Depave Paradise

<p>Writer Caroline Fraser argues a chilling link between industrial poison, deadly design, and a generation of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest.</p> <p><p>Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.&nbsp;<br><b ... Show More

<p>People once dreamed of sidewalks that could whisk them across cities. Somehow, that dream ended up at the airport.</p> <p><p>Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.&nbsp;<br><br>Start a free trial now on Apple ... Show More

<p>Comedy writer Elliott Kalan (The Daily Show, <a href="https://www.flophousepodcast.com" target="_blank">The Flop House</a>, <a href="https://mst3k.com" target="_blank">Mystery Science Theater 3000</a>, and co-host of the <a href="https://99percentinvisible.org/powerbroker" tar ... Show More

Sponge cities use natural features to slow down, soak up and reuse flood water. Yu Kongjian nearly drowned as a boy when his village flooded, but it inspired him to come up with the sponge city concept. It’s now being rolled out across China. In Singapore too, parks and lakes are ... Show More

Older American cities have a dirty problem — outdated sewer systems that use a single pipe to carry both sewage and stormwater to treatment facilities. As population growth and climate change have increased both sewage and stormwater, those pipes can get filled to capacity, and t ... Show More

<p>From London to Tokyo, climate change is causing cities to sink -- and our modern concrete infrastructure is making us even more vulnerable to severe flooding, says landscape architect and TED Fellow Kotchakorn Voraakhom. But what if we could design cities to help fight floods? ... Show More

“People can’t go to work, can’t cook. We aren’t even sure if the water that’s brought in by trucks is clean. Enough is enough.” Residents of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa have been dealing with water shortages for months. A long drought and ageing infrastructure are b ... Show More

The medieval city of Venice is situated in the heart of a lagoon on the coast of northeast Italy. It was built on a large area of low-lying marshland. A system of wooden poles driven into the soft mud created an underwater forest. It still forms the foundations of the city we see ... Show More

<p>On today’s show we are talking about flooding. When it rains you have to think about where the water is going to go.</p> <p>We’ve all heard the advice about how to always pitch your tent in a high location and to avoid the low spots where water will flow in the event of a rain ... Show More

Vast areas of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul remain under water after the worst flooding in 80 years. Homes have been destroyed, thousands are without power or drinking water, and entire towns remain cut-off. The torrential rains began in Rio Grande do Sul at t ... Show More

Giant engineering projects didn’t solve all of Chicago’s water woes. Intense rainfalls are dumping more water on the city, resulting in more flooding. This despite about $4 billion in spending on one of the most expensive public works projects in the nation’s history. So what can ... Show More

Industrial designer Enrique Lomnitz wanted to use his creativity for good. When he learned that climate change was making water scarcity even worse for Mexico City’s low income residents, he tried to harness a natural resource: rain. A transcript of this episode is available at h ... Show More

<p>By 1907, the city of Los Angeles had found a solution to its water problem. Two hundred miles north in the Owens River Valley was a never-ending source of water. Los Angeles Water Department superintendent William Mulholland set about constructing one of the largest public wor ... Show More