Issue 490

Water

Conserving, reusing and recycling our most precious natural resource

Water, Water Everywhere

A look at San Francisco's urban water plan

Since 1934 San Francisco has relied on the Tuolumne River in Yosemite for almost all of its water. But to protect the health of the river and establish a more resilient water source in times of drought and disaster, the city is introducing the use of recycled and groundwater and furthering conservation efforts.

Urban Field Notes: Five Chats about Architecture Overheard on the Street

All over the city old and new buildings sit side by side, each speaking the language of its native cultural moment: pre-war or mid-century or post-modern. As they pass the time, bearing witness to the eddy of human activity percolating around them, I like to imagine these buildings are talking to one another.