New for 2012!!  Soul of the City is an engaging dialogue series between the public and the design profession on issues of importance to the community and the region with focus on improving communication, understanding and collaboration (formerly known as the 4th Wednesday Design Dialogue series).  Organized by the AIA Central Valley Chapter and the ASLA California Sierra Chapter, the dialogues are listed below for the year and the topics have come directly from the public and the profession from one of our dialogues last year.  We look forward to seeing everyone again this year for some engaging conversation!  See you at the first dialogue on February 29th, where we will kick-off the serie

The growing season is over. In the California capital, dead autumn leaves lay heavy on the damp, manicured lawns of Sacramento City College as students learn that through death, something else will eat. City Farm, Sacramento City College’s organic urban farm, concluded its first semester cultivating students into stewards of the land outside of Lillard Hall on Dec. 2 with an experiential learning experience—naturally recycling organic waste to create healthy, valuable, nutrient-rich compost for the next growing season. “It's also called ecologically intelligent design,” says Robyn Waxman, City Farm faculty coordinator and graphic communication instructor. “Instead of taking, making and

New Website Showcases Achievements, Interactive Map and Constituent Resources Now, there is a new website that showcases Sacramento County’s green strategies, achievements and helpful information. The website – Green Sacramento County – features an interactive map to pinpoint green activity and provides constituents with green news, tips and resources. “Sacramento County can be proud of its commitment to sustainability and smart environmental practices. Our green practices used within our organization and in neighborhoods across the County save money, energy and the environment,” said County Executive Brad Hudson. Green Sacramento County Website Features Green Map is a fun way to see g

As Earth welcomed its 7 billionth child Nov. 1, international concern for diminishing world resources and mounting pollution are on the rise. This concern not only stems from the number of people on the planet, but how those people consume and dispose of their resources. However, depending upon how the international community prepares for that challenge, it could serve as an opportunity for positive change. The Sacramento City College’s Student Associated Council has recognized the international concern for its impact on the planet by creating a new position to help facilitate the campus’ desire to reduce its waste by welcoming plant biology major Michael Viscuso to the newly created posi

Sacramento, CA - Curtis Park resident Erik deKok shares a 1926 two-story home with his family of four. It is made of brick, has an attic conversion, but like many homes of that era the house used to feel drafty in the winter and unevenly air conditioned year-round. The upstairs stayed hot while the downstairs was cold. Mr. deKok’s children always had chilly hands when they played on the un-insulated flooring of the lower level in the winter time, and his wife’s asthma was worsened by moisture and mold problems from having an unsealed crawl space. These conditions have all changed with the help of over $6,000 in PG&E and SMUD rebates through the Energy Upgrade California program, plus 3% fi

UC Davis Extension recently announced the launch of its new program, Sustainability Studies, a multidisciplinary unit that combines aspects of green building, sustainable design and energy. Recognizing the integrated nature of sustainable solutions, this unique collaboration allows students from a variety of sectors, including energy, planning and policy, environmental and water resources, and public health, to access practical, timely training and flexible certificate programs. “UC Davis Extension has been providing the knowledge and tools to confront issues of sustainability for three decades, but to respond to today’s unprecedented challenges, professionals need cross-training to be ef

What is Liberation Permaculture? When posed this question, creative organizer Rafael Aguilera’s answer is amazing pasta sauce. “It’s not all about gardening. It’s about village alchemy. How do we identify who has needs or skills in our own neighborhoods and work together? Is some guy growing tomatoes and has too many while another guy down the street has an incredible recipe for pasta sauce?” And as simply as that, the concept of permaculture is boiled down. Bill Mollison, who is credited with helping develop permaculture as a systematic process in the 1970s defined it as “a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than pro

Please join us on Wednesday evening, August 24th beginning at 5:45pm for this month’s 4th Wednesday Design Dialogue (4WDD). “Complete Streets” is the inspiring story of the planning, re-design and transfiguration of West Sacramento’s main street area: West Capitol Avenue. The project completely transformed a portion of old highway US 40 with a wide variety of improvements including new, widened sidewalks, re-structured roads, contiguous bicycle lanes, pocket plazas, landscape plantings and iconic bus shelters which celebrate the City’s unique identity. The re-development of this area has served to foster community spirit by addressing the needs of West Sacramento’s residents and employee

The Grassroots Working Group (GWG) will be back before the County Board of Supervisors at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, August 9th, in the supervisor’s chambers at 700 H Street, Sacramento. For Grassroots, this will be the most important Board decision of the year.   The Board is considering whether to sponsor state legislation this year that would give the county the authority to place before the voters a 1/10 % sales tax for parks purposes (one penny for every $10 spent). The county is already authorized to place a sales tax before the voters, but not one this small.  Save the American River Association supports this.   The revenue from a sales tax must to go to a governmental agency. SARA believe

David Barton’s opinion piece, “The view from downtown on BDS”, unfortunately relies on considerable misinformation, fact twisting, and ultimately resorts to the weakness of name calling. Mr. Barton says “the Co-op would like to leave politics out” of its choice of products. However, the Co-op makes political decisions all the time about products based on sustainability, supporting local farms, supporting fair trade, etc. Mr. Barton acknowledges that the Co-op is political: "The co-op … is subversive of the whole factory farming, corporate, pesticide-dependent, nonlocal, unsustainable farming and grocery model that many of us grew up with.” This is not an issue about keeping “politics” ou

This weekend, the sidewalk in front of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op was defaced with graffiti that included attacks on three individual members of the Co-op, two of whom are Board candidates and one is the sponsor of the Human Rights Initiative. One of the several graffiti statements read “Cody Potter and Susan Bush are bad news.” Potter and Bush are running for two open seats on the Board along with Phyllis Ehlert and two incumbents, Alicia Dienst and Ann Richardson. When asked whether employees were responsible for the graffiti, on-duty store manager Dan Shearer declined to answer on Saturday. Incumbent Board member Alicia Dienst was campaigning in front of the store on Sunday wh

The ongoing controversy about members’ democratic rights continues with a new twist at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op. This week the Co-op Board placed a ballot argument on its website that many of its members are calling a fake. Charles Steven Arevalo is listed as its author. The ballot argument addresses a Board-proposed Bylaws amendment, which would prohibit the Co-op from using criteria related to “political opinion” or “national origin” in making purchasing or any other decisions. The Board's amendment was drafted in apparent response to members, who were trying to put a proposed human rights-based boycott initiative on the Co-op's ballot. “After refusing to allow Sacramento Nat

The City of Sacramento is pleased to announce the first edition of the new citywide eNewsletter: City Express. This quarterly newsletter will contain information that has relevant topics and in depth information from the City’s perspective that businesses or residents would find interesting and helpful. You can find this newsletter at: www.cityofsacramento.org/cityexpress. “We wanted a citywide newsletter that was useful, dynamic and another way for the City to stay connected with its residents, businesses and customers,” said Amy Williams, City Media and Communications Officer. “Communicating with the public is a top priority and City Express is another key tool in that effort.” The City

What: The Greenest Building Documentary Film, followed by a panel discussion on the connections between historic preservation, green building and economic sustainability. When: Monday, July 25 at 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Movie 7:00 PM, discussion panel 8:00 PM) Where: The Crest Theatre, 1013 K Street, Sacramento How Much: Free! Over the next 20 years, Americans will demolish one third of our existing building stock (over 82 billion square feet) in order to replace seemingly inefficient buildings with energy efficient “green” structures. Is demolition in the name of sustainability really the best use of natural, social, and economic resources? Or, like the urban renewal programs of the 1960’s, i

There's a lot more green on a tree than just its leaves! At this month's 4WDD ISA-Certified Arborist Scott Gregory will talk about assessing the economic and environmental benefits of the urban forest. In April, Scott successfully defended his master's thesis, "Quantifying Street Tree Function and Distribution: Analysis of Environmental Services, Population Characteristics, and Sidewalk Uplift in the City of Chico, California". His thesis entailed inventory of 34,950 street trees, stumps, and available planting sites within the City of Chico and subsequent data analysis to quantify environmental services provided by the City's street trees. By identifying public and private trees in adva

The California Product Stewardship Council's announced that nominations are being sought for the annual Arrow Awards, recognizing business and industry leaders for outstanding leadership, innovation and partnerships in product stewardship and green design. Any business entity, division or facility located in California is eligible to apply. Third-party stewardship organizations and non-profits are also eligible. “This is our opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of California businesses with innovative product stewardship programs, outstanding partnerships that make product stewardship possible, and to inspire others to integrate the principles of product stewardship into their bus

Before a packed room of Co-op Members, shoppers and others at its June 7 meeting, the Board of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op considered three items for the upcoming September ballot. A Bylaws amendment, proposed by Board President Steve Maviglio, would prevent the Co-op from making purchasing decisions on the basis of “political opinion” or “national origin.” Some members voiced support and several raised objections. One concern was that the proposed amendment could be used to prevent the Co-op from making purchasing decisions related to environmental or social concerns, since these are a matter of “political opinion.” For example, distributors of non-organic produce, Coco-Cola, or

Please join us on Wednesday evening, May 25th beginning at 5:45pm at the AIA Central Valley Chapter office for the this month’s 4th Wednesday Design Dialogue (4WDD). Gus Fischer, Architect and Partner with Dreyfuss & Blackford Architects will present their project, The California Independent System Operator (CA ISO) Headquarters facility. Gus will discuss how they are achieving LEED Platinum and its impact on the culture and community. This secure 275,000 SF complex on a 27 acre site is a consolidation of the organization’s operations, offices and public education components and just completed construction. The event is FREE and open to anyone. Refreshments provided. Please RSVP to info@

The weather should be perfect this weekend as May is Bike Month kicks off in the Sacramento region. Get your bike tuned up and ready to ride this weekend and then ride to work on Monday, May 2, and come out for a lunchtime ride led by the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates. The kick-off will start at 11:30 a.m. along the Sacramento Riverfront Promenade, located at 1800 Front Street in Sacramento, just south of O Street. The low-speed bike ride will start at noon, traveling through downtown and midtown and ending by 12:50 p.m. Bicycling has taken off in the Sacramento region as an easy way for people to get to work or school, run errands, or just ride for fun. Sacramento was recently ranke

How can we design ‘greener’ landscapes in Sacramento?  With the growing focus on water conservation, responsible use of resources, and the impacts of the built environment on human health and well-being, the conversation about what makes a site design ‘green’ is being elevated to a higher level. From pre-design and planning through construction and operations, a new rating system, dubbed ‘SITES’, has been developed which sets the bar for what we can do to design more sustainable places.  Developed to be incorporated into future versions of the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, SITES is currently in its pilot project phase.  Please join us on Wed