The Hixon Center for Urban Ecology promotes the development of theoretical and applied knowledge on the relationship between cities and the natural world, helping to break down conceptual barriers between the two.

Quoted: The Mission of the Hixon Center is to understand and enhance the urban environment. It pursues this objective by providing an interdisciplinary context for scholars and practitioners to pursue research, teaching and applied activities, emphasizing various themes including: interdisciplinary urban science and policy; community-based land stewardship and resource management; sustainable urban environmental design; urban environmental education; examining the urban water cycle; providing urban environmental service.

Good Earth is a group of Indian architects and engineers working together to build sustainable communities based on the philosophy of Laurie Baker, a British-born Indian architect known for his low-cost housing initiatives. Good Earth is currently working in Bangalore and Kerala.

Slow Food International publishes information, organizes events, and provides education to promote sustainable food production around the world.

Photo from the Slowfood USA website

Quoted: Slow Food believes the enjoyment of excellent food and drink should be combined with efforts to save the countless traditional grains, vegetables, fruits, animal breeds and food products that are disappearing due to the prevalence of convenience food and industrial agribusiness.

The Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CSUD) at Columbia University focuses on the advancement of sustainable development in urban areas, with an emphasis on rapidly growing cities in the developing world. They are currently working on a project in Ruiru, on the border of Nairobi, Kenya.

Photo by Nicole Volavka

Quoted: The mission of the Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CSUD) is the creation of physically and socially sustainable cities….CSUD will send students and faculty to cities in developing countries to work with local officials, universities and community-based organizations to develop environmentally and socially sustainable strategies for urban development, land use and transportation that target the neediest residents of urban centers and to research the impacts of implementing such strategies.

Kiss + Cathcart is an architecture firm based in Brooklyn, New York, which has developed a strong reputation for sustainable design. They are best known for their innovative use of photovoltaic (PV) technology, as evident in their Stillwell Avenue Terminal for the New York City subway system (see photo).

Photo by Wally Gobetz from Architecture Week

Quoted: The words ecology and economy both derive from the classical Greek for house,”oikos”, and both refer to the relationship between the household and its external context, whether natural or societal. We believe the two words are linked functionally as well as linguistically — that an architecture which is ecological must also be economical.

miniHome is a versatile mobile home that can be towed around and used as a living space. It holds great potential for sustainable living, as it can generate its own electricity with solar panels and a wind turbine, functioning completely independent of municipal infrastructure.

Quoted: At some point, everyone has wanted to escape to some kind of wilderness retreat and return to a simpler life – closer to nature. This project started with yearning for that kind of simplicity. The miniHome emerged from this idea – plugged into nature – a kind of in-between place that allows a relationship and mediates between our own nature or physiology and the biosphere (why do we even draw such distinctions?).

An International Herald Tribune Letter from India, which addresses the need for architects and planners to help manage the effects of rapid urbanization on cities in the developing world. Organizations such as Architects Without Borders and Architecture For Humanity have the potential to address these problems, but a financial commitment on the part of government and the private-sector is essential. I wonder if there is a good way to leverage the creativity of slum residents who have been building their own dwellings for years?

Quoted: The world is racing to the city, and the one group of professionals capable of housing and sheltering the massive human influx to the urban centers – the architects and the planners – freely acknowledge that they are ill-equipped to cope.

SPUR is a nonprofit organization that focuses on housing, transportation, community planning, good government, environmental sustainability, regional planning, and economic development in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is also working on an international information-sharing network to help cities prepare for natural disasters.

Quoted: SPUR was formed in 1959 to fight for the revitalization of San Francisco as the Bay Area’s central city. It was given the charge of channeling growth away from suburban sprawl and back into the urban core. Throughout the 1960s, SPUR worked to build support for the land use, transportation, and investment strategies that could support center-oriented growth and urban economic vitality.

An article on participatory development by Lila Buckley for the Worldwatch Institute. Although it describes a research project by the Xinjiang Conservation Fund (XCF) focused on wildlife conservation in rural areas, this approach holds great potential for sustainable development in cities. Involving local residents in the protection of natural resources can help engender a lasting commitment to good stewardship based on a clear understanding of its longterm value.

Quoted: Established in 2001, the group is “dedicated to the conservation of Xinjiang” and carries out activities such as investigations on species habitat, poaching, and the illegal wildlife trade; environmental education initiatives with universities; and research, publishing, and forums to enhance public awareness of conservation and wildlife protection. Unlike its counterparts in the government, XCF’s efforts begin with the local people. Recent field investigations took researchers to Xinjiang for a month to research wildlife and interview people living in the Reserve. The team lived with and shared meals with the residents and conducted interviews with over 60 households.

The Pacific Institute is doing exceptional work in environmental conservation and sustainable development. They are currently cosponsoring a lecture series on water conservation with the Commonwealth Club of Northern California.

Quoted: The Pacific Institute is dedicated to protecting our natural world, encouraging sustainable development, and improving global security. Founded in 1987 and based in Oakland, California, we provide independent research and policy analysis on issues at the intersection of development, environment, and security. Our aim is to find real-world solutions to problems like water shortages, habitat destruction, global warming, and environmental injustice. We conduct research, publish reports, recommend solutions, and work with decision makers, advocacy groups, and the public to change policy.