Proposal

  1. Title of Project:
Sustainability and Convenience in a 21st Century City

  1. Statement of Purpose:
For my Senior Project, I will study how to incorporate the latest advances of sustainability and energy generation into a modern city. What advancements in the 21st century make it possible for Americans to limit or almost wholly eliminate their dependence on fossil fuels and how can those advancements be placed into a functioning city? More specifically, through my research, I will design a sustainable urban center for the southwestern United States using the most recent sustainable technologies of the first and second decades of the 21st century and some of my adaptations on those technologies and ideas.

  1. Background:
I have been involved in the Future City Competition for four years, but never competed in the competition myself. In the competition, students design a city 200 years in the future, and give a presentation on it. Although this is interesting, I have always thought they were forced to look too far in the future, instead of trying to solve today’s problems today. Therefore, I will focus on the modern world and what we have now, and less on what we might have. Although there will be a minor focus on the future, I will still incorporate some of my original ideas into the design. Also, I have designed a small city at home, out of LEGOs, but there is only so much one can do with LEGOs. Thus this would give me a chance to merge these two thoughts into a study of what a modern urban center should be.

  1. Significance:
In 2008, the United States of American emitted 5833 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, second only to China (EPA). Of that 5833 million metric tons, 33% came from the transportation sector and 34% from the industrial sector (EPA). With all the advancements in “green” technology, modern cities should be utilizing those technologies to reduce their carbon emissions. Through this project, I will provide a basic model for a sustainable city and perhaps introduce my model to city engineers.

  1. Description:
Much of the research for this project will be online, at the library, or at city archives. Much of the online portion of the research will focus on national articles, Federal regulations, and recent technological advances. The library sector of the research will mainly focus on city designs, schematics, and ratios. As for city archives, I plan to visit the archives of Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Chandler. There I hope to find and study blueprints, road maps, and other documents relating to how those cities were developed.

  1. Methodology:
In doing this research, I plan to consult national, state, and municipal standards for construction; city records from Phoenix, Chandler, and Scottsdale; interstate and road designs from national and local authorities; and EPA articles and science research documents on alternative energy. I also plan to study cities such as Abu-Dhabi, in their use of sustainable technology. Also, if possible, I will consult with engineers from the environmental and civil engineering fields. As I am researching I will also be creating a slide show with all the facts I’ve uncovered on all the areas of study, so that there will be a modeled city [I have not yet determined what the model will be made out of.] and paper, but a slide show to guide my audience through the technology available and then the city itself.


  1. Problems:
I do not foresee many problems in completing this project. One possible problem could be that the archives do not have the precise information I am looking for. Another possible problem is that when building the model, machinery breaks or the model falls. To counter the latter problem, I will periodically take pictures to at least have something to show, should that catastrophe occur.

  1. Bibliography:

1.    Advances in Parabolic Trough Solar Power Technology
Hank Price, Eckhard Lupfert, David Kearney, Eduardo Zarza, Gilbert Cohen, Randy Gee, and Rod Mahoney, J. Sol. Energy Eng. 124, 109 (2002), DOI:10.1115/1.1467922

2.      Nuclear Power Plant Design Characteristics: Structure of Nuclear Power Plant Design Characteristics in the IAEA Power Reactor Information System (PRIS)
International Atomic Energy Agency. Vienna, Austria. 2007
http://www-pub.iaea.org/mtcd/publications/pdf/te_1544_web.pdf

3.      Nuclear Power Plant Design Project
A.C. Kadak, R.G. Ballinger, T. Alvey, C.W. Kang, P. Owen, A. Smith, M. Wright and X. Yao. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998
http://web.mit.edu/pebble-bed/background.pdf

4.      Downtown Phoenix Plan – Sustainable Development in a Desert Climate
The City of Phoenix. Phoenix: City of Phoenix, 2008
http://phoenix.gov/urbanformproject/dtplan04.pdf

5.      Downtown Phoenix Plan – Zoning and Urban Form Standards
The City of Phoenix. Phoenix: City of Phoenix, 2008
http://phoenix.gov/urbanformproject/dtplan06.pdf

6.    Alternative Energy Hydro Power - News and Information about Hydro Electric Power Technologies
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/hydro/

7.    Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
      http://www.epa.gov/

8.    http://www.data.gov/metric

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