Sponge Cities

Sponge City, 12 in  x 18 in, watercolor and paper collage

I have not  posted for 6 months.  Mother nature hasn't been kind to us. In Oklahoma, we survived drought, earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods. I used to get tickets from the city for wild flowers growing too tall, lawn exceeding 18 inches, and now, the tie changes.  I was so happy to know in L.A. people quit washing car and proudly display their dirty cars to conserve water. My pretty un-unified lawn and overgrown shrubs and trees are my way to let it be.

However," let it be" for water conservation is , in fact,  not a good idea. Water, come to us, please.

We all know the Inca, just like the Romans were great masters of water systems.  Thanks to the combination of agricultural terraces and efficient waterways, the Incas had managed to bring fresh drinking water from mountain streams to provide water during drought times for centuries. I remember when I lived with my grandma in the country side, she would hand me a soap to wash myself with when it rained to save water. Lately, I notice the city of Chicago has to dig a humongous tunnel to lead runoff water to a huge pond.

This brings up the possibility of building a sponge city ( not the tourist attractions or where to dine) to collect water. This is the least we can design in the shadow of Roman and Inca's ingenuous adaptation of aqueducts.

Links:

Building Sponge City

Build Sponge Eco-Cities to Adapt Hydroclimatic Hazards

A Last Look

by W.S. Merwin

Even the words are going somewhere urban
where they hope to find friends
waiting for them

some of the friends will think of trees as pleasant in a minor
     way
much alike after all
to us

some of the friends will never be aware of a single tree
they will live in a world without a leaf
where the rain is misfortune

                                                                               ***

So bright

Like jewels

Glistening

What I cannot capture

I took it out

Sorry, emerald green

- yiren