The article “Houston’s Flood Is a Design Problem” by Iran Bogost at The Atlantic was a great reading that made me aware of flooding, which I never thought about in-depth. The article mainly argues that the flooding occurring in Houston is due to a design problem: It’s not because the water comes in, it’s because it is forced to leave again. In general, rain or snowfall should soak back into the earth after falling in normal circumstances. However, some disrupting factors could impede absorption. Especially for the cities filled with buildings along with roads, parking lots, sidewalks, and other pavements, materials such as asphalt, concrete, brick, stone, etc., create impervious surfaces that resist the natural absorption of water. As a result, individuals came out with a process called stormwater management. In the reading, the author said, “One problem is that people care about flooding because it’s dramatic and catastrophic. They don’t care about stormwater management, which is where the real issue lies.” I totally thought this is also a problem because I never heard of stormwater management either, and knowing about this, it even motivates me more to care about environmental issues.
