Barranquilla is a city that floods on top of a river. Every wet season, runoff overwhelms streets that have no real stormwater infrastructure and the same creeks that carry that runoff are also the city’s de facto sewers, with only 17% of wastewater actually treated. This post proposes Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems along the existing creek corridors as one intervention for both.
Background The city of Queretaro is the capital of the state of Queretaro, located in central Mexico. About 200 km northwest of Mexico City, Queretaro has an arid to semi-arid climate with an average yearly temperature around 70°F and a yearly precipitation of only 374.6 mm (Comision Nacional del Agua, […]
In the desert city of Ica, Peru, the booming agriculture export industry is considered a “miracle”. Accounting for almost a fifth of the country’s exports, water thirsty crops like asparagus and avocado are cultivated year round in the hyper-arid region for international consumption. With multiple loans from the World […]
Background Tucked into the Andes foothills, Quito, the Ecuadorian capital is over 9,000 feet above sea level, and has a population of nearly two million people. The city has a relatively robust and advanced water infrastructure system. Quito receives over 97% of its water from surface water sources. Dispersed throughout […]
Introduction Fortaleza is located in Brazil’s state of Ceará, and is also the capital and economic hub of the state. It is situated in the larger Northeastern Region of Brazil which is a semi-arid region that experiences seasonal rains and droughts. Fortaleza is the 5th largest Brazilian capital and is […]
Introduction GUATEMALA CITY Guatemala City is the capital of Guatemala, and its metropolitan region is made up of 12 municipalities within the capital state (province) named “Guatemala.” The total population of the city is 2.7 million and represents approximately 20% of the population of the country (FUNCAGUA 2018, p. 21). […]
In 1824 Peru gained their Independence, but colonization has had a lasting impact on the country, the capital city, Lima, was founded by the Spanish. It was not typical for Incan cities to be located on the desert coast, where there is a severe lack of water supplies. Peru’s population […]
Background | Bogotá River, Colombia Bogotá is the capital of Colombia. The city is located on la Sabana de Bogotá, a highland plateau at an average of 2,550m above sea level (see Fig. 1). The Sabana is an important agricultural region, owing its productivity to fertile soils and the system […]