News Tag: Climate

How Households Adapt to Water Scarcity: A New Study in Mexico City Sheds Light on Hidden Costs of a Global Issue

Architecture student and Wallenberg Fellow Meghana Tummala is another University of Michigan scholar grappling with the impacts of climate change. In this artwork, inspired by study abroad in Mexico City, she reflects on the city’s relationship with water: “Historically, it’s clear through the pyramids that the Aztecs clearly valued and respected all aspects of the land they were inhabiting — including the water — but after colonization, water was seen as an obstruction to “development.” Today, in the neighborhoods and places we have traveled to, water is luxuriously drained or used, through ornate spouts, intentionally exposed piping, grand fountains, or to clean the streets/sidewalks we walked on. It’s both feared and valued. Very little to no remnants of the lake that was Mexico City remains. Except in Xochimilco and UNAM, where we begin to see spouts and drains to bring water back to the way it was. It shows that water isn’t something to be feared but rather just as beautiful as other aspects of nature. This drawing is a visual representation of how water is treated and perceived over time."

ANN ARBOR– As climate change and population growth make water scarcity increasingly common, a much larger share of the global population will be forced to reckon with the costs of urban water scarcity. A new study in PLOS Water sheds light on how households bear the monetary and non-monetary costs when water supply is intermittent, rather than… Continue reading How Households Adapt to Water Scarcity: A New Study in Mexico City Sheds Light on Hidden Costs of a Global Issue