Junkitecture: melding artistic expression, waste reduction and low-income housing

Slums, shantytowns and camps. These words relay extreme poverty, crowded squalor and unsanitary, often dangerous living conditions. But slums have something to teach us. The structures built in slums or shantytowns are constructed almost wholly out of used materials, enabling dwellings to be built cheaply as well as diverting materials from often near-brimming landfills and recycling depots.

Architects, sociologists and urban planners are now extracting the positive aspects of slums—the ingenuity and creativity of its residents in using salvaged materials and constructing their own homes—by promoting new “eco-affordable” housing and “junkitecture” movements. After all, why do structures have to be built using “new” materials? With so much excess in the world, it is surprising that so much cache is still placed on building materials freshly pillaged from the earth—be it wood, glass, steel. One alternative that is seeing a resurgence in popularity is the concept of creating buildings in part or whole from used materials that would otherwise head to the landfill or recycling bin. The results are environmentally friendly and, often, artistically astonishing!

The Jellyfish Theatre produced quite a stir last year in London, and helped popularize the term “junkitecture.” Commissioned by The Red Room, an organization that brings theatre and public art to bear on social issues of our time, and built by architectural husband and wife team Kaltwasser and Kobberling , this theatre was created out of over 800 used wooden pallets from produce markets, 750 sq meters of donated plywood and countless used nails, water jugs and theatre seats.

Tis Better to Give than to Receive

While speaking to my mother last week, she mentioned that she finally had her hallway and staircase walls repainted--and it didn't cost her anything at all. How was this possible, I asked? She explained that her boyfriend Ken and a work colleague of his had developed a relationship over the years of lending each other their expertise from time-to-time when needed (he is a professional carpenter and his friend is a professional painter). When Ken learned that his friend's wife would be away for Thanksgiving and that he'd be at home with nothing to do, Ken asked if he'd be able to come over to help pain my mom's walls. He happily agreed and together they got the job done in one afternoon, and likely enjoyed each other's company as well.

This kind of "grow roots in a community, know thy neighbor, and participate actively in supporting those around you" mentality was felt strongly in American life in decades past, but may be dwindling in recent years as more folks turn their minds to making ends meet in this multi-year recession. Additionally, many now live in larger cities where the establishment of a supportive community can be more difficult--one's community isn't necessarily built by those living in the apartment next door a religious congregation or political activity. And we could mention the rise of the internet, with so many "virtual" ways to be in contact with people without any actual physical contact.

Strong communities are important for revitalizing cities and towns as well as fortifying the living standards and health of its residents. Studies show that being an active contributor to a community is important to psychological and physical well-being. A few years ago, the Corporation for National and Community Service conducted a review of recent research on the health benefits of volunteering. They published a number of valuable findings, including:

• Volunteering leads to greater life satisfaction and lower rates of depression. Evidence indicates that volunteering has a positive effect on social psychological factors, such as a personal sense of purpose and accomplishment, and enhances a person's social networks to buffer stress and reduce disease risk.
• Older volunteers are most likely to receive greater health benefits from volunteering. These benefits include improved physical and mental health and greater life satisfaction.
• Individuals who volunteer live longer. Several longitudinal studies have found that those individuals who volunteer during the first wave of the survey have lower mortality rates at the second wave of the survey, even when taking into account such factors as physical health, age, socioeconomic status and gender. Researchers have also found that when patients with chronic or serious illness volunteer, they receive benefits beyond what can be achieved through medical care.  

All of this sounds great, but where can one get started with volunteering their time and in turn receiving the benefits that come along with community engagement? Here's the beautiful thing (and another slightly cliché saying)--"if you build it, they will come." That is, if you build a tool that helps people come together and help one another, folks will come out of the woodwork...

A Bike, When You Need One

How many city folk have experienced the sudden need to get to another part of town, and quickly--the race is on, you think, as you calculate the time it will take to get your car out of the parking garage or flag down a taxi. "If only I had a bike right now," you lament, "I could just hop on and zip over."

Luckily for the health--and perhaps sanity--of urban dwellers, the system of bike sharing has caught on, and is spreading.

Yesterday, I was strolling in Busan when I ran into my first U-Bike stand. An inconspicuous rack of about 25 bikes with a screen kiosk made it easy for pedestrians to hop on and ride off to another part of the city (which, I must say, experiences snarling traffic rough enough to put a Manhattan-bred driver ill at ease).

The U-Bike stand in Busan is one of eight pilot programs in Korea, modeled after South Gyeongsang's Nubija (Nearby Useful Bike, Interesting Joyful Attraction) program of 20 stations, 430 bicycles for rent and over 3,000 users a day. Nubija, in case you're curious, was modeled after Paris' Vélib' program that launched in the summer of 2007 and now boasts "1,750 stations across the city and neighbouring suburbs [and has] a maximum of 24,000 bikes in operation at any one time," according to a 2010 Guardian Article by Leo Hickman.

21st Century Agriculture: Rooftops and Store Shelves Welcomed, Soil Need Not Apply

Growing food in urban areas has existed for some time, whether herbs and tomatoes are grown from one's balcony or window bed, or a supermarket staple like New York's Zabar's invests in greenhouses atop their Upper East Side buildings. Recently, the process of hydroponically growing these fruits and vegetables atop urban roofs has gained notoriety.

"Hydroponics (from the Greek words hydro [water] and ponos [labor]) is a centuries-old method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water and without soil." (Urban Gardening, Part 1: The Hydroponic Lab on the Roof, Ted Madden, TechNewsWorld June 22, 2010)

Because of limited space, many urban areas are looking to make use of their rooftops--and because of the weight-savings that hydroponically growing your vegetables provides, this process is gaining in popularity. Meet, for example, Gotham Greens:

"Gotham Greens is creating New York City’s first commercial scale greenhouse farm. The 15,000ft2 rooftop greenhouse facility will annually produce over 30 tons of premium quality, pesticide-free, sustainably-grown, vegetables, fruit, and culinary herbs. The farm will combine technically sophisticated Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) techniques with unique energy saving innovations. The produce grown will be sold under the Gotham Greens brand at grocery stores and farmer’s markets, as well as restaurants across the city. The greenhouse facility will begin crop production in 2011." (Gotham Greens website)

However, this new concept isn't void of its own challenges. The weight of greenhouses, collecting fertilizer runoff, transporting items to and from the rooftop garden, building permits etc. require a solid investment of time, expertise and capital.

Talking Trash...Bags

Most households in South Korea can't simply buy a roll of 100 standard white "kitchen garbage bags" at the supermarket. Why? On January 1, 1995 the Ministry of Environment introduced a “volume-based waste fee” system (VBWF), where all households and commercial building owners are required to purchase specially designed plastic bags for waste collection. Called Sseulaegi Bongtu (쓰 레 기 봉 투), these garbage bags cost upwards of 1,050 won (almost $1) for a single 50 liter (kitchen garbage can sized) bag.

Specialized bags are also available for wet food waste. For disposal of large objects, a sticker must be purchased from the county or city district offices. The price of the sticker varies by municipality based on the type and size of the item being thrown out.

The cost of purchasing these bags is intended to pay for the garbage disposal, but in fact it aids environmental efforts to reduce the overall level of garbage being thrown out. Because each household has to pay a premium for each garbage bag, they are less inclined to throw otherwise recyclable or compostable objects into the trash, lest they fill up the bag more quickly. Violators of the system face a fine of 500,000 won.

Concerns can be raised about the environmental effects of the production of these bags, as opposed to using a system of bins for trash collection or allowing the re-use of bags used to carry grocery store items home. According to the 2003 Korea Environmental Policy Bulletin, the composition of VBWF bags are PE (polyethylene), PE with more than 30 percent of biodegradable resin (bags used for food waste compost) or PE with more than 30 percent of calcium carbonate (for trash that is incinerated). In 2002, reusable VBWF bags were instituted, and can be purchased at grocery stores to carry purchased goods and later be used as regular VBWF bags when disposing garbage. The use of vinyl bag to carry purchased goods can thus be reduced.

Has it worked?