the irony of desert flash floods

images from 'Haaretz' online newspaper

This was the week, these past few days the Negev got more rainfall than it usually receives in a couple of years. Two people who partook in "flood hunting" i.e. the dangerous sport of driving down to the desert to catch a rare glimpse of it filling up with water, did not make it out alive. These floods occur rarely, but when they do, they bring with them destruction to infrastructure and potential casualties. Wouldn't it make sense to find a way to harness this much needed water?

half-baked ideas

The crops from MX reviews at the end of last term- This half baked water system (+ some after holiday slump..). The components are supposedly there, just (!) need to do the mixin' and the bakin'. And of course, the two other systems... In the meanwhile, trying to get educated about desert greenhouse practices, a mission proving to be challenging, considering I live in a country where the average temperature for this season is -10c.

Cash Flow

This movie, which was recommended to me by Jessica (thanks!), portrays the global processes of water privatization. Quite an insightful documentary shedding light on how scarce this resource really is, even in places where we believe it is ample. Furthermore, it tells the stories of many communities around the world whose water resource was destroyed or their access to it denied by large corporations basing their operations on water extraction in these sources. These corporations are often promoting large development projects meant to 'resolve' water scarcity, where the reality is that water 'produced' through these operations is only available to those who can pay. The ethical question is then: who owns water? and Can water be sold as if it was private property? The issue is now relevant more than ever in the context of Israeli water crisis. As drought years become more frequent, underground resources and surface water are pumped at a substantially higher rate than they are replenished, the solution being promoted is extensive desalination. Not to mention the ecological issues of desalination and the enormous energy consumption these plants require, this an obvious trend towards privatization of the water sector. Desalination plants (providing 85% of domestic consumption) will be owned by private investors alongside the power plants enabling their activities. Negative impact on public beaches is an obvious drawback. Worse might be the reality that not all could afford water for everyday life. To put this in context, as of last month a new drought fee has been reinstated in Israel, whereby water allotment per person has decreased and surplus charges have gone up significantly. This means that for many, water bills have gone up by a ten fold. Gardening is no longer a viable choice, and many ordinary people need to consider if they can afford taking a shower, turning on the washer or having a glass of water. Will all this tax money go into desalination initiatives only to emerge as developer profit in the end of the day? A positive alternative is presented in "Flow", through localized initiatives of community members who start harvesting rainwater and treating wastewater locally, for the long term benefit of their communities.

To watch the preview- Flow preview
The full movie on DVD is available for loan at the Cambridge libraries.

Potential mapping

The 3 systems layered, overlapping with existing roads and borders.
(not sure why this uploads so strangely)

Water opportunities

Energy opportunities

Soil opportunities

In the next few weeks I will be compiling information on rainwater collection systems in arid zones, to be used as a precedent and basis for the water system design. This seems to be the limiting factor of this hybrid system, and so needs to be resolved to establish the foundations or basic assumptions of the project. Later on the same approach will be applied to overlay the energy systems and the greenhouse agriculture. Hopefully the effective hybridization and appropriate form will then emerge...

Dune city

An intriguing proposal by Magnus Larsson for a linear city made of solidified sand dunes acting as a sand shield across the Sahara desert. Larsson is proposing using a special bacteria which will solidify the sand and produce habitable and arable cavity structures which will help stop the rapid movement of dunes thus combating the effects of further desertification.

Networks, cities and trees

Occupying and connecting. Frei Otto. 2009. P.51

The image above is provided by Otto in support of his argument that human spontaneous networks of urbanity follow similar patterns to ones formed in nature through the structures of leaves, insect colonies or soap bubbles. The attractive part of this argument has to do with an energy analysis. Since none of these networks mentioned is formally planned, their form is the outcome of an evolutionary process favouring systems with a minimal energy path or more accurately an energetic equilibrium. In a similar manner our own organic non-planned communities, such as medieval villages follow those patterns, which minimize energy expenditure. This may lead us to one of two possible conclusions: 1. we need not bother with urban planning, as the emergent self organization would take care of itself in the most efficient way, or 2. our planning should be informed by these processes and at best imitate their operations to 'become one with nature'.

Network types by Paul Baran, developer of the distributed communication network system, early 1960's

In criticism of some of these interpretations, as well as his own earlier assumptions, Christopher Alexander's article from 1965, "A city is not a tree", claims that the tree (or centralized, hierarchical) structure is simplistic, limited and limiting when applied to city planning. Alexander argues that our current needs embody a higher level of complexity than the tree structure permits. He proposes a three dimensional 'semilattice' network (not unlike the distributed system above) which allows for multiple overlapping to occur, as well as provides non hierarchical means of connectivity. Although published almost half a century ago, these ideas may still prove relevant especially with our growing familiarity with distributed complex communication networks such as the Internet. As we develop our social network understanding in a more distributed way, the question still remains: how does this affect city planning? Is the omnipresent grid laid out obliterating any landscape and context the way to go? Minimal energy path tree structure with its obvious limitations? Or could (and should...) the semilattice network materialize and be manifested beyond the virtual world? I would love to get some comments on these issues from anyone out there..

Pharan floods- site II