Despite the region's best efforts to conserve water, there's still a lot of grass in the Las Vegas that no one ever walks or plays on. That could change soon.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority is pushing the Nevada State Legislature to pass a law banning all "nonfunctional turf" in the Las Vegas metropolitan area—all the grass that no one ever walks in places like street medians as well as commercial and residential developments.
According to water officials, ending the growth of ornamental grass would reduce annual water consumption by about 15%, or about 14 gallons per person per day.
An article by Sam Metz and Ken Ritter for the Associate Press details more about the recent history of water conservation in Southern Nevada—much of which stands in contrast to public perception of the fountains and golf courses associated with the area.
FULL STORY: Water-worried Vegas wants useless grass a thing of the past
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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.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research