Sewers
Public works officials indicate alarming decline in condition of water and sewer systems
Increased awareness of infrastructure issues combined with aging equipment and more extreme weather are leading more public works officials to feel their local systems are 'unsatisfactory.'
NYC Will Finally Bring Sewer System to Flood-Prone Brooklyn Neighborhood
A 12-block area known as ‘The Hole’ straddling Brooklyn and Queens has struggled with flooding and sewage contamination for decades.
Baltimore Sewer Backup Assistance Programs Stall
Two programs aimed at helping residents safely clean up overflows caused by aging pipes are in limbo due to a dispute between the city and the EPA.
How Cities Are Using Wastewater to Test for COVID-19
Some scientists and city officials are moving ahead with a different way to track the virus’s spread: wastewater testing.
Lack of Septic Systems Spell Disaster for Low-Income Alabama Residents
Low-income Alabama residents who can't afford the cost of a functional septic tank run the risk of heavy fines and even arrest in addition to extremely unsafe conditions.
How Peoria Is Putting Green Infrastructure to Work
Peoria's new stormwater farm takes the pressure off its outdated combined sewer system. It's part of a larger effort by the city to align green infrastructure with social equity goals.
Thinking About Infrastructure and Housing, Part 2
Is inadequate infrastructure a reason to keep new housing out of cities?
Florida Plagued by Sewage Spills
The state’s aging sewage infrastructure is failing, but the cost to replace it would be monumental.
Can New Leadership Deliver New Stormwater and Sewer Systems in New Orleans?
The new head of the Sewage & Water Board of New Orleans comes to the job from Milwaukee, and he already has big ideas about what the city must do to prevent flooding like it experienced last summer.
Kentucky Needs $15 Billion in Additional Water Infrastructure
The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet has sounded an alarm about the state of the state's water infrastructure.
Sanitation Without Sewers
In much of the world, people do not have access to toilets and sewers. To make these places safer, innovators look for cheap, easy-to-install solutions.
Behind Some of History's Most Powerful Urban Innovations
A series of pieces from Sidewalk Labs examines the history and context of vital urban "innovations." So far, elevators, sewers, and traffic signals have been covered.
Using Public Art to Make Sense of Wastewater Infrastructure
The city of San Jose and designers from the University of California, Davis have completed a community-led design process to raise awareness about the connections between the kitchen, sewers, and the environment.
Atlanta Installs Permeable Pavement in Flood-Prone Neighborhoods
These Atlanta neighborhoods stand to gain in the long term from the city's new permeable pavement system and water retention park. But the project has displaced some residents.
Residents Raise a Stink Over Plans to Fix London's Sewers
London's wastewater problems go at least as far back as the 19th century, before a 1,100-mile system of tunnels was built to divert the city's waste downstream. A plan to fix that system with a tunnel financed by customer fees is raising a stink.
Beneath Paris, Sights to Rival Those Found Above
Will Hunt explores Paris beneath the surface during a 14-mile trek underground with a group of urban explorers, and finds subterranean sights to rival those found on the famous streets above.
A Worrying Future for Urban Water
Climate change is expected to create major shifts in the amount of water and rainfall in cities in the near future. A recent symposium in Philadelphia on urban water delved into this emerging problem.
Linking Infrastructure and Environmental Concerns
In a part of Staten Island largely developed before formal sewer systems were in place, the effort to address both logistics and environmental issues offers lessons for other urban areas.
Inside an Urban Water System
Urban water systems are immense -- and little-understood. Places presents this video from the Center for Urban Pedagogy looking down below the streets to illuminate the mystery city water delivery.
Aging Sewers and Growing Cities Mean Troubled Waters
As cities grow, aging sewer systems are having trouble keeping up with increasing amounts of waste. Often, the result is sewer system overflows that end up directly in waterways.
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.
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
