Your City. Your Market. Your Next Deal.Stay up to date on national urban real estate |
|
📅 Today's Story: Solar-powered sidewalks are becoming a reality in cities like Kamloops, BC, and Groningen, the Netherlands. Although still in their early days, these installations are integrating renewable energy directly into urban landscapes.
📝 Editor's Note: Due to the growing popularity of our national newsletter, which has better open rates and CTRs than our local newsletters ever did, we've decided to update the city-specific newsletters to match this new, more engaging format.
ENERGY
The Future of Solar Could Be In Our Sidewalks |
|
A man walks across a solar sidewalk in front of a building (Source: Pavegen)
📰 What Happened: Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, pioneered Canada’s first embedded solar sidewalks in 2016, generating enough power to run a classroom for a day. Today, cities like Barcelona and Groningen have adopted photovoltaic pavement. Groningen’s 400-meter solar sidewalk is projected to offset 18 tons of CO2 annually.
🔍 A Closer Look: Innovactive companies are combining solar with the kinetic energy harvested from pedestrian footsteps. Pavegen’s hybrid Solar+ system, designed for busy areas like campuses and promenades, can power everything from streetlights to digital devices. Additionally, solar-powered EV bus charging stations are being tested in Amsterdam and Paris, supporting growing EV adoption.
🧠 Why It Matters: While solar sidewalks are less efficient than traditional solar farms, they offer the advantage of utilizing existing (and limited) urban space for a sustainable solution. As the tech continues to improve, bringing down costs, these system could become key to urban energy infrastructure, offering a cleaner way to meet the energy needs of growing cities.
| DowntownPhoto tour: Where South Downtown's painstaking rebirth stands now In terms of pre-FIFA World Cup openings, "the groundswell is coming," developers stress |
| English AvenueImages: Project near Beltline connector trail readies for debut Modera Westside Trail sets pre-leasing for September on Northside Drive in English Avenue |
| University VillageUIC Computer Design Research and Learning Center celebrates grand openingThe 135,000-square-foot facility is located at 850 W. Taylor |
| Near West SideDemo permits issued to make way for development at 2519 W. FultonA pair of new warehouse buildings will be constructed |
| Culver City508 apartments to replace former NFL Media campus in Culver CityHudson Pacific Properties plans mixed-use complex at 10950 Washington Blvd. |
| Echo ParkAffordable housing breaks ground at 1540 W. Court St. in Echo ParkVisionary Developments project will rise just west of Glendale Boulevard |
| Historic South-CentralAffordable housing proposed at 3602 Crawford Street in Historic South-CentralPlans call for a three-story building with 24 apartments |
