Igniting The City: Evercurb’s Plans Towards Awakening Urban Spaces
Energy demand is constantly increasing. Almost every new item advertised on the market requires energy to function. Phones, AirPods, cars, scooters, ebooks, computers, the list grows longer.
In a fast and dynamic society like the one we live in, the need to have constant access to energy is demonstrated by the success of items like portable power banks. The largest companies compete amongst themselves to launch the latest technology to find whose battery can last longest, yet it is not enough for our hectic lives.
The issue, and its solutions, can be found in our cities and surroundings. While technologies have been evolving faster and the public continues to adapt, urban areas aim to advance to match these innovations. But, unfortunately, the only energy supply stations available in the public realm are comprised of some sparse electric-car charging points, which do not even closely satisfy citizens’ energy demands.
Vivian Kuan and her team evaluate people’s energy consumption and have decided to address the problem by proposing a project that rethinks our cities. The newly patented design, Evercurb, intends to equip the public realm to be energetically accessible. By providing outdoor electricity charging portals to citizens, private enterprises, and the street administration.
It is essential to adapt the space we inhabit to our lifestyle; an actively functioning city responds to its citizens’ needs and allows for flexibility and change. In six steps, Evercurb embraces this philosophy and progressively integrates technology within the urban fabric.
The first phase involves furnishing curbsides with “power stations” where electric vehicles can be charged, stimulating people to take advantage of these means of transport. The second phase looks at re-shaping the power stations as customed spaces to use, like street furniture or sheltered areas. The third step consists of equipping both sides of the street with the new system, while the fourth step merges the existing sidewalk infrastructure with Evercurb into a fully integrated structure. Finally, the fifth phase aims to extend and connect Evercurb to the entire city block, creating a network of energy within the same neighborhood. This final step links different blocks’ circuits with one another while remaining independent through power backups.
The importance of these steps shows that Evercurb is more a process than a product itself. It is an awakening for urban spaces, a way to convert cities into smart cities through a surgical procedure that stimulates small urban elements to trigger beneficial effects.
The importance of these steps shows that Evercurb is more a process than a product itself. It is an awakening for urban spaces, a way to convert cities into smart cities through a surgical procedure that stimulates small urban elements to trigger beneficial effects. Corners of the public realm have a tremendous potential to become platforms of growth and development for their inhabitants. Sidewalks are just the beginning of a much greater process that could take place in unseen and unused spaces that occupy a considerable footprint in the urban fabric.
Evercurb could be an excellent resource for our cities’ development since it utilizes existing spaces. Moreover, it gives the city alternative functions according to how people could sustainably inhabit them.
When evolving urban fabrics, it’s essential to think of hybrid products: schemes able to fully integrate what exists with the future, avoiding both the overwhelm of the new and stagnancy of the old. Evercurb isn’t the only project aiming to address the lack of energy supply within the public realm. However, Evercurb addresses multiple power supplies simultaneously. It allows for growth and flexibility. It is a forward-thinking strategy that considers society is moving towards digitalized routines that will require constant and easily accessible energy sources.
Additionally, the project’s mission engages important environmental concerns. The scheme not only stimulates the use of electric vehicles amongst citizens, but according to the design, the energy supplied at Evercurb will be green. Its sustainable applications will be generated from natural resources, like solar panels, wind turbines, or geothermal reservoirs, improving our cities on an “energy-sourcing” level.
