#Engine City

[novemberhope]

Leon ist so herrlich verpeilt und findet nie den Weg^^

[reasonsforhope]

"With “green corridors” that mimic the natural forest, the Colombian city is driving down temperatures — and could become five degrees cooler over the next few decades.

In the face of a rapidly heating planet, the City of Eternal Spring — nicknamed so thanks to its year-round temperate climate — has found a way to keep its cool.

Previously, Medellín had undergone years of rapid urban expansion, which led to a severe urban heat island effect — raising temperatures in the city to significantly higher than in the surrounding suburban and rural areas. Roads and other concrete infrastructure absorb and maintain the sun’s heat for much longer than green infrastructure.

“Medellín grew at the expense of green spaces and vegetation,” says Pilar Vargas, a forest engineer working for City Hall. “We built and built and built. There wasn’t a lot of thought about the impact on the climate. It became obvious that had to change.”

Efforts began in 2016 under Medellín’s then mayor, Federico Gutiérrez (who, after completing one term in 2019, was re-elected at the end of 2023). The city launched a new approach to its urban development — one that focused on people and plants.

The $16.3 million initiative led to the creation of 30 Green Corridors along the city’s roads and waterways, improving or producing more than 70 hectares of green space, which includes 20 kilometers of shaded routes with cycle lanes and pedestrian paths.

These plant and tree-filled spaces — which connect all sorts of green areas such as the curb strips, squares, parks, vertical gardens, sidewalks, and even some of the seven hills that surround the city — produce fresh, cooling air in the face of urban heat. The corridors are also designed to mimic a natural forest with levels of low, medium and high plants, including native and tropical plants, bamboo grasses and palm trees.

Heat-trapping infrastructure like metro stations and bridges has also been greened as part of the project and government buildings have been adorned with green roofs and vertical gardens to beat the heat. The first of those was installed at Medellín’s City Hall, where nearly 100,000 plants and 12 species span the 1,810 square meter surface.

“It’s like urban acupuncture,” says Paula Zapata, advisor for Medellín at C40 Cities, a global network of about 100 of the world’s leading mayors. “The city is making these small interventions that together act to make a big impact.”

At the launch of the project, 120,000 individual plants and 12,500 trees were added to roads and parks across the city. By 2021, the figure had reached 2.5 million plants and 880,000 trees. Each has been carefully chosen to maximize their impact.

“The technical team thought a lot about the species used. They selected endemic ones that have a functional use,” explains Zapata.

The 72 species of plants and trees selected provide food for wildlife, help biodiversity to spread and fight air pollution. A study, for example, identified Mangifera indica as the best among six plant species found in Medellín at absorbing PM2.5 pollution — particulate matter that can cause asthma, bronchitis and heart disease — and surviving in polluted areas due to its “biochemical and biological mechanisms.”

And the urban planting continues to this day.

The groundwork is carried out by 150 citizen-gardeners like Pineda, who come from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds, with the support of 15 specialized forest engineers. Pineda is now the leader of a team of seven other gardeners who attend to corridors all across the city, shifting depending on the current priorities...

“I’m completely in favor of the corridors,” says [Victoria Perez, another citizen-gardener], who grew up in a poor suburb in the city of 2.5 million people. “It really improves the quality of life here.”

Wilmar Jesus, a 48-year-old Afro-Colombian farmer on his first day of the job, is pleased about the project’s possibilities for his own future. “I want to learn more and become better,” he says. “This gives me the opportunity to advance myself.”

The project’s wider impacts are like a breath of fresh air. Medellín’s temperatures fell by 2°C in the first three years of the program, and officials expect a further decrease of 4 to 5C over the next few decades, even taking into account climate change. In turn, City Hall says this will minimize the need for energy-intensive air conditioning...

In addition, the project has had a significant impact on air pollution. Between 2016 and 2019, the level of PM2.5 fell significantly, and in turn the city’s morbidity rate from acute respiratory infections decreased from 159.8 to 95.3 per 1,000 people [Note: That means the city's rate of people getting sick with lung/throat/respiratory infections.]

There’s also been a 34.6 percent rise in cycling in the city, likely due to the new bike paths built for the project, and biodiversity studies show that wildlife is coming back — one sample of five Green Corridors identified 30 different species of butterfly.

Other cities are already taking note. Bogotá and Barranquilla have adopted similar plans, among other Colombian cities, and last year São Paulo, Brazil, the largest city in South America, began expanding its corridors after launching them in 2022.

“For sure, Green Corridors could work in many other places,” says Zapata."

-via Reasons to Be Cheerful, March 4, 2024

[superchuck1980]

Episode 77 -- Geeking on The Return of Superman

The Funeral is over! The Reign of the Supermen has begun! But which one, if any, is the real Superman? Feedback for this show can be sent to: charliesgeekcast@gmail.com You can subscribe to Charlie’s Geekcast through Apple Podcasts, the RSS Feed, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, TuneIn Radio, or IHeartRadio. You can also visit the show’s Facebook group page. Download

[whirlybirrd]

When you’re a famous visitor

Yes I literally based it off of Duck’s brief bit in Gordon and the Famous Visitor

[goshyesvintageads]

General Motors Corp, 1962

[uncoupledengine]

Happy birthday to the best boi! DUCK!!!

So I have a head canon that all engines have a section of wall in the sheds that is dedicated to all of their big achievements. It’s to help them feel better when their sad, but also to remember some highs. So I drew a small section of Duck’s wall.

Top left:

This is a picture of Duck and Stepney not long after they double headed the express after the class 40 diesel failed. I feel like Stepney and Duck’s friendship is often over looked. I head cannon that their drivers totally write letters for the other engines to read.

Top right:

This is a picture of Duck having a Great Western Railway conversation with his idol The City of Truro. I would have loved to hear their conversations.

Bottom left:

This is a picture of Donald with Dilly. I feel like it is often forgotten that Duck was very important in Donald acquiring Dilly. So Duck is clearly Dilly’s second father.

Bottom right:

This is a picture of Oliver and Duck on the Little Western. It didn’t become a real Little Western until Oliver joined Duck on the line. They have such an amazing dynamic together that I wish we had more stories about them too.

On the far right is a flag that Duck received from when he helped save a man in the regatta all those years ago. This feels like something Duck would have kept for all those years and smiles every time he sees it.



[kafkasapartment]

The Bridge From Race Street, 1940. Benton Murdoch Spruance. Lithograph.

[6lovelytenders]

Various scribbles uuuh idk my brain is preoccupied with other media atm

[novemberhope]

Ja, danke, Hope. Das hab ich auch so schon mitbekommen. Go away.

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Ghia City Car, 1970. A concept for an ultra-compact inner-city car with rear hinged "suicide" doors. It used a Ford engine but was built during the brief period De Tomaso owned Ghia (before Ford took them over).

[tf2cosplaycommunity]

Our first big event of 2024 was Emerald City Comic Con! We had an official meetup, the TF2 Voice Actors had a panel, and later we had Meet the Mercs!

On Friday, we had our own unofficial meetup right before the panel with the voice actors. It was quite fun! We marched together to the panel as a big group.

After the panel, Sol and Dell brought Gary Schwartz and Dennis Bateman to the vendor hall floor to see the Glitch Gear booth.

On Saturday, we had our official meetup and sat around the metaphorical campfire to listen to Gary Schwartz tell his stories of working in the voice acting industry. It was a lovely experience.

You can also check out our video on this event here.

And later that evening.. we would participate in Meet the Mercs 2024!

[novemberhope]

[supplyside]

Tallest buildings on every continent

[cringefail-clown]

city council meeting (kankri got locked up until he learns to shut up and respect Mayors opinions)

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Fiat 850 City Taxi Concept, 1968. Fiat's head engineer Dante Giacosa commissioned Pio Manzù to design this compact prototype for a taxi with “limited external dimensions, accessibility, visibility, manageability, security and recognisability”. The prototype which was built in 1968 and exhibited at the Turin Motor Show had one long sliding door on the right and a normal opening door for the driver on the left. It could seat three passengers and carry their luggage (where the front passenger's seat would have been) but was a mere 3.2 metres long.

[kafkasapartment]

Williamsburg Bridge, New York City, c. 1948-49. Edward Schwartz. Silver print.