TEDxTucson - James MacAdam - Green Streets of Tucson

[@williamozier918]

Around 2008 i worked at the Ecosa Institute. We worked with Brad Lancaster to get Tucson's first rain water harvesting codes approved, using Brad's work at Manzanita Village.

[@kermitefrog64]

There is another video on water usage in Tucson that reflects some of this information. Thank you for sharing. We need this in California. The drought is causing the beatles to kill the forests and then we have all these horrible fires.

[@robs227]

After my trip around the world I will regreen Tucson. So much water there. The monsoons drop so much water. Just really poorly harvested. People lose their cars it floods so hard. Literally thousands of curbs to cut.

[@gup8175]

🌍Think Global 🌏Act Local🌎

[@wildopeneye1634]

Great stuff! Bump-outs are a super idea!

[@SuerteDelMolinoFarm]

Greetings from the LooseNatural farm in Andalusia Spain

[@samaisukthanadson3223]

So interesting!

[@Danielseven-ir2mq]

Rain garden.

[@gggreggg]

the desert is beautiful but the cities and towns of Arizona have achieved a degree of ugliness that is shocking.

[@alanhowitzer]

Scottsdale is nice

[@solfeinberg437]

Is it (the traditional street) actually good at preventing flooding? I don't think so - it just rushes it away to flood somewhere else, right?

[@islandgardener158]

All this slows the water down, and they can make better use of it

[@soulshadoww55]

I think a lot of the water sinks into the ground, thereby recharging the underground aquifers.

[@galenhaugh3158]

You mean turn the muffin tin right side up!

[@ИорданЙео]

Just curious, will this system induce mosquitos population?

[@internetopinion3043]

It takes 3 days for standing water to foster mosquitos.The runoff has soaked in/evaporated long before that. Keep in mind this is being implemented in a hot, desert environment. If your region is not hot desert, you may have different results.

[@DesertRat1997]

Not if done properly, part of it is enriching the soil with mulch and living plant roots to create a "sponge" and increase absorption rates.

[@matthewcain2880]

So, exactly what Brad Lancaster has been doing since 1996 in Tucson?

[@brooksanderson2599]

Brad Lancaster introduced curb cutting and sunken medians to Tucson a couple of decades ago. I use Brad's methods, with credit, down here in Mexico. "Google" on the Internet to learn more about him and his work.

[@danielrose1392]

Matthew Cain did you even watch the video? He is referring to Brad Lancaster. There is so much more you can do with rain water management, just look at traditional italian streets. Last summer I have been there during a heavy rain event. There where ditches to absorb the water everywhere and rarely any rain entered the sewage system.

[@Mark-xt8jp]

Yeah this really seems like a recap/rehash of what was already discussed in Brad's TEDx talk. Worth reminding people, maybe they needed some filler for the event and this was a short notice idea?

[@SRILATHA595]

very interesting .

[@brandonmusser3119]

That's what I've been saying

[@olirueda6907]

whats to stop someone from buying a concrete saw and just doing a bunch of these without permission or accountabilty. chaotic good. thoughts?

[@t1lly]

That's sort of how the movement got started by brad lancaster. Now it's mandated in future developments around Tucson and they are working to implement it on existing infrastructure.

[@franziskani]

to give credit to officials in Tuscon - the neighbourhood banded together, cut open the pavement, dug out the soil and planted. THEN - after the work was completed at a weekend - they showed the city a finished project. Officials saw that this was done by reasonable people, it certainly did help that many people (not just one person) was behind it. Normally someone would call the police if you start to cut up the curb. No objections by officials, pretty soon effects to be seen (plants growing without any irrigation). Plus reduction of storm water. The challenge of increasing stormwater / flood events creates headaches for authorities. Looks like we will get longer periods of draughts followed by torrential rainfalls. That may have been the monsoon pattern in AZ anyway, but we can factor in that the extremes will become much more frequent in many regions of the world. I know it has in Europe, Australia, many regions in the U.S. If the storm water infrastructures cannot handle an uncommonly severe (or longer than usual) downpour flooding will cause considerable damage. So a measure that has the potential to reduce that risk, funnels water back into the underground (streams have dried up, also a small one that the neighbourhood of Brad Lancester used to swim in - that is one reason why the neighbours of Brad Lancester were on board). The plants make the neighbourhood more attractive. The measures do not cause any harm and in the beginning did not cost the city a dime ..... so the city wisely did not object. They were even supportive, in the meantime they might even support it financially, and they certainly changed codes. In the area where Brad Lancester started, they now have more people on the street. Walking, using benches, harvesting fruit. So it has become safer, fewer burglaries, car thefts. People LIKE to be out on the street now, so fewer opportunities for criminals to remain undetected. Also during night.

[@katanyajason3316]

Funny that his name is MacAdam as "macadam" also means asphalt.

[@blurryflag6466]

nice

[@spaideman7850]

the public did this because the government did nothing. the govt could easily make a proper rain water catchment; without these dangerous pits for pedestrians.

[@eugentomas1922]

Its is very old system. And this system can to be used in hot climate only. And this system have very limited usage for any towns and cities what was build long time ago or just yestrday, because there path is cone is connected straight in to the roads and otherside that is straight connected to the building. Thats the reality.

[@royparker7856]

The older cities can't be changed completely, but what can be done needs to be done to harvest rainwater, grow vegetation, reduce runoff, and recharge groundwater tables wherever possible.

[@kastironwoman6009]

People didn't just all spontaneously run out and start doing this, Brad Lancaster was the leader and people followed his example when they saw what he could do. You didn't give Brad the credit he deserved! He STARTED the grass roots movement- yes?? I think your talk is plageristic.

[@franziskani]

The speaker did mention Brad Lancester !

[@rosstemple7617]

Brad Lancaster... sheesh. Rip off much

[@internetopinion3043]

They are not patenting a product to sell, just sharing ideas. They merely have parallel goals of fixing a dysfunctional city infrastructure in a time when it is needed the most. Is it reasonable to expect one person to fix it all? Many hands make light work. In any event, Brad Lancaster took his time and made an objectively better TEDx Talk. And to MacAdam's credit he does name drop Brad Lancaster. Lancaster's TEDx Talk "Planting the Rain..." is high in the recommends column on the right. Lancaster's TEDx has been on KZbin less than half the time MacAdam's has been, yet it has three times the views. XD

[@franziskani]

This was a Tuscon event - maybe Brad Lancester was not available, or maybe he too had a contribution.

[@Blakelikesfood]

Worst city in the state.