Columbia Green Technologies’ Post

10 Common Mistakes in Placemaking: 🤝 Ignoring Community Input: Failing to involve local residents and stakeholders in the planning process can result in spaces that don't meet their needs or reflect their identities. 📅 Underestimating Effective Centre Management: Great spaces need more than good design; they need active coordination, management and programming to attract and engage people. Events, activities, and amenities can bring a space to life. 🔐 Lack of Flexibility: Spaces that are too rigid in their design can't adapt to changing community needs and uses. Versatile and flexible spaces encourage diverse activities and long-term viability. 👷♂️ Neglecting Maintenance: Beautiful designs can quickly deteriorate without a plan for ongoing maintenance and upkeep. Ensuring long-term sustainability is key. ♿🚫 Inadequate Accessibility: Not considering the needs of all, including those with disabilities, can make spaces exclusive rather than inclusive. Accessibility should be a priority from the start. 🔗 Poor Connectivity: Spaces that are hard to reach or poorly connected to surrounding areas fail to integrate into the larger community fabric, reducing their usage and impact. 🚨 Ignoring Safety: Perceived and actual safety are crucial for a space’s success. Proper lighting, clear sight lines, and community policing can enhance safety and comfort. 🔎 Overlooking Context: Each place has its unique history, culture, and character. Designing without considering these elements can lead to spaces that feel out of place and disconnected. 🎀 Overemphasising Aesthetics: While aesthetics are important, they should not overshadow functionality and usability. A beautiful space that isn't practical or welcoming won't be successful. 🏭 Forgetting the Environment: Sustainable practices should be at the forefront of placemaking. Incorporating green infrastructure, managing stormwater, and using eco-friendly materials can create healthier, more resilient spaces. #Placemaking #Community #History #Culture #CommunitySpaces #SafeSpaces #CentreManagement #Environment #MainStreets #GreenInfrastructure #Revitalisation #Local #MainstreetAustralia #PlacemakingTips #SustainableCities #Sustainability

The simplicity and directness of this is excellent. Also mostly applicable to #digitalplacemaking supporting efforts in how we make digital experiences for online social collaboration and networking grounded in local communities. Why online-only "solutions" and "fixes" to digital will never result in much change. #themediumisthemassage #mediaecology

At The Citylifer, we've identified a critical need for affordable, comfortable living spaces that not only foster community but also provide a home away from home. Driven by our passion for sustainability, social responsibility, and good governance, we've established an ESG policy that is the backbone of everything we do. Our mission? To significantly reduce our environmental footprint while maximizing our social impact. We're dedicated to not just leading this charge but also inspiring our residents to join us in making a difference. How do we achieve this? One of our key strategies involves innovative design tailored to fit an office grid, allowing us to upcycle buildings in prime city locations. This approach transforms them into ideal spots for vibrant community social spaces. Our modular design specifically aims to repurpose vacant inner-city office buildings, as well as support newly constructed developments, creating a fourfold win: 🌟 Shorter project lead times 🌟 Lower construction costs 🌟 Reduced environmental impact 🌟 Ideally located for shared housing solutions in urban centres We invite you to be part of a movement that champions sustainability, inclusivity, and connectivity. With The Citylifer, every city becomes a welcoming home, reflecting a shared commitment to a better, more sustainable world. Embrace a new way of living. Join us in shaping a brighter, more sustainable urban future. Discover our solution and learn more about how The Citylifer is redefining urban living via this link: https://lnkd.in/eT9XyTCv. We're eager to hear your thoughts and engage in meaningful conversations about building sustainable communities together. #TheCitylifer #SustainableLiving #UpcycledHomes #RealEstateSolution #ESGInnovation #Coliving #ESG

Let’s learn something from this post!

As an architect of change, I’m driven by the belief that our built environment should do more than just house us—it should inspire, nurture, and connect us. With Lightner Group, LLC, we are at the forefront of transforming vacant office spaces into thriving, sustainable residential communities. This is more than a project; it’s a movement to redefine urban living for a new era. Through AI-driven innovation and a deep commitment to sustainability, we're turning empty office blocks into living blocks—green, resilient, and alive with possibility. This is our answer to the challenges facing our cities today: a vision where affordable housing meets the future of urban development. I invite you to join me on this journey. Let’s create communities where every resident feels a sense of belonging, and every building tells a story of innovation and purpose. #CommunityReimagined #LightnerLegacy #SustainableLiving #UrbanInnovation #AffordableHousing #BuildingTheFuture

The green triangle patch of grass between highways is a non-place! Nathan Lewis' piece has fundamentally reshaped my understanding of urban planning. The distinction between a 'place' and a 'non-place' really helps you identify why some cities feel rich and others feel vacuous. The density of 'places' has a big impact on quality of life, health, meaning, and social connection. #urbanplanning #wellness #15minutecity

Embracing Restorative Urbanism: Building Cities for Mental Wellness   Amidst the buzz of New Year resolutions—be it about reading more, going eco-friendly, or supporting initiatives like "meat-free Fridays" or "smart Tuesdays"—let's spotlight a crucial yet often overlooked commitment: advocating for mental health to shape our cities. At PBD, community stands as one of our core values, extending beyond our workspace. Infusing well-being into every aspect of our work is pivotal. Despite the ongoing evolution in studies, our dedication remains steadfast: integrating these insights into our designs and championing restorative urbanism. Our mission extends beyond constructing buildings; it's about cultivating environments that support mental wellness. This year, we're delving deeper into this area with our latest addition to the PBD library: "Restorative Cities: Urban Design for Mental Health and Wellbeing" by Jenny Roe and Layla McCay. This book unravels a transformative urban paradigm, highlighting how cities can spark mental wellness. It outlines seven key elements for a restorative city: green spaces, blue spaces, sensory experiences, neighbourly connections, active environments, playable areas, and inclusivity. These considerations already shape our designs, but we're eager to enhance our understanding further. Let's collaboratively design not just spaces, but places that nurture, heal, and restore. Our team extends beyond office walls, embracing our extended family of fellow designers and consultants, enhancing life through thoughtful design. We wish you all a week filled with inspiration and well-being! #RestorativeCities #UrbanDesign #MentalHealthMatters #WellBeing #PBDLibrary #DesignForWellness #EnhancedLifeByDesign #PBDCommunity

At Lightner Group, LLC, we’re more than builders—we’re visionaries. As the nation faces an unprecedented shift in office space utilization, we're pioneering the transformation of vacant office blocks into vibrant, sustainable residential communities. Our latest project, 'Community Reimagined,' embodies the future of urban living: where AI-driven design meets the soul of sustainability and affordability. Imagine a world where the concrete jungle blossoms into green spaces, where rooftops aren’t just roofs but living, breathing ecosystems, and where every block fosters a sense of belonging. This isn’t just a dream—it’s the reality we’re crafting. Join us on this transformative journey. Be a part of a movement that turns today’s challenges into tomorrow’s thriving neighborhoods. Let’s build the future, one green, resilient community at a time. #CommunityReimagined #AffordableLiving #Sustainability #LightnerLegacy #BuildingTomorrow #InnovationWithPurpose

Transforming buildings into a multi-stakeholder concept through a community driven approach 💡 For me this article from FRAME once again shows an amazing example of how a multi-stakeholder model brings more value to the building, but foremost to the people living, working and experiencing in it. What I take away from this article is: 🤔 - Modular spaces increase building utilization - Planning along human needs brings value - Hospitality creates experiences, increasing profitability - Organic and nature-inspired design increase interactions - Inclusive community concepts create identification More often we should leave our "mental frames" when talking about real estate, to create unique concepts worth investing in. Now it would be interesting to understand how they are nurturing a community through programming? .... Check the article here: ⬇ https://lnkd.in/dYizTds3 #Innovationspaces #biophilicdesign #communitybuilding #spacemaking #hospitality #experienceeconomy #workspaces #realestatemanagement #workspaces #businesshub #ecosystembuilding

So-Giving:Co-living was the subject of last night's #negronitalk at Ombra hosted by Fourthspace Ltd and expertly chaired by Robert Fiehn. I've attended many talks and panel discussions around the subject of Co-Living lately, it's a hot topic and a popular emerging asset class for investors and developers. It has enormous potential to fill a gap in the housing shortfall, tackle loneliness, foster and cultivate community, revive stranded assets through a retrofit approach, and reactivate urban centres. There were excellent insights offered by panel members Damien Sharkey, Gill Eaton, Simon Bayliss, Amy Frearson, Je Ahn, sharing ideas, opportunities & challenges from the perspective of planner, developer, and architects. As always the discussions were animated by provocations and questions from the room. The event served as a temperature read of opinion on Co-Living. I was surprised to find that it is still not that well understood, still in danger of being typecast as high-end pseudo members club, or rabbit hutch micro-rooms and shared kitchens. Whilst there are certainly developments at the luxury end of the market, for the most part co-living is providing an excellent alternative with added benefits of flexibility, convenience, community, quality and amenity. The latter proves a red-hot topic of discussion particularly around an alarming arms race highlighted by Damien Sharkey, where adaptability and flexibility should actually be the primary considerations. Any concerns raised about how co-living is working were robustly rebutted from the crowd by Neil MacLeod of Halcyon Development Partners. Community was the overall theme, we live better together, and community integration and cohesion are fundamental to a happy life. We know this, architects, developers, planners, and all built environment professionals have a social contract with the general public to curate and craft places that foster and encourage this. Co-living is not a silver bullet, but it is a vital part of an ecosystem of residential typologies that create diverse communities, ethnically, socio-economically, and generationally. There was a lot of talk about looking to the greener grass of Europe challenged by some sage insight from the crowd that it is not always better on the other side of the fence. However, there are definitely examples of a more mature sector, our projects with POHA House in Germany on a range of retrofit and new build co-living schemes with a variety of homes, from studios to 3-bed flatshares, and amenity spaces shared between internal and external communities bear this out. Damien Sharkey pointed to the excellent Vindmøllebakken scheme in Stavanger by Helen and Hard where the ambitions of multi-gen shared living are a reality. It remains an exciting time for Co-Living in the UK, lessons are being learned but further enlightenment is required to achieve more and do better. Image courtesy of Fourthspace Ltd vimeo feed of the talk #coliving #sharedliving