Could sand be the next great paving material? Thomas Kosbau and Andrew Wetzler recently won a design competition in Korea with their idea to combine sand with a bacteria that turns sand to stone.
Kosbau and Wetzler proposal suggests that road-building trucks "would carry hoppers of sand along with tanks of common Bacillus Pasteurii bacteria in solution. Sprayed on the road, the bacteria go to work chemically on the sand and turn it into a hard, tough cement." The idea would have a significant effect on the environment, because millions of gallons of crude oil go into asphalt road production each year.
Unfortunately, a U.C. Davis engineer asked to investigate the proposal said the material would likely not stand up to heavily-trafficked roads and would only be viable on low-volume roads.
Read the full story: Will Roads of the Future Be Paved With Sandstone?
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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.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
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Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
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Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
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Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
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
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority