Wellpinit Design Workshop

Energy Efficiency and Mother Earth

 For a year now, Antithesis Research has been working on the “Sustainability” issues contained in the desired outcomes of the community challenge grant issued by HUD/EPA/DOT.  Sustainable living as we know it is nothing more than “traditional knowledge” partnered with modern technology. One of the tasks that we have been working on under the grant is Housing & Energy Efficiency; we have been asking what the community wanted in terms of “future” energy sources and we have also considered what the social and economic costs/benefits are associated with alternative energy sources.

Over the last year the Federal and State governments have flooded email boxes around the country with various funding and grant opportunities for wind, solar, and bio-fuels facilities to name only a few. However, regardless of the system producing the electricity or the fuel, the consumer is still expected to pay for the energy product when consumed. According to wind and solar power maps produced by various government entities the Spokane Indian Reservation is not an ideal location for maximum power productivity.

How much do you currently pay for propane or electricity? The Spokane Indian Housing Authority is aggressively trying to get heating bills down to $50-60.00 per month. An answer to the problem of high energy bills is to become less dependent upon the energy grid.  This is possible by using stored solar heat from the earth’s crust in combination with properly insulated homes.  The type of technology that can significantly reduce monthly bills associated with heating and cooling is called Ground-Source Heat Pumps or GSP’s (see figure 1). GSP’s literally transfer the stored heat energy from deep in the ground (plugging into mother earth if you will) and moves that heat into the home through and exchanger. In the summer months the heat pump can transfer heat back into the ground for cooling. As part of the grant and working together as a community, HUD offered a solution to this technologic hurdle. As part of our training under the grant, HUD has agreed to allow some AR staff to go and get GSP certification training so that the technology can be taken advantage of here at home.  We are working closely with SIHA and expect the first couple of systems to be installed in rental units. However, we will be making this heat/cooling technology upgrade available to home buyers and current owners as well, on and off the reservation starting mid-summer 2012.

We will be releasing more information in the months ahead.

Figure 1: Schematic of a ground source heat pump system hooked up to a suitably insulated home. Thanks to some HUD funding, requests by SIHA,  community input, and tribal council this technology is coming to the reservation.

Scott Radford

Antithesis Research

Housing Survey Preliminary Results

Antithesis Research started the Housing Element of the Sustainable Community Project at the beginning of April 2012.  Since then we have distributed over 1000 surveys through mailers, email blasts, listening posts at the Trading Post, at community events, and at the Arby’s Grand Opening.  By May 1, 2012 we had collected 170 surveys, so if you still have your survey please fill it out and return to AR staff.  What we are trying to find out from the community is what aspects of their current housing do they like, what don’t they like, and what changes if any would they like to see in future housing built for the Tribe.  The information provided in the survey responses will be used to create alternative culturally relevant housing designs, inform policy makers as to what needs and concerns the community has regarding housing, and will assist SIHA and the Tribe’s Planning Department in developing future housing.

Below are the preliminary results of a few questions from the survey:

Current Housing          

From the responses, 43% said they were not satisfied with their current living conditions and gave varying responses as to why they were not satisfied.  Including not having a place of their own, too many people living in a given space, their housing needed some repairs, or they were not living in the community they wanted.  The 57% that were satisfied with their current housing were satisfied because they had enough room for family, they liked the location of their home, or they were simply happy to have a place to stay.  

Cultural Questions

We asked several questions in our survey about if their current housing is or should be reflective of Spokane culture.  We also asked how can housing express and be reflective of Spokane Indian culture.  What we’ve heard is that 72% of the respondents thought that housing should reflect the cultural needs of the Spokane Tribe.  27% did not think that housing should reflect cultural needs.  Reasons people gave for their responses included that this decision should be up to the people living in the house, yes the housing needs to reflect that we are a social people, or they did not know how a house could reflect Spokane Indian culture. 

Utilities

We asked the community a range of questions in the utilities section of our survey about their current housing’s physical condition, current and preferred heating sources, water quality, sewer systems, ventilation, and access to telephone and internet.  When asked if they currently had internet access, 37% of the respondents did not have access.  When asked if they would like access to the internet 89% said they would. Even people who currently have some form of internet access, such as dial-up, said they would like to have better internet access.  Currently those that do have internet access have the following; 19% have dial- up, 35% have broadband, 34% have satellite, and 12% did not know what type of internet connection they had. 

These are only a few of the questions that we gathered input from the community about. We will make available the results for all the questions once we have collected all remaining surveys.  If you are interested in viewing all the results and being part of Community Steering Committee who will tell us if these results are a true reflection of the community’s needs and desires, please join us May 29, 2012 at 10 a.m.  in the Administration Building – Bruce Wynne Room.  Thank you for taking the time to give us your input by filling out the Housing Element Survey. 

Richard Knott

Community Liaison

Antithesis Research

Rawhide Article-Goals Recap- April 2012

Rawhide Article – Goals Recap - April 2012

We’re Listening.

Over the past year, staff members from Tribal Planning and Antithesis Research have been out sharing the vision for the ‘Sustainable Community Project’. You may have heard us on KYRS radio, filled out a survey, or seen our information up at the Admin building. We’re online too. A lot of information can be found at the web-site, Facebook and the project blog. We’re Only a Click Away.

We want to hear from you. We REALLY do! It’s important to let your ideas and needs be known. We’d be happy to sit down and listen; letting you know where we’ve been and, just as important, where we are going. Exciting things are happening!

What’s the Point?

To ‘Plan’ is essentially asking the question: ‘How do we want to move forward into the future?’ A written plan is much like a road map; helping us all arrive safely at our intended destination. Once completed, the Tribal Community will be owners of its first ever ‘community-driven’ Comprehensive Plan.

This means that the plan comes from you and will shape the community’s future. 

 Through your responses, the community’s Goals (desired outcomes) are slowly but surely appearing. We hope the following examples show how the process is working, and the importance of your involvement. The following are just a sample of the goals which have been established through your involvement.

What we asked: “Should the majority of land on the reservation be preserved for cultural uses such as hunting, fishing, and food gathering and leave construction to where it currently exists?” What we heard: A resounding 88% of those surveyed believe that land should be preserved. Therefore, The Plan states: “Land Use Goal 3: PRESERVE OPEN SPACE, WILDLIFE HABITAT, CLEAN AIR AND WATER.”

What we asked: “What values are important around economic development?” … and answering the question: “I am happiest when….” What we heard: Culture, Language, and Traditions are important! Family values, Higher Education and Training should be promoted. A stable job and a livable income wage makes us all happy. Therefore, The Plan states: “Economic Development Goal 1: PURSUE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT HONORS CULTURAL VALUES AND TRADITIONS OF RESPECT, LISTENING, LIVING IN HARMONY AND CONSIDERATION OF DEVELOPING WITH SEVENTH GENERATION IDEALS.”

What we asked: “Are your transportation needs being met?” and “How do you currently get around and how would you rather get around?”   What we heard: “We need more transportation on and off the reservation to get to shopping, doctor’s appointments, jobs and school”. Therefore, The Plan states: “Transportation Goal 5: EXPAND, IMPROVE AND INCREASE THE FREQUENCY OF CURRENT AND FUTURE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES ON AND OFF THE RESERVATION.”

Want to Get Involved?

If you would like to join in the planning, please let your voice be known. Fill out a survey, tell a friend, and if possible, come to the next Steering Committee meeting in May. We’d love to meet you!

Want to Read or Hear More?

If you would like more information, or to review all of the 22 goals that the community is talking about and developing, you can reach us at 509-258-7100, info@antithesisresearch.org or 6201 Ford-Wellpinit Rd I Wellpinit, WA 99040. Find us on Facebook, blog, or just stop into the office to chat.

Thank You and Kind Regards,

The Antithesis Research Team

Transportation Survey Results

Sustainable Community Project; Transportation Element

Antithesis Research has recently finished the transportation element of the Sustainable Community Project.  Over the past few months you may have seen us outside of the Trading Post, Clinic or in the Administration Building distributing surveys and listening to the community to find out what transportation concerns or needs there are.  There were also two display boards in the Administration Building where community members could respond to where they would like to see pedestrian paths and another about where automobile crashes have occurred in the community. 

What we heard in our transportation survey was: 

Q1: Are you transportation needs being met?  If not, why and how can they be met?

Of the 149 responses we received from the community, 56% of the community stated that their transportation needs were being met, 16% stated that their needs were not being met, and 28% said some of their needs are being met but not all of them.  Some of the reasons people’s transportation needs were not being met included needing gas, did not have access to a working automobile, handicap accessibility, wanting extended hours for transportation programs and needing transportation on and off of the reservation. Specific break down of the collected data revealed the following. 6% of 'Yes' respondents are using the Moccasin Express to meet transportation needs. 29% of respondents noted scheduling issues precluding them from using the STOI bus service. 20% of survey respondents also noted a desire to have buses go to town for shopping/medical/other. 8% of respondents noted mechanical fears that might hamper ability to get to work or other desired location. 21% of respondents also noted that high fuel prices impacted them negatively. 2% of responses desired sidewalk or walking-path improvements.

Q2: What type of transportation programs would meet the needs of the community right now? 

We received 168 responses as to what types of programs would meet the transportation needs of the community right now.  30% of the responses commented that continued or expanded bus services would help the community get to work, school, and community events.  20% of the responses said transportation to off reservation destinations would help the community access shopping, medical services, and recreation sites.  8% of responses had concerns about transportation options for the elders.  Other programs that the community identified as being important included sidewalks, bike paths, gas money, taxi services, transportation for youth , and transportation for people with disabilities. 

Q3: What type of transportation programs would meet the needs of the community in the future? 

Of the 155 responses we received we heard the following concerns from the community.  35% of the responses commented that continued and expanded bus services would help the community get to work, school, and community events.  19% of the respondents commented on the need for off reservation destinations to access shopping, medical services, and recreation sites.  10% commented on the need for sidewalks/bike paths in the community.  In General the community identified a need for expanded transportation services that could include taxi/ car/vanpools, specific transportation for elders and education. 

A comparison: Current vs. Preferred Types of Transportation

The other side of the transportation survey was intended to find out what type of transportation the community currently uses and the types of transportation they would prefer to use.  The results show that most of the respondents currently use a car to get around.  However, other transportation options such as walking, bicycling, carpool, vanpool and public transportation increased as potential options.  Below are graphs that show respondents current ways of getting around and their preferred method of getting around.

 

 

The cost of transportation: Miles Traveled Per Day

We also asked how far people traveled for various activities such as shopping, healthcare, work, school, and recreation/kids sports/community events.  Based upon the responses we received community members traveled anywhere from 520 miles per year to 48, 490 miles per year.  The average amount of miles driven a week by community members is 276 miles (14352 miles a year) which is above the national average of 230 miles a week.   The typical U.S. commuter experiences an average fuel economy of approximately 20mi/gallon, the average price for a gallon of gas in 2011 was approximately $3.53 (price varies by source). The typical Spokane Tribal family that traveled less than 14,000 miles in a year, spent approximately $2,500 just on fuel costs. A family that may have traveled approximately 450 miles on average per week (or 23,400 miles a year) would have experienced fuel costs in the neighborhood of $4,100, as an example from our reported results (see Miles Traveled per week graph).Below is a breakdown of the number of respondents and the amount of the total miles they travel in a given week.

Display Boards

The display boards we had up in the Administration Building included one with a map of the reservation where participants were asked to identify automobile crashes and one with maps of the housing areas and participants were asked to identify where they would like to see bicycle and walking paths.  We will be using the information from the map of automobile accidents to look for patterns as to where crashes occur.  Although our display board did not capture all the known crashes, we are continuing to work with DNR and the Police Department to obtain the most up to date information about automobile accidents and animal strikes that occur on the reservation.  The walking and biking path locations that the community identified will be considered in the future development of both housing and STOI Capital Facilities improvements.

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to fill out a survey or respond to our display boards.  The winner of the $100 gift certificate to Gamestop was Stephanie.  We would also like to thank Wendy Wynecoop and her class for helping distributing and collecting surveys at the high school basketball games.  The information provided by the community is being used to create goals, objectives, and policies that the Tribe can use in the future when developing transportation programs. 

 

Thank you for your time

Richard Knott;  Antithesis Research.

What is a green building?

Broadly, “green building” refers to an attempt to consciously create buildings with an eye to how they interact with the environment.  But this can mean different things to different people. For some, it means focusing on creating a healthy indoor environment inside buildings. For others, it makes sense to focus on improving the mass-produced materials that predominate in modern construction. For still others, it’s about avoiding or shunning mass-produced components and centralized systems altogether in favor of site-harvested resources, including building materials, electricity, water, and food.

Green building centers on the concept of “sustainability”: the simple notion that the way of life we choose must not lead to circumstances that prevent that way of life from continuing. In order to create a house to serve that end, five basic traits may be considered:

1)  Low construction impact. Building, almost by definition, is initially a destructive act. Land usually has to be at least minimally cleared and reshaped, holes need to be dug, and material resources refashioned to serve the building. A “green” building minimizes its impact on the building site and the environment at large through careful, conscious design and by utilizing replenishable materials that create a minimum of ecological destruction through their use.

2) Resource Efficiency through the Life of the building. The impact of a building’s construction is only part of the story. Once a building is built, people move in and use it. This human use requires environmental resources for such things as heating, cooling, water, and electricity. A “green” building provides these human needs efficiently, conserving resources.

3) Long Lasting. Natural resources in the form of building materials, tools, and fuels, as well as human energy and ingenuity, come together to create a building. The longer that building lasts, the longer the time before the environment is asked to give up those resources again to replace the building. Therefore, the longer a building lasts, the “greener” it is.

4) Nontoxic. To sustain healthy lives, we need to sustain a healthy indoor and outdoor environment. A “green” building then needs to provide a healthy indoor environment while doing nothing to harm the outdoor environment.

5) Beautiful. One of the biggest sources of our environmental woes is the constant and polluting movements of humans about the planet. To create a sustainable lifestyle, we need to stay put more of the time and derive more of our social, physical, and spiritual sustenance from our own backyards. A green house needs to be beautiful, a place that is hard to leave as a love and as unthinkable to neglect as your own child.

            Grappling with these issues in their full depth is complex. It often requires compromise, and always demands a combination of idealism and realism. For example, imagine two neighbors building houses of exactly the same size. One person is determined to build using only site-harvested “natural materials” that require little energy to produce and it creates almost no pollution in the process. The other person is using some site-harvested materials in combination with some mass-produced materials that are more energy-intensive in order to create a building that will use less energy through its lifetime to provide warmth and other services to its inhabitants.

            Which builder is “greener”? To even try to answer this question you’d need to know the embodied energy (the energy required for production, transportation, and installation) of all the materials involved, the relative energy efficiency of the two buildings, how long each will last, how much maintenance each will require, and many other factors, both technical and personal to those involved.

            In the end “building green” is a deep process in which judgements are made as to how a building will best merge with the occupants mode of survival. An ideally “green” building then must be a very specific thing, matching the occupant’s personal needs with the fabric of the exact local environment.

            Green building may also incorporate design and construction practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and occupants in five broad categories:

1)  Sustainable site planning.

2)  Safeguarding water and water efficiency.

3)  Energy efficiency and renewable energy.

4)  Conservation of materials and resources.

5)  Indoor environmental quality.

6) Culturally Relevant/Socially Acceptable

Shawn Brigman, Antithesis Research

What does a house do?

             May is upon us and as part of the HUD Sustainable Community Project it’s time to start talking about our homes, buildings, architectural styles, and community design concepts (beauty, functionality, or utilitarian). Antithesis Research working with the Spokane Indian Housing Authority has sent out about 200 “Housing Element” surveys to residents of the SIR with self-addressed postage paid return envelopes. We will also be asking these same survey questions, which will help direct the future of housing design, at various locations around the reservation just in case you did not receive one of the mailings. But what’s the point of discussing housing or architectural styles? Not only are homes important tools that help us survive Mother Nature in relative comfort, our homes can be built in such a way that they advertise something about the occupants and related community
                A house is a building designed to sustain human life. This concept is important because it points out that houses do the same job as some other familiar structures designed to sustain human life: our bodies (see figure 1).

               The human body, the original house, sustains human life by providing four basic functions.  First, it’s a self-supporting structure that defines an inside (you) and an outside (the world). This structure is an interconnected network of bones—your skeleton—that creates a space for your heart to beat, lungs to breath, and stomach to digest.

              Second, the body maintains a stable temperature inside in the face of fluctuating temperatures outside. Our bodies accomplish this in two ways: (1) by creating temperature—heat through metabolizing foods, and cool through sweating, breathing, and other heat-dissipating maneuvers—and (2) by storing heat, especially in the wonderfully efficient heat sink that is the water that makes up 70 percent of our mass.
              Third, the human body creates a separation from outside elements that could damage us. For example, our skin keeps out unfiltered water and air, and our immune systems fight off invading pathogens.
              Finally, the body maintains a constant connection, or exchange, with the outside.  Oxygen, food, and water come in while carbon dioxide, urine, and feces go out in a constant cycle that must be perpetuated almost completely uninterrupted from the day we are born to the day we die.  Thus, the body is a miraculous house delicately and exquisitely crafted to create space, regulate temperature, and maintain a constant separation from and exchange with the outside.
              Initially, the body was all the house we needed. But as we started moving about the diversity of landscapes and environments, peoples encountered climates that pushed our bodies beyond their job descriptions. We then used our brains to come up with ways of augmenting our bodies. Clothing was an innovation, a second skin, that allowed our bodies to maintain a stable interior temperature while exposed to lower outside temperatures. Housing was another, more ambitious innovation developed to help our bodies sustain human life in the difficult climates and environments we encountered.

            Thus, from a functional point of view a house sustains life by mirroring and augmenting the four basic functions the body provides: (1) A house is a self-supporting structure that defines an inside and outside. (2) A house maintains an interior temperature that sustains human life in the face of exterior temperatures that wouldn’t. (3) A house creates a separation from the outside that protects both the house and its inhabitants from destructive forces. (4) A house allows the constant exchange with the outside that its inhabitants need to survive.

            Historically, housing developed slowly within particular cultures and in response to specific climates and environments. Using materials from the site and techniques developed out of long experience with an exact location and climate, each culture around the world crafted a unique style of housing from the fabric of their surroundings. The traditional housing approaches were specific to the culture, climate, and environment from which they emerged.
            With this in mind, you as a community member have an opportunity to provide us with important feedback on your current housing conditions and concerns, as well as, helping to define future housing for the Spokane reservation.  Let your ideas, opinions, and comments be heard in this process.  Completed surveys are confidential.  As with previous surveys the responses are compiled and the results are provided in the Rawhide Press, community presentations, the Sustainable Community Project website, blog and Facebook page.
           Your participation is valuable to the process.  Please take a few minutes to complete the Housing Element Survey.  If you need more room for comments, feel free to use the back of the page.  If you have questions or would like clarification on survey questions, feel free to contact Antithesis Research staff at 258-7100 or stop by our office (in the old R Store) at 6201 Ford-Wellpinit Road.  Arrangements can be made for us to pick up the completed survey at your convenience. We will also make an attempt to go door to door to distribute/collect surveys at the end of April. Due Date: April 30th 2012.
Shawn Brigman, Antithesis Research