Allotments
w www.farmgarden.org.uk/ari

There are increasing opportunities and new reasons for revitalizing under-used allotments and creating new ones as important features of low carbon communities. 

From supplementing the meagre income and diets of the 19th century urban industrial working class, allotments reached peak production in the 1940s with "Dig for Victory". But in the 1950s greater affluence and convenience shopping resulted in declining popularity and a residual stereotype of the retired white male tending his vegetables - some allotments became under-used and neglected. Todays renaissance is driven by the increasing popularity of ‘local, healthy food’ (not least to reduce the carbon footprint of food consumption) a growing acceptance of the need for exercise and demand from ethnic minorities and women with different allotment cultures.

Local councils in England and Wales have a statutory obligation to provide allotments. There remains a danger of losing plots to development, especially where land values are high. But many local authorities are now producing formal allotment strategies as part of their food strategies. 

Bike hire
w www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/11598.aspx
Schemes which allow people to rent a bike when they need it rather than having to own one. Ideally allow people to return to a different location. The internet makes it possible to have intelligent schemes which track bike availability. Boost for cycling. 

 

Biogas plant
w www.build-a-biogas-plant.com
Creation of gas through composting food and garden waste. The gas can be used to fuel vehicles or be converted to electricity. Neighbourhood scale plants can significantly reduce landfill and create energy.

Biomass boilers
w www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Wood-fuelled-heating

Biomass power
w www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/tech/biopower
Bio-power, or biomass power, is the use of biomass to generate electricity. There are six major types of bio-power system: direct-fired; co-firing; gasification; anaerobic digestion; pyrolysis; and small, modular. Most biopower plants use direct-fired systems. They burn bioenergy feedstocks directly to produce steam which is usually captured by a turbine. A generator then converts it into electricity which can be used to heat buildings. These are known as combined heat and power facilities. For instance, wood waste is often used to produce both electricity and steam at paper mills. A small, modular system generates electricity at a capacity of 5 megawatts or less for use at the small town level or even at the household level. 

Car club
w www.carplus.org.uk
Scheme which allows people to use a car when they need one without having to own one. Also called car share, car club. Mostly operate like a car rental business but with varying levels of service and cost. Usually have a membership system to ensure people are licensed and taxed. Saves money and energy.

Carbon Neutral Neighbourhood

Community composting
w www.communitycompost.org

• Local communities are involved in managing the organic waste they are producing and using; 
• The organisations are governed on a not-for-profit and locally accountable basis.

Community gardens
w www.calthorpeproject.org.uk
Community gardens have features in common with, but are much more than, allotments. They provide a variety of communal outdoor recreational and learning opportunities, especially for families with young children living in flats with no gardens. Activities can include shared food growing (with greenhouses and beehives) and  community composting, but also  a variety of holiday, after-school and weekend programmes for parents and their children. Using a multi-purpose ‘community garden building’ locals can learn how to cook healthy food, enjoy a local food festival and benefit from training and volunteering opportunities. 

Community heating
w www.localpower.org/documents/reporto_est_communityheating.pdf
Community heating is where a number of buildings or dwellings are heated from a central source via a network of heat mains. Heat can be supplied to the scheme from conventional boilers, renewable-fired boilers, or can utilise the waste heat from power generation; known as combined heat and power (CHP). A community heating scheme may also provide the facility for air conditioning via an absorption chilling plant. They vary in size and can consist of individual tower blocks, a university campus, hospital site or an area of a town or city undergoing area regeneration. They can also encompass the whole of a city.

Community recycling
w www.crn.org.uk

Many community groups are increasing their efforts to reduce, re-use and recycle the waste from their neighbourhoods. The initiatives include community composting, local food projects, furniture recycling (including WEEE & electrical appliance refurbishment), scrap stores and waste exchanges, and recycling banks/bring sites. These activities both reduce community carbon footprint and create community carbon enterprises which generate ‘green jobs’. 

Community renewable energy
w www.corecoop.net/
The term community renewable energy generally means locally owned, locally sited renewable energy (electricity and/or heat). Definitions of community energy or community renewable energy tend to include community engagement that reaches beyond a simple investment or shareholding relation. Community energy tends to mean some form of control by community owners of the project, through a co-op or as landowners in a pool, as owners in a small enterprise, or as residents and homeowners who live with and work with the installation daily.

Eco-retrofitting
w www.secbe.org.uk/drivers_standards/Policy_Legislation/eco-retrofiting

• Energy efficiency – the first priority, through insulation, draft reduction, new windows and modernized boiler;
• Energy generation – generate and sell green energy using solar thermal panels, photo voltaic panels and ground/air source heat pumps;
• Water efficiency – reduce consumption by fitting low water use showers, grey water recycling and rainwater harvesting;
• Waste management – reduce, reuse and recycle your household waste.

Energy efficient homes

• Upgrading insulation using a lightweight material that reduces heat flow
• Roof insulation
• Ground floor insulation 
• Cavity wall insulation or wall cladding (if the house has solid walls)
• Reducing drafts which cause heat to be lost
• installing a more efficient, condensing boiler – one that captures more heat from its fuel than a conventional non-condensing boiler.
• Installing high performance windows that minimize heat loss e.g. through an insulated frame, a low E rating, an inert gas filled cavity, triple glazing or any combination.

Energy generation

• Solar thermal panels – use the sun’s energy to directly heat water – can be a flat plate system or an evacuated tube system
• Heat pumps (air source, ground source or water source), and 
• Photo-voltaic (PV) panels (pvc’s) 

Farmers market
w www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-215
Farmers markets are typically held weekly, usually outside, and are a place where local farmers in any given area gather to sell their produce or speciality goods. Food sold at the market is not always organic, however the selection of organic food is traditionally broader at a Farmers Market than at other outlets.

Green roofs
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. Can reduce flood risks, provide insulation for buildings, improve biodiversity and provide valuable outside space.

Grey water recycling
Grey water is waste water from sinks, showers and baths that has not been mixed with sewage. It can be used for flushing toilets and watering the garden.  

Rainwater harvesting

Smart meters
w www.smartmeters.com/faqs/1244-what-are-smart-meters.html
The term smart meter usually refers to electric meters which keep detailed statistics on usage, but it can be used for gas or water meter as well performing the same job.

Trams
w www.hktramways.com
Public transport vehicles which run on rails often in the streets. More energy efficient than buses and less prone to congestion.

Walking bus
w www2.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/schooltravel/howtosetupawalkingbus.html
Line of children, accompanied by an adult ‘driver’ and ‘conductor’ walking a set route to school.  Stops at specific times at set ‘bus stops’. Reduces need for parents to drive children to school, thereby reducing congestion, carbon emissions and obesity.