At the height of the California drought, a group of water suppliers offered rebates for people willing to remove lawns. Now, it's time to figure out if the experiment worked.
Ellen Knickmeyer checks-in on a big expenditure in the state of California to remove lawns—call it a "cash-for-lawns" program.
After spending more than $350 million to remove lawns, the funds ran out in 2015, but now researchers are exploring whether the rebates worked. Using advanced tools like satellite images and infrared aerial photos, along with more old-fashioned tactics like driving through neighborhoods, the researchers are trying to calculate whether the cash-for-lawns had a lasting effect on the California landscape.
The program was initiated and funded by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, along with more than two dozen other participants, at the city, county, and water district levels. A measure of concern drives the current research: the political fallout from the program, if it was unsuccessful, could damage future drought resilience efforts.
FULL STORY: In California, a $350 million social experiment over lawns
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Princeton Planning
City of College Park
Houston-Galveston Area Council
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
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.
