LSA 220 Introduction to Landscape Architecture

Run Dry

Ligiana Fonseca
September 17, 2014

California is facing a hard period of drought since last year, for the state did not receive the
usual precipitation of water (Marken, 2014). This fact has raised discussions about the
necessity of changing the popular landscapes among Americans (the lawns), which are usually
formed by vegetation that requires a big amount of water. Many cities in California have
adopted strategies to reduce the populations consume of water, such as increasing prices,
limiting the amount of the liquid and the time that individuals can use the resource to water
their yards, or creating devices based on technology that reduces the consume of this liquid
(Marken, 2014). California is not the only place that is suffering from this unusual drought
since 2013. The most populated region in Brazil has faced a scaring drought in the same
period. The Southeast almost did not get rain last summer, and many cities declared
emergency. However, there are cultural differences in the use of water in both countries.
While in the USA, the strategy is to reduce the amount of water spent on vegetation, lawns are
not part of Brazilian culture, and the measures taken to reduce the waste is to warn Brazilians
to not water cars, sidewalks, or balconies. The unusual lack of rain may be a factor that will
make individuals see water as a limited source, and all the natural landscape that is taken as
guaranteed may be seen as passible of change if humans keep making harmful transformations
in the environment.

Reference:
Marken, B. Run Dry. Landscape Architecture Magazine 14 Sept. 2014: 74-85. Print.