Housing, being the largely privatized and personalized sector that it is, seems less apt for large-scale smart innovation than inherently more public issues like public transportation, recreational space, and municipal navigability. Looking a bit deeper reveals the possibilities in housing, from energy efficiency to streamlined affordable housing systems, where Portland’s city council can make meaningful changes. Here are five suggestions:
1. An app for finding and giving feedback on Portland’s new affordable housing developments (mentioned here)
2. Ocean-based geothermal heating in new housing developments (mentioned here)
3. An app for snow parking bans. Google maps directions to open parking lots and alerts about ban hours.
4. A shuttle system for transporting people home from their cars and vice versa during snow parking bans.
5. Energy Awareness Services in new housing developments to help residents visualize their emissions and consumption statistics.
I believe that the most exciting possibilities in housing innovation lie in the economic and environmental benefits of alternative energy and energy consciousness. Just across Casco Bay, Southern Maine Community College in South Portland is an exemplar of these benefits, having installed a sea water heat exchange system in the bay to power the HVAC in their lighthouse. [1] The upcoming Munjoy Street development [2], for example, could incorporate this system for heating/cooling and introduce Energy Awareness Services to create a culture of conservation while saving money for all new tenants.[3] Additionally, my first app suggestion would work well to gather new residents’ feedback about the HVAC system. This trifecta of innovation would make new developments affordable, eco-friendly, and open-data.
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1. Beatty, Scott. “Harnessing Seawater: An Innovative Thermal Exchange HVAC System.” AASHE. May 17, 2013. Accessed September 25, 2014. http://www.aashe.org/resources/case-studies/harnessing-seawater-innovative-thermal-exchange-hvac-system.
2. “Housing and Community Development Committee Agenda.” Portland, Maine. September 24, 2014. Accessed September 25, 2014. http://portlandmaine.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/09242014-626?html=true.
3. “Objectives.” ESESH. Accessed September 25, 2014. http://esesh.eu/project/.
Great suggestions that utilize natural resources and take into account the seasonal challenges of living in or visiting Portland. I agree that it is difficult to think of innovations for Portland housing, and I think that you struck a great balance between innovating and not overextending technology in your suggestion for Energy Awareness Services. In one of my blog posts, I also discussed the benefits of installing energy monitors in houses, and I like that the service you found also compares it to other houses’ consumptions (I have seen similar comparisons for my family’s energy consumption). I think that sometimes it can be a more valuable use of time and resources to install monitors and encourage energy consumption rather than installing hi-tech sensors to automatically close the blinds or reduce lighting, for example.
I think these are all great suggestions. The snow-ban ones in particular seem practicable, even just common-sense. They would benefit everyone, even those without cars. I bet there is a way, through “checking in,” that lots could be reported full when they are full, in real time. I’m also curious as to how people will get back to their cars, as that could be a bit tougher.
I also like the idea for geothermal, although I have no idea how feasible it is at this point. It might be the kind of thing only a university with money to spend can afford, and thus out of the range of possibility for a for-profit affordable housing development. Still, worth a look into it.
The ocean geothermal heating sounds really interesting, but I don’t know enough about it to say if it seems like a feasible initiative for current housing project developments. The snow-ban app idea seems fantastic, but I’m not sure it really relates to our focus on housing. The Energy Awareness Services is something at least a few of us seem to be fans of; I’d be interested in discussing how we can apply this concept not only to new housing developments but to current ones as well.
Oh, you, of the uncategorized blog posts! Label thyself and the people will come!
What’s really exciting about your suggestions is that you see the larger issues we have in society and you tackle them by having each issue solve the other. This is an important approach because our problems–namely around the environment, but others included–keep becoming exacerbated that there is no other way forward but to integrate this work. Keep it up!