I would go away. I asked again for a third time in a slightly different tack to see if he would tell me what was really going on. his story evolved a final time, but he never admitted to what I think was happening. if it weren't for the "hand in the cookie jar" look on his face and the exuberance of he and his friends' yelling, I might have believed him, but I didn't.<br />
<br />
at that point I felt that there was little progress to be made, so I simply said to the kid, "I think everyone should be allowed to play in the park and on the soccer field, no matter where they come from"<br />
<br />
I pedaled off toward home, feeling slightly better but mostly worse.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181870951443308140.post-57677831200999292012-09-13T08:51:00.000-04:002012-09-28T07:47:15.229-04:00better look at our courtyard in Vastra Hamnenhere's a quick better look at the courtyard in Vastra Hamnen on Riggaregatan. basically you can see three of the four sides of the courtyard.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7rKLMVuYQfnBp0OMxBZrMFQ0f_rlHKYzGiY0Agf_T8hkpp9qZCFXKUQgLgWMM0NbfhRnuHmqZIQCnCOQYT1w3lNkHfq57zGkMzXU5MeKRIEgfbODATJn-M7DR9T4ChwCmSvDQusg67No/s1600/IMG_2953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="courtyard and pergola" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7rKLMVuYQfnBp0OMxBZrMFQ0f_rlHKYzGiY0Agf_T8hkpp9qZCFXKUQgLgWMM0NbfhRnuHmqZIQCnCOQYT1w3lNkHfq57zGkMzXU5MeKRIEgfbODATJn-M7DR9T4ChwCmSvDQusg67No/s400/IMG_2953.JPG" title="pergola and courtyard in Vastra Hamnen Malmo" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">east side of the courtyard looking down onto the pergola and public benches. note the grills under the pergola and the diverse vegetation as well as the simplicity of materials</td></tr>
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the bike parking is under the green roof. the metal cylinder in the courtyard is connected to the food waste to biogas conversion process. I don't have a definitive answer yet on whether it is where the waste is settling before it is pumped or if it is connected to some kind of fan to keep pressure from building up. I will keep exploring and get back to you on that.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_RmDAh0sl_kEHbEswo18jJ_gaiOdu1-01xOrDYA3cpQIr4bEYx4PHPUIwKj2yYzsQBKn0F0n7BGbCi2OtLDljekqhXEQO2g_qHTp0jYSgJN2PQ61FD6uuujvqULvNMYq1_GRTtfEyWQ/s1600/IMG_2950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="bike parking in courtyard" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_RmDAh0sl_kEHbEswo18jJ_gaiOdu1-01xOrDYA3cpQIr4bEYx4PHPUIwKj2yYzsQBKn0F0n7BGbCi2OtLDljekqhXEQO2g_qHTp0jYSgJN2PQ61FD6uuujvqULvNMYq1_GRTtfEyWQ/s400/IMG_2950.JPG" title="bike parking in Vastra Hamnen courtyard" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a better shot of the green roof bike parking. it's just a little corrugated metal tray with thin sedum laid down almost like sod. nothing complicated. keeping the bikes mostly dry. </td></tr>
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the balconies in this area are all different, but most apartments have balconies and the ones that do not are seen as less desirable. in fact, supposedly one of the biggest weaknesses of getting a place at the turning torso is that there is no outside to access. you can only open the windows a tiny bit and you cannot directly access the outside without going down to the base and walking out the front door.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvY0MSEkTWb_35OYz6HwwGvlLdfeXRLPhI-05nRw0df-iIpZ4x8e5Bix6vO0hlYUFV2-WOAx6YANYqEETt62LUpd_7yUtAygMeOzdi0TgmJ8uxbFhGTqlahiDTtrDMsDMhG4km2et5ZRY/s1600/IMG_2951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="balconies in the courtyard" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvY0MSEkTWb_35OYz6HwwGvlLdfeXRLPhI-05nRw0df-iIpZ4x8e5Bix6vO0hlYUFV2-WOAx6YANYqEETt62LUpd_7yUtAygMeOzdi0TgmJ8uxbFhGTqlahiDTtrDMsDMhG4km2et5ZRY/s400/IMG_2951.JPG" title="balconies on the west side of the courtyard in Vastra Hamnen" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">balconies are all treated somewhat similarly but with plenty of variation in terms of specifics. most people have a place to sit and a little table, some have indoor and others outdoor funrniture, such as the comfy couches. some people bring up their bikes and lots of people have plants (one place even has astroturf).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlTqB0fagBTzKBkhOIapWeAzQmVUirNgsHC-dzfDJFdWmkqycKf-n_Dma4Qo01l42mnzA5iLmp-yIcOwxLgaZOVFEf_5uuQcYN5PwHEl3fImzZp1otoUfN18qjcJ52fESJH3G-ewOp10/s1600/IMG_2952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="southern side of courtyard" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlTqB0fagBTzKBkhOIapWeAzQmVUirNgsHC-dzfDJFdWmkqycKf-n_Dma4Qo01l42mnzA5iLmp-yIcOwxLgaZOVFEf_5uuQcYN5PwHEl3fImzZp1otoUfN18qjcJ52fESJH3G-ewOp10/s400/IMG_2952.JPG" title="southern side of courtyard in Vastra Hamnen" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">south/ southeast side of the courtyard looking out toward newest construction happening in Vastra Hamnen. mostly standing seam and green roofs in this direction although you can also see some serious solar thermal on a roof in the distance about two courtyards past this one.</td></tr>
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I must say that I do not see as many people spending lots of time in the courtyard as I thought I would. there are personal grills under the pergola and lots of people walk through to their apartments or to get their bikes, but in general not many people actually set up a picnic or play lawn games. maybe you don't want to spend lots of time in a place where lots of people are looking down on you? a little rear window ish? maybe more people are out in the summer? there are definitely people out on their balconies all throughout the days and evenings though.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6Nb4n2nQsrhHBRJvz4MV8-0-DqIuMDTDSe2AykNTOZvBtf5oma3qc-ooOHz2PakeUAbpcvFniYHAI1tky8NJhEt2ujyekbrhoLcdUKuCjqJn40qBT44_Oj6aY6-bxtQ1dC7xlINdRqM/s1600/IMG_2955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="planted vine just starting to grow in courtyard" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6Nb4n2nQsrhHBRJvz4MV8-0-DqIuMDTDSe2AykNTOZvBtf5oma3qc-ooOHz2PakeUAbpcvFniYHAI1tky8NJhEt2ujyekbrhoLcdUKuCjqJn40qBT44_Oj6aY6-bxtQ1dC7xlINdRqM/s400/IMG_2955.JPG" title="planted vine just starting to grow up tension cable" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">vine just starting to grow up tension cable, planted below balconies on the western side of courtyard</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763202078286279noreply@blogger.com0Västra Hamnen Malmö, Sweden55.6116622 12.977364655.602693699999996 12.9576236 55.6206307 12.9971056