Infrastructure

Minimo vital de agua en Bogotá

El agua de Bogotá es potable y deliciosa, algo excepcional en las grandes ciudades de América latina. Esto se debe a su proximidad a abundantes fuentes de agua, especialmente los páramos de Chingaza y Sumapaz, y a una buena gestión del recurso. La mayor parte del agua consumida actualmente proviene de la represa de Chingaza, ubicada a unos 50 kilómetros de Bogotá. Sin embargo, la misma proximidad de la mega urbe supone un riesgo para los frágiles ecosistemas de los páramos: Sumapaz comienza en el mismo término municipal de la capital. Aunque la capacidad de suministro actual se estima suficiente a medio plazo, a largo plazo será necesario construir nuevas represas y canalizaciones, proyectos técnicamente complejos y que probablemente generarán fuertes controversias por su impacto ambiental. Leer más o discutir.

Submitted by Jorge Bela — Mon, 02/10/2014 - 00:00

The story of a river turned sewer

In Indic mythology, there once was a time when cowherds had shunned the water in the bend of the holy River Yamuna near Vrindaban. The water had become lethal due to the poison spat out each day by a dreaded, multi-hooded snake called Kaliyā. One day Krisha, an incarnation of divine god Vishnu, danced on the hood of Kaliyā. The dance subdued the serpent and it left for the ocean on the command of Krishna. Today, another "Kaliyā" treads the water of the River Yamuna. The lack of political will and concern on part of the civilian population has made the water lethal and shriveled the river's ecosystem. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Priyanka Jain — Mon, 02/10/2014 - 00:00

Rio 40º — e sem água

Na competição por água no Rio de Janeiro as zonas Norte e Oeste — mais carentes que a famosa Zona Sul — estão claramente perdendo. A cidade enfrenta um dos verões mais quentes dos últimos tempos e alguns bairros tiveram seu fornecimento de água intermitente por semanas nesse Janeiro, devido em parte à falta de reservatórios em larga escala e à manutenção incipiente na rede de fornecimento. Leia mais o discutir.

Submitted by Eliana Barbosa — Mon, 02/10/2014 - 00:00

শহুরে দরিদ্রদের মধ্যে পানির জন্য প্রতিযোগিতা

পৃথিবীর তিন চতুর্থাংশ জুড়ে বিস্তার করা পানি জীবনের মূল মাধ্যম। বছরে ২০০০ মিলি বৃষ্টিপাত এবং তিনটি প্রধান নদীর পাশে অবস্থিত হয়েও বিশাল নগর ঢাকা এখন পর্যন্ত নগরবাসীদের নিরাপদ পানির সরবরাহ দিতে পারে নাই। সমগ্র ঢাকায় প্রায় ১৬ কোটি মানুষের (যা প্রতি বছর ৫% হারে বাড়ছে) পানি সরবরাহ এবং নিকাশী সেবার দায়িত্ব একটি মাত্র সংস্থা "ঢাকা পানি সরবরাহ এবং পয়নিস্কাশন কর্তৃপক্ষ" (ডি.ডব্লিউ.এ.এস.এ) এর উপর নিয়োজিত, তাই তাদের জন্য সবসময় পানির গুণগত মান এবং পরিমান রক্ষা করা সম্ভব হয়ে ওঠে না। Read more or discuss.

Submitted by Editor — Mon, 02/10/2014 - 00:00

Pedal Power to the People

Applying human power to rotary motion goes back as far as the 10th Century in China and in Europe. Treadles were used to pump water, power machinery for producing textiles and working with wood. Pedal-powered machines boomed in the late 1800s, according to Low-Tech Magazine, and the rise of cheap electricity put an end to the continued development of human-powered machines. It was not until the oil crisis of the 1970s that pedal-powered machines witnessed a resurgence. Read more.

Submitted by Tracey Grose — Mon, 02/03/2014 - 16:10

Sanitation as a human right

At a recent sanitation roundtable discussion at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a public policy think tank in Mumbai, Chairman Sudheendra Kulkarni said that Mahatma Gandhi believed sanitation was more important than political independence. In 2010, the UN declared access to sanitation a human right. Despite the increased emphasis, says Dhaval Desai, a senior researcher at ORF, the two are rarely linked. "If one agrees that there is a connect between lack of access to clean and hygienic sanitation and global statistics on poverty, malnutrition, infant mortality, maternal health, diseases, education, and gender, then it is impossible to deny sanitation as an intrinsic human rights issue." Desai, who specializes in water and sanitation issues, discussed with us the importance of this human rights issue and some promising ways forward. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Carlin Carr — Mon, 12/09/2013 - 00:00

Musim hujan datang, Jakarta bersiap menghadapi banjir

Di bulan November ini warga dan pemerintah DKI Jakarta bersiap-siap menghadapi datangnya musim penghujan. Tentu kita masih ingat ketika banjir besar melanda ibukota di awal tahun 2013 ini, saat itu sebagian besar wilayah Jabodetabek terendam air karena intensitas hujan yang tinggi. Bahkan pusat kota Jakarta yang merupakan pusat pemerintahan dan bisnis distrik juga terendam karena peristiwa tanggul jebol di Jalan Latuharhari. Pemprov DKI Jakarta menargetkan pengerjaan persiapan antisipasi banjir selesai pada akhir Desember tahun ini. Pengerjaan tersebut terbagi ke dalam beberapa proyek seperti pengerukan 12 waduk, perbaikan pompa di rumah-rumah pompa, refungsi sungai, normalisasi kali, dan sumur resapan. Baca lebih lanjut.

Submitted by Nanda Ratna — Tue, 11/26/2013 - 15:15

Is Walkability Only About Mobility?

Walkability and green spaces are not the same thing, but it feels as if they ought to be related somehow. This is because walkability in its most basic form is more than some version of "is possible to walk there", but also "is possible and pleasant to walk there." Or is it? One published definition of walkability, for example, is: "The extent to which the built environment is friendly to the presence of people living, shopping, visiting, enjoying or spending time in an area." (from Walkability Scoping Paper, 2005). All the action is in the word "friendly", and there's a lot of unpacking to do. Read more.

Submitted by David Maddox — Fri, 11/08/2013 - 12:17

Mumbai's children risk life and limb on their walk to school

Mumbai's streets are a scary battleground. Rickshaws nudge ahead of beastly city buses; cows wander aimlessly through jams of oversized cars; and pedestrians push across busy intersections in droves, hoping the power in numbers will help them reach the other side safely. Everyone is vulnerable in this situation, but no one more than the thousands of school children who walk to school, often in the streets, in the absence of school buses and navigable sidewalks. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Carlin Carr — Mon, 11/04/2013 - 00:00

Considerações sobre a cultura verde e de acessibilidade de Curitiba

O fato que Curitiba seja reconhecida como uma cidade verde, acessível e organizada não é um resultado improvisado, mais é resultado de uma cultura sólida de planejamento urbano e da liderança de suas administrações. Apresentamos alguns dos motivos que ajudam a explicar aquela boa reputação de Curitiba especialmente sobre por que é verde, acessível e "humana"; também apresentamos alguns dos desafios que enfrenta na matéria. Leia mais o discutir.

Submitted by Catalina Gomez — Mon, 11/04/2013 - 00:00

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