Forty-seven miles of the 400-mile California Aqueduct could have their flow reversed this summer to bring water to dry Central California districts with dangerously low supplies, reports KQED. As this megadrought's persisted and worsened, it's come to light that many water districts, especially the smaller ones, haven't had the chance (read: the money) to stockpile water as we do here in SoCal. — la.curbed.com

Since it's Earth Day, here are the 18th annual Top Ten Green Projects just announced by the AIA and their Committee on the Environment (COTE). The awards program is the best known in the field for recognizing excellence in sustainable architecture and ecological design. Additionally, AIA and COTE awarded one project as the Top Ten Plus Project, which honors a past Top Ten Green Project that demonstrates through quantifiable metrics the impact of sustainable design and technology. — bustler.net

It's a well-known fact that a safe and comfortable home is essential to one's well-being. From Building Trust International's 2013 "The Future of Sustainable Housing in Cambodia" competition, over 600 registered entrants proposed sustainable housing solutions for low-income families in Cambodia.

The jury -- which also comprised of the families who moved into their new homes -- chose 3 joint-winning designs recently constructed in Phnom Penh. — bustler.net

Last week I attended the seventh World Urban Forum in Medellín, Colombia, where more than 20,000 city leaders, urbanists, and planners from more than 160 countries met to discuss the future of cities across the globe. [...]

Unfortunately, a number of important countries, the U.S. and Canada among them, remain worryingly undecided about joining this widespread call for a city-specific SDG from countries as diverse as Germany, Colombia, and Ghana. — theatlanticcities.com

In so-called hot cities [...] battles are raging over height limits and urban density, all on the basis of two premises: 1) that building all these towers will increase the supply of housing and therefore reduce its costs; 2) that increasing density is the green, sustainable thing to do and that towers are the best way to do it.

I am not sure that either is true. — theguardian.com

I’d asked Stokes whether the technology challenges of designing a building to last 100+ years are more difficult today than they were in, say, 1900 — or if it’s as difficult, just different. He said the challenges might be more difficult today, but regardless, maybe technology is changing the solution: we shouldn’t try to design buildings today to last 100 years, but design them so they’ll last for, say, 20 years and then be replaced. — radar.oreilly.com

Contrary to the simplified linear causality of the environmentalism of the past, which posited that natural geography shapes urban patterns, it is now thought that contemporary urbanization shapes the surface of the earth. Nikos Katsikis explains this tremendous current shift in the meaning of physical geography for cities in his contribution "On the Geographical Organization of World Urbanization".

(Bernd Upmeyer, Editor-in-Chief, April 2014) — http://www.monu-magazine.com

Dutch water-management experts have done such a good job of protecting their country that they rarely get to practice with water crises — whereas America was facing something monumental that as a culture it didn’t yet grasp. When Donovan arrived back in the U.S., he opened an email from Ovink that said, in effect, “I hope this isn’t too forward, but could I come work with you?” — nytimes.com

The size of the [3-D printing] market ... is expected to grow to $3.8 billion this year and soar to $16.2 billion globally by 2018. [...]

"This is a market with enormous growth potential now that the main barriers to up-take are being addressed," Shepherd said. "As it matures, there is clear and substantial potential across numerous sectors, such as engineering and architecture, aerospace and defense, and medical ... for 3-D printing to have a dramatic impact within five years." — The Los Angeles Times

A Shanghai building company has erected a small village of pitched-roof, 3-D printed structures—in about a day. WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Co is behind the series of humble buildings, which each cost less than $5,000 each. The homes were created through the use of a 490- by 33- by 20-foot 3-D printer that fabricates the basic components required for assembly. — blog.archpaper.com

Mitchell Joachim; New York has, over the last few centuries, become one of the world’s most densely packed cities. But what if you could redraw the city’s map – and build it from scratch? — BBC

Saadiyat Island, off the coast of Abu Dhabi, has seen $27 billion in investments pour in as the island hopes to become a new beacon of culture in the region

developers behind the island have received international attention for the poor conditions in which migrant laborers work and live. Reports have found that in some cases, the control employers hold over the island's workers, such as withholding their passports to prevent them from returning to their home countries, amounts to forced labor. — Al Jazeera America

The winners of the WoodWorks 2014 U.S. Wood Design Awards sure know how to prove wood as a versatile material in architecture. Out of 140 entries -- the most the competition has ever received -- the jury selected nine of the most outstanding projects in wood architecture.

During the recent ceremony at the Southeast Wood Solutions Fair in Charlotte, NC, awards were given in nine categories. Four Regional Winners were also awarded. — bustler.net