Residents and visitors to San Francisco know that space is a highly valuable commodity.  Finding a parking space anywhere in the City by the Bay can be nothing short of a miracle, and owning a car feels more like a liability than an advantage.  Car shares such as Zipcar have become popular in recent years, allowing customers to pay a monthly fee to use vehicles on a trip-by-trip basis, letting someone else take care of maintenance, insurance, and garage space.

Now, for those looking for a more hip, compact form of transportation can rent a scooter from Scoot Networks for a fee that costs only slightly more than a MUNI pass.  Riders use their smartphones to locate the electric scooters in their area.  Once claimed, the phones sit in a special dock on the dashboard, unlocking the scooter and displaying information on speed, range, and direction.  Reaching top speeds of 20-30 mph, the scooters are perfect for short hops around the city, and have enough battery life to last for a work day before recharging back in their home parking spots.  (At the moment, scooters must be returned to their original pick-up points, but once the fleet expands, Scoot Networks hopes to facilitate more one-way jaunts.)  To rent a moped, California drivers do not need to obtain a special endorsement on their licenses, and the company plans on offering training for customers who are unfamiliar with operating the vehicles.

By taking advantage of China’s huge investment in electric vehicles, CEO Michael Keating has been able to benefit from the volume of moped production and pay only $1,000 per vehicle.  This relatively small price-tag will let Scoot Networks turn over its fleet every year so users can avoid worrying about mechanical problems due to wear.  Scoot Networks will begin by providing rides to private corporate clients before taking their service public by the end of the year.  Next time you visit the Land of Fog and Clam Chowder, look for the newest trend in city travel!

Want to live close to nature without having to move away from a cultural, economic, or social hub?  Residents of Milan, Italy no longer have to compromise urban life for the peace of pastoral living.  Architect Stefano Boeri has been commissioned to build the world’s first vertical forest, the Bosco Verticale, within the heart of the city.

The dual towers will stand 27 stories tall and will be home to over 900 trees, 5,000 shrubs, and 11,000 ground cover plants.  On flat ground, the amount of vegetation housed within the towers would be equivalent to nearly 10,000 square meters of forest.  The plants are irrigated by the building’s grey water systems.  In addition to producing oxygen and processing carbon dioxide, the Bosco Verticale helps in the creation of a micro-climate by filtering dust particles, creating humidity, and protecting from solar radiation and airborne toxins.  As one of the most polluted cities in Europe, Milan has been especially compelled to lead the way for innovative environmental design.

The Bosco Verticale project is part of an effort of metropolitan reforestation that is seen as critical to the survival of modern cities. Boeri’s firm has also created designs for other environmentally enlightened  structures including Solid Waves, a green-walled skyscraper complex in Astana, Kazakhstan. Three small towers bend horizontally at ground level to form sheltered residences and courtyards, each covered in a facade of vegetation that acts as insulation, air scrubber, and combination rainwater filter and sponge.  The layout allows for maximum sunlight to illuminate the dwellings and ample open spaces for residents to enjoy the outdoor green areas.

In more densely populated provinces such as Chongquing, China, architects have formulated plans to take advantage of vertical space by establishing gardens on each level of the highrise they have dubbed Urban Forest.  The design aims to re-invoke the cultural affection for nature while also acting as an iconic symbol of cutting edge technology and economic prosperity.   Taking advantage of a thriving civic center, the Urban Forest would house a large number of people without contributing to sprawl, and maintain a vital psychological connection to the natural world.

Between the increasingly popular movements towards establishing rooftop gardens, balcony green zones, and vertical farming, the green revolution is certainly on the upswing.  Sustainability and living in harmony with the earth — now that’s something we can look up to.

Bamboo is the grass that just keeps on giving.  Now, in addition to sheltering, clothing, and feeding us, this magnificent plant can also provide us with a healthy buzz.  If you are searching for something new and exotic to spice up your happy hour, you need look no further than this magnificent plant.

Traditionally Tipsy- “Zhuyeqing jiu”, produced in China, is a sweet liquor made from bamboo leaves, which gives the liquid a yellowish green color.  It is brewed for a number of herbal medicines, and ranges from 38-46% in alcohol content.  “Jugyeopcheongju” is a traditional Korean liquor also made with the leaves of bamboo.  Throughout Asia, wine is made from fermented bamboo and other sugary carbohydrates and housed in the nodes of the plant.  Some varieties of rice wine are infused with the juice of the grass and once sealed inside the stalk, absorbs more of the bamboo’s liquid.

The Bamboo Cocktail-  A variation of the martini, the Bamboo Cocktail was created during the later half of the nineteenth century at the Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan.  The drink combines vermouth, sherry, orange bitters, Angostura aromatic bitters, a twist of lemon, and an olive for decoration.  Extra points for serving the cocktail in a bamboo drinking vessel.

Helping Hands-  Even when not the main player, bamboo is an important supporting actor in the production and presentation of alcohol.  To produce Indian Jack-fruit wine, the pulp of the fruit is soaked, the seeds removed, and ground in bamboo baskets to extract the juice.  The juice is later transferred to earthen jars and fermented. Bamboo wine bottle racks and holders are currently en vogue, and whether it is woven, compressed, or fashioned from the entire stalk of the grass, the material makes for a stylish way to cradle your distilled delights.

Tiki Time-  What would a backyard Polynesian retreat be without the bamboo tiki bar?  Bambu Batu is home to several styles of bars and patio sets that are certain to make you feel as though you are on your own private tropical island.  Add a fashionable surf cutting board for garnishes, bamboo tongs to handle the ice cubes, and bamboo kitchen towels for cleanup, and you are set to entertain like a pro.

Whether fermented or furniture, bamboo is the life of the party!