The gush of an uncapped fire hydrant in the summer is a welcome relief for urban dwellers, but the water loss is staggering. Landscape architect Adrienne Cortez decided to find a solution to keeping people cool and similarly activating public space.
"A gushing hydrant drenching happy kids is an iconic image of urban summertime. My first 4th of July living in New York was boiling hot and I was thrilled to see the open hydrants in person. It wasn't until several years later that this article from the Times caused me to rethink the excitement of the open hydrant.
The article provided a shocking statistic: at full power an open hydrant pumps out 1,000 gallons of water a minute. Uncapping, or opening, the local hydrant for relief from the heat had never struck me as anything more than a fun, and totally accepted, urban practice that had been going on for decades."
FULL STORY: NYC Uncapped
NOAA Great Lakes Lab Loses Key Funding
Cuts at a lab that monitors water quality in the Great Lakes region could harm efforts to prevent dangerous algal blooms.
USGS Water Science Centers Targeted for Closure
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Restoring Northern India’s Himalayan ‘Water Temples’
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
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Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
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San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
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California Homeless Arrests, Citations Spike After Ruling
An investigation reveals that anti-homeless actions increased up to 500% after Grants Pass v. Johnson — even in cities claiming no policy change.
Albuquerque Route 66 Motels Become Affordable Housing
A $4 million city fund is incentivizing developers to breathe new life into derelict midcentury motels.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)