“Greening” your City Saves Money

“Greening” your City Saves Money

I have written before about the many advantages of green roofs, rain gardens, and other sustainable design and construction options, including saving money on heating and cooling costs with green roofs, or saving on your water bill through rainwater harvesting,...
Flooding in a Drought Period

Flooding in a Drought Period

It seems counterintuitive to be concerned about flooding almost anywhere in California since we live in the longest drought period in recorded history. However, as you may have noticed, drought does not mean rain. It simply means less rain than usual for the region...
Healing the Built Environment

Healing the Built Environment

Usually, when I write articles about civil design and improving the existing conditions, I include sustainable measures, such as designing rain gardens, using permeable pavement, or designing and building plantable retaining walls. However, sometimes you need to...
Victory Gardens for our Time

Victory Gardens for our Time

During the First World War, Germany had to heavily ration food items, such as coffee, fruits, vegetables, etc. So, to mitigate this crisis, they created the “Kleingarten” in cities. Kleingarten means “small garden,” and they were installed within urban areas....