True sustainability

UniverCity is a sustainable-development community located at the top of Burnaby Mountain (adjacent to Simon Fraser University) outside of Vancouver. Here is what the area looks like from above:


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Two things are apparent from the satellite view: an abundance of green space, and an abundance of parking space.

New Orleans has a radical new plan for managing floods

An intriguing plan for New Orleans and its flood problems. (Unfortunately, money is obviously going to be an issue.) Rather than attempting to stop the water's advancement, the plan would try to control the flood and use it to the city's advantage.

Here's a snippet of the article:

"...[U]nder the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, floodwaters would be corralled into areas that serve as parks during drier times. Rain gardens and bioswales would help the earth suck up more of the rain that falls on it. And water would be funneled into year-round canals and ponds that support wildlife, improve soil quality, and generally pretty up the place."

Source: grist.org