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"You need AC", "You need cars" ... I lived for 4+ years in Phoenix, Arizona and I tell you that humans can live without those two things with the right design.
by Nydhal 5y ago
"You need AC", "You need cars" ... I lived for 4+ years in Phoenix, Arizona and I tell you that humans can live without those two things with the right design. We're way too far into the modern way of thinking that we almost take these things for a given ... It's a huge blindspot. I grew plants here in the desert, I lived without AC, I never had a car and all of this when everything around me has been designed in what I think is the worst way possible ... People think in linear terms but forget that managing heat for example should be approached holistically as different element will augment each other ... etc. It can be done with low tech and there is research to back this up (look up "urban heat ASU").
- breischl 5y ago>managing heat for example should be approached holistically Agreed. Also behaviorally. So many people would tell me I was crazy for living without A/C while they were standing in their house with the blinds open, windows closed, dishwasher and stove on in the middle of the day. If you make your home into a greenhouse with a heater in the middle, yeah it's gonna be hot - maybe don't do that. But I think my last phrase is the issue. People really hate having to not do what they want, when they want. Like not cooking or whatever until the cool part of the day, when the heat can be managed by ventilation.
- HeyLaughingBoy 5y agoMy house is well insulated, I keep the blinds on sun-facing windows closed during the day; I have 12' ceiling in my living room and I'm smart enough to not run the dishwasher or clothes dryer during the day. The refrigerator I can't do anything about. However, I'm not crazy enough to think I can live without A/C in a Minnesota summer.
- cayblood 5y agoPart of his technique is to plant tall shade trees on every street, shading both streets and houses.
- HeyLaughingBoy 5y agoI live on a dirt road. The ambient temperature above the surface is noticeably less than on asphalt: the instant you turn off a main road onto the gravel, you can feel the temperature drop. I also neglected to add that I have shade trees :-)