Water shortages are on the rise, and effective management of this dwindling resource is becoming increasingly important to cities. How architects and planners visualize water in the landscape plays a big role in how it is understood and managed.
This slideshow from Places shows how water visualizations have changed over time and how they should continue to evolve.
"For millennia water has been celebrated and ritualized in everyday practices across cultures. Today it is increasingly central to design and scientific discussions about global sustainability, as we seek innovative solutions to the challenges of rising seas, atmospheric pollution, extended drought and aquifer depletion.
Is it time, then, to rethink our relationship to water and how we imagine both its presence and absence in design? Can new attitudes, questions, and techniques of visualization aid us in this creative endeavor?"
FULL STORY: Visualizing Landscapes: In the Terrain of Water
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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