As the world’s water supply becomes more threatened, the wealthiest people are exacerbating the crisis through non-essential uses while the poor are the first to lose access to water.
A study of water use in Cape Town, South Africa found that “ the richest people used 50 times more water than the poorest,” driving the city’s water crisis, which reached an extreme in 2018 with the Day Zero crisis. In Cape Town, the study’s authors concluded that 14 percent of the city’s population used 51 percent of water, writes Damian Carrington in The Guardian.
The researchers say other major world cities face a similar challenge. “In March, a report by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water concluded that the world faces an imminent water crisis, with demand expected to outstrip supply by 40% by 2030.”
The report predicts that the gap in access to water between the rich and the poor will continue to widen as water scarcity deepens. “The scientists said failing to account for social inequality in a water crisis often led to technocratic solutions that simply reproduced the uneven and unsustainable water use patterns that contributed to the water crisis in the first place.”
Read the full story: Swimming pools of the rich driving city water crises, study says
Can Southwest Utah’s Water Supply Handle its Explosive Growth?
A remote corner of the state is the nation’s fastest-growing metro area, but concerns about water supplies across the Southwest signal an uncertain future.
California’s Reservoirs are Filling Up, but For How Long?
Recent storms are bringing plenty of water to parched parts of California, but scientists warn the relief won’t be a long-term solution to longer, drier periods.
Colorado River Water Crisis Deepens
The states that rely on the Colorado’s water must make drastic cuts in water usage to maintain use of the West’s most important—and most threatened—water source.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
California city breaks ground on transit connector
The project includes three mobility hubs and a pedestrian bridge.
After public outcry, Massachusetts city releases housing development tracker
Cambridge’s tracker currently shows 250 housing projects in various stages of development.
40 years after approval, Chicago breaks ground on new park
The park honors Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the city’s first permanent non-native settler.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority