WaterMarks: Reclaiming Water's Status in the Urban Realm

WATER MARKS Restoring Water’s Status in the Urban Realm

Sai Prateek Narayan Master of Urban Design Carnegie Mellon University Spring 2019

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WATER MARKS Restoring Water’s Status in the Urban Scape Sai Prateek Narayan Master of Urban Design Carnegie Mellon University

Advisors: Jonathan Kline Stefan Gruber

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Acknowledgments I would first like to thank my thesis advisors, Professors Jonathan Kline and Stefan Gruber, of the Master of Urban Design program at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Architecture. They thought of my thesis just as much as I did, and provided innumerable resources at the drop of a hat. All the while, they made sure that this thesis project was my own work and with my own interests at heart, and steered me in the right the direction whenever they thought I needed it.

I would also like to thank Professor Nida Rehman, a truly inspirational and encouraging mentor throughout my graduate career at Carnegie Mellon. Without her passionate participation and input, as well as her course on Urban Ecology and the opportunity it provided to see my personal interests in a new light, this thesis would definitely fall short.

I would also like to acknowledge Prof. María Arquero de Alarcón, Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning and Director of the Master of Urban Design at the Taubman School at the University of Michigan as a final reviewer for my thesis. I am indebted to her for her very valuable comments on this thesis, and hope it pushes my work forward in the future.

Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents - who listened to every rant and revelation, regardless of whether they understood it - and to my MUD cohort Chase, David, Deepanshi, Chi, Sujan, Rebecca, Veronica, Aditi, Alvin, and Yang - for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and through the process of researching and writing this thesis.

This accomplishment would not have been possible without them.

Thank you all.

Sai Prateek Narayan

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Table of Contents PURPOSE

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Proposal Summary

PROBLEM

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17 18 22 24 28 34 35 35

Our History with Water Issues with Water Pittsburgh’s History with Water Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority People and Their Water Water as a Catalyst for Education Water as an Amenity for the Masses Water as an Agent for Social Growth

ANALYSIS

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Mapping Pittsburgh’s Water

When does Water Infrastructure

Become Public?

Fountains

Pittsburgh’s Drinking Fountain

Distribution

Fire Hydrants

Pittsburgh’s Hydrant Distribution

Breaking Down the Hydrant

Case Studies and Precedents

The Breathe Project Prinzessinnengarten Lucht Singel

40 42 42 48 50 52 56 58 58 60 62

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PROPOSAL

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Commoning Strategy

Micro-Urban Public Spaces

Urban Acupuncture Proposals The Basin The Cooler The Playspace Educational Signage Smartphone Application

66 70 71 72 72 74 76 78 80

EXHIBITION

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86 92 100

Exhibition Strategy Exhibition Photographs Final Presentation

MOVING FORWARD

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104 105

Next Steps Potential Outcomes

CONCLUSION

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Books

News Articles

Supplementary Materials

112 114 116

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Purpose

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Proposal Summary A myriad of problems have been causing water to become one of the most rarefied and contested resources that people cannot take for granted any longer. From the market vying for the privatization of water and sea level rise impacting real estate values, to waterfronts being threatened by climate change and a growing concern for access to clean water, water has done its job so “well” that we have become desensitized to nature and oblivious to its rarity. Charles Fishman, author of “The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water”, calls the human race “water illiterate” - and rightfully so. Due to our apathetic consumerist behavior, we don’t even question the process of treatment of water, the one resource-based commons that is most intimately tied with our homes, our neighborhoods, and every living being on this planet.

Since the implementation of underground water and sewer systems, we seem to have hidden water from our sights and lives, forgetting that water was the focal point for social gatherings from as early as the bath houses of ancient Rome to the wash houses of France. Even today, several European neighborhoods incorporate a drinking fountain in their public spaces, around which people spend hours of leisure or recreation, and many cultures around the world hold water in high regard, as an asset that unifies large groups.

Whatever the relationship with this resource, we are starting to develop this dissolute behavior, in a world where children die of diseases caused by water at the same time communities struggle to get water more than once a week. It very simply needs to stop.

This increased distance from our relationship with water and creeping destruction of the hydrosocial cycle has caused a distorted perception of water and lack of public knowledge, barely considering the global discussion surrounding water access and its consideration, missing a huge opportunity for urban designers to intervene and produce collaborative spaces for the state and public to harmonize and share knowledge on our critical resources, perhaps even spark ideas for alternative methods of resource negotiation.

I stress that this is an opportunity for the local water authority, the PWSA, to reassess their vision and potentially collaborate with local water nonprofit organizations, with the goal of providing accessibility to clean drinking water and awareness

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about its issues through various micro-urban spaces that not only provide access to public drinking water in urban areas, but also reactivate public spaces around this resource to increase visibility and knowledge of this infrastructure, encouraging its preservation as a public good. The interventions would cultivate a growing relationship between the Allegheny River, the PWSA, and the 300,000 customers across the Greater Pittsburgh region.

It goes without saying that water is one of the most contested resources in the world right now, at both local and global scales. However, there are disadvantages to both governing and negotiating this resource from solely the top-down or the bottom-up approach. I believe that when considering our natural resources - especially in times where they are subject to destruction by private interests - we need to bolster the relationship of the state and civic spheres to work towards the access and treatment of the resource through place-making that heightens partnerships and kindles advocacy.

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Problem

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Our History with Water If water is an essential ingredient of life, then water supply is an essential ingredient of civilization. Centuries ago, people began gathering in settlements for trade and security within close proximity to drinking water. Over time, as these settlements became villages and these villages became cities, people were forced to live further away from their water source. Initially in these cities, gaining access to water was just another challenge to overcome to reap benefits of urban living (Sedlak).

When mentioning water infrastructure, one cannot overlook the advances in technology and infrastructure achieved by the Roman empire, where graceful arches and elevated structure once crossed the arid valleys leading to the city. Most of these aqueducts consisted of canals or underground pipes and tunnels made from masonry or cut into rock. As a result, outside the city, much of the imported water system was hidden from view. The public - many of whom funded these aqueducts - could only ever see a part of their investment, which often got lost in the bustle of the city. To make people aware of the accomplishments of the Roman empire, leaders decorated the arches of the aqueduct arcades and built ornate fountains in public squares (Sedlak).

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Issues with Water Cities in most industrialized countries are served by water infrastructures from the late 19th and early 20th century.

During this period water infrastructure became increasingly invisible and ever more efficient at redirecting natural water sources for human use. A myriad of problems have been causing water to become one of the most rarefied and contested resources that people cannot take for granted any longer. From the market vying for the privatization of water and sea level rise impacting real estate values, to waterfronts being threatened by climate change and a growing concern for access to clean water, it has done its job so “well” that we have become desensitized to nature and oblivious to its rarity.

Charles Fishman, author of “The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water”, calls the human race “water illiterate” (Fishman) - and rightfully so. Due to our apathetic consumerist behavior, we don’t even question the process of treatment of water, the one resource-based commons that is most intimately tied with our homes, our neighborhoods, and every living being on this planet.

Since the implementation of underground water and sewer systems, we seem to have hidden water from our sights and lives, forgetting that water was the focal point for social gatherings from as early as the bath houses of ancient Rome to the wash houses of France. Even today, several European neighborhoods incorporate a drinking fountain in their public spaces, around which people spend hours of leisure or recreation, and many cultures around the world hold water in high regard, as an asset that unifies large groups.

Whatever the relationship with this resource, we are starting to develop this dissolute behavior, in a world where children die of diseases caused by water at the same time communities struggle to get water more than once a week. It very simply needs to stop.

This increased distance from our relationship with water and creeping destruction of the hydro-social cycle has caused a distorted perception of water and lack of public knowledge.

We as a people are barely considering the global discussion surrounding water access and its consideration, missing a huge opportunity for urban designers to intervene and produce collaborative spaces for the state and public to harmonize and share knowledge on our critical resources, perhaps even spark ideas for alternative methods of resource negotiation. We have been blatantly undermining the slew

Next Page: Mapping the connections between various issues surrounding water in Pittsburgh and potentially on a national level.

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of water’s implications on all facets of our lives. Some of the concerns surrounding water that I have observed and will be considering in this thesis proposal are: • The lack of public access to clean drinking water, whether it be at home or in the public realm, • The conflict in public or private ownership of water as a resource and its infrastructure, processing, and distribution, • The lack of transparency in knowledge about the quality of water and the safety of the infrastructure, • The loss of water sources as places for social gathering, a practice long appreciated from ancient Rome to medieval France, • And the lack of knowledge about water and its distribution due to the invisibility of the infrastructure.

I believe that one of the first steps in speeding the trajectory of concern and amendment towards water and its surrounding issues is the altering the public perception of this pervasive resource and providing them access and visibility to this resource hidden in antiquated yet pervasive infrastructure.

“This increased distance from our relationship with water and creeping destruction of the hydro-social cycle has caused a distorted perception of water and lack of public knowledge.”

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Corrosion of Pipes

EROSION LEAD IN DRINKING WATER

Increased Runoffs Minerals in Water

Increase in Population Densities

Lead Pipes

SEWAGE IN THE RIVERS

Inf r

s ue

ctural I tru ss as

Aging Infrastructure Localized Flooding

Combined Sewer Overflow System Ineffective Water Treatment

Unreliable Citizen Test Kits

PUBLIC UNCERTAINTY & DISTRUST IN WATER QUALITY

Irregular Testing of Water Cost-Cutting with Chemicals to Fight Corrosion

Poor Management

by PWSA

Partnership with Veolia

Turnover of Leadership

PRIVATIZATION

W Q g

an

Election Cycles

Lack of Cohesive Advocacy Groups

iz a t

ue

Or

s

Lack of Prudent Planning

io n al

Lack of Demand to Address Issues Lack of Budgets to Study & Address Problems

Lack of Awareness of Problems by Constituents Lack of Organizational Enforcement

LACK OF POLITICAL WILL

Iss

Organizational Inefficiencies within PWSA

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WATER POLLUTION

NEGATIVE ECOSYSTEM CHANGES

BIO-DIVERSITY LOSS

Construction Runoff

Steel Industry Remnants

Construction

WATER TABLE DEPLETION Rising Water Temperatures

Fracking

nmental Is iro

es su

s

En v

Industry Waste Runoff

Global Warming

Industry

Low Awareness about Water Issues

Poor Communication between Parties

UNINFORMED DECISIONS WITH REGARDS TO DRINKING WATER

So

cial Iss u es

Invisibility of Water Infrastructure

Water Quality

Lack of Knowledge about Water Quality

WATER SHUTOFFS FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS

Increase in Rates

LOSS OF ACCESS OF DRINKING WATER

anc

e

s

F

in

Cost of Infrastructure Upkeep

ial Iss u

Fracking

Forgoing the value of the Rivers Alternative Sources of Water

PWSA’s High Debt Load

Increase In Taxes

Health Issues

Loss of Tourism & Recreational Activities

PRIORITIZING COST OVER WATER QUALITY

INCREASE IN WATER PRICES FOR CUSTOMERS

Increases in Health Insurance Premiums

FUNDING THE BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY Source: Transition Design, Spring 2017: “Mapping Wicked Problems-Water Quality”

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Pittsburgh’s History with Water Water covers less than 2% of the area in the Pittsburgh metropolitan region, but somehow one is always encountering water when traveling through the region. All throughout the Pittsburgh area, the existence of the three rivers - Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela - has been crucial throughout history in the development of the region. Not only have they shaped Pittsburgh into its iconic topographic conditions, but have also greatly influenced the daily lives of its residents, through settlement, built landscape, and economy. At the same time, Pittsburghers have shaped and bent the rivers to their will, ultimately changing the riverine ecology and intimately connecting the two characters together (Tarr).

Access to water across the city - even during the initial stages of water distribution in the mid-1800s- was unevenly distributed. Working-class districts generally had poorer water supplies than affluent neighborhoods, often relying on rare local springs or wells. There was a time in the South Side where on Painter’s Row, tenements owned by US Steel had one spigot in a yard serving almost one hundred families.

The Pittsburgh water distribution network could have been best described by historian Robin Einhorn - a “segmented system”; providing benefits to those who paid for them, but “made the American urban landscape a physical expression of political inequality” (Tvedt et al. 316).

During its industrial heyday, water was critical to the region’s economic success. However, through extensive industrial development of the riverfronts and waterways, the rivers became disconnected from people’s sense of place, just as people across Industrial America felt removed from their environments. With the collapse of the industrial economy however, people and their water are being reunited. While it currently seems that people’s sensitivity to their natural environment and its resources has been difficult to awaken, an emphasis on placemaking and education through the same can be key to altering public perception of Pittsburgh into a river city once again.

In 2012, Pittsburgh came to realize that its century-old water system desperately needed repair. However, PWSA was plagued with administrative problems and massive debt an issue that a lot of public utilities around the country are struggling with, and seek the aid of private management companies. In Pittsburgh’s case, a Paris-based utility consultant corporation called Veolia came to PWSA’s aid with

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promises of “customized, cost-effective solutions that would reflect ideal practices, environmental protection and a better quality of life”. Pittsburgh hired Veolia to manage day-to-day operations and provide an interim executive team, helping the utility run more efficiently and save precious public dollars.

Under the terms of the contract, Veolia would keep roughly half of every dollar the utility saved under its guidance, and for a while, things seemed to be working and PWSA began making sweeping changes for the better by saving millions of dollars and gaining new customers, among other changes (Lurie).

However, by 2015, PWSA began to lay off employees - from water quality managers, heads of engineering, and laboratory staff. With the changes in employees, PWSA made major changes to the water treatment system - using sub-standard corrosion control materials to prevent the failing of their lead pipes. This was a procedure that required approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which never took place. However, as news spread about the disaster in Flint, the utility switched back to soda ash. This led to massive lawsuits being thrown back and forth from Pittsburgh to Veolia from May 2015 onwards. According to a classaction lawsuit against the company, Pittsburghers stated that Veolia “catastrophically failed and customers have received grossly inaccurate and at times outrageously high bills”.

According to a press release, Veolia “grossly mismanaged PWSA’s operations, abused its positions of special trust and confidence, and misled and deceived PWSA as part of its efforts to maximize profits for itself to the unfair detriment of PWSA and its customers” (PWSA).

Veolia has had an extremely controversial number of partnerships with public utilities, over the past few years. For example, in April 2016, Massachusetts officials sued Veolia, which was managing Plymouth’s sewage treatment facility, for allowing 10 million gallons of untreated sewage to spill in and around the town’s harbor last winter. Two months later, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette charged Veolia with fraud and negligence for failing to discover Flint’s enduring lead contamination problem after the city hired the company in 2015 to consult on water quality.

In many cases, critics point to a pattern of Veolia saving utilities money through quick fixes—while ignoring bigger problems. Of course, a multinational corporation like Veolia denied any allegations or responsibility in these cities, claiming the issues around the water in the regions came from poor infrastructure, changes in chemicals that the company

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was not aware about, or poor authority figures.

In December 2015, Pittsburgh terminated its contract with Veolia. However, Pittsburghers can’t help but notice that the city’s utility is arguably even worse off than it was when it hired Veolia four years ago, with a depleted bank account—half of all earnings are directed to serving debt—and pipes that are still a century old. A former PWSA employee referred to PWSA’s relationship with Veolia accurately - “They will come in, rape your water company, and leave with money bags.”

Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority Pittsburgh and its neighboring municipalities have been struggling with entrenched infrastructure problems that are a century old, with water-main breaks and boil advisories becoming routine for several neighborhoods. Water systems are one of the few infrastructural elements that instantly warp the price and quality of water for citizens. The authority responsible for the water and sewer system here, the PWSA, led by Robert Weimar, have held themselves accountable, admitting to years of incompetence, changing governance, and a “fix-fail” mentality as causes for their inefficiency as a municipal authority. Fortunately, the PWSA released a $1 billion 12-year plan to reinvest in Pittsburgh’s aged water systems for the year 2030 and beyond.

Their primary locale for water treatment, the Aspinwall Water Treatment Plant has been catering to the city of Pittsburgh and its surrounding communities for over a century. The plant, like the water system of Pittsburgh, has suffered from a lack of investment in recent years, most recently retouched in the late 1960s. However, with the 2030 plan set in motion, PWSA has identified a series of infrastructure changes that will renew the plant by rebuilding its fixtures and systems - almost $120 million in initial investments. While the inner workings of the plant are essential to the treatment and distribution of water, the plant exterior and surrounding environment - a total of 91 acres - have been treated just like the interior, an infrastructural issue. PWSA claims to adapt the plant to meet green building standards - techniques that would result in minimal impact on only the building and no influence on the site and surroundings (PWSA).

Weimar has been vocal about altering the PWSA governance to provide residents with more of a say when it comes to their water, strengthen relationships between the producer and consumer, and increase transparency of the organization

Right: Illustration of Robert Weimar, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, stating the PWSA’s new goals.

Next Page: Diagram of Timeline of PWSA and water in Pittsburgh.

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and its technical processes. The plant already provides tours to students and other groups, indicating an interest in water treatment and related knowledge from both the state’s side and public’s side. This also demonstrates PWSA’s desire to bring people into their facilities to learn and be a part of the water treatment process. Clearly a public institution like PWSA is totally against the idea of privatizing water, especially when the market (here, Peoples Natural Gas) has expressed ample interest in privatizing Pittsburgh’s water (Shoemaker et al.).

It is clear that the PWSA has been struggling with maintenance of their organization and infrastructure for years now, causing a diminishing reputation among their customers.

I strongly believe that this large investment through the 2030 plan should not be thought of as infrastructural issue, but as an incremental series of urban design strategies that could potentially invoke discussion and collaboration between the public and state, provide citizens with a safe space to express their concerns, and promote advocacy through placemaking for this growing contested resource through the access of knowledge and information.

1. PWSA is learning to handle emergencies better.

2. We are pursuing both short term and comprehensive solutions to the lead crisis.

3. PWSA will have to get state

approval before customers pay.

4. I hope for a more tech-savvy board and want residents to have more of a voice.

5. More ‘flush and boil’ advisories are possible in the future.

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373

10

00

highland reservo

19

90 18

80

70 18

60 18

50

reservoir @ lower hill

filtration suggested CHOLERA EPIDEMICS

pump station @ lawrenceville brilliant pump station herron hill reservoir

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pump station @ etna

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40 18

30 18

20

public wells outgrown pumped system

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10 18

18

00

4 public wells constructed

400

19

75

constructed pilot filter

TYPHOID filtration committee

constr of pla

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ST. PATRICK’S DAY FLOOD

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ruction ant

sand filtration plant chemical treatment

30 20

20 20

10 20

00

PGH Water Dept

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70 19

60 19

50 19

40 19

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D EPIDEMICS

90

PWSA formed

d oir

membrane filtration plant reservoirs enclosed

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People and their Water It is clear that with the several obstacles surrounding one of our most vital natural resources, there are even more individuals and organizations that advocate for clean water and education for the same. In hopes to hear first hand from local residents and advocates for environmental justice and clean water, I interviewed the following people to identify issues regarding water literacy in the Greater Pittsburgh region, the lack of access to clean water in urban areas, and what they think needs to be done to help increase awareness about water issues in the region. They were asked the following questions: • What do you think are some of the major issues Pittsburghers are dealing with in regards to their water?

• What are some major public misconceptions about their water?

• Public drinking fountains are a slowly dying public amenity in the city. Do you think these fountains can be integral to help promote awareness around water and its issues in the Pittsburgh region?

• How has PWSA changed over the years as a state organization that manages water and its distribution across the Pittsburgh region?

• What are some of the grassroots ways to help increase awareness around water issues in Pittsburgh?

1. Zaheen Hussain: Zaheen Hussain is the Director of Sustainability at New Sun Rising in Millvale, PA. Also the Millvale Sustainability Coordinator, Hussain’s role focuses on working to implement Millvale’s Ecodistrict Pivot Plan within the Millvale Ecodistrict Collaborative (several nonprofit and state groups within Millvale working towards equity and sustainability of their borough). Hussain also worked at at Grounded Strategies, an organization that aims at improving the social, economic, and environmental health of distressed communities by building capacity to reclaim vacant or underutilized land.

2. Geoff Bland: A Pittsburgher from birth, Bland started out at Clean Water Action as a Canvasser and rose up to CWA’s Community Organizer in Pittsburgh. He focuses on directly

Next Page: Illustrations and excerpts from interviews with experts on water issues and environmental justice in the Pittsburgh region.

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engaging communities and providing resources so that they may address environmental concerns in their area and affect public policy. His interests lie in the environmental history of Pittsburgh and how it relates to the city’s past and present socio-economic situation.

3. Madeline Weiss: Also from Pittsburgh, Weiss is an Environmental Justice Community Organizer at CWA and works with children, families, and low-income communities.

She previously worked at Trout Unlimited on river restoration projects.

4. Summer Lee: A lifelong resident of North Braddock known for its tireless struggle against environmental damage caused by the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, Lee is the State Representative of the 34th Legislative District of Allegheny County. A graduate of Howard University’s School of Law, Lee is a dedicated organizer, activist, and advocate for social and environmental justice. As a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, she has been strongly advocating for a moratorium on fracking, full state funding on lead water line replacement, and transitioning to 100% renewable energy across Pennsylvania.

The following pages are excerpts from my interviews with them, and indicate the current conditions of water and its related issues in the Pittsburgh region.

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“This is a journey, an educational journey, and I think when we are talking about environmental justice, there are a lot of people who don’t necessarily recognize a need for activism in this era…”

“It’s hard to imagine in this day and age, in what people think is the greatest and richest country in the world, that people are dying, literally dying, so that industries can make a profit, because that is the price of business…”

“I think that the threat of privatization is something that people need to know more about, and we’re doing a lot to educate folks on that…”

“It really ties everything together. When you talk about lead, you talk about growing vegetables in your backyard, and public schools...There’s a lot more to it than people initially think.”

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“I think what it really comes down to - and this is on a national level as well - is that people are kind of out of touch with their infrastructure in general.

People don’t think about it too much...”

“It’s true right? Water is essential to everything in Pittsburgh. But as of late, issues such as flooding and landslides have risen. So while I feel Pittsburghers are thankful and identify with the three rivers, so is the need for proper planning on how to manage our water resources so it creates more benefits for us without harming us or our environment…”

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“Just monitoring what is happening with public institutions - attending community meetings, board meetings, council meetings, just to familiarize yourself with issues in the region and how leaders are addressing those issues. Most leaders welcome new people and new ideas coming in to attending meetings, because the only way to hear what is happening is from community members.

Attend meetings, ask tough questions…”

“The educational component is just as relevant - having conversations with your friends and family and neighbors about water are really good grassroots ways about drinking water and water distribution, helps open up the dialogue…”

“A lot of ways to get involved comes down to attending meetings, hearings...It’s a great way to get out and get your voices heard so that PWSA understands the issues and experiences from the people of the city on a daily basis, making sure that narrative from residences is really important…”

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“As time goes, I think we have to be very vigilant, and be very careful that we are not being taken advantage of. The best thing one can do is educate yourself and others around you on the issues, because I think people really take the environmental stuff for granted, and they need to talk about it, because it’s an easy way to exploit others…”

“I would say that getting involved with the local nonprofits that address water-related issues. Some organizations might not seem so obvious, such as Grow Pittsburgh or Tree Pittsburgh, who provide services for folks in our region that might not directly address these issues, but make use of the water system that we have around recreating our tree canopy…”

“I did not know I would get into politics, or become an environmental activist - I had to do so out of necessity. I grew up in the Mon Valley.”

“We need everybody to be engaged in this. But when you come into communities like mine, where we are trying to get the folk impacted everyday to be involved. We need to stop and think of all the barriers they face. Can you imagine why they might not be able to show up to a monthly meeting, where we talk about all the problems, but at the end of the day we have no solutions for them? That sort of hopelessness is pervasive in the Mon Valley. This is what we have to change. We deserve so much better.”

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Water as a Catalyst for Education It is widely understood that the planet faces multiple crises surrounding natural resources and the environment born of western industrialized practices that exceed current resource supply. Water abuse is now both a local and global issue further complicated by the oscillations of climatic phenomena that intensify drought cycles. The twenty-first century however, has seen a rethinking of water on multiple scales as a precious resource with finite supply, with notions of “ownership” and “rights” to water rising as highly debated topics. Water has lately been seen and understood as a common resource, one that should not be commodified.

While this recent reconfiguration of water and its related benefits address a bio-political need and reflects a shared understanding of water as a shared resource, there are also centuries-long traditions that see water as a critical aspect to spirituality, culture, reverence and the ways of being connected to a place, and how place sustains being.

Water as an Amenity to the Masses The World Bank has predicted that by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population will run short of fresh drinking water.

Given such a dire statistic, it should be no surprise that water is being redefined as “the oil of the 21st century.” Taking a stand to capitalize on this crisis are private companies; many multinationals are probing the planet for opportunities to turn the misery of water-starved regions into profits for their executives and stockholders. Here in Pittsburgh for example, People’s Natural Gas has claimed to become Pittsburgh’s savior through its new subsidiary, People’s Water, through the pitching of new pipes, a new treatment plant, and a shared oversight by public and private stakeholders. PWSA, a publicly owned utility with almost a billion dollars in debt and large infrastructure needs, has been courted by many suitors over the past year. Pennsylvania American Water Co. - Another corporation and adjacent water authority - has expressed interest in acquiring the whole water and sewer system.

More recently, cities have been toying with the question does a privatized approach to water delivery offer a better, more cost-effective, and efficiency means of providing potable water to customers than public service? With privatization, there is a constant risk of cities giving up too much control of

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a service that is essential to life, mainly due to the inadequate facilities and abilities that the public sector needs to find revenue source, in order to pay for common goods in an equitable manner. Also at stake is the degree to which local control of water supply services is lost due to privatization, especially through corporatism and rising multinational water companies.

On an abstract level, privatizing water is nothing more than accepting that water is a commodity - to be bought and sold. However, the right to clean water - a freedom that even residents of many first-world countries are unable to savor is an environmental and social justice issue that replies with the question - have we placed so little monetary value on water throughout history that we treat it as if the supply were endless?

Water as an Agent of Social Growth The celebration of water goes back as early as notably Ancient Rome, where its prevalence in public spaces was considered an indication of wealth, luxury, and civilization.

As a result, water was supplied to the residents of Rome supporting public health. The bounty of water can still be seen today, through the 2,500 local drinking fountains throughout the city, providing clean, fresh and accessible drinking water. More whimsical drinking fountains are found on building walls throughout Rome. The majority of the public fountains in Rome are spraying recycled water.

The following is an excerpt from one of American urbanist William H. Whyte’s books, titled The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces - “Water is another fine element, and designers are doing creative things with it. New plazas and parks provide water in all sorts of forms: waterfalls, waterwalls, rapids, sluiceways, tranquil pools, water tunnels, meandering brooks, and fountains of all kinds. In only one major respect is something lacking: access� (Whyte).

One of the best things about water, Whyte says, is the feel of it. However, in many places, water is only to be looked at, for fear of contamination and chemicals. It seems odd, to put water right before people and them keep them away from it.

Unfortunately, pools and fountains nationwide are installed alongside signs admonishing people not to touch. The

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distancing of people from water has been critical in negatively altering public perception of water in public spaces.

While we universally recognize the significance of water for human life, each culture also has its own way of symbolizing that value. For many religions and beliefs, water plays a leading role in rituals and practices. To name a few: 1. Hinduism places water as an embodiment of physical and spiritual wellbeing that brings about purity.

2. A Buddhist’s path to enlightenment includes a diligent cleansing of the body, mind, and spirit. Buddhism embodies the calmness and serenity similar to water offerings at Buddhist shrines.

3. In Islam, water is a strong symbol for wisdom. It recognizes water as a critical part of life, and that it is all around us and in us. To know this is considered to be a conscious awareness of self.

Although water manifests itself uniquely in different cultures, there is a common need for finding a responsible way of consuming healthy water.

Right: Images across the world of various individuals and communities using water to live, survive, and thrive

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Analysis

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Mapping Pittsburgh’s Water The PWSA drinking system contains 930 miles of water lines, five reservoirs, and 11 tanks. They draw water from the Allegheny River, treating and monitoring it to ensure all local, state, and federal regulations are met or exceeded (PWSA).

The PWSA also claims to constantly test for contaminants in the source water prior to treatment. Results of the test enable the organization to adjust the treatment process in order to maximize the reduction or removal of contaminants.

The Highland Park Reservoir was put into service in 1879 with a capacity of 125 million gallons of water. The reservoir is a focal point of Highland Park and is the only uncovered reservoir within PWSA’s water distribution system It has to be noted that the network indicated to be the water infrastructure in this map are actually sewer lines, the water main lines - data that the PWSA keeps confidential - flow parallel to them, and as such, I am envisioning these lines as closely similar to the water main lines.

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When does Water Infrastructure Become Public?

While it has to be noted that the network indicated to be the water infrastructure in this map are actually sewer lines, the water main lines - data that the PWSA keeps confidential flow parallel to them, and as such, I am envisioning these lines as closely similar to the water main lines.

The two notable infrastructure components where this extensive buried network crosses the threshold into the public realm are the fountain and the hydrant - one a fading segment of social growth, the other a ubiquitous piece of infrastructure that is incessantly looked over.

Fountains Fountains, whether it be for drinking or for leisure, were long revered features of urban life, at one point in history a celebration of technological and infrastructural advancement to the people. The modern era’s first public fountain was unveiled in London in 1859, and at the time thousands gathered to watch officials turn the tap. Several everyday people used that fountain each day, that implemented imported water from outside the country and made it accessible and free, at a time when cholera and typhoid were rampant from the consumption of the sewage-infested water of the Thames. In 1859, New York debuted a fountain at City Hall Park, soon after which Detroit, Philadelphia and San Francisco built their own. By 1920, most municipalities were providing free, chlorinated water. The public health benefits were obvious, as half of the decline in urban deaths between 1900 and 1940 were attributed to improvements in water quality, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. “Municipal chlorinated water was considered yet another modern evolution,” said Francis H. Chapelle, noted hydrologist and author. “It basically put bottled water out of business.” It is fascinating to see that according to Chapelle, by 1930, bottled water was considered to be used by the lower classes, used only in offices and factories that couldn’t afford plumbing.

Right: Drinking Fountain in Central Park on Sunday, Marjory Collins, New York, 1942

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Today, however, these fountains are in a massive state of crisis.

While no one seems to track the number of public fountains nationally, they are decreasing at immense rates, similar to the inevitable demise of the payphone which is now a defunct icon rarely found on the streetscape. Even the International Plumbing Code, followed by builders in most American cities, has signaled that the fountain is out of style. We have now turned back to bottled water, with Americans drinking almost 34 gallons every year, more than milk or beer. Majority of Americans are concerned about pollution in their drinking water, according to Gallup, even though tap water and bottled water are treated the same way, and studies show that tap is as safe as bottled.

What seems to have caused the demise of the public fountain is clearly our attitude toward public space, government and water itself. Scott Francisco of Pilot Projects stated that most adults have fond memories of drinking fountains as kids, but nowadays they are akin to danger, dirt, and poor maintenance. In short, it seems that the public does not trust fountains anymore. Furthermore, a new fountain costs anywhere between $300 and $4,500 to install, depending on plumbing and location. When municipal budgets are tight, cutting fountains may be one way to reduce costs without raising the public’s ire. When people care less about the public water supply, the will to maintain it goes down as well. The disappearance of water fountains causes severe implications to our public health, our environment, as well as our economy.

Right: Images of drinking fountains across the city of Pittsburgh. All these are located in parks, playgrounds, or adjacent to schools. They are all poorly maintained, and sometimes do not work, or are left unclean and rusted.

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However, there is good news in the form of some top-down as well as bottom-up strategies to bring back fountains.

Cities such as Los Angeles and Minneapolis have drafted comprehensive plans on restoring and upgrading their defunct fountains, and nonprofits like TapIt - a water-bottle refilling network initiated by a community engagement campaign that engages citizens in wise water use and source water protection spanning over 1,000 locations in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area - and WeTap - a smartphone app that aims at improving awareness and access of public drinking fountains by reducing dependence on single-use plastic, while improving public health - have been pushing for bottle refilling stations and public water promotion.

In February 2017, the Pacific Institute released a report that stressed for altering public perception of drinking fountains, in an effort to expand access by ensuring their quality, convenience, and reliability. Ultimately, these features could help increase public confidence and access to high quality and affordable tap water. A gallon of tap water from typical municipal water systems costs about half a cent, making drinking fountains the cheapest hydration source available in public spaces. This cost may increase somewhat depending on the purchase, installation, and maintenance costs per drinking fountain, but it remains far cheaper than that of bottled water, which typically ranges from $1 to $5 per gallon - 200 to almost 1,000 times more than tap water before even considering the environmental costs of the bottled water industry.

Right Above: Screenshots of the WeTap App. Right Below: Screenshots of the Tap App.

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Pittsburgh’s Drinking Fountain Distribution Pittsburgh currently has a total of 159 public drinking fountains within its city limits, most of which are located within park spaces, primarily the large parks - Schenley, Highland, and Frick. While there are public drinking fountains located in smaller green spaces, It is also interesting to note that a greater density of drinking fountains are located in wealthier neighborhoods, such as Squirrel Hill North, Shadyside, and Regent Square, where majority of the population is at least 75% white (American Census Survey). Given the current perception of drinking fountains, a lot of them are poorly maintained or worse, completely forgotten.

With the current population of the city of Pittsburgh, there is one drinking fountain for approximately 1,900 people.

Of the 90 neighborhoods in the city, 54 of them - 60% - have either one public drinking fountain in the entire neighborhood or none at all, and communities that have constantly been underserved, such as Homewood, the Middle Hill, and Deutschtown have no public drinking fountains - an amenity that was once considered a focal point in any public space.

Right: The locations of drinking water fountains in the City of Pittsburgh, overlapped with Area Median Income (AMI) of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods.

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Fire Hydrants The fire hydrant, an everyday but critical component of street furniture is one of, if not the only junction at which this extensive water infrastructure meets the public realm.

Primarily used by firefighters for a quick access to water in cases of emergencies, fire hydrants also have an extremely pivotal social component, frequently seen in New York City, where the simple turn of the cap produces a jet-like spray for children to play in on hot summer days - an improvised urban shower. Regardless of the gradual displacement of water sources as focal points in public spaces, the public and state have been working together to revive and retrofit the fire hydrant to maintain its purpose and symbol of “the poor man’s pool”. In the case of New York City, the FDNY created a sprinkler cap that can be attached to a hydrant - a small attachment that leaks out between 20 to 25 gallons a minute, a fraction of the 1,000 gallons it does without. All it takes is an adult to go to their local fire department and fill out a form.

A cap not only means that block residents keep the adequate pressure in their showers going, but it also means that in case of an actual fire, firemen coming to the rescue would not risk fatally losing required water pressure in their fire extinguishing hoses.

A fire hydrant is essentially an attachment to a main potable water line connected to the hydrant valve through a pipe called a “riser”. To simplify their function, hydrants are valves used by firefighters to gain access to the already present pressure in the water pipes, in case of a fire. The internal mechanics of a fire hydrant are a little more complex, and can vary by region. Given that the Pittsburgh region’s weather is in a constant flux, the most common type of hydrant here is the dry barrel hydrant, where in order to keep the water in the hydrant from freezing, the valve is placed below the area’s frost line. The nut to turn the valve on is placed on top of the hydrant to turn the long valve running through the hydrant and the riser.

Right: Two children enjoying a hydrant opened up into a DIY spray park in New York City’s hot summer. (The Guardian)

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Pittsburgh’s Hydrant Distribution The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority currently oversees a total of 8,205 hydrants in their purview that spans across the city of Pittsburgh and some of its surrounding townships. It should be prefaced that the PWSA’s service area does not encompass the entire city of Pittsburgh. There are multiple water and sewer authorities that serve the city and its immediate surroundings - Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority, Pennsylvania American Water, and West View Water Authority.

The hydrants in the PWSA service area are classified in multiple ways - Firstly, the hydrants recorded differ in ownership and their active status - there are 7,485 active, 435 inactive, and 285 active and privatelyowned fire hydrants in this region (PWSA).

Right: The locations of fire hydrants in the City of Pittsburgh, overlapped with Area Median Income (AMI) of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods.

Next Page: An overlap and calculation of drinking fountains and fire hydrants and their reach to the Pittsburgh population.

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54

Pittsburgh.

90 neighborhoods.

302,500 residents.

8,205

fire hydrants.

435 inactive fire hydrants.

285 active private fire hydrants.

7,485 active public fire hydrants.

1 hydrant for every 40 people.

159 1

public drinking fountains.

fountain for every

60%

1,900

people.

of neighborhoods with one or no fountain.

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Breaking Down the Hydrant These hydrants are further classified into 3 criteria, depicted by changes in color of body, lid, and caps: • The color of the hydrant body differs depending on the size of the water main connected to it, • The color of the hydrant lid differs on the class of the hydrant and the water pressure that comes out of it, and • The color of the hydrant caps differs based on the potability of the water coming out of it.

There are two main regulations that the public is required to follow in relation to fire hydrants in Pittsburgh: • Firstly, there has to be a clear space of 3’ around the fire hydrant at all times. Street furniture such as building elements, signage, and landscaping elements cannot be located within the 3’ clear space around the hydrant.

• Secondly, vehicles have to park at least 15’ away on either side of a fire hydrant. Leaving free and clear access to a fire hydrant minimizes the time required for the fire department to respond to a fire.

At the outset, with these regulations and classifications, it may seem that tapping into the fire hydrant is a task in itself, but I stress that its presence in the public realm as a standardized object with potable water is an invaluable opportunity to uncover urban water infrastructure. Furthermore, by occupying the space in the 15’ and beyond zone with public spaces on the streetscape, there is an opportunity to not only harness the hydrant as an amenity, but by creating a bump-outs/curb extensions in this zone, ensure that the space around the hydrant is secured for the fire department at all times.

Right: As per PWSA guidelines, the fire hydrant changes color as per water main diameter, water pressure, and potability.

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Bonnet Color - Water Pressure 1500 gpm 1000-1499 gpm 500-999 gpm 499 gpm or less

Cap Color - Potability Potable Potable

Body Color - Water Main Size 8” and smaller 10” - 20” 24” and larger

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Case Studies & Precedents The Breathe Project - Pittsburgh, 2011 Aspiring enlightened activism through collective responsibility of a critical natural resource Pittsburgh has had an exhausting struggle with air pollution, dating back to the mid-19th century with the rise of iron, steel, and coke industries filling the air with putrid, dense smoke, giving Pittsburgh its slogan of “Hell with the Lid Off�.

Allegheny County (of which Pittsburgh is a part) still ranks in the top 2% of counties in the United States for cancer risk from air pollution, their year-round particulate pollution levels result in many cases of asthma, strokes, neuro-degenerative disorders, birth defects and varied forms of cancer.

It is evident that air is a vital resource to all living beings, and fighting for an improved quality of air is paramount. However, concerned citizens are not fully aware of how dire the situation is, and are uncertain of how to move forward and make an impact other than protest. With the rapidly advancing digital commons created by the Internet, The Breathe Project comes into play in that precise location.

As a clearinghouse of information, research and empowerment on air quality for Pittsburgh and Southwestern PA, The Breathe Project, with the aid of science, technology, and research, empowers citizens with political awareness and factual evidence to take action towards better air - a medium through which pertinent information is disseminated to the masses.

Right: Drawing collage of The Breathe Project for the Atlas of Commoning Traveling Exhibition by Sai Prateek Narayan. It is to be noted that the adjacent graphic has been since edited as per request of The Breathe Project.

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THE BREATHE PROJECT

“29% of days in 2017 had good air quality”

PITTSBURGH, UNITED STATES

“Hell with the lid taken off”

“Top 10 most polluted cities in the nation with year-round particle pollution”

“Top 2% of US counties for cancer risk from air pollution”

“Heavy Industry - Clairton Coke Works is one of the biggest contributors”

58% of air pollution still comes from industries

22% of air pollution comes from homes

“Particulate matter 2.5 comes from diesel trucks, trains, cars, and coal”

22% of air pollution comes from mobility

ZE

data about local laws, public meetings and hearings, policy updates, and taking action at home

IT

CI

TI

INCREASING AWARENESS

ENGAGING CITIZENS

TAKING ACTION

address and express concerns through written media

educated protest to influence public officials

R VOIC E YOU

G

ARD HE

MAK IN

COLLECTING DATA

N TO OL

K

GRAS PI

ICS OP

RELEVANT T NG

S

AR

C H D ATA

B

TH DATA WI

EXPOSIN G

POLLUTIO N AIR

TE

CO

M

raised concern for air quality in neighborhoods

drafting of new regulations and ordinances

PL PEO E TO

MU

meeting like-minded communities and developing social bonds

AL

G

collect data from devices through crowdsourcing to distribute to public officials and organizations

C H TO OLS

THER GE

BRINGI N

AS

E

RE

E

public officials work towards creating new ordinances and regulations

factual and emperical data on various topics surrounding air pollution

N IT Y P O

RT

Connection to Local & State officials

develop phased plans to work towards common goal

“Pittsburgh’s recent lead crisis is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our aging infrastructure, particularly in working-class communities. Working alongside The Breathe Project is helping me be a tireless advocate and organizer for protecting our environment and all of us who must live in it.” - Summer Lee

Enlightened Protest

“As active citizens who are concerned with the air quality in Pittsburgh, we are protesting at County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s office every Friday with insurmountable data provided by the crowdsourced SmellPGH App.”

SmellPGH App

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Prinzessinnengarten and Die Laube - Paris, 2009 Cultivating know-how and participatory power through a community garden The Nomadisch Grun (Nomadic Green) initiative - together with volunteers, neighbors, and activists - has transformed a state-owned brown-field site in the Keuzberg district of Berlin The “Princess Garden� began in 2009, and is now an urban oasis for growing local, organic food, and engaging in a more sustainable, shared lifestyle. Beyond farming, the site is primarily a place of sharing know-how and exploring alternative socio-ecological visions for the city. However, whereas the success and exposure of the informal project offers opportunities to expand agency, with increasing expectations of institutionalization come the risk of losing emancipatory power. The challenge lies in maintaining the ad hoc approach of Prinzessinnengarten that has been essential for the project’s open an inclusive character.

Left: Entrance of Prinzessinnengarten (Blog von Anais) Right: Drawing collage of Prinzessinnengarten for the Atlas of Commoning Traveling Exhibition by Paul Riofrio.

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PRINZESSINNENGARTEN BERLIN, GERMANY

nachbarschafts akademie

DIE LAUBE

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Lucht Singel - Rotterdam, 2015 Crowd-sourcing public infrastructure as a new form of urban entrepreneurship Crowd-funded projects are emerging as a new form of citizenled urban development. Galvanized by social networks, these projects promise to democratize planning, and often compensate for declining public amenities as a result of municipal budget deficits and discriminatory commercial investments. Rotterdam’s Lucht Singel (Dutch for “Beltway in the air”), a new pedestrian bridge that reconnects a neglected neighborhood with the city center, was backed by individual donations for 17,000 wooden slats, at 25 euros each. However, while crowd-sourcing is opening up the field for unsolicited and ad-hoc architecture, it is also subject to the attention economy, where the spectacular often trumps the meaningful.

Left: Lucht Singel (Rotterdam Tourist Information) Right: Drawing collage of Lucht Singel for the Atlas of Commoning Traveling Exhibition by Ernest Bellamy.

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LUCHTSINGEL ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

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65

Proposal

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Commoning Strategy By handing the management of our urban water systems to professionals, we have reduced our daily encounters with the water cycle to the turning of a faucet and flushing of a toilet, like the days of the first Roman aqueduct. As long as our bills are paid and the service continues, we assume that the people who provide the service and the officials responsible for overseeing their activities will make sure that we are safe.

But there is something special about water. In most situations, it’s probably reasonable to delegate decisions about infrastructure to others and form our own opinions about the quality of service on the basis of price, convenience, and personal tastes. These attributes are an important means of assessing the adequacy of urban water systems, but they are not enough.

Putting in a little more effort into becoming better informed about urban water challenges is a critical first step in navigating the stressors society will face in the coming decades. Any attempt to alter the designs of the current complex systems will have to be made in a way that does not interfere with their ability to deliver these essential functions.

Given PWSA’s constraints in funding and current debatable public opinion, the typical community development model would not facilitate the prescribed solution.

I believe a new model needs to be considered - one that pairs nonprofit and community organizations with local government, to collaborate and provide innovative and cost-effective solutions to promoting awareness around urban water systems and their challenges. This calls to reference The Neighborhood Playbook, a book created by a real-estate developer and an urban designer, calls for educating both developers and communities in establishing new development models that put residents first, a mutually beneficial mentality. The Neighborhood Playbook advocates for a people-first development model based on community engagement at all stages of the design and development process. Through some of the past successes with The Neighborhood Playbook in Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky, an approach of small-scale interventions that lead to long-term investment can build both interest and demand at the start, instead of creating a supply to prompt the demand later.

Right: The Neighborhood Playbook, a field guide for community members and developers that facilitates the activation of spaces with the goal of influencing physical and economic growth in neighborhoods. Together, developers and everyone else will be able to increase the value of their neighborhoods by making them healthier, more fun places to live.

Next Page: Mapping the selected issues of water in the Pittsburgh region, and potential actors involved in the production and evolution of the proposals

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I believe that an approach involving the collaborative efforts of PWSA, nonprofits, and community organizations to create these hydrophilic spaces along the streetscape can bring about public interest and awareness in urban water systems and their challenges in Pittsburgh. With time these spaces can not only gain momentum for water advocacy and awareness about urban water issues, but also instigate collaborative efforts between the state and public spheres.

The pathway to the evolution of urban water systems may take the edge off some of our future crises, especially if coupled with economic incentives and policies that lower some of the risks inherent in potential experimentation.

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Root Causes

Ensuing Eect

Income Inequality

invisibility increase in rates

Aging Infrastructure

calls to privatize

water management experiments

combined sewer overflow dire need for upgrades

Climate Change increase in flooding

b advi

le contam

69

ts

Realms of Action (PUBLIC REALM)

lack of knowledge

ead mination

Advocates

democratization public input discourse

boil isories

Nonprofits

Smartphone Application

advocacy knowledge

loss of access for low-income households

education

Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority

access to water social interaction visibility (PUBLIC SPACE)

Water-centric Public Spaces City Of Pittsburgh

Parks Conservancy

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Micro-Urban Public Spaces A strategy for converting the streetscape into public space - or in this case, converting parking spaces to parks, has found great traction as a DIY project going mainstream is the “parklet”. These spaces are created from the transformation of one or more on-street parking spaces into a semipermanent seating area - essentially an extended sidewalk on the street. Adjacent businesses often sponsor the creation and maintenances of these (as can be seen more locally in downtown Pittsburgh - Bae Bae’s Greenhouse and Envision Downtown’s Parklet), though occasionally they are outside of residences, and have the ability to be mobile as well.

The parklet was started as a form of guerilla urbanism by San Francisco members of Rebar, where they fed the meter outside a curbside parking space and converted it to a temporary park. Similar to the methods of The Neighborhood Playbook, they implemented a small-scale low-cost intervention to grab the public’s eye and interest. It took the city of San Francisco a year to get behind in 2010, and now sanctioned parklets are now found in cities around the world.

There have lately even been collaborations between the state and public spheres surrounding parklets, where cities have imported the language of these informal interventions into official documents and events and public relations efforts (Douglas 143).

New York City’s Department of Transportation notes on the plaza program of their website that “to improve the quality of life for New Yorkers, DOT creates more open public space by reclaiming underutilized street space and transforming it into pedestrian plazas”. Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) has a program named “Spark” that is part of Pittsburgh’s overall strategy for creating safe, complete streets and new open spaces. According to DOMI, “A Spark is a S(mall) Park or a S(treet) Park that extends a sidewalk into a street’s parking lane for the length of 1-2 parking spaces in commercial areas. New open spaces created through the addition of a small park to a streetscape add to the City’s inventory of larger parks and playgrounds.” Once installed, the Spark encourages more on-street pedestrian activity that supports nearby businesses. Sparks are created by changing the use of one to two parking spaces and, in their place, building a semi-permanent platform which extends the sidewalk into the street. This platform is buffered from the street by a railing or barrier and can contain plantings, furniture, and other creative pedestrian amenities (Douglas

Right: Tengbom transformed a parking space in Stockholm into a neighborhood node, public meeting place and surface water management experiment in June 2015. The project is an example of green retrofits - strategies for refurbishing grey infrastructure into green infrastructure, and examining what this transformation means for public space. (Archello)

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144).

While my proposal depicts more permanence through these micro-urban bumpouts, I believe through the creation of community-designed parklets that promote water advocacy and provide access to drinking water, especially in neighborhoods that have been often underserved and prone to water shutoffs and boil advisories.

Urban Acupuncture In the 1970s and 1980s, serious questions arose regarding the Modern movement’s model for urban planning and urban renewal. From the vision of Le Corbusier’s Plan Voisin in 1925, to the devastation of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project, there was a growing change in sensitivity to how cities should be regenerated. At the start if the 1980s, a new method of understanding cities emerged, along with a new way of diagnosing the pathologies of cities, and implementing a proper therapy - Urban Acupuncture (Casanova et al. 9).

Coined “Urban Acupuncture” by a series of planners, architects, and politicians during Barcelona’s urban renewal in the 1980s, this practice has now been actively incorporated into the urban planning vocabulary to describe strategies based on a series of independent interventions applied in the urban fabric that have a direct impact on their immediate surroundings (Casanova et al. 9).

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Proposal One: The Basin Water in a public space performs other important functions and has benefits that go way beyond the social aspects. It can be an ideal meeting and relaxation point in the urban fabric.

Look at any city and you’ll find people gathered by fountains in squares, or along a restored waterfront. Humans are attracted to water. Ancient civilizations built stone basins to capture and hold drinking water. A carved stone basin, dating to around 2000 BC, was discovered in the ruins of the ancient Sumerian city of Lagash in modern Iraq. The ancient Assyrians constructed a series of basins in the gorge of the Comel River, carved in solid rock, connected by small channels, descending to a stream. In 98 AD, Rome had nine aqueducts which fed 39 monumental fountains and 591 public basins (Prudhomme).

This first proposal, like the others, provides drinking water on the Pittsburgh streetscape, as well as a refill station for pedestrians and bicyclists carrying water bottles. The water is sourced from the hydrant and uses the new pipes PWSA has been using to replace the existing lead-infested pipes, in an effort to inform people on the efforts of PWSA to provide for their customers to the best of their abilities.

This intervention would also implement a water basin, which would allow for the collection of water to be distributed to nearby green spaces and planters, as well as act as a drinking source for pets.

Left: One of the most iconic of the fountain basins is the Trevi fountain in Rome, designed by Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762.

Right: Proposal Poster of the Basin typology implemented in the neighborhood of Friendship, exhibited at “Metathesis�Thesis Exhibition at the Miller Institute of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA

Type: The Basin

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E

D C

B

A

A

B

C

D

E

HYDRANT source of water in the streetscape

PIPES reminiscent of the hidden infrastructure

SIGNAGE informing people of water in their region

FOUNTAIN providing access to drinking water

BASIN invoking water as a focal point in public spaces

Example: Friendship

D C E

B

A

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Proposal Two: The Cooler The decadence of ancient Rome is a matter of historical record. It is hardly surprising that this civilization was the first to use water pipes to cool interior areas. By linking into the Roman aqueduct system, wealthy families could direct cool water into the walls of their homes.

Several healthy living and recreation centers have been designated as cooling stations - called the Citiparks Recreation and Healthy Active Living centers to combat the warmer months in the Pittsburgh region.

This intervention provides seating amidst greenery and planters, but implements the new PWSA pipes with small perforations to allow for water to be sprayed as a mist, to water the plants but also provides users or passersby with a cool feeling during the warmer months.

Left: A cooling station outside the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, designed as a public art sculpture by artist Ned Kahn. Its beauty can be enjoyed even in the winter when warmed water allows the cloud to appear.

Right: Proposal Poster of the Cooler typology implemented in the neighborhood of Friendship, exhibited at “Metathesis”Thesis Exhibition at the Miller Institute of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA

Type: The Cooler

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E C E D C E

B

A

A

B

C

D

E

HYDRANT source of water in the streetscape

PIPES reminiscent of the hidden infrastructure

SIGNAGE informing people of water in their region

FOUNTAIN providing access to drinking water

SPRAY invoking water as a cooling point in public spaces

Example: Strip District

E C

A

B

D

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Proposal Three: The Playspace Water play is both enjoyable and educational. It helps children develop hand-eye coordination, as well as math and science concepts. It also enhances social skills and encourages cooperation.

Water play gives many opportunities to develop gross and fine motor skills across the age ranges. Water play gives many opportunities for children to develop crucial social skills when they are working with just one other child or a whole group. It is a great way for children to learn to share and take turns as they share the physical space and the play items in the water.

It also allows children to explore and interact with each other.

New experiences and discovering new things within shared spaces offer a great opportunity for social development.

This intervention aims to provide a play space for children that incorporates water from the hydrant. Similar to the 8 spray parks spread around the city, this space provides entertainment for children and families. There is potential for this intervention to be part of an educational program, and as such can be situated near public or private schools in the city.

Left: The Troy Hill Spray Park, Pittsburgh, PA Right: Proposal Poster of the Playspace typology implemented in the neighborhood of Friendship, exhibited at “Metathesis�Thesis Exhibition at the Miller Institute of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA

Type: The Playspace

77 D

E B C

C

A

B A

HYDRANT source of water in the streetscape

PIPES reminiscent of the hidden infrastructure

C

D

E

SIGNAGE informing people of water in their region

FOUNTAIN providing access to drinking water

SPRAY PARK invoking water as a playspace for children

Example: Larimer

D

C

C

B

A

E

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Educational Signage Along with the various components in these interventions, a crucial item is interpretive signage - an element that would provide a narrative that acts to generate a positive user experience. For example, one might manage a tourist attraction such a bay trail, be in charge of an urban space or area, or perhaps even run a crocodile attraction with this typology. With interpretive signage, the idea is to try and create a positive and long-lasting impression for visitors.

Interpretive signage is also about educating users but doing so such a way that you avoid teaching in a didactic manner. In other words, the signage will allow for users to interpret the experience in their own way.

In this case, the proposal implements environmental signage as a tool for disseminating information and knowledge that is critical to raising awareness and invoking enlightened activism for public drinking water.

Some of the information on the interpretive signage include: • • • • •

The watershed the reader is in, Facts about the underground water infrastructure, The distance to the closest public drinking fountain, The percentage of lead pipes in the neighborhood, Contact information for the PWSA and their next community meeting, as well as • Any upcoming nonprofit events related to water.

Right: Proposal Poster of the educational signage implemented in all micro-urban public spaces, exhibited at “Metathesis”Thesis Exhibition at the Miller Institute of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA

Signage for Educa

Using environmental signage as a tool for disseminating information and knowledge is critical to raising awareness and invoking enlightened activism for public drinking water Some of the information on the interpretation signage include:

1. the watershed the reader is in, 2. facts about the underground water infrastru 2. the distance to the closest public drinking f 3. the percentage of lead pipes in the neighbor 4. contact information for the PWSA and thei community meeting, as well as 5. any upcoming nonprofit events related to water.

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ation & Advocacy

r. al

ucture, ountain, rhood, ir next

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Smartphone Application Along with these physical interventions, a major method to simultaneously promote water literacy and push for more public involvement and awareness about urban water challenges would be through a smartphone application that uses crowd-sourcing methods to accumulate data on water quality in the PWSA service area. This application can also be used to provide users access to scientific research and findings on water quality, locations of drinking fountains in the region, as well as connections to various nonprofits that advocate for public drinking water. Crowd-sourcing will not only reveal the issues and aspirations Pittsburghers are most concerned about with their water, but also gives them an opportunity to contribute to the research and be involved to create positive change.

Similar to the Smell Pittsburgh application implemented by The Breathe Project - an umbrella organization that aims at empowering citizens with the information and knowledge to be more engaged and take action towards better air - to give residents a voice as well as accumulate data on air quality for more evidence-based activism, this application would give residents a chance to recommend locations to install drinking water fountains in the city and provide critiques on PWSA’s performance on water treatment, entering the decision making process regarding water accessibility and potentially rekindling the relationship between the public and their local water provider.

While the application depicted here is to merely show what it could look like, a fully-functioning application can be designed and completed by an organization such as the Carnegie Mellon University CREATE Lab, the same group that created the Smell Pittsburgh application.

Right: Prototype interface for the smartphone application Next Page: Final interfaces and pages of the application, exhibited on an iPad at “Metathesis� Thesis Exhibition at the Miller Institute of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA

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Exhibition

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Exhibition Strategy To help viewers understand the thought process behind the year-long thesis project, I aimed at dividing the exhibit into three sections, one on each wall - the problem, the process, and the proposal.

Text - 200-300 word descriptio of the thesis proje vinyl pr

7’ 6”

Hypothesis in bo large te white text on dark b mounted on foamco Historical image water as a foca pinned on black

3.5”

12”x 12”

Right: Exhibition Strategy for the “Metathesis“ Thesis Exhibition at the Miller Institute of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA

3” 3”

Text - 200-300 word description of the thesis project vinyl print Hypothesis in bold, large text

7” x 14”

PROBLEM

Setting the stage, issues with water, water as87a commons, sharing the resource, water as a “multi-purpose” asset, interviews with people Pittsburgh and its conflicted relationship with water.

10’ 7”

Historical images / Paintings water as a focal point of public spaces pinned on black foamcore w/ 1” border

3.5”

7”

40” TV screen depicting interviews of experts with two headsets attached

7”

12”x 12”

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12”x 12”

3.5”

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3” 3”

on ect rint

old, ext bg ore

7” x 14”

6” 25” x 14”

37”x 21”

33”x 29”

3”

33”x 12”

Commoning Diagram pinned on black foamcore w/ 1” border

3’ 6”

6”

7.5”

Collage of water-related issues pinned on black foamcore w/ 1” border Wall Shelf, White 43 1/4” x 10 1/4” x 2” to hold four containers collected from water at various points of treatment

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Drinking w pinned on b 7”

7”

12”x 12” 3”

12”x 12” 3”

12”x 12” Photographs Drinking water fountains in Pittsburgh pinned on black foamcore w/ 1” border 7”

Right: Exhibition Strategy for the “Metathesis“ Thesis Exhibition at the Miller Institute of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA

7”

7”

12”x 12”

3’ 6”

12”x 12”

12”x

12”x 12”

12”x 12”

12”x

3”

3”

PROCESS / ANALYSIS

mapping, 89 fountains and their history and impact and their dying numbers, hydrants and their history and impact as a neighborhood icon, analyzing the physical city and its infrastructure for opportunities.

15’ 10”

Photographs water fountains in Pittsburgh black foamcore w/ 1” border

Diagram exploded maps, annotated pinned on black foamcore w/ 1” border

Photographs Fire Hydrants in Pittsburgh pinned on black foamcore w/ 1” border

7”

12”x 12”

7”

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7”

12”x 12”

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12”

36” x 36”

3”

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12”x 12” 3”

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Melltorp Table, White 29 1/2" x 29 1/2” x 29 1/8" to hold lightbox with maps printed on acetate, able to slide in and out (table placed 40” from wall)

12”x 12”

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Composite d plan + isometric o pinned on black foamc 7”

36” x 4

Composite drawing plan + isometric of intervention pinned on black foamcore w/ 1” border 7”

pla pinned 7”

3’ 6”

Right: Exhibition Strategy for the “Metathesis“ Thesis Exhibition at the Miller Institute of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA

36” x 46”

PRODUCT / PROPOSAL

91 final composite drawings models interactive app as a tool fro advocacy

17’

drawing of intervention core w/ 1” border

46”

Composite drawing plan + isometric of intervention pinned on black foamcore w/ 1” border 7”

Composite drawing plan + isometric of intervention pinned on black foamcore w/ 1” border 7”

Collage app screens + illustration from breathe project pinned on black foamcore w/ 1” border 7”

36” x 36” 36” x 46”

36” x 46”

8”

Wall Shelf, White 43 1/4” x 10 1/4” x 2” to hold ipad with interactive app

15’

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Final Presentation Attendees María Arquero de Alarcón Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning and Director of the Master of Urban Design at the University of Michigan Nida Rehman Adjunct Faculty, Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture Mary-Lou Arscott Associate Head, Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture Stefan Gruber Track Chair, Master of Urban Design, Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture Jonathan Kline Associate Studio Professor, Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture Don Carter Director, Remaking Cities Institute and former Track Chair, Master of Urban Design, Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture

Feedback “The component that could be clearer is the social one social equity with regards to access to water. While I do appreciate the project and level of detail you have gone to, it does seem a little reserved and could benefit from bringing the social with the environmental.”

“Excellent presentation, both visually, what’s on the wall, and how you presented it. I really appreciate your attention to all the different strands of a very vast set of problems. You’re paying a lot of attention to the political ecology question, the fetishization of infrastructure / the “hiddenness” / the pervasiveness and its larger effects. The brief history you gave of water fountains as an infrastructural achievement was beautiful and really nice. I really like your linking of the question of this ability to larger questions of advocacy and

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awareness that can build political consciousness. I also love the citizen science stance that you took on in this project” “You’re analyzing the inequity through water fountains, but I wonder if there are other strands of analysis or other waterrelated issues. It would be nice to see at a neighborhood scale, which are the ones that are facing, or are at the forefront of the water crisis in Pittsburgh, and what are the main water inequities those neighborhoods are struggling it.

Then, how can your designs be altered or adapted to better fulfill those needs in those neighborhoods - how can design play a role in addressing in those more inequity and access problems in the mentioned neighborhoods? That would be a good next step to refine those design ideas.”

“I think what actually might help is that these spaces are not only to make you feel good, but are also a provocation. They need to kind of ,in a way, on one hand they make kids play there, and at the same time parents there are getting more nervous about the situation and it creates a sense of urgency to address these issues with water. That might be more powerful, because right now the risk is people saying “Oh, I feel better about it”, but nothing really changed.”

“I wonder if streets may be the right site for these. I think a good counter to that could be locating these interventions paired with institutions that are also in a state of crisis, but also give a sense of collective identity. Like selecting public schools, for example. They have serious issues like the risk of unclean water in the school’s water supply, but also because by seeing the different imaginations of children, you will see a different picture. I wonder if there could be other ways to test these interventions in other settings to tell a more compelling story.”

“Somehow, it seems that you are trying to make everybody happy, trying to work for the PWSA, but also for the citizens.

I feel that sooner or later you would have to choose your battles, and decide who you are really working for.”

“I think all this feedback suggests that how you advance this agenda - if you were to go out in the world to make this happen - it would be through different structures. Like the entity that makes the app will not be the same entity that collaborates with PWSA to tap into fire hydrants, which will not be the same as the parks conservancy that could make these micro-parks.”

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Moving Forward

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Next Steps One of the first obstacles I ran into was identifying locations where these interventions would be situated. Apart from the Pittsburgh streetscape, there could be more opportunities to implement these mico-urban hydrophilic spaces - potentially in spaces where either water is accessible, or where urban public spaces are readily available. While spaces like urban plazas and the Three Rivers Heritage Trail are distinct in their popularity among Pittsburghers and would allow for access and foot traffic, these locations are a lot less frequent and hence, I believe the streetscape typology should be the more conventional format for these micro-urban spaces.

A critical component as to how one can begin to implement these hydrophilic spaces would need to be considered.

Towards the end of the fall semester, I proposed an open design festival hosted by the PWSA to invite the creative community of Pittsburgh to design water fountains in each neighborhood across the City of Pittsburgh. Similar to the New Public Hydrant designed by Agency-Agency for the Water Futures Research Program - where designers created a series of bright blue plumbing fixtures that could turn the New York City’s fire hydrants into inclusive public drinking fountains or showers - this would be a method for neighborhoods and communities to come together to advocate for public drinking water, and raise interest in innovative methods for access to it.

A similar process already takes place through the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Public Art Bike Racks, and the Water Cube - an artist-designed water fountain that dispenses both still and sparkling water on Penn Avenue.

Another issue to look at in regards to this would be to look at the source of water supply - the Aspinwall Water Treatment Plant, as a public space, rather than a cordoned off facility.

By not focusing on the obstacles that hindered the PWSA’s procedures with drinking water, this revitalization of the building and site would celebrate the process and experience the infrastructure by illuminating the various water cycles that occur on the site that visitors can immerse themselves and learn about water. As per the 2030 plan, the building and site is considered equal to the piping - a means to an end. There has been a growing dichotomy between nature and culture, when in fact they can be interwoven through this site. I believe that moving forward, this facility should be envisioned as an asset that can set the stage for a long-term scheme that can provide space and enrich the knowledge on issues

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surrounding water for the region and the world. By creating a vast learning space on the landscape that depicts the benefits of green infrastructure and need for concern around water, similar to the Landschafts Duisburg Nord of the Ruhr Valley - a public park that used an abandoned coal and steel production plant to heal and understand the industrial past, rather than trying to reject it. The primary intention of this strategy is to create a safe, educational, and interactive public space out of a long-time municipal authority building, providing all parties with access to water as well as access to education and recreation.

Potential Outcomes Some of the potential implications of these interventions could be: • Addressing water access injustice and lack of access in underserved neighborhoods

Potentially distributing costs across demographics, resulting in a sharing of the water infrastructure system.

Leveraging the investments of foundations / institutions / local government organizations to enhance a larger vision for the city regarding the issue of water access. Sometimes it takes a brand to carry it out before the city can do so.

• Democratization of clean water supply Preserving and creating equal access to critical water

resources Use the interventions as means to initiate discussions between local government and public to clean water supply and potential partnerships.

• Restoring the cohesive and connected ecologies that benefit the full spectrum of the urban population • Implementing workshops / engaging methods to create collaboration between public and local government to create innovative infrastructural design systems.

• Learning from mistakes of the past and aiming to not implement a “one size fits all” perspective (Sarte 126).

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Conclusion

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Conclusion Ever since the Romans pioneered water infrastructure and public drinking water, centralization has been a major component behind urban water systems. However, it is clear that these centralized urban water systems are under considerable stress from a variety of conditions. Increases in population density, changing precipitation patterns, competition for water resources, and recognition of the need to leave more water in streams in order to protect aquatic habitats are driving a movement toward formerly unusable water sources for our next drinking water supply (Sedlak).

Modern water systems are unobtrusive by design. The pipes that bring water to our homes, drain our streets, and transport our wastes are hidden underground. Treatment plants are tucked away on the outskirts of the city or are located on streets that are rarely frequented. The pathway to the evolution of urban water systems may take the edge off some of our future crises, especially if coupled with economic incentives and policies that lower some of the risks inherent in potential experimentation. I am hopeful that these proposed collaborative spaces for the state and public spheres to harmonize and share knowledge on one of our critical resources can lead to improvements and innovations of our urban water systems, such as the low-impact development projects that are being installed to reduce the frequency of combined sewer overflows in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

The burden of infrastructure is often concentrated in communities that do not have the ability to defend against its impacts. As a result, a lot of these neighborhoods suffer from frequent boil advisories or water shutoffs. The proper allocation of resources and benefits as well as related impacts and their mitigation must be aligned and integrated to the scale of the infrastructural system in question. The way we design and redesign our systems should take reversing this fragmented access as a primary trajectory (Sarte 124).

Much has lately been made of the great dynamism of cities as centers of bottom-up innovation, creative, and production, and human capital more generally. But participation in this dynamism - much less the enjoyment of the consequent benefits - is not equally accessible. Participation, access, influence, the basic ability to have a say in the building of a healthy environment, vary widely across numerous variables of social status. DIY urban design could possibly propagate the uneven development it hopes to resist. However, the

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formalization of some of these urban design activities - such as the annual festival or workshops - if done right, could present hopeful opportunities for low-income communities and communities of color. Knowing that local governments tend to be less responsive to the concerns of these citizens and that race can influence the allocation of community-improvement funding to local groups in neighborhoods, DIY urban design could offer an effective alternative for making locally preferred improvements happen. However, we also know that members of these local groups tend to systematically be less willing or able to engage in unauthorized activities. Thus, the official acceptance of these activities in a way that encourages doit-yourself contributions and brings them “above ground” could enable residents of underserved communities to make improvements themselves, contributing to the rise of resiliency in Pittsburgh. For example, leaders could look for opportunities to bring the rich and poor together through common infrastructural assets. Regardless of the method, emphasis should be put on diplomatic collaboration, knowledge exchange, and technology transfer (Douglas 169).

Most importantly from the standpoint of bringing about lasting change, raising awareness within our communities about the importance of figuring out the right path for a local version of water system innovation is crucial. The PWSA and other local government authorities that regulate their actions pay heed to public opinion. Make sure that your voice is heard: when decisions are being made about water infrastructure investments, speak up about the need to consider both climate change and chemicals that pose risk to human health and the environment. Ultimately, no one person or small group will determine the path that urban water systems will follow. The map to our future will be drawn collectively by the thousands of small decisions made in our homes, at community meetings, and in the voting booths. We all have a role to play in determining the next evolution of urban water systems and what it could look like when we build it. By making informed choices about supporting or opposing investments in desalination plants, potable reuse systems, greywater recycling systems, we will be learning and working on this next stage in infrastructure evolution.

“The time has come to secure the water future we want before a crisis forces it upon us.”

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Bibliography

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Books 1. Bakker, Karen J. Privatizing Water: Governance Failure and the Worlds Urban Water Crisis. New Delhi: Orient BlackSwan, 2011.

2. Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. London: Penguin Books, in Association with Hamish Hamilton, 2015.

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10. Glennon, Robert. Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What to Do about It. Washington: Island Press, 2010.

11. Gruber, Stefan. “An Atlas of Commoning: Places of Collective Production.” Edited by Anh-Linh Ngo. Arch, Summer 2018.

12. Ivers, B. Cannon. Staging Urban Landscapes: The Activation and Curation of Flexible Public Spaces. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2018.

13. Klein, Naomi. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate. London: Penguin Books, 2015.

14. McDonald, Bernadette, and Douglas Jehl. Whose Water Is It?: The Unquenchable Thirst of a Water-hungry World. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2004.

15. McDowell, Seth. Water Index. Design Strategies for Drought, Flooding and Contamination. New York: ActarD, 2017.

113 16. Melosi, Martin V. Precious Commodity Providing Water for American Cities. Pittsburgh, Pa: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011.

17. Ostrom, Elinor. Governing the Commons. Place of Publication Not Identified: Cambridge Univ Press, 2015.

18. Prudhomme, Alex. The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Freshwater in the Twenty-first Century. New York: Scribner, 2012.

19. Reed, Chris, Davis Owen, and Jonah Susskind. Retooling Metropolis: Working Landscapes, Emergent Urbanism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Graduate School of Design, 2017.

20. Sadik-Khan, Janette, and Seth Solomonow. Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution. 2016.

21. Sarté, S. Bry, and Morana M. Stipisic. Water Infrastructure: Equitable Deployment of Resilient Systems. New York, NY: Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), 2016.

22. Sedlak, David. Water 4.0: The Past, Present, and Future of the Worlds Most Vital Resource. Place of Publication Not Identified: Yale University Press, 2015.

23. Tarr, Joel A. Devastation and Renewal: An Environmental History of Pittsburgh and Its Region. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005.

24. Tvedt, Terje. Water and Society: Changing Perceptions of Societal and Historic Development. New York, NY: I.B. Tauris &, 2016.

25. Villiers, Marq De. Water the Fate of Our Most Precious Resource.

Vancouver, B.C.: Langara College, 2007.

26. Wagner, John R. “Water and the Commons Imaginary.” Current Anthropology 53, no. 5 (2012): 617-41. doi:10.1086/667622.

27. Waldheim, Charles. The Landscape Urbanism Reader. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006.

28. Whyte, William Hollingsworth. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. New York: Project for Public Spaces, 2018.

29. Wright, Kevin, Joel Nickol, and Missy Raterman. The Neighborhood Playbook: Activating Spaces, Developing Places: For Developers ; The Neighborhood Playbook: Activating Spaces, Developing Places: For Everyone Else. United States: Neighborhood Playbook, 2016.

30. Yudelson, Jerry. Dry Run: Preventing the next Urban Water Crisis.

Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2010.

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Newspaper Articles 1. Ahlir. “Public Drinking Fountains.” BikePGH. June 28, 2010.

Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.bikepgh.org/message-board/ topic/public-drinking-fountains/.

2. Board, Editorial. “A Better PWSA: Water Authority Is Getting Serious about Challenges.” Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

February 22, 2019. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www. post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2019/02/25/PittsburghWater-Sewer-Authority-PWSA-Water-authority-improve-quality/ stories/201902250013?fbclid=IwAR1PVpznmscZoz_alGU7-k1v2zaLUg7EOxoA8XiLAbm1b6Jo0K9Qe--7ts.

3. Brillon, James. “New Public Hydrant Would Let New Yorkers Drink from City Water Mains.” Dezeen. November 12, 2018. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.dezeen.com/2018/11/09/new-publichydrant-agency-agency-chris-woebken-water-futures-ado/?utm_ source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral.

4. Calvillo, Nerea. “Particular Sensibilities.” E-flux Architecture.

Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/ accumulation/217054/particular-sensibilities/.

5. Carson, Kevin. “Flint: Enclosure of the Water Commons.” Center for a Stateless Society. May 14, 2017. Accessed May 14, 2019. https:// c4ss.org/content/48991.

6. Deane, Michael. “Solving Complex Water Challenges Requires Multiple Solutions.” HuffPost. May 11, 2016. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/solving-complex-watercha_b_9906068.

7. Fertig, Beth. “It’s OK to Open That Fire Hydrant... But Just a Little Bit | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News.” WNYC. August 2, 2013. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www. wnyc.org/story/309912-making-open-fire-hydrants-legal-and-safer/.

8. Fessenden, Marissa. “Public Drinking Fountains Are Disappearing, and That’s a Bad Thing.” Smithsonian.com. July 16, 2015. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/whythinking-public-drinking-fountains-are-gross-problem-180955931/.

9. Frearson, Amy. “Zaha Hadid and Hopkins to Design London Water Fountains.” Dezeen. November 12, 2018. Accessed May 14, 2019.

10. Gleick, Peter H. “Make Public Drinking Water Fountains Great Again.” HuffPost. June 22, 2017. Accessed May 14, 2019. https:// www.huffpost.com/entry/make-public-drinking-water-fountainsgreat-again_b_594c2a44e4b0326c0a8d06de. https://www.dezeen. com/2014/02/19/zaha-hadid-hopkins-studio-weave-london-waterfountains/.

115 11. Hackman, Rose. “’It’s Always Been There for Us’: A Love Letter to New York’s Fire Hydrants.” The Guardian. July 28, 2016. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/28/ new-york-city-fire-hydrants-love-letter.

12. Harchekar, Arti. “Think Rome’s Fountains Are Just for Display?

Here Is How Water Elicits Joy and Exhibits Elegance in Public Spaces.” Joyful Urbanist. September 16, 2018. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.joyfulurbanist.com/home/2018/9/15/think-romefountains-are-just-for-display-here-is-how-water-elicits-joy-andexhibits-elegance-in-public-spaces.

13. Hitz, Julia Apland. “In Support of the Neglected Drinking Fountain.” State of the Planet. September 01, 2010. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/09/01/in-support-ofthe-neglected-drinking-fountain/.

14. Iqbal, Nosheen. “That’s Not Just a Water Bottle – It’s a Status Symbol.” The Guardian. November 18, 2018. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/nov/18/ water-bottle-status-symbol-reusable-fashion-statement?CMP=fb_ gu&fbclid=IwAR0wXl-td7szrPnbPS820a61mjgV8p0kAEjhNmlCOClNJ oKEEG7ya6Sw9-w.

15. Kane, Joseph, and Lynn E. Broaddus. “Striking a Better Balance between Water Investment and Affordability.” Brookings. September 12, 2016. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/ the-avenue/2016/09/12/striking-a-better-balance-between-waterinvestment-and-affordability/.

16. Klee, Katie De. “Reimagined Fire Hydrant Doubles up as a Water Fountain for People and Dogs.” Dezeen. November 12, 2018.

Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.dezeen.com/2018/07/28/ecaldimitri-nassisi-fire-hydrant-water-fountain-dogs-design/.

17. Knight, Devon. “New York City Fire Hydrants: A Summer Tradition – in Pictures.” The Guardian. July 28, 2016. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2016/jul/28/new-yorkcity-fire-hydrants-summer-in-pictures.

18. Litvak, Anya. “Peoples Gas Unveils Plans for Water Utility and Treatment Plant.” Gazette. July 03, 2018. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2018/07/03/ Peoples-Gas-PWSA-plans-water-utility-treatment-plant-ohara/ stories/201807020166.

19. Lurie, Julia. “This Major City’s Drinking Water Was Fine. Then Came the Private Water Company.” Mother Jones. June 23, 2017. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://www.motherjones.com/ environment/2016/10/private-water-pittsburgh-veolia/.

20. Morrison, Oliver. “PWSA Reveals $1B Infrastructure Plan in Effort to Thwart Privatization and Rebuild Trust - PublicSource | News for a Better Pittsburgh.” PublicSource. November 20, 2018. Accessed

116 May 14, 2019. https://www.publicsource.org/pwsa-reveals-1binfrastructure-plan-in-effort-to-thwart-privatization-and-rebuild-trust /?fbclid=IwAR3Pa9A7iNVDRfxpSHfBKiO2F6CVKJJ9FIlNKb0JTRmRe vqDEHL9Yc_HpPc. 21. Phurisamban, Rapichan, and Peter Gleick. “Drinking Fountains and Public Health: Improving National Water Infrastructure to Rebuild Trust and Ensure Access.” Pacific Institute. February 27, 2017.

Accessed May 14, 2019. https://pacinst.org/publication/drinkingfountains-public-health-improving-national-water-infrastructurerebuild-trust-ensure-access/.

22. Pierre-Louis, Kendra. “We Don’t Trust Drinking Fountains Anymore, and That’s Bad for Our Health.” The Washington Post. July 08, 2015. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ opinions/we-dont-trust-drinking-fountains-anymore-and-thats-badfor-our-health/2015/07/02/24eca9bc-15f0-11e5-9ddc-e3353542100c_ story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2099017d5375.

23. Satran, Joe. “13 Weird Moments In The History Of The Water Fountain.” HuffPost. December 07, 2017. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/history-of-waterfountains_n_6357064.

24. Schuler, Timothy A. “Public Space Has A Drinking Problem.”

Landscape Architecture Magazine. December 07, 2015.

Accessed May 14, 2019. https://landscapearchitecturemagazine. org/2015/11/10/public-space-has-a-drinking-problem/.

25. Shoemaker, J. Dale, and Lindsay Patross. “What the Future Holds for Pittsburgh’s Water Authority - PublicSource | News for a Better Pittsburgh.” PublicSource. January 2, 2018. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.publicsource.org/what-the-future-holds-for-pittsburghswater-authority/.

26. Triantafyllidou, Chrysa. “Benefiting From Integrating Water Into Public Spaces.” International Water Association. November 4, 2015.

Accessed May 14, 2019. http://iwa-network.org/benefiting-fromintegrating-water-into-public-spaces/.

Supplementary Materials 1. Thesis Book - Digital Version A digital version of the thesis book, to be able to see spreads clearly.

URL: https://issuu.com/snaray03/docs/saipratn_book_issuu_pages_ e1aeb83fd5c109

117 2. “People and Their Water: A Brief Understanding of Pittsburghers and their relationship to water issues in Pittsburgh” A series of interviews with experts in the nonprofit and sustainability realms about water issues in Pittsburgh. Part of a graduate Master of Urban Design Thesis Project from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Architecture. Conducted, Recorded, and Compiled by Sai Prateek Narayan.

Interviewees: 1. Madeline Weiss, Clean Water Action 2. Geoff Bland, Clean Water Action 3. Zaheen Hussain, New Sun Rising URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UlbZ-3UNR8

3. Blog Posts Throughout my year of research and design, wrote a series of blog entries about my progress and thoughts, in hopes to document the process.

URL: www.saipratn.wordpress.com

4. Hyd-Rate As part of my proposal, I designed a smartphone application. While the following link is mainly to an interface that could mimic the actual application, it is very possible to build one with the collaborative efforts of academic institutions and environmental non-profits.

URL: https://xd.adobe.com/view/e61644b1-35e8-4bf0-4ebe1c41378f0341-9027/screen/ca46e3c6-0dcd-4741-962a-2dfca1c78227/ Home-Page/

5. Final Presentation My final thesis presentation and the feedback I received at the end of it. Presented at the Miller Institute of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA on 19 April 2019. Recorded by Nikhita Bhagwat.

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL9cSPMLpfw