Nature & the built environment full overview!

Ecology of natural systems

Studying the forces that shape natural environments over time (using a transect) to understand how ecosystems develop and to guide sustainable design. The professor compares this to cities, where instead of preserving geology, we must redesign the human-built environment to become more sustainable.

The early riverboat landing area. How did it start, where did the riverboats offload and take on cargo, why here

Cincinnati developed as a river town on the Ohio River. Steamboats stopped along the natural floodplain ("the Banks") where they could easily load and unload cargo using simple planks. The city became a major transportation hub because goods could move both upstream and downstream before railroads existed. Cincinnati also built many of the steamboats used on the Ohio River.

Industry warehouse district in the floodplain

The floodplain next to the river became a warehouse and industrial district because it provided easy access to river transportation. Flooding was expected, so warehouses were built there since they could tolerate occasional floods better than homes or businesses.

Sports stadiums in the floodplain

As river commerce declined, warehouses were replaced by sports facilities. Riverfront Stadium was eventually replaced by separate football and baseball stadiums built on raised land so floodwaters would only affect parking areas instead of the stadiums themselves.

The Banks Project. How did it change this part of the city

The Banks Project transformed Cincinnati's riverfront from mostly parking lots and sports venues into a mixed-use development with parks, apartments, offices, restaurants, retail space, entertainment, and stadiums. By creating multiple uses instead of only sports, it generated activity and economic value every day rather than only on game days while also creating more stakeholders invested in the area's future.

Fort Washington Way. The revamp in 1998–2000, what did it accomplish

The highway was completely redesigned by removing the confusing entrance and exit ramps that caused dangerous weaving traffic. Drivers now enter at one end and exit at the other, improving safety, traffic flow, pedestrian access between downtown and the riverfront, and making The Banks redevelopment possible.

Where and how far did the Miami and Erie Canal or Whitewater Canals go

The Miami and Erie Canal connected Cincinnati north to Toledo, creating a water route across Ohio. The Whitewater Canal extended west into Indiana (Connersville and Hagerstown). Together they connected Cincinnati with inland communities before railroads.

How long did the canal era last

The canal era was relatively short-lived. Although canals were heavily used in the mid-1800s, they were largely obsolete only about 20 years after completion because railroads transported goods much faster.

What ended the early system of canals across Ohio and much of the Midwest

The arrival of railroads, which traveled around 20 mph, operated all day, and moved goods much faster than canal boats pulled by horses at only 3–4 mph.

What became of the OTR leg of the Miami and Erie Canal

The canal running through Cincinnati was filled in and converted into Central Parkway, which now separates Downtown Cincinnati from Over-the-Rhine.

How did Over-the-Rhine's designation as a historic district affect redevelopment

Being placed on the National Register of Historic Places protected OTR's Italianate architecture. Developers could still renovate buildings, but many had to preserve their historic appearance, making redevelopment more expensive while protecting the neighborhood's historic character.

P&G's role. What were the early roots of what is now a consumer product giant headquartered in Cincinnati? What is their "sustainable footprint," both geographically and in terms of the products they manufacture and sell

Procter & Gamble began in Cincinnati in 1837 when William Procter (candles) and James Gamble (soap) combined their businesses using animal fat from nearby industries. It grew into one of the world's largest consumer-products companies, selling products across much of the world. Its sustainability efforts include cold-water detergents (reducing energy use), zero-waste manufacturing sites, recycled-plastic packaging (including beach plastic), and long-term sustainability goals (Ambition 2030).

What was the spark for OTR rebirth (and what came of it)

Years of decline, vacant buildings, and especially the 2001 riots following the police shooting of Timothy Thomas left property values extremely low. Developers could purchase buildings cheaply, restore historic structures, attract new residents and businesses, and dramatically transform OTR—although this also led to gentrification.

Decision to abolish the Cincinnati Planning Department

The city eliminated its Planning Department and transferred basic planning functions elsewhere while allowing redevelopment to be led by a new nonprofit organization. The goal was to speed redevelopment using a more flexible, business-oriented approach.

How does the 3CDC work and what is it, why did it come to be

3CDC (Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation) is a nonprofit created after OTR's decline to redevelop downtown and OTR. It buys properties, renovates or rebuilds them, sells or leases them, then reinvests the money into future redevelopment projects. Its goals are mixed-use development, preserving historic buildings, creating public spaces, and encouraging economic growth.

OTRCH and how they're different than 3CDC

OTRCH (Over-the-Rhine Community Housing) focuses primarily on affordable housing and serving existing lower-income residents, while 3CDC focuses on large-scale redevelopment, economic investment, and attracting new residents and businesses. The two sometimes partner, with 3CDC providing funding and OTRCH managing affordable housing.

What was the Dervaes Family farm and what does their experience say about the potential benefits

The Dervaes Family created a highly productive urban homestead in California that demonstrated intensive gardening on a small city lot could provide much of a family's food, reduce living expenses, generate income, and serve as a model for sustainable urban agriculture.

Added Value urban agriculture example

Added Value is a Brooklyn nonprofit that uses urban farming to educate youth, create jobs, increase household income, teach science and business skills, strengthen local food systems, and provide fresh produce to the community.

Eagle Rooftop Farm urban agriculture example

Eagle Rooftop Farm grows vegetables on rooftops in Brooklyn and supplies fresh produce directly to local restaurants, demonstrating how unused rooftop space can become productive farmland in dense cities.

Vertical farming example and explanation, the theoretical Columbia University Vertical Farm Project

The Columbia University Vertical Farm Project proposed growing crops inside multi-story buildings using stacked indoor farms. The idea was to maximize food production in cities while reducing transportation and land use, although the professor noted that in expensive cities, office space is often more profitable than growing tomatoes.

Duncanson Lofts. Mixed use or occupancy, uses, target market

An early 3CDC mixed-use redevelopment project that renovated six historic buildings into 25 condominiums with approximately 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. It targeted people wanting to live near downtown and walk to work.

The new Kroger's on Central Parkway. Mixed use or occupancy, uses, target market

One of 3CDC's earliest redevelopment projects near the edge of downtown that combined new residential condominiums with nearby retail services (including Kroger) to attract middle-income residents back to the urban core while supporting downtown businesses.

Perseverance on the 1500 block of Vine Street. Mixed use or occupancy, uses, target market

A collaborative redevelopment project by 3CDC and OTRCH that renovated historic buildings into mixed-income housing while preserving their historic character. The goal was to combine redevelopment with affordable housing and create a more diverse residential community.

Permeability

The ability of water to move through a material or soil.

Pervious Paving

Pavement that allows water to soak into the ground, reducing runoff.

Impervious Paving

Pavement that prevents water from soaking in, increasing runoff and flooding.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Computer mapping software used to collect, analyze, and display geographic and environmental data.

Coefficient of Runoff

The percentage of rainfall that becomes surface runoff; a high coefficient means more runoff and greater flooding potential.

Phytoremediation

Using plants to remove or stabilize pollutants from contaminated soil or water.

Stormwater Cistern

An underground storage tank that captures stormwater and slowly releases or reuses it.

Riparian Corridor (Riparian Area)

Vegetated land alongside a stream or river that filters pollution, reduces erosion and flooding, and provides wildlife habitat.

Stormwater Control Pond

A pond that temporarily stores stormwater and slowly releases it to reduce flooding while allowing pollutants to settle.

The Mill Creek (Early History)

Originally a healthy stream that became heavily polluted by industries, sewage, and urban development. Building on the floodplain also caused frequent flooding. basically dumping grounds- pig slaughter

Mill Creek Restoration Project (Groundwork Cincinnati)

Organization that restores the Mill Creek through habitat restoration, cleanups, education, recreation, and community partnerships.

Environmental Issues of the Mill Creek

Water pollution, industrial contamination, flooding, combined sewer overflows, streambank erosion, habitat loss, and poor water quality.

How do the political jurisdictions impact decision making and funding for plans to rehabilitate the Mill Creek ?

dividing ownership, splitting funding streams, and creating conflicting regulatory priorities across municipal, county, and state lines. Because the watershed spans multiple distinct governments (including Hamilton and Butler counties and dozens of local municipalities), no single entity has total control over the river.

Best Management Practices (BMPs)

Environmental methods that reduce pollution and stormwater runoff by working with natural processes. Examples: rain gardens, biofiltration swales, pervious pavement, stormwater ponds, cisterns, streambank stabilization.

Biofiltration Swales

Vegetated channels that slow runoff, filter pollutants, and increase infiltration. Dry swales drain quickly, wet swales hold water, and vegetated swales rely on plants for filtration.

Channelization

Straightening or lining streams with concrete to move water quickly. Benefit: reduces local flooding.

Drawbacks: destroys habitat, increases downstream flooding, and reduces biodiversity.

Grass-Planted Ditch (Inter-Berm, Upper Floodplain)

Uses vegetation to slow runoff, increase infiltration, and reduce erosion naturally.

Geotextile Fabric

Fabric placed beneath soil to stabilize streambanks while allowing plants to grow.

Live Plantings

Trees, shrubs, and grasses planted along streambanks to stabilize soil with their roots.

Rock Toe Protection

Large rocks placed at the base of streambanks to prevent erosion from flowing water.

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO)

Occurs when heavy rain overwhelms combined sewer systems, causing untreated sewage and stormwater to discharge into waterways. Difficult to fix because replacing sewer infrastructure is extremely expensive and widespread in older U.S. cities.

"A Case Crossover Study: Combined Sewer Overflow Events and Childhood Emergency Department Visits"

Research comparing CSO events with childhood ER visits; suggested possible health impacts but found no statistically significant conclusion because many factors affect illness.

Lick Run Greenway Project

Cincinnati green infrastructure project that routes stormwater through restored streams, wetlands, and parks instead of combined sewers, greatly reducing sewer overflows while improving water quality and creating public green space

Embodied Energy

The total energy required to extract raw materials, manufacture, transport, and construct a product before it is ever used.

Natural Capital

The Earth's natural resources and ecosystems that provide value and should be included when considering the true cost of products and development.

Recycling vs. Downcycling

Recycling creates the same or similar product from recycled material (ex. aluminum cans). Downcycling creates a lower-value product from recycled material (ex. tires become rubber mulch or playground surfaces).

Being Embedded in a Place

Designing shelters to fit the local climate and environment instead of forcing the environment to fit the design.

North Slope of Alaska Shelter (Igloo)

Built from snow because snow is an excellent insulator that traps heat in an extremely cold climate.

Everglades Shelter (Seminole Chickee House)

Raised on posts with open sides and a thatched roof to provide airflow, shade, and protection from flooding in a hot, humid climate.

Southwest Shelter (Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings)

Built into cliffs to provide insulation, shade, and protection by using the natural landscape.

Aluminum Cans vs. Tires

Tires are harder to recycle because they contain multiple materials (rubber, steel, fibers, and additives) that are difficult to separate. Aluminum can be melted down and recycled repeatedly with little loss of quality.

Plastics

Materials, synthetic or naturally occurring, that can be shaped when soft and then hardened to retain their shape.

Biodegradable Plastics

Plastics made from renewable or biological materials that can be broken down by microorganisms.

Shipbreaking Industry

The dismantling of old ships to recover valuable materials.

Sitakunda, Bangladesh

A major shipbreaking center where ships are dismantled for recycling, creating both economic benefits and environmental and worker safety concerns.

E-Waste

Discarded electronic devices such as computers, phones, televisions, and other electronics. Nature and Magnitude of the E-Waste Problem

IT Asset Disposition (ITAD)

The secure reuse, refurbishment, recycling, or disposal of outdated electronic equipment.

Synergy Electronics Recycling Co., Madison, N.C.

Uses a pre-shredder, shredder, drum magnets, trommel, dynamic SRP ferrous separator, eddy current separator, optical sorters, and manual quality-control picking to separate recyclable materials from electronic waste.

Modular "Framework" Laptop

A laptop designed with replaceable and upgradeable parts so the entire computer does not have to be replaced, reducing electronic waste.

Guiyu, China Example

Shows that finding toxic chemicals in the environment does not automatically prove they are causing health problems; epidemiological studies are needed to connect exposure to actual health effects.

History and Trends of Single-Family Homes in the U.S.

American homes have generally become larger over time while household size has become smaller, affecting sustainability.

Birth of the Suburbs (Levittown, New York)

One of the first mass-produced suburban developments after World War II that helped spread suburban living across the United States.

House Size and Occupancy Patterns Over Time

Average house size has increased while the average number of people living in each home has generally decreased.

New Home Energy Use Compared to Older Homes

New homes are about 30% larger than older homes but use about the same amount of energy because they are more energy efficient

Embodied Energy

– The total energy required to extract raw materials, manufacture, transport, and construct a product or building before it is ever used.

Natural Capital

– Earth's natural resources and ecosystems that provide economic and environmental value.

Recycling

– Processing materials so they can be made into the same or similar products.

Downcycling

Recycling materials into lower quality or lower value products

Embedded in a Place

– Designing buildings or communities to fit local climate, geography, and available resources.

Dead Zone

– An area of water with oxygen levels too low to support most aquatic life.

Plastics

– Materials that can be shaped while soft and then hardened into a permanent form.

Biodegradable Plastics

– Plastics designed to break down through biological processes under appropriate conditions.

Shipbreaking

– The dismantling of old ships to recover valuable materials, often creating environmental and worker safety concerns.

E-waste

Discarded electronic devices such as computers, phones, and televisions.

IT Asset Disposition (ITAD)

– The secure reuse, refurbishment, recycling, or disposal of outdated electronic equipment.

Synergy Electronics Recycling

– An electronics recycling company highlighted for using shredders, magnets, optical sorters, and manual sorting to recover recyclable materials efficiently.

Framework Laptop

– A modular laptop designed so parts can be replaced or upgraded individually, reducing electronic waste.

Guiyu, China

a major e-waste waste recycling center used to illustrate both the environmental risks of informal recycling and the scientific challenge of proving health effects from toxic exposure.

Levittown

one of the first large-scale suburban housing developments in the United States, representing the beginning of modern suburban expansion.

GI Bill

U.S. legislation that helped many veterans purchase homes after World War II, fueling suburban growth.

Single Family Detached Home .

– A standalone house intended for one household, commonly associated with suburban development

Energy Efficiency

– Using less energy to perform the same function through improved technology or design

Estuary definition

A partly enclosed coastal body of brackish water where one or more rivers or streams flow into the sea, allowing freshwater and saltwater to mix. Brackish water has more salt than freshwater but less than seawater.

Mississippi River sedimentation process that created the delta over thousands of years

Natural flooding carried sediment (mud, silt, and sand) downstream. When the river slowed near the Gulf, the sediment settled out and gradually built the Mississippi River Delta. Today, levees and canals prevent much of this sediment from reaching wetlands.

Estuary Transept - similarities and differences to barrier island transept

Similar because both show habitats changing gradually across a landscape.

Different because the estuary transept includes barrier islands, lagoons, salt marshes, freshwater marshes, swamps, and forests due to changing salinity, making it more complex than the barrier island transept.

Causes of marsh die-back in the estuary and re-habilitation strategies to combat it

Causes: saltwater intrusion, reduced sediment supply, levees, navigation canals, oil and gas canals, hurricanes, climate change.

Rehabilitation: freshwater and sediment diversions, marsh creation, beach and dune restoration, planting native vegetation.

How does marsh land loss affect the impact of storms?

Wetlands reduce storm surge and wave energy. Every 2.7 miles of wetlands reduces storm surge by about 1 foot. Losing wetlands allows storm surge to travel farther inland and increases flooding. Magnitude of the wetlands in southern Louisiana and magnitude of the loss

Bald cypress survival techniques in swamps

Aerenchyma tissue transports oxygen through flooded roots; develops a deep taproot and shallow horizontal roots that allow survival in oxygen-poor, waterlogged soils.

“What affect do the following industries have on southern Louisiana, and the state as a whole, both the positive effect on the economy, and the negative impacts on the environment.”.. Commercial Fishing

Positive: More than 70% of Gulf seafood landings come through Louisiana; nearly $2 billion annual economic impact.

Negative: Depends on healthy wetlands, so wetland loss threatens fish populations and the industry.

“What affect do the following industries have on southern Louisiana, and the state as a whole, both the positive effect on the economy, and the negative impacts on the environment”.. Sport Fishing

Positive: About 1.17 million anglers, $3 billion in economic output, and 22,820 jobs.

Negative: Habitat loss reduces fish populations and recreational opportunities.

“What affect do the following industries have on southern Louisiana, and the state as a whole, both the positive effect on the economy, and the negative impacts on the environment. ..” Oil and Gas Production

Positive: Contributes about $73 billion to Louisiana's GDP and supports about 249,800 jobs.

Negative: Oil and gas canals increase saltwater intrusion and account for an estimated 30–59% of Louisiana's land loss.

“What affect do the following industries have on southern Louisiana, and the state as a whole, both the positive effect on the economy, and the negative impacts on the environment…” Shipping including Maritime Jobs

Positive: Louisiana ranks #1 in waterborne commerce, moves about 500 million tons of cargo annually, and provides over 54,000 maritime jobs.

Negative: Dredging, navigation canals, and levees alter natural river flow and reduce sediment reaching wetlands.

Hurricane Katrina: What caused the extent of the damage and who was found responsible?

Extensive wetland loss, subsidence, and levee failures allowed catastrophic flooding. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was found responsible for engineering failures discussed in class.

New Orleans' Post-Katrina Flood Defenses. Who built them and how were they designed to protect for the kind of impacts that caused the extreme damage from this hurricane.

Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System. Designed for a 100-year flood event using levees, surge barriers, floodgates, and massive pumping stations.

The Lake Borgne Surge Barrier

Nearly 2 miles long and 26 feet high, built to block storm surge from reaching New Orleans and the Lower 9th Ward; nicknamed the "Great Wall of Louisiana." blocks high storm waters from the Gulf of Mexico before they can funnel into New Orleans

Seabrook Floodgate Complex

A major floodgate structure that works with levees and surge barriers to prevent storm surge from entering New Orleans. uses massive steel and concrete gates to block dangerous storm surges from Lake Pontchartrain from entering the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (Industrial Canal) during major tropical storms and hurricanes

Lower 9th Ward – what caused the extent of damage and delays in rebuilding?

Severe flooding from levee failures, delayed levee repairs, prolonged flooding, slow restoration of utilities, and a much slower recovery than most New Orleans neighborhoods.