Sustainable design
Environmentally conscious design
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| 2025 | Estimated market size for daytime radiative cooling applications reaches approximately $27 billion, highlighting the growing significance of this sustainable cooling technology in architectural design. |
| April 2024 | Ten green groups called for a veto of the San Tin project's environmental impact assessment, criticizing it as 'the worst wetland assessment since EIA regulations came into place in 1998'. |
| April 2024 |
Green building
International Energy Agency (IEA) published a report highlighting buildings' energy consumption and future energy demand projections.
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| 2023 |
Green building
Electric cars reached 20% of total vehicle sales, marking a significant milestone in electric vehicle adoption.
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| 2022 | A study in Sweden's Kymenlaakso region investigated retrofitting existing apartment buildings in Kotka and Kouvola with Exhaust Air Heat Pump (EAHP) systems, projecting significant carbon emission reductions of 590 tCO2 and 944 tCO2 respectively, with a payoff period of 7-13 years. |
| 2022 |
Green building
Boston Consulting Group released a report highlighting that investments in developing greener forms of cement, iron, and steel could lead to significant greenhouse gas reductions, surpassing potential reductions in electricity and aviation sectors.
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| 2022 |
Green building
Heat pump sales tripled compared to 2015 levels, indicating growing adoption of energy-efficient technologies.
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| 2022 | Dubai launched the 20-minute city project, enabling residents to access daily needs and destinations within 20 minutes by foot or bicycle, with a plan to place 55% of residents within 800 meters of mass transit stations. |
| 2021 | ESG reporting requirements changed in the EU and UK, with the EU beginning to enforce the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR) to unify climate risk disclosures across the private sector by 2023. |
| 2021 |
Green building
First low-cost and sustainable 3D printed house made from a clay-mixture was completed, representing a significant innovation in green building technology.
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| 2021 |
Water conservation
A survey was conducted exploring people's attitudes towards recycled water, revealing concerns about potential infections or sickness that influenced participants' choices about water reuse.
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| 2020 | The Government of India proposed a controversial EIA 2020 Draft, which was widely criticized by environmental groups for potentially weakening environmental protections. |
| 2020 |
Green building
The Model Home 2020 project was launched in multiple European countries including Denmark, Austria, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, focusing on innovative sustainable housing solutions.
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| September 14 2020 | The new CEQ rule went into effect, marking the first update to environmental assessment regulations since 1978. The rule limits Environmental Assessment (EA) duration to 1 year and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) duration to 2 years, and prevents consideration of cumulative environmental impacts including climate change. |
| July 2020 | President Donald Trump moved to significantly weaken NEPA by proposing new CEQ regulations that would limit environmental assessment durations and exempt certain projects from review. |
| 2019 | In Norway, Finland, and Sweden, heat pump usage reached 15–25 heat pumps per 100 inhabitants, with Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) becoming the dominant heat pump technology. |
| January 2018 | Melbourne officially launches the 20-minute neighbourhoods initiative, aiming to provide most daily needs within a 20-minute walk from home, with initial focus on suburbs like Croydon South, Strathmore, and Sunshine West. |
| 2016 |
Water conservation
A survey was conducted exploring people's likelihood to conserve water, which revealed that education on the topic significantly influences an individual's water conservation decision-making.
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| 2015 |
Green building
Beginning of a significant increase in heat pump sales, which would triple by 2022.
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| 2015 |
Green building
China implemented the 'Green Building Evaluation Standards', as reported by Berkeley National Laboratory.
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| 2014 |
Water conservation
A study was conducted examining the impact of exterior messages on water conservation, finding that individuals exposed to water-saving messages are more inclined to conserve water.
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| 2014 | Melbourne first developed a plan for 20-minute neighbourhoods, laying groundwork for urban design that allows residents to access most daily needs within a 20-minute walk from home. |
| April 16 2014 | Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive was amended by Directive 2014/52/EU. |
| 2013 | A group of New Urbanists led by CNU co-founder Andres Duany began a research project called 'Lean Urbanism', aiming to bridge Tactical Urbanism and New Urbanism. |
| 2012 | Mueller Community became the neighborhood with the highest per capita number of electric cars in the United States, attributed to a local incentive program. |
| 2011 |
Water conservation
UNEP Green Economy Report highlighted the importance of improving soil organic matter through green manures, mulching, and recycling crop residues to increase water holding capacity and water absorption during heavy rainfall.
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| 2011 | CNU had 16 official chapters and interest groups for 7 more. |
| 2011 | Andres Duany authors a book introducing the concept of Agrarian Urbanism, describing an agriculturally-focused subset of New Urbanist town design. |
| 2011 | Planning magazine published an article titled 'A Short Guide to 60 of the Newest Urbanisms', discussing the proliferation of urban design terminology. |
| 2011 | Mike Lydon and co-authors revive the concept of Tactical Urbanism, publishing the Tactical Urbanism Guide. |
| December 13 2011 | Directive 2011/92/EU was issued, codifying the previous EIA Directive and its amendments. |
| September 2011 | The government's appeal regarding the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge EIA was allowed, with the court case estimated to have increased construction costs by HK$6.5 billion. |
| April 2011 | The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Hong Kong section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge was found to have breached the ordinance and was declared unlawful. |
| 2010 | University Place in Memphis, Tennessee became the second U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED certified neighborhood, integrating principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building through a collaboration between USGBC, Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. |
| 2010 | Civita was designated as a California Catalyst Community by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, supporting innovative sustainable strategies in urban development. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Sustainable architecture, New Urbanism, Water conservation, Environmental impact assessment & Green building, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.