Green Options » low-income housing

San Francisco bridges the Digital Divide with Free Wifi for Low-Income Housing

Reenita Malhotra — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:32:33 +0000

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AT & T has partnered with One Economy and Meraki to bring free WI-FI internet to low income communities Sunnydale Housing Authority, San Francisco’s largest low income housing project.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom gathered with the leaders of the three partnership companies who have successfully helped better San Franciso’s low income communities by providing free broadband access to Sunnydale also which the San Francisco Chronicle calls one of the most depressed, dangerous and decrepit areas of the city.

Meraki Brings Affordable Broadband To 100,000 Low Income Families

Reenita Malhotra — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:17:40 +0000

Given recent green industry talk surrounding free internet and conquering the digital divide, Meraki, a leading provider of Wi-Fi networking solutions has recently decided to partner with One Economy, global non profit. The partnership pushes digital inclusion by delivering affordable broadband Wi-Fi to more than 100,000 low-income housing families.

Meraki is a San Francisco based private start-up company that was born out of a research project initiated by Sanjit Biswas and fellow Harvard PhD students. Meraki’s Wi-Fi networking technology drastically reduces the cost of deploying reliable Wi-Fi networks. The start-up has successfully implemented its networks in a variety of situations already, both residential and educational. As part of a multi-year agreement, One Economy will deploy Meraki solutions to low-income communities in every location it provides services to starting with major U.S. cities including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and eventually throughout the globe.

Green Building Tour: Plaza Apartments

Philip Proefrock — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:30:43 +0000

One of the outstanding housing projects recognized last year by the AIA Housing Knowledge Community for its "Show You're Green" awards was the Plaza Apartments in San Francisco CA.The building is a nine-story structure with 106 very small (approximately 300 square feet) apartments for very low income and formerly homeless residents.

The ground floor includes space for a credit union and other retail uses and a theater space for a nonprofit theater who had been in the small building on the site before the construction of this building. Space for social workers and medical facilities is also included as part of the development.The building not only incorporates a number of green features, but it is also situated in an urban context with ready access to bus and subway transit (1/10th of a mile (about 160 meters) to the nearest bus stop and half a mile (about .8 km) to the subway entrance). This "transit-oriented development" is a green feature recognized by LEED, among other sources, and also makes particular sense for a community with little access to personal vehicles.

Extensive natural lighting and ventialtion are used for the building. The building incorporates overhangs and high performance windows to temper sunlight from overheating the units while allowing winter sun to help to warm them. Corridors end with windows, rather than dead ends, allowing more ventilation and views to the outside.The exterior wall panels are a veneer of a fast growing wood that are impregnated with a resin in order to retain their lustrous appearance (and to minimize the need for constant painting or other maintenance). There are solar photovoltaic panels on the roof which supply more than 10% of the building's energy needs. Rainwater is also collected and irrigates the courtyard.

The Plaza Apartments were designed for LEED Silver certification.

Building Information: Location: San Francisco CAArchitect: Paulett Taggart Architects (with Leddy, Maytum, Stacy Architects)Links: CoolTownStudios San Francisco Chronicle

Finland Color Plywood (photos)AIA Housing "Show You're Green"