Reimagine Middle Branch is a $175 million effort that seeks to connect South...

Inside Climate News 2 years ago

Reimagine Middle Branch is a $175 million effort that seeks to connect South Baltimore’s working-class communities of color, many cut off from the shoreline by highways and industrial facilities, with parks, trails, housing, commercial development and new community amenities in ways that address the challenges presented by climate change and systemic racism. Brad Rogers is the executive director of the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, a nonprofit created in 2016 to help implement the master plan Afterward. Rogers explained that small things like fixing a broken basketball hoop or replacing a bench with splinters opened up space to talk about creating bigger opportunities, such as bringing a grocery store to the neighborhood or creating kayaking programs and world-class football fields for kids from low-income households. The issues of race, economic development and environment are all interconnected and, in his present position, he said he was striving to invest in projects that turned under-developed real estate such as the Middle Branch shoreline into something attractive for private investment. This, in turn, would put local skills to use and create jobs. Or at least that is the plan. Find the story at the link in our bio, our Stories or the “Links to Latest Posts” highlight on our page. 📸: Aman Azhar / Inside Climate News, Norman Gomlak / The Baltimore Banner

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 1 day ago



Water scarcity has become a core concern for sustainable construction and sustainable building design, with the United Nations warning of potential global water bankruptcy and heightened risk to desalination plants in the Gulf. The construction sector is shifting towards diversified water systems that embed efficiency, reuse, and resilience. These changes align with whole life carbon and lifecycle assessment principles, ensuring environmental sustainability in construction through resource efficiency in construction and life cycle cost analysis. In the UK, stronger regulation following pollution incidents is driving utilities to invest in cleaner networks and green infrastructure, creating new pipelines of low carbon construction materials and sustainable building practices.

Digital manufacturing is transforming eco-friendly construction through AI-driven tools that automate complex formwork and optimise material use. By integrating eco-design for buildings and low carbon design methodologies, contractors reduce embodied carbon in materials and the overall carbon footprint of construction. This digital precision supports net zero whole life carbon strategies and demonstrates how circular construction strategies underpin a circular economy in construction.

Energy security and climate risk are reinforcing the need for carbon neutral construction and renewable building materials. Projects optimised for energy-efficient buildings and net zero carbon buildings are proving more resilient, cost-stable, and aligned with whole life carbon assessment frameworks. The industry trajectory favours sustainable material specification, end-of-life reuse in construction, and decarbonising the built environment through lifecycle performance and life cycle thinking in construction. Firms advancing sustainable design founded on building lifecycle performance and resource efficiency will lower embodied carbon while improving long-term asset resilience, delivering measurable reductions in the environmental impact of construction.

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