Washington County has dramatically reduced per-capita water use, but the region’s explosive growth means increased demand for water.

Washington County, Utah will pay residents to swap water-intensive lawns for drought-tolerant landscaping, reports Morgan Sjogren in Reasons to Be Cheerful.
According to Sjogren, 70 percent of residential culinary water in Utah is used on grass lawns. “By shifting landscaping away from grass and to plants more readily adapted to the climate, the Washington County Water Conservancy District estimates that residents can reduce landscape watering to 11 gallons per square foot annually, compared to 56 gallons for conventional turf.”
Residents who apply for the program have a year to complete projects to receive the incentive of $2 per square foot of converted turf, and $1 per square foot after 5,000 square feet. The program includes stipulations about irrigation, permeable barriers, and types of plants.
Since the program began in late 2022, 2,044 applications have been submitted and 918 projects are complete. Although Washington County has reduced its per capita water use by 30 percent since 2000, rapid population growth means that the county’s overall water use has grown by 15 percent in the same period.
FULL STORY: This Utah County Will Buy Your Lawn to Save Water

What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.

‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.

The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.

Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.

San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.

Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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.
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