20140922_Crowdsourcing image_Todd Meyer_Alec Hawley

What can a “crowd” often do better than the government, financial institutions, or a corporate entity? It can become a tool for genuine community empowerment, replacing accepted avenues of development whereby funding or employment typically comes through fixed economies such as the government, NGOs, corporations, or financial institutions. “Crowdsourcing,” as we know, is an enterprise… Read more »

Posted by
in Community, Landscape Infrastructure
on

Be the first to comment

Share this post
Facebook
Twitter

coal plant

America’s reliance on coal energy is decreasing as the Environmental Protection Agency sets stricter pollution standards. Currently, the EPA’s goal is to cut thirty percent of national carbon emissions by 2030. This projected standard, along with the rise of alternative energies, will mark a clear shift in America’s energy consumption. The US Energy Information Administration… Read more »

Posted by
in Ecology, Landscape Infrastructure
on

1 comment

Share this post
Facebook
Twitter

rsz_edmonton-trees

Drought combined with erratic patterns of excessive rain—this seems to be the new normal for North American cities. 2012 was the worst drought on the continent in 50 years. Higher-intensity hurricanes and rainfall—like we saw with Hurricane Sandy—are increasing flooding, costing the US over $2 billion annually and putting increased pressure on our already stressed… Read more »

rsz_nomad2

I was fortunate to grow up in a house with a large backyard slightly north of Seattle. Above all, in this Pacific Northwest paradise of seasons and ample rain, my parents prioritized making time for their beautiful and prolific vegetable garden, and it remains one of the clearest memories of my childhood (in addition to… Read more »

SWA BLOG - COVER-ayaka-final

Addressing natural disasters from a landscape architecture perspective requires a balanced approach. This statement focused my master’s project at West Virginia University. I chose the dam crisis issue as my topic when I learned that the risk of dam failure has been rapidly increasing due to the aging of dams and the high intensity of… Read more »

Desert Greening3

Deserts currently make up about 33 percent of the Earth’s land surface area, with more being co-opted every day. When one thinks of deserts, they usually picture arid places with little to no vegetation. However that’s not always the case anymore. “Desert Greening” is the term used to describe the phenomenon of taking over existing… Read more »