This article summarizes an overview of affordable housing. It also introduces the basic concept of community solar and its "net metering" mechanism.
Read MoreEmpanada Matters /
Today, April 8th, is Empanada Day.
An empanada is a type of turnover shaped like a crescent moon. It is a fried or baked pastry with a filling wrapped with delicate, flaky bread. The food was originally from Spain, as the word “empanar” means to coat with bread. Over time, Spanish colonists carried their “specialized meat pie” traveling to Latin America and the Philippines. As this pastry is convenient to consume, it soon became part of the local’s culture.
Empanada is a nutrition-rich food; one 89g of typical meat-based empanada contains 10g of protein and 2g of dietary fiber. 6–7 pieces of empanada can give us enough daily calories. Moreover, empanada has versatile fillings, from breakfast meat and cheese to dessert-flavor apples or bananas. Regardless of fillings, they are people’s favorites because they are usually cheap, quick, and suitable for on-the-go meals.
Street food vending is very popular in dense urban neighborhoods. You can see many empanadas stand popping out in the downtown area. Those food trucks function like mobile restaurants and travel and park based on the neighborhoods’ lunch demand. The vendors are licensed and considered mobile units with a non-fixed location.
When thinking about the readily-available food from those food trucks, it reminded us of a WELL feature:
“Mobile food markets, food carts, and fruit and vegetable stands are additional ways to increase access to fruit and vegetables in the environment where individuals live, work and learn.” — WELL, N13 Local Food Environment.
While this feature does not mention the word “food truck,” and the studies collected by WELL only focused on diets regarding fruits, vegetables, total fat, and saturated fat; we can still use this WELL fundamental to increase the overall accessibility and visibility of fruit and vegetables on wherever allows street food vending. In that case, we could expand the healthy food retail outlet and lower BMI on an areal scale.
On this momentous day, we frame this card next to a city map. May the WELL features be our guide when we help plan the projects next time.
By the way…
if you are interested in this topic, you might also want to check out “Start-Up City” written by Gabe Klein and David Vega-Barachowitz, published by Island Press. Want to have a first glimpse of the book? It’s GBCI course number: 0920022908
[Tree Canopy]: Why Do We Need Tree Canopies in Our Urban Areas /
Trees are not only good for us, they bring out good in us. By conserving more trees and planting trees with optimal interval, we all be able to enjoy the benefits of trees.
Read MoreSize Matters, How eCommerce Align with [Brick&Mortar] Stores /
This article will walk you through the space attributes of a variety of brick-and-mortar businesses. It also provides alternative solutions to revitalize vacant storefronts.
Read More[Small Business] Matters /
This article summarizes an overview of the current small business profile across the United States. It also walks you through how the distribution of these small businesses might impact our commercial property landscapes.
Read More[Vegetated Roof]: What You Need to Know Before Designing Green Roofs /
This article will guide you from green roofs' environmental and economic benefits to how to properly choose and install a green roof to meet industry standards.
Read More[Open Space]: How to Add Value to Our Open Spaces /
Historically open spaces were designed to have activities and events. This article will take you to see why some historic plaza was successful and how can we impliment their characteristics to our modern urban settings.
Read More[Energy Conservation]: How To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions-CO2 /
Building and construction are account for 39% of all carbon dioxide emission in the world, with operational emissions (from energy used to heat cool and light building) accounting for 28%.
Read More