When water policy and land use planning operate in separate spheres, it's more difficult to design for efficient resource use. Better communication is needed in the drought-stricken southwest.
In this piece for Next City, Rachel Dovey explains why land use planners and water district officials "don't speak the same language" when it comes to designating resources efficiently. The first culprit is sprawl itself: "Lawns for single-family homes; paved-over green space along an expanding border; parking lots that funnel storm water into disposal drains [...] and a subterranean network of mains and pipes that becomes costlier as its footprint grows."
Lack of coordination between the two types of planning also takes its toll: "For example, water agencies often project a city's future consumption based on current gallon-per-household-per-month figures. But if planners are up-zoning a city for mixed-use, thereby cutting water demand, everyone ends up with inflated data."
The southwestern regions hit hardest by the current drought "also happen to be the regions that built cities for cars, garages, lawns and single-family homes." The article cites an expert who believes that most officials understand the need for infill, but smart growth and actual water savings don't always go hand-in-hand.
Read the full story: Why Planners and Water Officials Need to Hang Out
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Federal proposal calls for mandatory water cuts to Arizona, California and Nevada
The Bureau of Reclamation stepped in after states failed to come to an agreement over Colorado River water use reductions.
New agreement would let Arizona, Nevada use water from California desalination plant
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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.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
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Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Idaho may see an 18% drop in federal surface transit funding — the largest estimated cut in the US
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How ‘post-disaster gentrification’ alters neighborhoods after natural calamities
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Maryland local governments examine if they should have more power to raise property taxes
Maryland’s housing market is out of reach for the majority of moderate-income residents.
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
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Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello