by Steve Moddemeyer
Imagine the soft city.
- Rain is absorbed into the ground. There is no storm runoff.
- Leaves and needles intercept the rain before it hits the ground. They hold it and release it back to the atmosphere as water vapor.
- The city comes alive when it rains. Water features fill and shally as expressive elements of the true urban renewal. There are fountains that only operate in the rain. And some features on the fountain only operate if the rain exceeds a 100-year storm. These “century” fountains are beautiful even when empty – like Death Valley is beautiful.
- The new soft city is quiet. Porous paving absorbs rain and sound. Soft vegetated walls absorb sound and don’t bounce it back Electric cars are quiet with only the sound of wheel slap and pedestrian tones affecting the sound of wind through the trees.
- Soft city is habitat. Returned are the blue butterflies of lowland prairies. Nesting birds raise their young in sight of dense urban dwellings.
- Rooftops absorb water and emanate green to surrounding forms.
- It is cool in the soft city in the summer and buffered from the cold in the winter
