blog-assignment

[blog-assignment]

Hi reader, 

I have documented all my thoughts and sketches into 8 blogs. All the blogs illustrate me and my groups thought process as we went on our journey to create a smart city. Start from the bottom and work your way up to see what we came up with.

Thank you for reading 

Dinuka Rajapaksege 

[blog-assignment]

London Fundon

Published on 3rd April 2022

After weeks of brainstorming and ideation, our group finally came up with a idea. We first had to come up with a name. The name of the city had to be catchy, so people can easily remember it aswell. The group came up with London Fundon. 

London Fundon is a city that comes alive when it rains. You might be thinking, so what happens when it doesn't rain?. All shall be revealed later on. Firstly let me explain what London Fundon is. London Fundon is a sustainable city where people can come and live their everyday lives whatever the weather may be like. Its a state of the art city that enhances peoples quality of life and well-being in a sustainable way.

This city will be mainly built out of mycelium, and it will be a place where nature is used to make the city into a smart city.

- There will be many Fundon buildings and spaces such as ,libraries, offices, cafes, restaurants, parks, stadiums and more, where people can go about their everyday lives and enjoy themselves whatever the weather. All the smart fundon buildings will be made out of a concrete and mycelium mix. These buildings will be earthquake and tsunami proof, so the people can be safe during natural disasters. These buildings will be designed and made so that 

- it will increase efficiency, by automating manual task.  

- Reduce costs by reducing energy consumption. Natural resources such as the sun, water and wind will be used to reduce waste and cost.

- Improve compliance by using automation to provide a safe, clean and pleasant environment.

- Drive sustainability by reducing energy consumption and improving the cities carbon footprint.

Toilets and all other facilitates that dont need drinking water will use mildly filtered rain water captured by the clusters of umbrellas all around the city. This will reduce water wastage.

People can gather around and build their own mycelium, which will later be used to develop the city. This gives the people some form of ownership and responsibility to take care of the city and make it better than it already is.

A voting system will be in place to let the people decide what they would like to see built next, or what places or things need improvement. Whatever gets the highest vote, the mycelium made by the people will be used to fulfill their wishes. This builds some form of democracy, and gives the people control and a voice.

The mycelium all around the city, including the buildings will act as a air purifier and will make the air a lot cleaner as time goes by. Almost all of the plastic used in these places will be replaced by mycelium, so it decomposes quicker and it will be safer for the environment. 

The wonderful art piece below can give you a rough idea on how it will look like. 

Roads made out of mycelium charge electric/hybrid vehicles and bikes as they drive on the road, while filtering the pollutant fumes emitted by combustion vehicles. Smart scooters will be located all around the city at a low cost, so people can use them to navigate through the city quickly and sustainably.

The city will use motion sensored lights during the night to ensure that the city is will lit when people are in it, so everyone feels safe.

The city will be sheltered by a huge cluster mycelium umbrellas that cover all ends of the city. This transparent umbrella collects rain water and filters it using mycelium, so it can be used safely in the city. When the rain falls onto the umbrella, the surface will illuminate into different colors and display raindrop and ripple patterns. The soothing noise of the rain will also be amplified so it can be a pleasant environment for everyone to be in. People can use their phones to draw art or write positive quotes and their work will be projected onto the surface of the umbrella to spread love and art. People can be mesmerized by all the lights, music and art displayed all around the city on the inner surface of the umbrellas.

When it stops raining, the clusters of mycelium umbrellas will fold, meaning people can enjoy the environment when shelter is not needed. Solar panels will be attached to the stem of the umbrellas, so it collects energy from the sun when it does not rain. When it snows the clusters of umbrellas will be embedded with heating elements that melt the snow and turn it into water, that is collected. Some sections of the city will not be covered, so people can enjoy the snow if they wish to do so.

Just to recap, London Fundon is a city mainly built out of mycelium that never stops operating, no matter what the weather conditions are like. It offers people smart, efficient and sustainable solutions to everyday problems and activities.

[blog-assignment]

How can we use Mycelium?

published on 3rd April 2022

Using mycelium as the main material for our smart city was approach me and my group took. Before using mycelium, we had to how it is in day to day life. There were many questions that needed answers to. How it is to be around it?, How does it smell?, is it durable for everyday use?, Does it mold?.

Upon doing more research, we found out that mycelium is very durable, and it does not have a scent. If you want a specific scent it can be embedded into the mycelium. In order to make mycelium hard and durable it will be mixed in with wood chips and the mycelium will bond with the chips. This is what makes it durable and strong. Mycelium can bond with practically any material as it can grow anywhere, which makes it very versatile. 

Above you can see a rough sketch of an idea i came out with.

The umbrella has a water reservoir that will collect rain water and use the mycelium from the structure to filter the water. This water can be used in the city for the toilets, showers and even drinking.

Multiple clusters of umbrella like structures will cover the whole city and it will act as a air purifier, which helps clean the air in the environment. 

This umbrella will shelter whatever that is underneath from the rain and give them a rain water light show while doing so. The umbrella will amplify the soothing sound of the rain drops while displaying a colorful ripple effect. This will create a beautiful scenery that people can enjoy, while going by their day.

We took inspiration for our idea from an umbrella sold in china. This umbrella lights up whenever rain hits the surface of the umbrella. It shows off a cool lighting effect that is very aesthetically pleasing to the eye and can calm people or brighten up their mood.   

Fungi are among the microorganisms able to generate electricity as a result of their metabolic processes. So we can use this to our advantage and make roads out of mycelium, that charge hybrid/electric car while they drive on it. The kinetic and heat energy that comes out from the car tires will be used as a source of electricity that charges the car as it moves. This will be cheaper for people, because they would not have to charge their cars at home as often as it charges when they are on the go. The mycelium on the road will filter the pollutant air that comes out of combustion cars, so toxic fumes are not released into the atmosphere.

[blog-assignment]

Negative to a Positive

published on 2nd April 2022

When you think about the UK, what is the first negative thing you think about? Most peoples answer would be the rain. When it rains it stops people from doing the everyday activities they want to do and people tend to rush home. The rain does ruin people mood as it is always gloomy, and it also takes a toll on the economy, because everyone is at home and no one is out spending money. 

People hate getting wet, which is why they always rush home. When it rains in the UK or anywhere the ground does get slippery and the it does start to get muddy. People have to avoid stepping on puddles and it is a big inconvenience for everyone in the city.

Finding a way to turn a negative into a positive is the approach my group took. What if we could make a positive thing? Instead of rushing home when it rains, what if we create a city that makes people want to stay outside when it rains? 

What if we can make the roads and the ground out of materials that absorb the water and preserve it. The water that is absorbed can be put to better use, rather than drying up naturally. This means that people wont have to walk on wet surfaces or avoid muddy puddles.

A lot of people do find the noise of rain very soothing, and it tends to calm a lot of people down. People also like the patterns rain make when it drops. Raindrop or ripple patterns can be very aesthetically pleasing. What if we can incorporate all these features into the city so the people can enjoy the rain, rather than hating it. While these features make the people happy, it is important that they do have some form of use, to either save water, help filter water or help the environment in some way.  

[blog-assignment]

Whats mycelium?

published on 16th March 2022

An innovative way of making a city sustainable and smart would be to potentially use nature to your advantage. Wet weather is the optimal condition for organisms such as mushrooms and moss to grow quickly. Finding a way to make use of fungi or plants that a lot of people frown upon is a smart way forward, as the accessibility for these items is surplus. They can grow anywhere and they grow in big quantities.

The roots of a mushroom is called mycelium and mycelium has many benefits to the environment. Mycelium  has the ability to cleanse pollutants in the air, soil or water. Since mycelium is used to find nutrients, it can eat its way through systems that are bad for the environment. So for example if you put a mycelium structure inside a lake full of algae, the mycelium will catch the bacteria and break down the particles of algae, which therefore filters the water. This is a much cheaper way to filter water and it is more in sync with nature than man made machines. Mycelium root systems can become rather large quickly depending on the nutrients the mushroom needs. This means that it grows very fast, which is a good thing when it comes to the availability of mycelium.

Mycelium can also be used as a alternative to plastic foams, such as polystyrene. The advantages of using mycelium lie in the fact that it is 100% biodegradable as well as in its exceptional material properties. More specifically, the mycelium tissue can trap more heat than fiberglass insulation, it is fireproof, nontoxic, partly mold and water resistant and stronger pound for pound than concrete.

One disadvantage of mycelium is is that its water resistances  does wear off overtime, but because mycelium grows very quickly in practically any environment, it can be replaced quickly, which makes it very efficient, versatile and sustainable. 

Making a city using mycelium as one of the main foundation blocks is the approach my team is heading towards and i dont see why it cant be possible. As shown above, it does have many pros that help the environment and make it very sustainable, Which always is a good thing.

References:

Critical Concrete. 2022. Building with Mushrooms - Critical Concrete. [online] Available at: <https://criticalconcrete.com/building-with-mushrooms/#:~:text=Other%20than%20that%2C%20despite%20mycelium,the%204000%20psi%20of%20concrete.>

ArchDaily. 2022. Mushroom Buildings? The Possibilities of Using Mycelium in Architecture. [online] Available at: <https://www.archdaily.com/949007/mushroom-buildings-the-possibilities-of-using-mycelium-in-architecture> 

[blog-assignment]

What makes a city smart?

published on 2nd April 2022

Naturally cities are evolving as time goes by. Cities become more innovative and more connected to to technology. Technology is a huge factor to what makes a city smart, because it provides solutions to the challenges that citizens and governments face.

What makes a city smart is the ability to create a safe and sustainable environment that is centered around the citizens well-being. Technology is used to improve areas such as transportation, accessibility and improve the healthcare system in the city.  It could also be utilized to reduce waste and inconvenience. It is very important to ensure that technology is not overused, because it will ruin the values and the history of the city. There is a combination of things that go into making a smart city. ( Cormac M. Kelly & Katerina Zalamova ), mentioned that 

" A smart city is a hive of activity that is data-driven and is designed to streamline and automate processes, as well as help to make real-time decisions" 

. The solutions need to make sure that it does not effect the environment in a negative way and it also needs to ensure that it follows the values of the city and not change the identity of the city.

In Dubai, they digitalize 90% of government services and they are available using an mobile application called DubaiNow. They also built a smart transporting system called Hyperloop. A Hyperloop is a high speed transportation system for both public and goods transport. The train accelerated to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) down a length of track, before delivering its first passengers to a safe stop.

Singapore's smart city was launched in 2014 and they introduced a wide range of smart technologies. They introduced contact-less payment technology is used all around Singapore, even in public transport. The population of Singapore are ageing population and to help elevate the pressure of the population, they introduced a digital health system. They also have a plan to make a whole city that is vehicle free. They will also have a forest city that will house 42,000 houses.

References 

What Makes A City Smart?. 2022. What Makes A City Smart?. [online] Available at: <http://www.creaidealab.com/blog/what-makes-a-city-smart> .

[blog-assignment]

What do you want in your city?

published on 31st March 2022

There are many things that makes a city an enjoyable place to be in, however when cities tend to modernize, they sometimes leave behind the values that the city was built on. When cities develop, they tend to forget about the citizens and their beliefs.   

Some things people love about cities are:

- Democratic 

- Identity & Culture 

- Joy & Excitement 

- Serendipity/ Surprise 

- Vibrant City  Below you can see examples on how our group gave some descriptions to some of the values discussed.

When discussing with my group, we came up with a few values that make a city attractive.

Jobs ensure that the economy doesn't go down and people have money for everyday life. Having a city that has many job opportunities is vital to ensure that the percentage of employment increases. This is also a very attractive to people that want to come to the city.  

Transportation is also a part of everyday life when you in anywhere around the world. Having a city that has cheap and efficient transportation is key, so people can move around the city quickly and go to work without a problem. 

Having a city that thrives in educating their people is essential for the future of the city. More families will move to a city that has sound education, and the city will be left in good hands as time goes by, since everyone is well educated. It is important to have a city that has a safe working and education environment.

A city must have a good well-being for its people. This includes having multiple hospitals, police stations, shops, schools, fire stations and more near by. London for example has the NHS, as a health service, so people do get free health services, which is one of the UK's biggest attractions. Other countries like New York have expensive medical fees.

Having a lot of leisure centers, parks, restaurants, sport stadiums, cinemas and other recreational activities available is a great way to allow the people of the city relax when they are not working. Entertaining the people of the city is a great way of keeping the people of the city happy. If not, people will get too bored and want to move out, since there is nothing to do in the city. 

The housing in the city must also be of a good standard. Having good housing makes people want to move into the city and stay there for a long time. If people do not have good housing, it will effect the quality of life in the city and can branch off to many more problems.

All the point above contribute to the city life. If a city focuses on all those values and implement them to a high standard, the city will be a very attractive and great place to live in. 

[blog-assignment]

Rain Rain Go Away

published on 14th March 2022

The UK is notorious for having a lot of rain. A lot of rain water is being waste in the UK it can be utilized for a better purpose. There are many ways you can use water to your advantage and if a city can utilize nature to their advantage, that could save a lot of money and bring us a step closer to saving the planet.

Water is being wasted all around the world. Water bills are also on the rise, so finding ways to use the water nature give us for free could be very useful and could also put an end to water wastage. If cities are able to use all this water, they could really find ways to generate energy in a sustainable way.

Above you can see a brain storm idea i came up with to make good use of the surplus amount of rain water the UK weather provides. The sketch above shows a water reservoir that is installed on the roof of a house. This reservoir collects rain water, whenever it rains, which is very often in the UK. The water above can be used by the people living in the house. The system has two filters, one that is used to filter the water so it can be drinkable and the other is used to lightly filter the water so it can be used for showers, toilets and many other things that clean water is not really needed. The pros of this system is that it reduces the water bills of the household, because they would be using less water, as they are using the rain water. The only cost that is taken from the people living in the household is to replace the filters used in the system. This is a sustainable way of using water and reusing water, which in result limits water wastage.

[blog-assignment]

What do you dislike about your city?

published on 25th February 2022

In order to come to the conclusion on whether you like a city or not, we must first answer the following question. What makes a city a city? There are 10,000 cities all around the world, but what differentiates each city from each other.A city is a place that has history, and an identity. It brings a pool of different cultures and political views and backgrounds together.

Cities have many factors that attract people to it, but they also have factors that make people look elsewhere. This is the case for London. London has many pros, such as its history, the royal family, transport system and more. In the contrary London in my opinion has more Cons than Pros. Waste management and the weather in my opinion are the two biggest Cons London as a city has. Waste is dumped into the street and river meaning waste is not disposed of correctly. This makes the city look like a land fill, and there is waste everywhere you go, which is unhygienic and disgusting to look at. 

Another issue is the weather. The unpredictable and fluctuating weather is a major issue for many citizens and tourist that visit or live in the UK. Many people complain about how it is always raining and cold in the UK, in comparison to other cities like New York and Tokyo. In London for example, when people see the rain, it automatically ruins the mood or day of the person and they tend to rush home. When it rains, it is normally harder to do things normal people would do when it doesn't rain, which is why people tend to dislike the rain. Rain also takes a direct toll on the economy of a city, because when it rains no one goes outside to shop for example, meaning they are not spending money.  

Having a city that can nullify all the things we dislike about the city we live in now is the perfect city in my eyes. If we can find sustainable solutions to problems we have, we can build on these solutions and implement them in real life, but it wont be easy, as there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration when building a city.