Neighborhoods not previously at risk of flooding face new challenges as burn scars from recent fires leave them vulnerable to floods.
Like other Western states, Arizona is experiencing longer, more destructive wildfires. “And now,” writes Ryan Heinsius for Arizona Public Radio, “the burn scars left behind are causing flooding in neighborhoods that previously weren’t flood prone.” According to Heinsius, “Local emergency officials have scrambled to ease the impacts on residents, but long-term solutions won’t come immediately.”
“Arizona’s experiencing about a 2-degree increase in temperature Celsius, resulting in really just a variety of conditions that provide a huge hazard,” says Andrew Sanchez Meador, executive director of the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University.
For now, “Officials have provided as much short-term mitigation as they can in the form of hundreds of thousands of sandbags and miles of concrete barriers just to weather monsoon season.” Experts say long-term solutions include forest restoration projects that can protect communities in the coming years.
FULL STORY: The inevitable next time: Flagstaff residents grapple with the new reality of wildfire and flood
Saving Lower Manhattan
A debate over how to protect the East River waterfront from Sandy-level flooding and storm damage has delayed the project as community activists decry the city's last-minute change of plans.
Flooding Less of a Concern as Hurricane Memories Fade
Residents of Houston are less likely to think of flooding as a concern, or to think development should be prohibited in flood-prone areas, as in the years immediately following Hurricane Harvey.
LA Times: Poor Planning Sealed Paradise's Fate
The planning history of Paradise, California is blamed for the destruction of the city in the Camp Fire. Can planners find new models for both limiting carbon emissions and preparing for the effects of climate change?
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
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