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Title
Abstract
Figures
Introduction
Urban Metabolism and Civic Design
References
All Topics
Environmental Science
Ecology

Limitless Capacity: Water, Landscape and Society in the American We

Profile image of Kathy KambicKathy Kambic

2020, Critical Practices in Architecture: The Unexamined

Abstract
sparkles

AI

This paper explores the intricate interplay between power relations, landscape design, and water management in the American West, particularly through the lens of the Colorado Compact. It critiques contemporary urban landscape theory, emphasizing that landscape architecture often reinforces the power of the wealthy while concealing the labor dynamics that support these landscapes. Historical and contemporary examples illustrate how landscapes can both exert and resist power, highlighting the necessity for designers to reconsider their roles in shaping democratic and equitable landscapes.

Figures (2)
Fig. 6-1. Image of Lake Mead with its bathtub ring, Hoover Dam and bridge. The four intake towers can be seen directly behind the dam. Credit: Ane Gonzalez-Lara.
Fig. 6-1. Image of Lake Mead with its bathtub ring, Hoover Dam and bridge. The four intake towers can be seen directly behind the dam. Credit: Ane Gonzalez-Lara.
displaying the desired/manufactured human condition instead of clearly identifying it or changing it. Fig. 6-2. 30,000 people gathered to watch William Mulholland officially hand over the Los Angeles Aqueduct at the Sylmar Cascades to the mayor of Los Angeles, establishing the city of Los Angeles at the center of the water nexus in the West and guaranteeing the destruction of the Owens Valley, November 5, 1913!’. (Photo Credit: Herald Examiner Collection / Los Angeles Public Library.)
displaying the desired/manufactured human condition instead of clearly identifying it or changing it. Fig. 6-2. 30,000 people gathered to watch William Mulholland officially hand over the Los Angeles Aqueduct at the Sylmar Cascades to the mayor of Los Angeles, establishing the city of Los Angeles at the center of the water nexus in the West and guaranteeing the destruction of the Owens Valley, November 5, 1913!’. (Photo Credit: Herald Examiner Collection / Los Angeles Public Library.)

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