Venice's Controversial 'Moses' Dam

Italians are divided over a $3 billion engineering project to save the historic city.

1 minute read

August 17, 2003, 11:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


"The topic of conversation this summer in Venice, Italy, is the $3 billion MoSE (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), a series of 78 hinged movable steel gates that officials hope will stop the flooding that is destroying the fabled city. The gates are comprised of linked water-filled steel containers that, when pumped with air, will rise to block seawater from entering the Venice Lagoon...Yet now that the project is under way, more people than ever are criticizing it."

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan

Saturday, August 16, 2003 in MetropolisMag.com

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

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.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

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.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

Nilu Jenks wears a long gray coat and speaks with one man and two women outside.

Housing is the top priority of Seattle’s sole new councilmember

Jenks campaigned on building 1,000 new units of affordable housing.

1 hour ago - Reason

People sit on wooden benches on a bus in Miami

New tax cuts may slash $1.5 billion in funding for Miami transit, public parks

Amendment 3 will save Miami-Dade residents homeowners $2,700 in 2028.

2 hours ago - Miami New Times

Two men install solar panels on the roof of a house.

Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania hope to finally advance climate goals post-midterms

The three states have spent years under Republican or divided control.

3 hours ago - Grist

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.