Space Apps Challenge 2017

Find our project and all resources on GitHub, under the Open Source MIT license: https://github.com/DragonID/NASAoraCLE

Team Cowboy Bebop is proud to present oraCLE, an entry into the 2017 NASA Space Apps Challenge under The Earth and Us: Live Smart project selection.

At its very core, the project takes on the need for humans to tackle climate change in a way that allows for communities to thrive. As floods, desertification, food instability, economic and population instability, lack of water and many other interdependent forces loom as both short and long term crisis for humans, animals, and the planet- a new thinking is needed to create the livable spaces of the future.

Team Cowboy Bebop identified one such future oasis as Cleveland, Ohio. A location that has both climate and geologic stability, ready access to fresh water as part of the Great Lakes, an existing trade, fishery, and transportation network, along with high-tech industry- Cleveland makes a great selection as a model City of the Future.

To underpin the needed change to transform Cleveland we turned to the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Our selection of Affordable and Clean Energy, Zero Hunger, and Industry by 2030 is based on our assessment that these three key areas if successfully implemented will drive all the other UN Global Goals, and create the needed environment for Cleveland to become a self-sustaining modern ‘Arcology’.

Energy: As the base of everything modern, we are looking to transform Cleveland from having just 2% renewable energy to 100% by 2030. The way to do this is via the ample availability of wind over Lake Erie, and the extensive research that has gone into positioning of wind farms on Lake Erie. This will require ~3,500 2MW Turbines at a cost of $14B by 2030 (that is less than 1% of Cleveland's GDP per year). As a secondary source of clean and renewable energy, Cleveland has numerous rooftops that can be retrofitted with Solar Power.

Food: Cleveland has a number of underutilized buildings that can be converted to vertical farms, and operated for profit. Using the model from Chicago's The Plant, we can double the output of food per square foot as compared to farmland. In order to meet this goal, we propose that subsidies that go to farmland also be allowed for urban farming, this will allow for the establishment of significant urban farming (rooftop, vertical side of building, etc...).

Transportation: We propose upgrading the current city transportation model by further developing a safe cycling network, a frequent bus grid, traffic calming and parking management. All of this moving to create world’s first Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) pass/platform.

In the end, this will completely change Cleveland over the next two decades! We will bring innovation, wealth, and equality, sustainability and self-reliance. Making Cleveland the City of The Future.

References:

http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/pvwatts.php

https://www.google.com/sunroof

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

http://web.mit.edu/nature/projects_12/pdfs/Yarina_RepurposedVerticalFarms.pdf

http://plantchicago.org/

https://earth.nullschool.net/

https://conaquaponics.blogspot.com/2016/08/hydroponic-gardening-at-disney-epcot.html

http://thephotogardenbee.com/2010/01/05/aeroponics-gardens-at-epcot-part-iii-the-land/

http://architek.com/products/vertical-gardens

https://www.puco.ohio.gov/be-informed/consumer-topics/how-does-ohio-generate-electricity/

http://libraryresources.unog.ch/sdgs

http://sustainablecities.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/Martinot_CSC_Sep12_pt2.pdf

http://www.leedco.org/resources/links-resources

http://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/bengaluru-gets-its-1st-vertical-garden-to-curb-pollution-it-already-has-over-3-500-plants-273733.html