Tag Archives: water

Albuquerque is a national leader in water conservation

As relatively new residents of New Mexico, we have been quite impressed by the water conservation efforts in the Albuquerque area. Even before arriving, we were planning on removing the remaining turf grass in the yard and replace it with … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, climate, climate change, deserts, ecosystems, environment, geography, government, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, natural history, nature, planning, rivers/watersheds, Statistics, sustainability, topography, urban planning, water, water conservation, weather, xeriscaping | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Places that pay you to “kick your grass” goodbye!

After we moved to New Mexico this summer, one of the first steps we took was to have the grass lawn portions of our yard removed and replaced with xeriscaping that is more appropriate for a High Desert environment. We … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, climate, climate change, culture, deserts, ecosystems, environment, geography, government, health, Housing, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, natural history, nature, planning, rivers/watersheds, Statistics, sustainability, topography, urban planning, water, water conservation, xeriscaping | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The “unity of drought” must supersede myths and self interest

*A small commission is earned from purchases that are made using the above links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. _______ The book Water is for Fighting Over: and Other Myths About Water in the … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, cities, civics, civility, climate, climate change, economic development, ecosystems, education, engineering, environment, futurism, geography, Geology, government, health, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, injustice, land use, landscape architecture, literature, Maps, Native Americans, natural history, nature, opinion, planning, politics, reading, recreation, rivers/watersheds, Science, social equity, spatial design, Statistics, topography, urban planning, water, water conservation, weather, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Soaking up the sun with floating solar farms

In recent years floating solar farms have been popping up on water bodies around the globe. While typically more expensive to initially install, floating solar facilities have several notable advantages, including: Less use of productive farm land or valuable lands … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, agriculture, Alternative energy, architecture, Asia, China, climate, climate change, economic development, ecosystems, energy, engineering, environment, Europe, geography, India, infrastructure, Maps, nature, North America, pictures, planning, politics, Portugal, product design, Renewable Energy, rivers/watersheds, Science, solar, spatial design, States, Statistics, technology, topography, UK, urban planning, water | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No desalination required – saving the Great Salt Lake

“Given the potential environmental, health, social, and political consequences of doing nothing or not doing enough, it seems to this retired planner that the truck and train tanker option in conjunction with strong water conservation measures should be employed at least as a stopgap measure until long-term solutions can be established.” Continue reading

Posted in Animals, cities, climate, climate change, deserts, ecosystems, education, environment, geography, Geology, health, history, humanity, infrastructure, lakes, land use, Maps, natural history, nature, pictures, planning, politics, pollution, rail, Railroads, recreation, rivers/watersheds, Science, shipping, spatial design, sprawl, States, Statistics, sustainability, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning, water, weather, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Creating LA’s starlit aura – “The Mirage Factory”

What an outstanding book! Perhaps, my favorite the best city biography ever read. Author Gary Krist simply nails it with The Mirage Factory. It’s entertaining, enthralling, infuriating, and thoroughly engaging to read. You will definitely learn some amazing and eye-opening … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, branding, business, Cars, cities, civics, commerce, Communications, consumerism, culture, demographics, economic development, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, fun, geography, Geology, government, highways, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, industry, infrastructure, injustice, land use, marketing, movies, music, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, product design, racism, reading, Religion, rivers/watersheds, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, technology, theaters, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, Women, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Ice Ice, Baby” Planning for freestanding ice kiosks/houses

Traditionally, ice has been sold at stores via large ice chests or boxes situated just inside retail stores or along the front sidewalk near the building entrance/exit. These units were often rented from, maintained, and serviced by ice manufacturers such … Continue reading

Posted in advertising, architecture, branding, business, commerce, Cuisine, economic development, entrepreneurship, Food, industry, infrastructure, land use, marketing, pictures, planning, product design, Statistics, technology, Travel, urban planning, visual pollution, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stunning satellite views of major cities on river deltas

Posted in aerospace, Africa, Asia, Astronomy, Canada, China, cities, climate change, environment, Europe, geography, Geology, Great Lakes, land use, Maps, nature, North America, Outer Space, pictures, planning, rivers/watersheds, Russia, shipping, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten Planning Lessons from Flagstaff, Arizona

Following our recent trip to the beautiful Southwestern United States, here are some thoughts on planning lessons one can learn from impressive and beautiful Flagstaff, Arizona. You can have a physically active and exciting city in a colder-weather, high-altitude environment. … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, archaeology, branding, cities, civics, colleges, culture, deserts, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, environment, fitness, geography, Geology, health, history, infrastructure, land use, Native Americans, Nature, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, third places, topography, tourism, transit, transportation, Travel, weather, zoning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Michigan’s absurd groundwater giveaway

While the good people of Flint still await safe drinking water following the horrible decision to change the city’s water source, our un-illustrious state leaders appear to be about to commit yet another environmental blunder that further tarnishes their role … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, civics, consumerism, environment, geography, Geology, infrastructure, land use, nature, planning, rivers/watersheds, Science, Statistics, topography | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment