THE GRANITE GARDEN Urban Nature and Human Design ANNE WHISTON SPIRNCities have often been likened to symphonies and poems, and the comparison seems to me a perfectly natural one. They are in fact objects of the same kind, The city may even be rated higher since it stands at the point where nature and artifice meet. \gestion of animals whose biological history is enclosed within its boundaries, and yet every conscious and rational act on the part of these creatures helps to shape the city’s eventual character. By ‘as by the manner of its birth, the city has el once of biological procreation, organic evolution, and esthetic creation. It is both. ‘a natural object and a thing to be cultivated; individual and group; something lived and something, dreamed. ‘¢ human invention par excellence. (Ciaune LéviSreauss Tristes Tropiquesfest ~~ CONTENTS PREFACE xi Prologue / The Granite Garden 3 PARTI CITY AND NATURE (Chapter 1 / City and Nature 9 Urban Nature and Hunan Design 14 Boston: A Natural Eraronment Transformed 14 The Search for Nature: Par, Suburbs, and Garden City 29 PART II AIR Chapter 2 / Dirt and Discomfort 41 A Moms of Micreclmats Sire! Canyons, Plazas end Parks 55 Chapter 3 / Improving Air Quality, Enhancing Comfort, and Conserving Energy 2 Sun, Winds, and Emisions 6 Ingroing the Air slong Sits and Higeays 67 Grating More Comfore Parks and Plazes T4 Desing a Cleaner, Mere Conforteie and Enegy-ERciert Cy 77 ‘Plan or Every Cy 8S PART IIL EARTH Chapter 4 | Shifting Ground and Squandered Resources 91 3h 92CONTENTS Chapter 5 / Finding Firm Ground and Exploiting Resources 10° Fines of Eat, ravity 110 im Ground id Expliting Revnrces 1 Desgring «Safer, More Economical City 122 1A Plan for Every Cty 128 PART IV WATER = Chapter 6 / Floods, Droughts, and Poisoned Water Therese Foods 130 Posed Water 134 Deonding Hater Super 138 Chapter 7 | Controlling and Restoring the Waters aterm Motion 144 ontuatrs 45 Resonng and Corsercing Water 130 rere ne iy to Cansroe ond Resor Water and lo Prevent los 1A Pan Jor Every Cty 166 PART V LIFE Chapter 8 / Urban Plants: Struggle for Survival "Vanishing Legocy 172 Hedite Habiats 17S ‘An Expensive Aesthetic 179 Chapter 9 | Nurturing the Urban Biome "The Necesiis of Life 185 Nurturing City Plan's Exploiting Urbon Wilds 195 Designing the Urban “Forest” 202 ‘A Plan fer Every Cty 204 Chapter 10 / Pets and Pests TRopoverihed and Fragmented Habiate 208 Wie «14 Nusenee 211 Chapter 11 / Designing Wildlife Habitats Food, Weer, Cover and Ferntory 216 Greting Vale Hailes 218 Decigming the Metropls for Waaife 223 (A Pan for Every Cty 225 129 136 a5 PART VI THE URBAN ECOSYSTEM Chapter 12 / The City as an Infernal Machine “Phe Cote of Waste 231 Unforeseen Consequences 235 Chapter 13 / Designing the Urban Ecosystem Pathos of Enerry sing Energy Efi Exploiting Urbon Westes 250 Perceiving the Whole 254 ‘A Plan for Every City 260 wores BiaLioGRArHY LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 29 2 279 290 315 321 CONTENTS:f PREFACE resource for shaping a beneficial they magnify problems that igued Aoods and landslides, poisoned air and Unfortunately, cities have mostly neglected and rarely exploited the natural forces within them, More is known about urban nature today than ever before; over the past two decades, natu tists have amassed an impressive body. ‘of this information has ‘molding the form of the city—the shape of its buildings and parks, the couree of its roads, and the pattern of the whole. A small fraction of that knowledge has been employed in es. 488 posing opportunities for new urban forms, Re proven vulnerable to shifts, ic policy, at the merey of ‘al concerns of the moment, whereas the physi endures through generation after generation United constructed to implement those policies, and ined the achievements of the previous decade. Regulations trolling the emissi ‘may be altered, but the urban | designed to dis se pollutants will continue to do 50 re- tardless of changes in pol ‘This is a book about nature in cities and what the city could be like if iGURE 3 Of Paley Park, showing the simplicity with which its climatic effect is jeved a waterfall, vine-covered walls, and a canopy of trees, ‘rte pty (pthc meres) ahsIMPROVING AIR QUALITY, ENHANCING COMFORT, AND CONSERVING oy town East Sond Street. On a hot, bu ‘summer day, this location, form, and building materials contributes to the success tat comfort, even in a humid climate. ng a Cleaner, More Comfortable, and Energy-Efficient City sunset—so plants chosen for such ese extremes, Paley Park, and sunpockets are based upon the , Ohio, where winds are a problem on plazas and sidewalks at the base of tall buildings. A particularly nasty situation is the entry to a high-rise apartment walls and pavement, and by blocking wind. The judicious selection 76 7effect on wind speeds was insignificant The steel wool mounted on pins used for trees on the model was destroyed by the force of the wind. The students lamented that the severe downdrafts had been anticipated before the apartment complex was built, for the entry and the building could have been redesigned. Beyond de- ing and reconstructing it there seemed to be no sweep unbroken across an expanse of parki ings like the elderly apartment complex arly demonstrated in wind-tunnel tests ‘winds of differing force and direction was simulated by over a scale model of the entire downtown (Bgure 3.10) When treet were added to parking lots on the northwest edge, the wind problems around the entry to the apartment complex were reduced to the point where awnings and trees around the building could solve the remaining problem. Once recognized, the so seems simple. But the method for identifying the solution was roblem becomes apparent after construc- when windows pop out, or when ‘ground. A scale model of but large enough to d ‘and plazas, One inch on the model was ‘This was the fret time designers had studied a scale modet entire downtown in a wind tunnel for the sole purpose of develop rn rntown were represented in wood, and had been made by two ing a comprehensive plan that would resolve ground-level wind Ficyice pack departs muplopues in the cay hcp. an olenAir } | | | e width and height of the street canyon, and its impor. tance to traffic and commerce. Students de trove by referen: ‘nd probleme whi had drawn up using the model Decause parking spaces abounded, parking revenues would not be decreased by adding trees in the siderations in designing the parking lot plantings: The students presente ter plan for stroet tre cha on the length of street frontage. lent Dayton a climatalo, needs. When more data 1 city manager's of- sity’s climate and air qual vere needed about fice, through appeals throughout the city to ‘ifc times. The resul draw conclusions about Dayton’s temperature regime with some confidence ‘In 1961 the City of Dayton cons Jot composed IMPROVING AIR QUALITY, ENHANCING COMFORT, AND CONSERVING ENERGYfon sunny afternoons degrees Fahrenheit hopes to cut maintenanes inger be necessary. implement a bold problem. The planners of they released smoke phisticated techni restricted the development of those hillsides and incor system extending from the ruTae | \ building and effective only when the velocity of regional winds is, srophic ond climatic features have been most auccesaful in its appii- less than two meters per second. During the frequent, lengthy peri By harnessing n terns of ae flow to ventilate the ci and by regulating ma city iy decided to concentrate on building constr a survey of residents conducted in the ea their emissions will escape the volume of air trapped near the ‘ground. Municipal incinerators and power plants were consolidated Land coal was prohibi sections of the city where wind velocities are insufficient to fush the alr. In these areas, only natural gas is used for cooking: the city is has explored many ways of reducing automobile uce. The lecided to develop a system of bikeways in 1968, and provides water warmed by munici Together, these efforts have subs ion, By encouraging cottage industry, the city also hopes to reduce commuting ‘The Davis experiment has proved highly successful. A small city ‘of 33,000 people, Davis was able to explore, implement, and test door spaces and to reduce summer air con ‘ists and planners on the staff of the Cher review plans of new buildings to determine their impact on climate and housing design—and improved air quality—a result of 1 Di lf ponded water) have been by buildings. Parking lots have been converted from asphi blocks to decrease the heat absorbed. The city bui scaped parks, inked to air flow channels wherever poss vide pleasant oases, to cool adjacent neighborhoods, dust from the air, Such efforts have perceptibly improved the miero- climate in downtown Stuttgart ‘The Stuttgart solution is most applicable to cities with frequent, low winds and implemented 51 OVING AIK QUALITY, ENHANCING COMFORT, AND CONSERVING ENERGY 85,IMPROVING AIR QUALITY, ENHANCING COMFORT, AND CONSERVING ENERGY modest project can be readily repeated in infinite variations, adapted, 4 air quality of the surrounding area and whenever possible to ‘new playgrounds, bicycle paths, jogging oF walking reas eway from arterial sirets highways, and other air pollution ng wind dnections or passive encrgy conservation inthe design and skng of butldings and parks ngs ead pas ofa eed betes ad ck city, the dispersion patterns of pollutants, and areas like valley bot. toms and narrow street canyons that are prone to inversions will and landscape mates fo cen a deiable era tre oe reduce heat absorption and to Increase or decrease ing climatic con- to predict thermal breezes. Knowing m of air movement around and within the city will perm: episodes of stagnant weather. ‘Comprehensive strategies to improve air qual Ith, Sorely needed are carefully laid plane for future urban \ing the search for alternatives to the private automo- highways in relation new induotys pub ites, and highways to locate in wel ‘enilted areas where they will not contaminate residential and com mercial neghbornonds undec prevalng wind or inversion condone locate parks and other landscaped open space to preserve fresh a ted places and the most important pu ‘most people. These can be rede 0 spring and later into logy exist; the costs for incremental improvement, when combined with new construction, are small. The social and economic costs of disregard are great. Every new building, street, highway. and park within the should be designed to avoid detrimental alterations to the dlPART III Earthhifting Ground and quandered Resources the illusion that man isin control ‘cataclysmic events invites complacency, nalts of geological processes are best appreciated by an overview ing many human lifetimes. se decline of many ancient cities is now credited to geological 94 saat forces: to sedimentation and sol salinization: repented new direct connection between grout i penefit of society, these activites may accelerate oF recipitate disaster. Mexico City has sunk roundwater CHAPTER 4 aEarth resources become inaccessible or depleted and Although knowledge of city geology is ex ‘employed mainly to short-term advantage: t J HINGR BAMACE (OMITTED IN CALIFORNIA) 0 | MODERATE. DAMAGE of the earth is an illusion. Ab any’ mome @] Avon DAMACE, ground may crack, heave, flow, FIGURE 41 “Map of damaging earthquakes recorded in the United States, showing dense round Boston and in southeastern Missour, Boston or Charleston, South Carolina, is unrecognized by most residents. .d 1812 changed the ind was moved and. and bursting of tysfive-year period between 1926 and I th dense populations and from earthquakes increase in cities ‘The great earthquakes of the lated large, cities. However, the potenti within a city are at much higher risk than others. Most 92 %japan, entire high-rise apartments built on alluvium top- he liquefied soil flowed out from under them. Such high- are predictable. Turnagain Heights had been identified by ‘SHIFTING GROUND AND SQU siceeding the losses from any other {ground twenty feet sam channels were displacement and hospitals by ‘damage from ground fect. Many housing developments, public ‘chools in California are located astride ind nine schools sat atop the eley and Hayward, Califor- ‘a8, water, and sewer [Ninety percent of the deaths from the 1964 Alaska earthquake were caused by tsunamis, sea waves generated by earthquakes or pptions. Teunamis may reach heights of o bridge nearly one thousand fee! came without warning, cost Hawal ty-five lives and $500 earthquake came in the Joss of life would have been far more buildings constructed before 1933 sustained jough newer structures designed according to codes were also damaged, Forty-four people 95| 96 quake-resistant construction, (Photo: Los Angeles Times) the most up-to-date Bve-story staircases newly dedicated Olive View Hospital pulled away from the main building and collapsed. Freeways and overpasses throughout the San Fernando area cracked and collapsed. Water lines were broken in 1,400 places.” Coming after nearly forty years of improved seismic building codes, the destruction caused by the San Fernando earthquake was sobering, ‘Many existing buildings in earthquake-prone cities will not sur vive a major earthquake. Even a moderate earthquake will destroy fimey structures. If homes, hospitals. and schools continue to be built in hazardous ‘unsound buildings are not strengthened and architectural details like comices and parapets not removed or ‘old of unsound dams and reservoirs are not strength hquake damage in cities will be thquakes, groundvat they are usually caused by human Man rather than an Act of Highway Department respons slide in Portuguese Bend and homeowners. The residents had “the early 1950s. Water from lawn irri: pools probably increased the i Highway Departm: from Portuguese Ber the slope moved, Hide. Eighteen y to move downslope nearly 10 feet per year and there are now few foil volume damages foundations; some swelling soils expand more ‘may equal half than 50 percent. Cost of repair to a damaged st the initial construction cost, Damage to a twelve-year-old junior| | | j AGUNDANT mae INCE ABUNDANT HINCR CONSTITUENT OF BEDROCK (PAY BE LOCALLY ABUNDANT) ——$— FIGURE 4 FIGURE 43 ‘View of Long Beach, Cal ‘Map showing areas ofthe United States prone ro swelling soils Inflcting more 1920 caused by oll and property damage each year than any cther natural hazard, swelling sols are = ground hat ou nevertheless a frequently unrecognized problem. | rel below sea level, protected fom Mooding by expensive levees. example cost taxpayers neatly half 0 ¢ Pl, cost taxpayers nearly Half ofthe FT caany homes. schools, and small commercial structures are built on ~ swelling soils without proper precautions. Over decades | mar gray ted by floods; bat one in five by exparsive ‘gas, and water decreases the pressure in the rocks Swelling cleys underlie over 20 percent of the land in the United 1a Gaising than @'chaypct Ta Inland ta: h pronounced dry and ture fluctuates widely, han 98 SHER KeciowaLLy a ) pe FrOTAL. SUBSIDENCE 99SHIFTING GROUND AND SQUANDERED RESOURCES buckled, and foundations sheared. The damage was remedied bu and Japan are built on land supported by buttresses, 2 common terdam, are evidence of settlement in the water-saturated fill 1g been plagued by flooding. Ground drawal by industry on the nearby mainland has acceler ‘idence of Venice during this century and has aggravated an already severe flood hazard, Portions of Venice are now submerged at high tide, and, in 1965, storm tides flooded 80 percent of the ci “distributed from city to city and country to co 10 of rocks beneath the city, its physio stabilize subsidence, Thirty square mi hhave subsided up to seven feet bel ‘ground water withdrawal. The city built dikes around the entire ha city’s residents are exposed. Unfortunately. geok ‘area and restricted groundwater pumping, but the two million peo- i 1n. Cities prone to earthquakes, sea level, also a result of an earthquake.” Many cities, ike Denver and Pittsburgh, grew up in sions and have since expanded over old mines. Unfortunat i imine maps are often inaccurate and rarely show the actual extent of 1 mining; many of these old mines were ins shored and are now unstable. Building holes when 4 the ground collapses over f car garage in Youngstown, 2 230-foot mine shaft collapsed; twenty-three houses were damaged ancient geolog- predictable. The recognized, but for destroyed in 1963 when the ground fell in over 2 mine in tt Pennsylvania." Sudden ground collapse also occurs in cities underlain ‘grow, they expand ‘swamps and old buil and, whose stability depends upon its content and the length of time it has been in place. Garbage, rubble, and the ‘wood of old wharves and sunken boats decompose at different rates and may eause subsidence for many years. In the San Francisco Bay f area, one-third of the original bay has been filled since 1849" The ‘every town in a metropolitan region passes ew quarries. The consequences of such atti- 101102 SHIFTING GROUND AND SQUANDERED RESOURCES. but for many years afterward. Water which seeps into the ground ind through the dump has contaminated groundwater; methane gas, which forms when organi maintenance. ‘Transportation accot pres \d dump sites are buried benea sreas. Where these dumps percent of the sand downtown Denver are inaccessible ei and the year 2000 (neat ooda), a figure based on increased transportation costs, the cost o relocating mining operations, and the cost of additional processing, necessitated by the use of lower grade deposits." Contaminated and Compacted Land ‘The earth is increasingly a repository of poisonous residues. Haz~ ‘open dumps, where it is burned o Such dumps pose a health hazard not only during their operation, 103Earth 108 and the first 10 meters salt has contaminated grounds many New England coms ‘lose to the ‘grounds or ur of garden soils in Boston found. in two-thirds of the sb fen from backyard gardens, neighborhood ‘grounds averaged 800 parts of lead per mil soll amended with sewage sludge containing lead, FIGURE 45 ‘The compaction of ety slls retards water infiltration and drainage inhibi [gas exchange, creates an onygen- deficient environment, eliminates sol organ lems, prevents root growth, and increases thermal conductivity. — th many wooden buildings, Beca the city soils is one of parks and streets, seople compacts th: lof city parks. Com absorb and store, reduces the movement of air and rable gardens are freq reduced in the typi- 3 percent of the total narists have trampled the upper layers of iin Washington, D.C., to the density of concrete Is are an ignored resource. The Soil Conservation Ser- primary characteristic: het- leads to expensive and embarrass- Jing blunders (see fig The risk of geological hazards and the loss of geological resources ‘among the best documented and most widely recognized prob- ‘of the urban natural environment, Yet 90 percent of the deaths half of the property damage from earthquakes could be prevent- nated with better planning and proper desi sand and gravel resources could be saved if they were protect until they could be exploited. erate Losses. Hospitals, schools, and homes are built , high-rice apartment complexes and office dings on unstable soils that will liquefy during earthquakes. mes and highways are developed on ancient landslide deposits d landecaped with plants y earthquakes and lané setting the siage for yt ns are subsiding, exposing whole populations Bree waren BBBom we oro fe metropolitan flood risk and. SHIFTING GROUND AND SQUANDERED RESOURCESEarth 108 building damage. New buildings and streets ére planned on land mntains valuable sand and gravel deposits: houses jop old dumps cor jardens and playgrounds are | In the third century 8, Hammurabi of Babylon prescribed striet punishment for builders who failed their responsibilities: Mer build a house for a man and do not make its constriction fim. and Df the owner of the ding Firm Ground nd Exploiting Resources longer always possible to trace responsibility for adisasterto | dividual The responsibilty today i a collective one. Ree | land use regulation and stricter building codes is com- P son; the cost is borne by all. HE EARTH supports homes, highways, factories, and the city’s es of communication and energy, and nurtures plants and the food ‘and in some cases cleanse, wastes. ‘builders of ancient cities often exploited the form of the land to tcure their protection and to enhance their soiey's: monument cr skill, exemplified in the situation of the Acropolis in Athens, is mired today. The limestone, brick. or granite perticular to a ‘have a characteristic color and lend themselves to specific build forms by virtue of their strength, size, and shape. Cities built from tone have a distinctive identity: the limestone of Jerusalem and. “The information needed to protect a cty fom geologlcal hazards ‘gd to conserve and restore its resources is more readily available “py than ever before. The processes by which geologic: “tse and the ways in which they are intensified by humat “The location of both assessed. Effects ‘preventing or mitigating loss, ‘he wise location of land uses, the careful design and construction of CHAPTER 9DEarth 10 buildings, streets, and landscaping, have been tried and proven. The Los Ange 4 has demonstrated the application of geology 10 city desi case studies throughout the country. The Forces of Earth, Water, and Gravity ‘The shape of the lang, its stability, and the nature and location of mystery not wholly unr ity which mold the 5 continents ride the globe. In con- | earthquakes and volcanoes on the} face are common features of the plate bound- the creation of steep ‘The locations of geological hazards and resources are usually well Known, and maps easily obtained or prepared. While many hazards ‘ean be overcome or mitigated only by expensive structural engineer- ‘ng. less costly measures based on an understanding of earth proc- feses can be equally successful, especially if considered in early | stages of planning end design, Finding Firm Ground lesign. Every city should know the haz- 1e most hazardous places, and how many| Earth | | | | } ' |sed more than 30 percent mi fe standards. San Francise own is served by an au wn reservoir and cister mn to outlining emergency acures to be implemented during and after an earthquake an earthquake. Since the damege to non- ing may be over half its replacement cost, ince architectural elements like parapets, facade panels, and dows may break off or shatter, posing a hazard to peo re is little excuse for landslide damage; 95 to 99 percent of damage can be avoided by regul by tunneling into the hi groundwater and by developing most of the hi rardens* POTENTIAL NUROATION AREAS CUE TO RESERVOM FAKLUREFINDING FIRM GROUND AND EXPLOITING RESOURCES Earth igrading must obtain a permit, Grading plans are reviewed lem which may affect bot 1 solutions, depending upon i 17Earth 8 Conserving and Exploiting Resources of mineral resources need not conflic! with other and mi protect ulation of their eventual exploitation, and for the subsequent reclamation and use of the mined-out land. far exceeds the economic ‘burg, Germany, mining «coal under the harbor revived that city’s doomed port. Duisburg is the main inland port on the Rhine River and one of the langes inland ports in the world; it has been an important port for six ie ine was threatened by a six- \e 1900. The harbor master devised an ingenious solution. Because of the hazard of subsidence, ‘mining of coal deposits under the city had been prohibited for years, Ina meticulously plotted and executed plan, 12 million tons of coal were mined from under the harbor to induce subsidence. When the ‘mines collapsed, and the ground beneath the port with them, the ‘water depth wa nearly six Feet." Kansas City, Missouri, is the underground capital of the world, ‘underground space is more profitable tion of underground space has become the primary mining, and the sale of rock is used to offset the cost of developing the space. Mining operations have been modified slightly to modate future use. Previously, irregularly shaped and spaced pillars of limestone were left to support the ceiling. Now twenty-foot by. wre carved out at regular intervals, spaced thirty feet apart. Brunson Instrument Company was the first to occt- PY underground space mined to its specifications, The company. ‘manufacturers of surveying equips ppered by the vibrations in its or vibration-free space, seventy seven feet below the ground, ‘The advantages of underground space in Kansas City Rents and overhead are low: rents average 40 percent below FINDING FIRM GROUND AND EXPLOITING RESOURCES 75 to 80 percent belo 56°F; the relative hu 9Re ee SS eee FINDING FIRM CROUND ANC ing With the renewed interest in urban gardening wrban soils. In FIGURE 5.3 (Community gardens in Boston, converted from deel medium between entirely mineral nor entirely organi water, and the decomposed remains of plants and animals. The simple act of dig tion for spring planting triggers strong, ING RESOURCES 121122 the soil has a high lead content. Only flowers and ornamental plang should be grown in coil with very high lead levels. All vegctableg grown in urban gardens should be washed thoroughly to remove any heavy metals that have settled in the dust from the ait. Children, to play in the fh medium, high, of plants and of assimilating non-toxic wastes. Managed wieely, urban soil can enhance the survival of plants in an urban landseape (see chapter 9). Designing a Safer, More Economical City ‘The cities of California, their population threatened by multiple geological hazards, provide many examples of enlightened urban Planning and design. In recent decades, the state of California has provides , and information to facilitate that effort. In 1973, the California Department of Conserve. ton issued the Urban Geology Master Plan for California, a publication intended to serve as a basis for policymaking by state and local gov- ‘ernment. It reviewed the hazards facing California cities and identi- fied the resources endangered by urban development, defined the those problems, and estimated their ‘The plan estimates that the cost of deaths and damage from geological hazards and the loss of mineral amount to more than $55 billion D and the year 2000, and reports on mutable to ten separate problems: earthquake sn concludes that the application of tigation techniques would save over $38 1 Year 2000 at a cost of with a subsoil map of Tokyo, Japanese cities have constructed an TABLE 5.2 Projected Lesees Due to Geolegicel Problems in Califo aad Potential Loss Reduction. forthe pevod 1870-2000 Beart ost eeigiae any eat i gids] G Bl 4 PHii:, ariel ea ant u Ai afi ; sii auale it #3 B Prete Tal Loe, Without Improvement filing Plies nd Pate Geaepicl Probie, gegeggeggels SEEGER RGR E|? eeaagr Ale a 35 i 22233-2%93/2 [oot Mase Pa fr Callen Sumy” In alain en Enron ays ‘espn Barge 9) Suncor ee Same rT inne WO tage © Metanns nd Bey ln made in he 170 pe, elestvens.o el of apen of peti and rel ine reco of Meta woul 90 pre.124 appointed by the Japanese 1 for Collection and Arrangement of Pri ‘dard Specifications for Ground Inve the Japanese national government also supporte ‘cost of these investigations, resulting in an invaluable series of urban geological records. A Plan for Every City thquakes i cities plagued with recurres rich deposits of the nature of the ground ber wach dramatic problems must Is and insure the stability of Every city should assece the nature of the earth that lies to preparing a comprehensive plan and respond to the city’s geology and soil is Lac \. Specific geologi ‘pattern, and their relative importance vary greatly from city to city depending on the nature of the ground beneath. Are tarthquakes a problem, with attendant landslides or are there exten- regionwide subsidence a proble ‘he spatial pattern of hazards and mineral jou those places where the degree of risk is most severe and be assested in relation to hensive strategy to stabilize the ground end conserve miner sources should: ‘lading ftess and encourage new indusiry and housing, provide a plan fr rec Guakes and tsunamis Jb mineral contortion disinets ‘resources and encourage land us jrovide 9 plan for he eventual reuse of mineral conservation distrits Sher resources have been exploited Every new buildi t, and park within the city should be designed to prevent or mitigate hazards and to conserve and restore resources. Every project should less the geological hazards and resources which exist on the site and immediate neighborhood ings and phase consiraction to expeit mineral resoureeson the Site and design buildings and landscaping to avoid or mitigate hezords the ale's distinctive geological character. itive for comprehensive studies of urban geology will seatest in countries like Japan and in states like Califor- nla prone to recurring hazards, \geles have pioneered so! like Tokyo, San i to a wide array of geological cities with fewer or less severe ppicuous or hidden, have a costly, cumulative eifes igned to withstand or avert geological disasters, to promote \dicious exploitation of mineral resources, and to restore ravaged ng of dollars and millions of lives are at stake. FINDING FIRM GROUND AND EXPLOITING RESOURCESPART IV Water“Floods, Droughts, fand Poisoned Water | OISONED WATER, floods and droughts plague the city. Brown "vers loaded with sewage, sediment, bits of garbage, and poisonous chemical flow through the city, a ip fom which many cites thelr drinking water. In some years floods alone account for 1 United States than any other single natu increasingly common urban phenome- All es, even those in humid climates, must soon fee the loss ir most precious resouree—an abundant supply of uncontami- water Tater Is the city’s Mle blod: it drives industies, heats and cools ‘nurtures fod. quenches thirst, and carries waste. Cities import water than all other goods and ‘combined. Sulficient 1s not only a prorequste for health, it is essential fr ie. De- they are for- Pee density of urban form and the the pattern of settlement and CHAPTER 6Water their location, and urban form and materials, influence the degree of Aooding and where it occurs, the dogree of pollution and where concentrated, and the amount of water consumed. The characteristics ‘of urban water dynamics, pollution, and use are well understood, causes and effects well known, but that knowledge is too ied. The planners, designers, builders, and managers of cit the problems of flooding and storm drainage. water polly sand water supply separately, Increased Floods Al but the have vanished from a modern est creeks and streams of the pre-city landscape 1p. Covered and forgotten, old ‘busied beneath the ground in subterranean storm system. Their neath the street after a heavy rain; magnitude and destructiveness with each increment of urban growth; urbanization can increase the mean annual flood by a6 times.’ Rapid stormwater runoff and narrower, shal ‘The conerete, stone, brick, and asphalt of pavement and buildings cap the city’s surface with a waterproof seal. Unable to penetrate the ‘ground and unimpeded by the city’s smooth surface, the rain which the city increase storm water runoff the most; runoff decreases in the FLOODS, OROUGHTS, AND POISONED WATER Jess densely p pace of time. Storm sewers transport water from one point to ano! er; they do not reduce or eliminate water, they merely change location. Traditional storm drainage practice protects local basements, and parking lots from flooding, while contri major flood damage downstream. The torrential peak flows of urban storm water than floods from comparable storms ood of the Mississippi River at St. Louis was to the flood of 1908; yet the flood waters were more than eight feet Jnigher in 1973. The 1973 flood was the highest in the 189 years that records had been the deposition of sediment in the river channe the height of the 1973 flood. As urban floodplai: nels are confined to control floods and enhance navi also made shallower, a a by-product of other human struction and demolition expose soil to erosion, and storm water ‘carries sediment into streams, A construction site produces ten to ‘one hundred times the amount of eroded sediment that is produced. by farms and forests.’ More than 4,500 tons of soil ing a five-year period fro t The floodplain is the re tively at area moves and upon wh regularly overflows. Unobstructed, the dynamic flow of water co stantly erodes one bank and deposits sediments on the opposite the floodplain, The shape and size of 2 natural river channel reflects the size and frequency of floods to ‘occupies every location wi 131FLOODS, DROUGHTS, AND POISONED WATER ty, South Dakota, rwed the storage reservoir and breach tynamis. Rivers overow onto their foodplaine with predictabio yy structures buile within the floodplain area csk destruction parking lots, (plain: 89.2 percent of the foodplain in Phoenix, Penneylva erect 14 businesses occupy the floodpl ‘The reliance upon massive 133Water ‘oped varies from city to city. Eighty-one percent of Monroe, L flows and increased contamina. systems are combined. as they are in many older cities, the surge of stormwater followin, sustain plants during dry spells. re visible at the surface." The following, Poisoned Water and sheets soaked with disi the Four eenfay na pelea aeress geen a Ceca an Susy t Leadon i Deopmiaeec ne Screed die Conan ka Srey : ee oe Pathogenic organ- fungi—are responsi- near the bridges the feculence rolled up in clouds so dense tneated sanitary sewage and urban runoff accous 135Water +s they generate and th become fully evident 1n Agency has identified 129 “priority heavy metals, urban dust; they leach into ground lec waste disposal sites, and chemical spills, A 1977 study of eurace ted that heavy metals and cant and widespread problem in water near industrial industry proceses waste more effectively, urban runoff is emerging 10 percent of heavy metal "A city’s regional climate and precipitation patterns, its underlying ‘Turbidity and warmer temperatures. the increase of nutrient salts, 137Water geological conditions, the character of water circulations in its ti ers, streams lakes, ponds, and marshes, the types of land uses accu. ying flood-prone areas, the pattern of its sewage system, and its ‘where, when, and how wa: Lakes may be more sus 7 time, the time it takes the in a lake to be completely, replaced, varies with the size of the lake's drainage basin, the receives, and the depth and surface area of the monitored than surface water. Pollution may go undetected until it reaches a ‘which point the source of contamination may be difficult to locate xy slowly through the ground, and abandonment may be the onl when a well becomes con- taminated. Leaks from sew of toxic industrial wastes, leaching from sanitary landfills, crs and pesticides, leaks from chemical storage tanks, and the intru- sion of sea water or saline groundwater are increasingly polluting groundwater. The pollution of groundwater by hazardous waste now threatens the public water supplies of Tampa, Florida, and At- lantic City, New Jersey, a reservoir in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, which supplies drinking water to 800,000 people, and the water sup- plies of countless other communities, many of them as yet ‘undocumented. Dwindling Water Supplies ‘Without water, a city cannot survive, Disputes over water rights were among the most the American West. Today in a river moves steadily snd. Los Angeles, dispute the use of the same Rocky Moun- . Within the next decade, many cities will face a major and lowered groundwater has vies and graveyards be- rivers and lakes, Un- Chicago dumped its sewage into and drew gan. In 1891, typhoid fever took 2,000 at of every 100,000 citizens. Chicago cut is death rate by almost 90 percent by diverting its sewage away om Lake Michigan.” The construction of the Chicago Drainage 1900 reversed the flow of the Chicago River, so that sewage ississippi River. This pro new problems for other land Mistissippi rivers. | and New York, had earlier opted t9 abandon local © port water from distant reservoirs The alteration of the city’e hyd “and their effect on 1926, following the i of sewers and pavement of streets, accompanied by increased pumping, the water than thirty-five feet below sea level led to the abandonment pumping halted, the water ements and subway tunnels co table was lower and causing hundreds of damage. Brooklyn, like many suburban communities whose wellsWater ‘of water from major rivers, and twelve garner water from 3 cor tion of sources, often importing water from great distances” Ea nated reservoir of groundwater or from a lake or river are exceptions. Much of New York Ci mately 6 gallons to fush an average toilet, bath, and 20 to 30 gallons to run a washing machine. A leaky fauc garden of 8,000 square feet requires climate and 500 gallons per day in an drinking w: ‘waste, Increased industrial demand for water, the invention of FLOODS, DROUGHTS, AND POISONED WATER .¢ washing machines, and the popularity of a ground pipes account for the remainder. The amount of water through leaks is probably equal to the sum of all public water need to promote water conservation to overhaul overtaxed and outdated collection, storage, and dis- systems. Even as the city thirsts ainfall 6 not permitted to quickly diverted by the storm drainage 5 ‘more pavement and fewer trees, perm’ the ground. Storm sewers drain the rain’ sprinklers irrigate plants. A water-demandi of trees and lawns proliferates in the parks of cities and the damages ler resources more MI