Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month honors the culture, history and contributions of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians in the United States. The EcoBlock team joins our partners in celebrating the contributions of, and recognizing the challenges faced by, the AANHPI community.
The EcoBlock team is delighted to celebrate Earth Day and Earth Month 2022! Join in the fun as EcoBlock’s Miriam Aczel shares ideas for celebrating Earth Day and honoring the environment in our community.
The Oakland EcoBlock team recently participated in a panel discussion at the 2022 Diversity in Tech Symposium. EcoBlock’s Eunice Chung provides a recap of the discussion, which considered decarbonization in the built environment through the lenses of business, policy, and research.
Electrification—the process of replacing fossil fuel technologies with ones that run on electricity—is making strides in California. In line with this aim, EcoBlock is phasing out natural gas on the block. Learn why moving towards all-electric is a win-win: it creates a healthier community and planet.
Picking a tree is a matchmaking game. Sherwood Design Engineers is gathering a list of the best tree options for the Oakland EcoBlock that have relatively low water usage, low isoprene emissions, and high resiliency in a changing climate. Learn more about Sherwood’s tree selection process for EcoBlock.
The EcoBlock Team looks back on the past year, reflecting on key milestones and challenges, and the importance of building community. We’re grateful to be working with the EcoBlock community—together, we’re building something amazing.
On Thursday, October 28, EcoBlock Principal Investigator and co-Energy team lead Dr. Alexandra “Sascha” von Meier gave a presentation at the C3DTI Symposium on the Digital Transformation of the Built Environment. In her talk, Sascha described the Oakland EcoBlock’s progress to date and explained the working hypothesis guiding the project.
On Monday, November 8, the Oakland EcoBlock team participated in a panel discussion at the 2021 Virtual Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change (BECC) Conference. The event centered on the development of two Advanced Energy Communities (AECs)—the Oakland EcoBlock and Bassett Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community (BAAEC)—and highlighted each project’s approach to accelerating the transition to community-scale clean energy.
California has been a leader in improving residential water use efficiency since the 1970s. The EcoBlock team is planning to install Flume Smart Home Water Monitor systems, which can help detect if a leak happens and help preserve critical water resources.
The Water team has been developing ways to implement water conservation and stormwater management strategies for the Oakland EcoBlock. Some of the strategies include installing water-efficient appliances, rainwater harvesting systems, and modifying landscaping strips for stormwater management and filtration.