building that is a single or multiple family house, row home or apartment building) • Transformation of this city block of buildings into a single unit with scaled energy systems for heating, cooling, and electricity, water for drinking, waste disposal and food production. • Meeting the energy, water, and food needs of this city block (and surrounding neighborhoods) with 10 or more small-scale heating and electricity cogeneration units, neighborhood-spanning water catchments and storage systems, and vegetable, fruit and protein production systems, all enclosed under an entire city block spanning domed covering that encloses the roof tops of each sixty building system thereby expanding available space for each family by 50%, reducing heating and cooling loads, collecting water and providing other amenities, such as increased social interaction and play areas. • Providing revenue streams for neighborhood residents through the sale of electricity, heating, cooling, fresh and frozen vegetables, fruit, and fish and animal protein. • Increasing neighborhood identity, interaction, connection, cohesiveness, safety, security, and well-being. The Urban ReGeneration strategy represents a series of breakthroughs to our country’s and the world’s urban problems. It transforms former sinks for energy, water, and food into sources, it builds community and employment, cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions from centralized coal-fired electric power plants (and, when replicated in enough neighborhoods, will shut down all coal power plants). It dramatically cuts water use and storm water runoff—and thereby saves the neighborhood enough money each year to pay back the investment needed to implement this strategy and/or to cover the costs of purchasing additional cogeneration units or investing in additional energy saving appliances or retrofits. This strategy incorporates a new approach to our city’s problems by reconceptualizing the basic unit of analysis from single building to neighborhood and then employing existing technology in novel ways so as to leverage the appropriate scale of these technologies for maximum impacts.

Describe the critical need your solution addresses.

There is a complete generic design of the project that includes energy, water & food systems, domed enclosure and web social enhancement tools. A prototype neighborhood in Philadelphia, PA has been picked & the generic design adapted to the specifics of this city block of sixty multifamily two-story row homes with flat roofs. A community leader from the W. Philadelphia area has been recruited for the Urban ReGeneration project team. The City of Philadelphia Sustainability Director has been contacted and is being recruited. Local NGOs, city agencies, funders and other actors in this area are being recruited.

A strength of the project is that the various systems are synergetic in totality, but provide enormous advantage even if implemented individually. Individual components can be tested on a pay-as-you-go basis. Compelling economic cases can be made for the replication of this design and its variants throughout the world.
Implementation has 5 parts:
1. Purchase a prototype cogeneration unit similar to that seen in illustration 5. This will be installed & tested as the heating system for 2 or more buildings in the chosen neighborhood. Electricity will be sold to the Philadelphia area electric utility. Revenue from the sale of electricity will be used to purchase fuel for the cogeneration unit.
2. Purchase, install & test prototype water catchment and conservation devices for reducing water use of the same buildings—including cisterns, low-flow and composting toilets, & rooftop collection devices.
3. Purchase, set up & test small-scale aquaculture and other protein-production systems, as well as intensive fruit and vegetable production systems.
4. Develop prototype roof-top geodesic enclosure system and test as part of the above.
5. Recruit neighborhood and the individuals and families that live there so that they are enthusiastic supporters of the strategy and its implementation.

Prize money will be used to purchase, install, test, and when necessary modify the needed technology for the above systems, as well as to document and communicate the results of this strategy via publications and web, and to recruit one or more neighborhoods to participate in the expansion of the project.

Explain your initiative in more depth and its stage of development.

This strategy deals in an integrated, anticipatory and comprehensive manner with key social, economic, and environmental issues. Over 50% of the world lives in urban environments (over 80% in US)— and an even higher percentage will do so in the future. Many of the buildings, neighborhoods and infrastructures in all the world’s cities are decaying, inefficient, unsafe, and in need of revitalization. Environmental support systems of urban areas have been pushed to extremes. Cities are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution that is damaging the world’s waters, air and land. These integrated problems present an enormous challenge and an even greater opportunity.

Revitalizing urban areas in a visionary, comprehensive, anticipatory and integrated way that incorporates the latest findings of science and green technology will transform cities and their economies by providing opportunities for employment, increased well being, decreased environmental footprints and enriched individual and social connections.

How does your strategy and approach respond creatively and comprehensively to key issues?

Qualifications
Medard Gabel has written six books on energy systems, food systems, climate change, design science and other topics. He has led design teams that have developed policies, programs, plans, actions and artifacts for energy, food, and water systems in developed and developing countries, as well as led a series of grant and other funded projects and organizations.

Stephen Pyne has degrees in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and International Development and Appropriate Technology from the University of Pennsylvania. He is in charge of the innovative wastewater treatment system, a biological filtering system called the “Marsh Machine,” at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, Pennsylvania. In addition he is an active urban beekeeper, urban food producer and president of the urban Warrington Community Garden.