<!doctype html>

<html xmlns:og="http://opengraphprotocol.org/schema/" xmlns:fb="http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml" xmlns:article="http://ogp.me/ns/article" lang="en-US" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Article" >
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1">
    
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1">
    
    <!-- This is Squarespace. --><!-- strongtowns -->
<base href="">
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<title>After Hurricane Harvey, don't empower the engineers. Please. — Strong Towns</title>
<link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="/favicon.ico"/>
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/9/6/dont-empower-the-engineers-please"/>
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Strong Towns"/>
<meta property="og:title" content="After Hurricane Harvey, don't empower the engineers. Please."/>
<meta property="og:latitude" content="46.356803"/>
<meta property="og:longitude" content="-94.18550160000001"/>
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/9/6/dont-empower-the-engineers-please"/>
<meta property="og:type" content="article"/>
<meta property="og:description" content="It is very seductive to look at Houston's flooding as a simple engineering and planning problem."/>
<meta property="og:image" content="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a/1505928344471/170831-F-KA253-0647.JPG?format=1000w"/>
<meta property="og:image:width" content="825"/>
<meta property="og:image:height" content="590"/>
<meta itemprop="name" content="After Hurricane Harvey, don't empower the engineers. Please."/>
<meta itemprop="url" content="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/9/6/dont-empower-the-engineers-please"/>
<meta itemprop="description" content="It is very seductive to look at Houston's flooding as a simple engineering and planning problem."/>
<meta itemprop="thumbnailUrl" content="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a/1505928344471/170831-F-KA253-0647.JPG?format=1000w"/>
<link rel="image_src" href="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a/1505928344471/170831-F-KA253-0647.JPG?format=1000w" />
<meta itemprop="image" content="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a/1505928344471/170831-F-KA253-0647.JPG?format=1000w"/>
<link rel="author" href="https://plus.google.com/110126730077231573723/posts" />
<meta name="twitter:title" content="After Hurricane Harvey, don't empower the engineers. Please."/>
<meta name="twitter:image" content="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a/1505928344471/170831-F-KA253-0647.JPG?format=1000w"/>
<meta name="twitter:url" content="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/9/6/dont-empower-the-engineers-please"/>
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"/>
<meta name="twitter:description" content="It is very seductive to look at Houston's flooding as a simple engineering and planning problem."/>
<meta name="description" content="It is very seductive to look at Houston's flooding as a simple engineering 
and planning problem." />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Alegreya+SC:400,700,700i,400i|Titillium+Web:700,700i,400i,400"/>
<script type="text/javascript">SQUARESPACE_ROLLUPS = {};</script>
<script>(function(rollups, name) { if (!rollups[name]) { rollups[name] = {}; } rollups[name].js = ["//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/common-e1e4c802744fa92816c0-min.en-US.js"]; })(SQUARESPACE_ROLLUPS, 'squarespace-common');</script>
<script crossorigin="anonymous" src="//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/common-e1e4c802744fa92816c0-min.en-US.js" ></script><script>(function(rollups, name) { if (!rollups[name]) { rollups[name] = {}; } rollups[name].js = ["//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/commerce-ead89f357bc51431caf8-min.en-US.js"]; })(SQUARESPACE_ROLLUPS, 'squarespace-commerce');</script>
<script crossorigin="anonymous" src="//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/commerce-ead89f357bc51431caf8-min.en-US.js" ></script><script>(function(rollups, name) { if (!rollups[name]) { rollups[name] = {}; } rollups[name].css = ["//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/commerce-e573fdccbc01296611f590868498e01b-min.css"]; })(SQUARESPACE_ROLLUPS, 'squarespace-commerce');</script>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/commerce-e573fdccbc01296611f590868498e01b-min.css"/><script data-name="static-context">Static = window.Static || {}; Static.SQUARESPACE_CONTEXT = {"facebookAppId":"314192535267336","rollups":{"squarespace-announcement-bar":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/announcement-bar-d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/announcement-bar-4336d882cb0c45caf87f-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-audio-player":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/audio-player-e1b486594965430889af24c93ffeb509-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/audio-player-8e94e35ae6860fda4d9c-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-blog-collection-list":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/blog-collection-list-d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/blog-collection-list-236606099f51725daf55-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-calendar-block-renderer":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/calendar-block-renderer-bba726056d2134131ce9d3077c28adbe-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/calendar-block-renderer-f332bc2e7fb1f51e04a2-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-chartjs-helpers":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/chartjs-helpers-9935a41d63cf08ca108505d288c1712e-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/chartjs-helpers-03480fb7ae11b45246c4-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-comments":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/comments-fd2f389570c2a57065011600abb62cf3-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/comments-cd4e5df7b24f005a3264-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-dialog":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/dialog-2e732c7e5b76c9e7ee7862549def0900-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/dialog-d4faad01026f2338d43a-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-events-collection":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/events-collection-bba726056d2134131ce9d3077c28adbe-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/events-collection-12f0fec06fe60b943008-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-form-rendering-utils":{"js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/form-rendering-utils-d0a167f3974a38807e8c-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-forms":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/forms-4af1b5b3c288ba939ea861fe2d37119a-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/forms-e77db9eb9af9bc60d37d-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-gallery-collection-list":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/gallery-collection-list-d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/gallery-collection-list-5ede7489615fcd9283c8-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-image-zoom":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/image-zoom-ae974921915aeccaff8ad60c60e19c31-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/image-zoom-4961d7c4a6900f1ca7b0-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-pinterest":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/pinterest-d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/pinterest-4e39b91f1918b688e30a-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-popup-overlay":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/popup-overlay-fdcf92196a4aebc72317a5c5f60f0289-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/popup-overlay-567a5649fa9e824ffdd3-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-product-quick-view":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/product-quick-view-9abaaa4dfff182aa8d4ccf3b6ffdbe8d-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/product-quick-view-744b21927a2118d8d2d3-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-products-collection-item-v2":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/products-collection-item-v2-ae974921915aeccaff8ad60c60e19c31-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/products-collection-item-v2-a191ba87aeba28c9c29d-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-products-collection-list-v2":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/products-collection-list-v2-ae974921915aeccaff8ad60c60e19c31-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/products-collection-list-v2-08dab6f4063728c1113f-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-search-page":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/search-page-9c747eeaabe96dacfea4932a63336f54-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/search-page-6abfa3f0274fdd2bda2e-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-search-preview":{"js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/search-preview-599ff80aac617fc4fec6-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-share-buttons":{"js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/share-buttons-609d3f1f3eb2b2e51ec7-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-simple-liking":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/simple-liking-09fa291ec2800c97714f0d157fd0a6ca-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/simple-liking-c79c8a6cd0c915490211-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-social-buttons":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/social-buttons-7a696232d1cd101fd62b5f174f9ae6ff-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/social-buttons-da983d271d86efd6c80f-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-tourdates":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/tourdates-d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/tourdates-ab64641847a9500390f2-min.en-US.js"},"squarespace-website-overlays-manager":{"css":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/styles-compressed/website-overlays-manager-d1b0ace5f5af772d643f5a6ce0056946-min.css","js":"//static.squarespace.com/universal/scripts-compressed/website-overlays-manager-0ef9574ae44df6b68dd4-min.en-US.js"}},"pageType":50,"website":{"id":"53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91","identifier":"strongtowns","websiteType":1,"contentModifiedOn":1518552899099,"cloneable":false,"developerMode":true,"siteStatus":{},"language":"en-US","timeZone":"America/North_Dakota/Center","machineTimeZoneOffset":-21600000,"timeZoneOffset":-21600000,"timeZoneAbbr":"CST","siteTitle":"Strong Towns","siteTagLine":"We support a strong America full of strong cities, towns and neighborhoods.","siteDescription":"<p>Our mission is to support a model of growth that allows America's cities, towns and neighborhoods to become financially strong and resilient. Join the Strong towns movement today.</p>","location":{"mapZoom":12.0,"mapLat":46.356803,"mapLng":-94.18550160000001,"markerLat":46.356803,"markerLng":-94.18550160000001,"addressTitle":"Strong Towns","addressLine1":"1511 Northern Pacific Rd","addressLine2":"Brainerd, MN, 56401"},"logoImageId":"56461aa4e4b0cb576cc5c1c0","shareButtonOptions":{"2":true,"6":true,"7":true,"1":true,"3":true,"5":true,"4":true,"8":true},"logoImageUrl":"//static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/56461aa4e4b0cb576cc5c1c0/1518552899099/","authenticUrl":"https://www.strongtowns.org","internalUrl":"https://strongtowns.squarespace.com","baseUrl":"https://www.strongtowns.org","primaryDomain":"www.strongtowns.org","sslSetting":3,"socialAccounts":[{"serviceId":2,"userId":"556069663","screenname":"Strong Towns","addedOn":1407044735401,"profileUrl":"https://www.facebook.com/strongtowns","iconUrl":"http://graph.facebook.com/556069663/picture?type=square","metaData":{"service":"facebook"},"iconEnabled":true,"serviceName":"facebook"},{"serviceId":4,"userId":"80758969","userName":"StrongTowns","screenname":"Strong Towns","addedOn":1493678481743,"profileUrl":"https://twitter.com/StrongTowns","iconUrl":"http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/750199511989882880/pY05bzUQ_normal.jpg","collectionId":"5907b99103596e470a38cae2","iconEnabled":true,"serviceName":"twitter"},{"serviceId":11,"userId":"TeYrzSQ3YCp3RovGH4y8Ew","userName":"Strong Towns","screenname":"Strong Towns","addedOn":1407113273981,"profileUrl":"http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTeYrzSQ3YCp3RovGH4y8Ew","iconUrl":"http://yt3.ggpht.com/-rx6wXWX581U/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/72Th2OqPIKk/s88-c-k-no/photo.jpg","iconEnabled":true,"serviceName":"youtube"},{"serviceId":14,"userId":"5EkVsQ_rXM","userName":"charlesmarohn","screenname":"Charles Marohn, PE AICP","addedOn":1459523001486,"profileUrl":"https://www.linkedin.com/company/strong-towns","iconUrl":"https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mprx/0_PKW1NX-rcbgOA38G0KP1xGaAPhJCchO_V3l1-r9AAq9icrhGttlgx9BAvrECtAh_xKlPxbqlxBB_NXdmViufyrMgVBBGNXkGxiurBAuKAnCmY-xY1tVYc5CTsGS-jX1198H0ri_JmkS","iconEnabled":true,"serviceName":"linkedin"}],"typekitId":"","statsMigrated":false,"imageMetadataProcessingEnabled":false,"screenshotId":"ddf2ef79"},"websiteSettings":{"id":"53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea92","websiteId":"53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91","type":"Non-Profit","subjects":[{"systemSubject":"other","otherSubject":"cities"}],"country":"US","state":"MN","simpleLikingEnabled":true,"mobileInfoBarSettings":{"style":1,"isContactEmailEnabled":true,"isContactPhoneNumberEnabled":true,"isLocationEnabled":true,"isBusinessHoursEnabled":false},"announcementBarSettings":{"style":2,"text":"<p>Nominate your city for our Strongest Town contest! Applications due February 25.</p>","clickthroughUrl":{"url":"https://strongtowns.org/strongesttown","newWindow":false}},"commentLikesAllowed":true,"commentAnonAllowed":true,"commentThreaded":true,"commentApprovalRequired":false,"commentAvatarsOn":true,"commentSortType":3,"commentFlagThreshold":1,"commentFlagsAllowed":true,"commentEnableByDefault":true,"commentDisableAfterDaysDefault":0,"disqusShortname":"strongtowns","commentsEnabled":true,"contactPhoneNumber":"844-218-1681","contactEmail":"team@strongtowns.org","storeSettings":{"returnPolicy":null,"termsOfService":null,"privacyPolicy":null,"orderRefundedSubjectFormat":"%s: Order #%o Refunded","orderRefundedTitleFormat":"Order Refunded: #%o","paymentSettings":{},"expressCheckout":false,"continueShoppingLinkUrl":"/","useLightCart":false,"showNoteField":false,"shippingCountryDefaultValue":"US","billToShippingDefaultValue":false,"showShippingPhoneNumber":false,"isShippingPhoneRequired":false,"showBillingPhoneNumber":false,"isBillingPhoneRequired":false,"multipleQuantityAllowedForServices":true,"currenciesSupported":["CHF","HKD","MXN","EUR","DKK","USD","CAD","MYR","NOK","THB","AUD","SGD","ILS","PLN","GBP","CZK","SEK","NZD","PHP","RUB"],"defaultCurrency":"USD","selectedCurrency":"USD","measurementStandard":1,"orderConfirmationInjectCode":"","showCustomCheckoutForm":false,"enableMailingListOptInByDefault":true,"contactLocation":{"addressLine1":"1511 Northern Pacific Road","addressLine2":"Brainerd, MN, 56401","addressCountry":"United States"},"businessName":"Strong Towns","sameAsRetailLocation":false,"isLive":false},"useEscapeKeyToLogin":true,"ssBadgeType":1,"ssBadgePosition":4,"ssBadgeVisibility":1,"ssBadgeDevices":1,"pinterestOverlayOptions":{"mode":"disabled","size":"small","shape":"rect","color":"white"},"ampEnabled":false},"cookieSettings":{"isRestrictiveCookiePolicyEnabled":false},"websiteCloneable":false,"collection":{"title":"Strong Towns Media","id":"54b6c509e4b062126976d942","fullUrl":"/journal/","publicCommentCount":2982,"type":1},"item":{"title":"After Hurricane Harvey, don't empower the engineers. Please.","id":"59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a","fullUrl":"/journal/2017/9/6/dont-empower-the-engineers-please","publicCommentCount":0,"commentState":1,"recordType":1},"subscribed":false,"appDomain":"squarespace.com","templateTweakable":true,"tweakJSON":{"aspect-ratio":"Auto","contentBgColor":"rgba(255,255,255,1)","first-index-image-fullscreen":"true","fixed-header":"false","footerBgColor":"rgba(12,45,67,1)","gallery-arrow-style":"No Background","gallery-auto-crop":"true","gallery-autoplay":"false","gallery-design":"Slideshow","gallery-info-overlay":"Show on Hover","gallery-loop":"false","gallery-navigation":"Bullets","gallery-show-arrows":"true","galleryArrowBackground":"rgba(34,34,34,1)","galleryArrowColor":"rgba(255,255,255,1)","galleryAutoplaySpeed":"3","galleryCircleColor":"rgba(255,255,255,1)","galleryInfoBackground":"rgba(0, 0, 0, .7)","galleryThumbnailSize":"100px","gridSize":"350px","gridSpacing":"20px","headerBgColor":"rgba(255,255,255,1)","index-image-height":"Two Thirds","parallax-scrolling":"true","product-gallery-auto-crop":"true","product-image-auto-crop":"true","transparent-header":"false"},"templateId":"56e4c65ed51cd48392dacb2b","pageFeatures":[1,2,4],"impersonatedSession":false,"isFacebookTab":false,"tzData":{"zones":[[-360,"US","C%sT",null]],"rules":{"US":[[1967,2006,null,"Oct","lastSun","2:00","0","S"],[1987,2006,null,"Apr","Sun>=1","2:00","1:00","D"],[2007,"max",null,"Mar","Sun>=8","2:00","1:00","D"],[2007,"max",null,"Nov","Sun>=1","2:00","0","S"]]}},"useNewImageLoader":true};</script><script type="text/javascript"> SquarespaceFonts.loadViaContext(); Squarespace.load(window);</script><link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS Feed" href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal?format=RSS" />
<script type="application/ld+json">{"url":"https://www.strongtowns.org","name":"Strong Towns","description":"<p>Our mission is to support a model of growth that allows America's cities, towns and neighborhoods to become financially strong and resilient. Join the Strong towns movement today.</p>","image":"//static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/56461aa4e4b0cb576cc5c1c0/1518552899099/","@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"WebSite"}</script><script type="application/ld+json">{"legalName":"Strong Towns","address":"1511 Northern Pacific Rd\nBrainerd, MN, 56401","email":"team@strongtowns.org","telephone":"844-218-1681","@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Organization"}</script><script type="application/ld+json">{"address":"1511 Northern Pacific Road\nBrainerd, MN, 56401\nUnited States","image":"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/56461aa4e4b0cb576cc5c1c0/1518552899099/","name":"Strong Towns","@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"LocalBusiness"}</script><!--[if gte IE 9]> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//static1.squarespace.com/static/sitecss/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/106/56e4c65ed51cd48392dacb2b/56e4c65fd51cd48392dacb48/5-05142015/1518051194472/site.css?&filterFeatures=false&part=1"/><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//static1.squarespace.com/static/sitecss/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/106/56e4c65ed51cd48392dacb2b/56e4c65fd51cd48392dacb48/5-05142015/1518051194472/site.css?&filterFeatures=false&part=2"/><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//static1.squarespace.com/static/sitecss/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/106/56e4c65ed51cd48392dacb2b/56e4c65fd51cd48392dacb48/5-05142015/1518051194472/site.css?&filterFeatures=false&part=3"/><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//static1.squarespace.com/static/sitecss/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/106/56e4c65ed51cd48392dacb2b/56e4c65fd51cd48392dacb48/5-05142015/1518051194472/site.css?&filterFeatures=false&part=4"/><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 9]><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//static1.squarespace.com/static/sitecss/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/106/56e4c65ed51cd48392dacb2b/56e4c65fd51cd48392dacb48/5-05142015/1518051194472/site.css?&filterFeatures=false&noMedia=true&part=1"/><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//static1.squarespace.com/static/sitecss/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/106/56e4c65ed51cd48392dacb2b/56e4c65fd51cd48392dacb48/5-05142015/1518051194472/site.css?&filterFeatures=false&noMedia=true&part=2"/><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//static1.squarespace.com/static/sitecss/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/106/56e4c65ed51cd48392dacb2b/56e4c65fd51cd48392dacb48/5-05142015/1518051194472/site.css?&filterFeatures=false&noMedia=true&part=3"/><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//static1.squarespace.com/static/sitecss/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/106/56e4c65ed51cd48392dacb2b/56e4c65fd51cd48392dacb48/5-05142015/1518051194472/site.css?&filterFeatures=false&noMedia=true&part=4"/><![endif]-->
<!--[if !IE]> --><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//static1.squarespace.com/static/sitecss/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/106/56e4c65ed51cd48392dacb2b/56e4c65fd51cd48392dacb48/5-05142015/1518051194472/site.css?&filterFeatures=false"/><!-- <![endif]-->
<!-- Google Tag Manager -->
<noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-M6PTZP"
height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>
<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=
'//www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);
})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-M6PTZP');</script>
<!-- End Google Tag Manager -->

<!--CrazyEgg -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="//script.crazyegg.com/pages/scripts/0072/1117.js" async="async"></script>
<!--End Crazy Egg-->

<!--<script type="text/javascript">
setTimeout(function(){var a=document.createElement("script");
var b=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
a.src=document.location.protocol+"//script.crazyegg.com/pages/scripts/0028/6405.js?"+Math.floor(new Date().getTime()/3600000);
a.async=true;a.type="text/javascript";b.parentNode.insertBefore(a,b)}, 1);
</script>-->
<script type="text/javascript">var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime()</script>

<script type="text/javascript">
piAId = '141101';
piCId = '1143';

(function() {
	function async_load(){
		var s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript';
		s.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://pi' : 'http://cdn') + '.pardot.com/pd.js';
		var c = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; c.parentNode.insertBefore(s, c);
	}
	if(window.attachEvent) { window.attachEvent('onload', async_load); }
	else { window.addEventListener('load', async_load, false); }
})();
</script>
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.12.2.min.js"></script>
<script>
jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
  $('.entry-footer .entry-meta').insertAfter('.entry-actions');
  //$('.squarespace-social-buttons').clone().prependTo('.content-inner').css({'color' : '#7F1214', 'margin-bottom' : '20px', 'font-size' : '20px'});
});
</script>
<!-- Heap Analytics --> 
<script type="text/javascript">
    window.heap=window.heap||[],heap.load=function(e,t){window.heap.appid=e,window.heap.config=t=t||{};var r=t.forceSSL||"https:"===document.location.protocol,a=document.createElement("script");a.type="text/javascript",a.async=!0,a.src=(r?"https:":"http:")+"//cdn.heapanalytics.com/js/heap-"+e+".js";var n=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];n.parentNode.insertBefore(a,n);for(var o=function(e){return function(){heap.push([e].concat(Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}},p=["addEventProperties","addUserProperties","clearEventProperties","identify","removeEventProperty","setEventProperties","track","unsetEventProperty"],c=0;c<p.length;c++)heap[p[c]]=o(p[c])};
      heap.load("863340192");
</script>
<!-- End Heap Analytics -->

<!-- Get Site Control -->
<script>
  (function (w,i,d,g,e,t,s) {w[d] = w[d]||[];t= i.createElement(g);
    t.async=1;t.src=e;s=i.getElementsByTagName(g)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);
  })(window, document, '_gscq','script','//widgets.getsitecontrol.com/26640/script.js');
</script>
<!-- End Get Site Control -->

<!-- Facebook Pixel Code -->
<script>
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,'script','https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');
fbq('init', '1523721741227456', {
em: 'insert_email_variable'
});
fbq('track', 'PageView');
</script>
<noscript><img height="1" width="1" style="display:none"
src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1523721741227456&ev=PageView&noscript=1"
/></noscript>
<!-- DO NOT MODIFY -->
<!-- End Facebook Pixel Code --><script>(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');ga('create', 'UA-13054992-2', 'auto');ga('send', 'pageview');</script><!-- End of Squarespace Headers -->
    <script>
      Y.Squarespace.FollowButtonUtils = {};
      Y.Squarespace.FollowButtonUtils.renderAll = function(){};
    </script>
  </head>

  <body id="item-59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a" class="event-excerpts event-list-date event-list-time event-list-address   events-layout-columns events-width-full gallery-design-slideshow aspect-ratio-auto lightbox-style-dark gallery-navigation-bullets gallery-info-overlay-show-on-hover gallery-arrow-style-no-background gallery-show-arrows gallery-auto-crop     parallax-scrolling  first-index-image-fullscreen index-image-height-two-thirds   title--description-alignment-left title--description-position-over-image title-background  description-button-style-solid description-button-corner-style-square  blog-layout-columns blog-width-full   show-category-navigation product-list-titles-under product-list-alignment-center product-item-size-11-square product-image-auto-crop product-gallery-size-11-square product-gallery-auto-crop show-product-price show-product-item-nav product-social-sharing   opentable-style-light newsletter-style-light small-button-style-solid small-button-shape-square medium-button-style-solid medium-button-shape-square large-button-style-solid large-button-shape-square button-style-default button-corner-style-square tweak-product-quick-view-button-style-floating tweak-product-quick-view-button-position-bottom tweak-product-quick-view-lightbox-excerpt-display-truncate tweak-product-quick-view-lightbox-show-arrows tweak-product-quick-view-lightbox-show-close-button tweak-product-quick-view-lightbox-controls-weight-light native-currency-code-usd view-item collection-type-blog collection-layout-default collection-54b6c509e4b062126976d942 mobile-style-available has-banner-image ">

    <div id="mobileNav" data-content-field="navigation-mobileNav">
      
  <nav class="main-nav">
      <div class="nav-wrapper">
        <ul class="cf">
        

          
            <li class="folders-collection folder">

            

                  <!--FOLDER-->

                  <div class="folder-parent">
                    <a aria-haspopup="true"><span>About</span></a>
                    <div class="folder-child-wrapper">
                      <ul class="folder-child">
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/mission/">
                                <span>Mission</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/about/">
                                <span>What is Strong Towns?</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/people/">
                                <span>People</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                      </ul>
                    </div>
                  </div>
            
            </li>
          

          
            
        

          
            <li class="folders-collection folder">

            

                  <!--FOLDER-->

                  <div class="folder-parent">
                    <a aria-haspopup="true"><span>Explore</span></a>
                    <div class="folder-child-wrapper">
                      <ul class="folder-child">
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/more-topics/">
                                <span>Explore by Topic</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/podcast/">
                                <span>Podcast</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/webcasts/">
                                <span>Webcast</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/discussion-board/">
                                <span>Discussion Board</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/strongesttown/">
                                <span>Contest</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                      </ul>
                    </div>
                  </div>
            
            </li>
          

          
            
        

          
            <li class="folders-collection folder">

            

                  <!--FOLDER-->

                  <div class="folder-parent">
                    <a aria-haspopup="true"><span>Events</span></a>
                    <div class="folder-child-wrapper">
                      <ul class="folder-child">
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/events/">
                                <span>Calendar</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/speaking/">
                                <span>Host an event</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                      </ul>
                    </div>
                  </div>
            
            </li>
          

          
            
        

          
            <li class="page-collection">

            
              <a href="/shop/"><span>Shop</span></a>
            
            </li>
          

          
            
        

          
            <li class="page-collection">

            
              <a href="/local/"><span>Local</span></a>
            
            </li>
          

          
            
        

          

          
            <li class="external-link">
              <a href="http://www.strongtowns.org/membership"><span>Join the Movement</span></a>
            </li>
          
            
        
      </ul>
    </div>
  </nav>

    </div>

    <div class="site-wrapper">
      <div class="site-inner-wrapper">
      <!--CONTENT INJECTION POINT-->
      
        <div id="header-wrapper">
          <header id="header" class="sqs-announcement-bar-dropzone">
            <div class="title-nav-wrapper">
              
              <h1 data-content-field="site-title" data-annotation-alignment="bottom" class="site-title">
                <a href="/" id="top">
                
                  <img src="//static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/56461aa4e4b0cb576cc5c1c0/1518552899099/?format=400w" alt="Strong Towns" />
                
                </a>
              </h1>
              
              <a class="icon-menu" id="mobileMenu"></a>
              <!--MAIN NAVIGATION-->
              <div id="desktopNav" data-content-field="navigation-mainNav" data-annotation-alignment="bottom left">
                
  <nav class="main-nav">
      <div class="nav-wrapper">
        <ul class="cf">
        

          
            <li class="folders-collection folder">

            

                  <!--FOLDER-->

                  <div class="folder-parent">
                    <a aria-haspopup="true"><span>About</span></a>
                    <div class="folder-child-wrapper">
                      <ul class="folder-child">
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/mission/">
                                <span>Mission</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/about/">
                                <span>What is Strong Towns?</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/people/">
                                <span>People</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                      </ul>
                    </div>
                  </div>
            
            </li>
          

          
            
        

          
            <li class="folders-collection folder">

            

                  <!--FOLDER-->

                  <div class="folder-parent">
                    <a aria-haspopup="true"><span>Explore</span></a>
                    <div class="folder-child-wrapper">
                      <ul class="folder-child">
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/more-topics/">
                                <span>Explore by Topic</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/podcast/">
                                <span>Podcast</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/webcasts/">
                                <span>Webcast</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/discussion-board/">
                                <span>Discussion Board</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/strongesttown/">
                                <span>Contest</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                      </ul>
                    </div>
                  </div>
            
            </li>
          

          
            
        

          
            <li class="folders-collection folder">

            

                  <!--FOLDER-->

                  <div class="folder-parent">
                    <a aria-haspopup="true"><span>Events</span></a>
                    <div class="folder-child-wrapper">
                      <ul class="folder-child">
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/events/">
                                <span>Calendar</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                          
                            <li class="">
                              <a href="/speaking/">
                                <span>Host an event</span>
                              </a>
                            </li>
                          

                          
                        

                      </ul>
                    </div>
                  </div>
            
            </li>
          

          
            
        

          
            <li class="page-collection">

            
              <a href="/shop/"><span>Shop</span></a>
            
            </li>
          

          
            
        

          
            <li class="page-collection">

            
              <a href="/local/"><span>Local</span></a>
            
            </li>
          

          
            
        

          

          
            <li class="external-link">
              <a href="http://www.strongtowns.org/membership"><span>Join the Movement</span></a>
            </li>
          
            
        
      </ul>
    </div>
  </nav>

              </div>
            </div>
          </header>
        
          
          <div class="banner-image content-fill">
            <img data-src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a/1505928344471/170831-F-KA253-0647.JPG" data-image="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a/1505928344471/170831-F-KA253-0647.JPG" data-image-dimensions="825x590" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="After Hurricane Harvey, don't empower the engineers. Please."  />
            <div class="image-overlay-wrapper"></div>
          </div>
          
          <div class="title-desc-wrapper has-main-image" data-content-field="main-image">
            <div class="title-desc-inner" data-collection-id="59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a">
              
              
              <div class="page-title-wrapper"><h1 class="page-title">
                
                After Hurricane Harvey, don't empower the engineers. Please.
                
              </h1></div>
              <br> <!-- this keeps the inline-blocks from collapsing -->
              <div class="page-desc">
                <p class="date entry-author">
                  <time class="published" datetime="2017-09-08">September  8, 2017</time>
                  <span class="author-name"><br>
                    <em>by</em> <a href="/journal/?author=53dd6675e4b0a35b708276e0">Charles Marohn</a>
                  </span>
                </p>
              </div>
              
            
            </div>
          </div>
        </div>

        <section id="content-wrapper">
          <div class="sqs-cart-dropzone"></div>
          <div class="content">

            <div class="content-inner" data-content-field="main-content">
              <section class="blog-item">

  
    <article class="entry hentry category-engineering-profession category-marohn category-top-story category-urban-design category-zoning tag-water tag-houston tag-hurricane-harvey author-charles-marohn post-type-text clear" id="article-59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a" data-item-id="59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a">

<!--       <div class="entry-title-wrapper">
        <h1 data-content-field="title" class="entry-title">After Hurricane Harvey, don't empower the engineers. Please.</h1>
      </div> -->

      <div class="entry-content">

        
          <div class="sqs-layout sqs-grid-12 columns-12" data-layout-label="Post Body" data-type="item" data-updated-on="1504724160089" id="item-59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a"><div class="row sqs-row"><div class="col sqs-col-12 span-12"><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-d7161b797ddbc98b996a"><div class="sqs-block-content"><p>When I hear people talking about an event like Hurricane Harvey and how we were unprepared for it, that Houston filled wetlands and sprawled all over the countryside in a way that only magnified the flooding, I cringe. Not because these analyses are de-facto wrong (<a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/9/4/the-real-lesson-of-hurricane-harvey">I've said they are right in a certain context</a>, just not in the extreme event of Hurricane Harvey)&nbsp;but because they present a limited understanding, one that — if not corrected —&nbsp;I fear will prompt us to divert scarce energy and resources into activities that will be destructive.</p><p>I am immediately skeptical of the notion that more stormwater management and/or zoning regulations would have had any significant impact on the extent of the damage from Harvey. This reflective response certainly frames, if not clouds, my analysis of the situation. When it comes to both stormwater management and zoning regulations in these kind of extreme events, I am a skeptic in our ability to ever translate intentions into meaningful action, if that were even possible.</p><p>That's my bias. In my defense, I'll point out that it's the 180-degree opposite bias I had twenty years ago. Back then I would have —&nbsp;like many of our readers —&nbsp;looked at a flood and asked, why can we not prevent that? I would have considered projects I have worked on and extrapolated them to the scale of the problem in front of me. My faith in the spirit of American ingenuity (and my own abilities) would have driven me to think that anything is possible and that if I were properly empowered and supported, I could prevent the next disaster and limit the needless suffering.</p></div></div><div class="sqs-block video-block sqs-block-video sqs-col-6 span-6 float float-right" data-block-json="&#123;&quot;layout&quot;:&quot;caption-hidden&quot;,&quot;overlay&quot;:false,&quot;description&quot;:&#123;&quot;html&quot;:&quot;Star Wars Episode 3 \&quot;Revenge of the Sith\&quot;&quot;&#125;,&quot;hSize&quot;:6,&quot;floatDir&quot;:&quot;right&quot;,&quot;html&quot;:&quot;&lt;iframe src=\&quot;//www.youtube.com/embed/MjRHu5ysB94?start=108&amp;amp;wmode=opaque&amp;amp;enablejsapi=1\&quot; height=\&quot;480\&quot; width=\&quot;854\&quot; scrolling=\&quot;no\&quot; frameborder=\&quot;0\&quot; allowfullscreen=\&quot;\&quot;&gt;\n&lt;/iframe&gt;&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://youtu.be/MjRHu5ysB94?t=1m48s&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:854,&quot;height&quot;:480,&quot;providerName&quot;:&quot;YouTube&quot;,&quot;thumbnailUrl&quot;:&quot;https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MjRHu5ysB94/hqdefault.jpg&quot;,&quot;resolvedBy&quot;:&quot;youtube&quot;&#125;" data-block-type="32" id="block-yui_3_17_2_6_1504724100609_16359"><div class="sqs-block-content"><div class="intrinsic" style="max-width:100%"><div class="embed-block-wrapper" style="padding-bottom:56.20609%;"><div class="sqs-video-wrapper" data-html="&lt;iframe src=&quot;//www.youtube.com/embed/MjRHu5ysB94?start=108&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;enablejsapi=1&quot; height=&quot;480&quot; width=&quot;854&quot; scrolling=&quot;no&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot;&gt;<br/>&lt;/iframe&gt;" data-provider-name="YouTube"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_8675"><div class="sqs-block-content"><p>In reflection, my attitude towards my and my profession's abilities was very much like that of Anikan Skywalker, the tragic hero of Star Wars in his pivotal transition to the dark side. <em>I'm going to build a more powerful project than any engineer has ever dreamed of.....and I'm doing it to protect you. Don't you see? We don't have to fear congestion / flooding / ___(insert malady here)___ anymore. We can make things the way we want them to be.&nbsp;</em></p><p>That may seem melodramatic in our context, but it's not. <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/4/20/citizen-jane-battle-for-the-city">Citizen Jane</a>, the documentary that pits Jane Jacobs against the evil Robert Moses did a real service in humanizing Moses. In much the same way (although with less fandom controversy) that the Star Wars prequels gave the evil of Darth Vader a sympathetic back story, Citizen Jane told how Robert Moses was an advocate for parks and fountains and art and beauty and all the things we'd like to associate with a city that Jane Jacobs would have loved. It was only later, when given the power and the mandate, that he began to do things that today we look at as destructive.</p><p>Do we doubt that Robert Moses truly believed he was working for the greater good? Did he go to the dark side or did he just believe strongly that what he was doing was the right thing, all other considerations being lesser?</p><p>Now I'm not suggesting that engineers and planners are the equivalent of Darth Vader or Robert Moses, but Star Wars and Citizen Jane both highlight a character flaw that engineers, planners and many of us charged with shaping the world around us hold in common: a lack of humility.&nbsp;</p><p><em>This problem looks like a big nail. Thank goodness I have this huge hammer and can solve it for you. Just give me the money and get out of my way.</em></p><p>There are three real world ramifications of the lack of humility that come into play with Hurricane Harvey.</p><h3>1. Flooding is not the <em>real </em>problem that needs solving.</h3><p>I think it is very seductive to look at Houston's flooding as a simple engineering and planning problem. Let's just build a bunch of stormwater management systems and increase our development regulations and we'll handle this. Again, when you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.</p></div></div><div class="sqs-block image-block sqs-block-image sqs-col-6 span-6 float float-left" data-block-type="5" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_13786"><div class="sqs-block-content">

  

  	
      <div class="image-block-outer-wrapper layout-caption-below design-layout-inline">
      
        <div class="intrinsic" style="max-width:640.0px;">
          
            <div style="padding-bottom:66.40625%;" class="image-block-wrapper   has-aspect-ratio" data-description="&lt;p&gt;A levee breaks during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. (Source: &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katrina_NOLA_levee_break_FEMA.jpg&quot;&gt;FEMA&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;" >
              <noscript><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/59b1919acf81e02d9ecbed62/1504809372114/"  alt="A levee breaks during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. (Source: FEMA)"  /></noscript><img class="thumb-image" alt="A levee breaks during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. (Source: FEMA)" data-src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/59b1919acf81e02d9ecbed62/1504809372114/" data-image="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/59b1919acf81e02d9ecbed62/1504809372114/" data-image-dimensions="640x425" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="59b1919acf81e02d9ecbed62" data-type="image" />
            </div>
          

          
          <div class="image-caption-wrapper">
            <div class="image-caption"><p>A levee breaks during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. (Source: <a target="_blank" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katrina_NOLA_levee_break_FEMA.jpg">FEMA</a>)</p></div>
          </div>
          

        </div>
      
      </div>
    

  


</div></div><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_17427"><div class="sqs-block-content"><p>So, did the people of Houston's past not also think like this? Were the stormwater reservoirs sold as half-measures when they were built? Were the pipes they laid and the retention areas they constructed simply a false front or did they really believe them adequate?</p><p>Did the people of New Orleans not do this? Were their dikes that failed not constructed in anticipation of the largest storm they felt reasonable?</p><p>What happened?</p><p>Without a sense of history and a proper sense of humility, we just assume that the people of the past were ignorant fools, that those in the intervening years were greedy and selfish, simply unwilling to do the proper things to ensure their own security. Somehow we are different in our enlightenment. Maybe at last society will heed our expert warnings.</p><p>I think a more difficult challenge —&nbsp;the real problem —&nbsp;goes beyond the engineering or planning and gets into human nature. It's very plausible to me that the dikes in New Orleans were built to handle the worst event anyone could remember, plus a little more. Then complacency set in. Not only were there always more urgent things to do than maintenance, but having *solved* the problem we no longer needed to worry about it. Go ahead and build there, we've got you covered. What's one more? And one more?</p><p>We've written here about the Oroville Dam and our seemingly-genetic predisposition to de-prioritize maintenance (see "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/2/17/a-dam-mess">A Dam Mess</a>"). We've also written a number of times about risk compensation, how making things safer and more protected only prompts us to extend the risks we are willing to take (see "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2014/7/14/texting-in-your-risk-gap.html">Texting in Your Risk Gap</a>" and "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2014/7/15/more-on-risk-compensation.html">More on Risk Compensation</a>").</p><p>Much like traffic congestion is a complex problem that cannot be solved by building more lanes, neither can flooding be solved by simply constructing more elaborate, complicated and violent stormwater management and regulatory systems. To think otherwise leaves out the human element. It also puts more people at greater risk.</p><h3>2. Flooding is not the <em>whole</em> problem that needs solving.</h3><p>While I have a hard time understanding it, there might be some good reasons why someone chooses to buy a house in a floodplain. Perhaps they got a good deal, don't plan to stay there long, believe it won't happen to them. Lots of these decisions that look terrible in retrospect can be easily rationalized along the way.</p><p>What's more difficult to understand is how a bank can make a loan on such a house. How can you get a mortgage in a flood prone area without flood insurance?&nbsp;</p><p>Well, answer this one: Why does your pension fund own mortgage backed securities containing homes in flood zones without flood insurance?</p><p>Or how about this one: Why does the Federal Reserve swap U.S. Treasuries for mortgages when those treasuries are highly rated and secure but some of the mortgages are in flood prone areas without flood insurance?</p></div></div><div class="sqs-block quote-block sqs-block-quote sqs-col-6 span-6 float float-right" data-block-type="31" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_20012"><div class="sqs-block-content"><figure>
  <blockquote>
    <span>&#147;</span>There is a chain of soft corruption shielding people from the feedback that should come with their decisions, from the way we structure and sell mortgages to the entire system of moving risk from private balance sheets to the public sector.<span>&#148;</span>
  </blockquote>
  
</figure></div></div><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_22741"><div class="sqs-block-content"><p>There is a chain of soft corruption shielding people from the feedback that should come with their decisions, from the way we structure and sell mortgages to the entire system of moving risk from private balance sheets to the public sector. In a world where banks and insurance companies were expected to experience losses, even failures, when they got things wrong, flood insurance would be both mandatory and cost-prohibitive for most people in these kind of flood prone areas.</p><p>Are we really going to subsidize flood insurance at the national level and then turn around and spend tens of billions —&nbsp;maybe more —&nbsp;constructing stormwater management and mitigation systems to protect these same homes? If we insist that the problem here is a lack of engineering and planning, that is exactly how we're going to respond.</p><p>The actual damage from the flooding in Houston is more about flood insurance, mortgage regulations and bank bailouts than it is about engineering or planning. Failure to grasp that only ensures that future disasters will be greater than those in the past.</p><h3>3. Flooding is not the <em>only</em> problem that needs solving.</h3><p>After 9/11, the only problem we needed to solve was terrorism. We spent trillions —&nbsp;insane sums of money —&nbsp;ensuring that no terrorist action would ever happen again. In a civilized nation where people must be protected, how could we do anything less? We've fought (and are still fighting) wars around the world, armed our local police with military weaponry, created a domestic spying apparatus that would make the Stasi blush, established a theatrical production at each airport and major public building where we pretend to screen people and, after all is said and done, I can still carry the same exact weapon that the hijackers used on 9/11 (a box cutter)&nbsp;onto a plane.&nbsp;</p></div></div><div class="sqs-block image-block sqs-block-image sqs-col-6 span-6 float float-right" data-block-type="5" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_25975"><div class="sqs-block-content">

  

  	
      <div class="image-block-outer-wrapper layout-caption-below design-layout-inline">
      
        <div class="intrinsic" style="max-width:640.0px;">
          
            <div style="padding-bottom:66.71875%;" class="image-block-wrapper   has-aspect-ratio" data-description="&lt;p&gt;Source: US. Dept. of Homeland Security&lt;/p&gt;" >
              <noscript><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/59b192fd9f8dce2f6a6b365e/1504809737464/"  alt="Source: US. Dept. of Homeland Security"  /></noscript><img class="thumb-image" alt="Source: US. Dept. of Homeland Security" data-src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/59b192fd9f8dce2f6a6b365e/1504809737464/" data-image="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/59b192fd9f8dce2f6a6b365e/1504809737464/" data-image-dimensions="640x427" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="59b192fd9f8dce2f6a6b365e" data-type="image" />
            </div>
          

          
          <div class="image-caption-wrapper">
            <div class="image-caption"><p>Source: US. Dept. of Homeland Security</p></div>
          </div>
          

        </div>
      
      </div>
    

  


</div></div><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_28675"><div class="sqs-block-content"><p>A commonly asked question we like to debate is: Are we any safer? The history of terrorism tactics and the repeated inability of governments to stop terrorist acts using brute force suggests we are not, but whether or not you agree, that debate keeps us from a more important set of questions:</p><ul><li>Are we more prosperous as a result of this focus?</li><li>Was this the best way to spend our resources?</li><li>What things have we not done, what actions have we not taken, because we focused on solving that one problem?</li><li>What are we incapable of doing now because we've committed to a certain approach, one that we culturally can't back down from?</li></ul><p>I was in New Orleans a few years after Katrina and got a tour of the billions of dollars worth of flood prevention and mitigation systems that were built miles away from where anyone lived or <em>would</em> ever live. To me, this was the ultimate case of asking the engineers and planners to solve a one-dimensional problem. See nail, apply hammer.</p><p>And they solved it, or at least we think they did. New Orleans has not been tested since Katrina and, statistically, is unlikely to be tested again until we've long become complacent again about flooding there. Think there will be any pressure in the coming days to divert New Orleans maintenance money to Houston or Florida? Who is going to stand up and oppose that? Yet Katrina is still raw in our minds; what kind of anguish will we experience over a budget cut to maintenance two decades from now?</p><p>The last time I was in New Orleans (2012)&nbsp;large parts of the city were abandoned and had not recovered. The population is down and, tragically if you value the unique Cajun culture, has been dramatically altered demographically. If our flood mitigation efforts had been more focused, could we have invested more in an actual recovery? Could we have built greater resiliency in a way that improved the lives of people instead of simply providing them with pipes, concrete and steel over an enormous area they will now struggle to maintain?</p><p>Organizations like the American Society of Civil Engineers are salivating at the opportunity for Congress to summon the experts to Houston with billions of dollars and a one-dimensional set of solutions. The city of Houston was financially on the brink before Harvey. They had way too many roads, streets, sidewalks, pipes and ditches for their tax base to sustain, let alone create wealth for paying pensions and other obligations. If our solution to this tragedy is to give them even more infrastructure, we have failed.</p><p>---</p><p>Many of you are angry — to put it mildly —&nbsp;that I've called Hurricane Harvey an extreme event, one that transcends our ability to plan for or mitigate through better engineering and more aggressive planning regulations. I respect your feedback and, while I still believe in everything I've written on the subject, I've taken extra time to examine my biases. I acknowledge that I'm definitely skeptical of, and hostile towards, those who would narrowly define this event as a nail only to empower —&nbsp;intentionally or not —&nbsp;destructive people to deploy a very large hammer. I see a broader set of forces at play and much more at stake.</p></div></div><div class="sqs-block quote-block sqs-block-quote sqs-col-6 span-6 float float-left" data-block-type="31" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_40253"><div class="sqs-block-content"><figure>
  <blockquote>
    <span>&#147;</span>Many people are so confident they not only understand what happened in Houston but have a clear sense of what now needs to be done. I find these people dangerous.<span>&#148;</span>
  </blockquote>
  
</figure></div></div><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_40315"><div class="sqs-block-content"><p>Many people are so confident they not only understand what happened in Houston but have a clear sense of what now needs to be done. I find these people dangerous. I also find that a lot of people speaking on this subject have little real knowledge of what it would take to do accomplish what they claim they want to see happen. I've found myself questioning the sincerity and motives of experts that I think should know better and I've found myself annoyed with a long list of non-experts who, nonetheless, have expert opinions they (rightly) feel empowered to share, often in a rather derogatory and pompous manner.</p><p>I'm not proud of my immediate internal reactions to this. I've found myself counting to ten — sometimes a hundred —&nbsp;more often than normal. I don't need (or want) any more fatherly/motherly emails written so as to help this wayward child you believe is suffering a momentary lapse in judgement. If Strong Towns to you is a movement about deploying more planners and engineers to implement a top/down strategy for doing more of what we are doing today, only marginally better, you might want to dig a little deeper.&nbsp;</p><p>I've gotten out my old hydrology books and, in my next article, I'm planning to show you just what it would take to manage a rainfall event on the scale of Harvey for a typical residential parcel. You might be surprised.</p><p><em>(Top photo source:&nbsp;Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Larry E. Reid Jr.)</em></p></div></div><div class="sqs-block horizontalrule-block sqs-block-horizontalrule" data-block-type="47" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_42935"><div class="sqs-block-content"><hr /></div></div><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_43495"><div class="sqs-block-content"><h3>Related stories</h3></div></div><div class="sqs-block summary-v2-block sqs-block-summary-v2" data-block-json="&#123;&quot;hSize&quot;:null,&quot;floatDir&quot;:null,&quot;collectionId&quot;:&quot;54b6c509e4b062126976d942&quot;,&quot;design&quot;:&quot;autogrid&quot;,&quot;headerText&quot;:&quot;Featured&quot;,&quot;textSize&quot;:&quot;medium&quot;,&quot;pageSize&quot;:3,&quot;imageAspectRatio&quot;:&quot;1.5&quot;,&quot;columnWidth&quot;:270,&quot;gutter&quot;:38,&quot;listImageSize&quot;:30,&quot;listImageAlignment&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;slidesPerRow&quot;:3,&quot;textAlignment&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;showTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showThumbnail&quot;:true,&quot;showExcerpt&quot;:true,&quot;showReadMoreLink&quot;:false,&quot;showPrice&quot;:true,&quot;productQuickViewEnabled&quot;:false,&quot;showPastOrUpcomingEvents&quot;:&quot;upcoming&quot;,&quot;metadataPosition&quot;:&quot;below-content&quot;,&quot;primaryMetadata&quot;:&quot;date&quot;,&quot;secondaryMetadata&quot;:&quot;author&quot;,&quot;filter&quot;:&#123;&quot;category&quot;:null,&quot;featured&quot;:true,&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;water&quot;&#125;,&quot;autoCrop&quot;:true,&quot;lightbox&quot;:false,&quot;mixedContent&quot;:true,&quot;blockId&quot;:&quot;7eb73f51eefc934dc858&quot;&#125;" data-block-type="55" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_44081"><div class="sqs-block-content">

<div class="
  summary-block-wrapper

  summary-block-collection-type-blog
  
  summary-block-setting-text-size-medium
  summary-block-setting-text-align-left

  summary-block-setting-design-autogrid
  summary-block-setting-design-list-thumbnail-left

  summary-block-setting-metadata-position-below-content
  summary-block-setting-primary-metadata-date
  summary-block-setting-secondary-metadata-author

  summary-block-setting-show-thumbnail
  summary-block-setting-show-title
  summary-block-setting-show-price
  summary-block-setting-show-excerpt
  

  

  sqs-gallery-design-autogrid

  
  "

  
>

  <div class="summary-item-list-container sqs-gallery-container">

    <header class="summary-block-header">

      <!-- Collection Title -->
      <div class="summary-heading">
        
          <span class="summary-header-text">Featured</span>
        
      </div>

      <!-- Carousel Nav -->
      <div class="summary-carousel-pager sqs-gallery-controls">
        <span class="summary-carousel-pager-next next"></span>
        <span class="summary-carousel-pager-prev previous"></span>
      </div>

    </header>

    <div class="summary-item-list sqs-gallery">

      

        <div class="
          summary-item
          summary-item-record-type-text
          sqs-gallery-design-autogrid-slide
          
           summary-item-has-thumbnail
           summary-item-has-excerpt
          summary-item-has-cats
          summary-item-has-tags
          summary-item-has-author
          summary-item-has-comments-enabled
          "
          >

          
            <!-- Thumbnail -->
            

  
  <div class="summary-thumbnail-outer-container">
    <a href="/journal/2017/9/4/the-real-lesson-of-hurricane-harvey" class="summary-thumbnail-container sqs-gallery-image-container" data-title="The Real Lesson of Hurricane Harvey" data-description="">
      <div class="summary-thumbnail img-wrapper">
  

    

        <!-- Main Image -->
        <img data-src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59ae253203596e9ba076fd46/1505928320677/1024px-Hurricane_Harvey_approaching_Texas_IR.png" data-image="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59ae253203596e9ba076fd46/1505928320677/1024px-Hurricane_Harvey_approaching_Texas_IR.png" data-image-dimensions="1024x576" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="The Real Lesson of Hurricane Harvey"  data-load="false" class="summary-thumbnail-image"/>

    

    

        

        

      </div>
    </a>

    <!-- Products: Quick View -->
    

  </div>
  



          

          <div class="summary-content sqs-gallery-meta-container">

            <!-- Metadata (Above Title) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--above-title">
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	











</div>
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	











</div>
            </div>

            
              <!-- Title -->
              <div class="summary-title">
                <a 
                
                  
                    href="/journal/2017/9/4/the-real-lesson-of-hurricane-harvey"
                  
                
                class="summary-title-link">The Real Lesson of Hurricane Harvey</a></div>
            

            <!-- Metadata (Below Title) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--below-title">
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	











</div>
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	











</div>
            </div>

            
              
            
            
            
              
              <!-- Excerpt -->
                <div class="summary-excerpt">
                  <p>For extreme events, we can't measure risk, but we can measure fragility. Cities that want to protect themselves from extreme events need to become less fragile. They need to adopt a Strong Towns approach.</p>
                </div>
              

              

              
            

            <!-- Metadata (Below Content) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--below-content">
              
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	
	<!-- Timestamp -->
	<time class="summary-metadata-item summary-metadata-item--date" datetime="2017-09-05">Sep 5, 2017</time>
	











</div>
              
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	








	<!-- Author -->
	<span class="summary-metadata-item summary-metadata-item--author"><a href="/journal/?author=53dd6675e4b0a35b708276e0#show-archive">Charles Marohn</a></span>




</div>
            </div>

          </div> <!-- End .summary-content -->

        </div> <!-- End .summary-item -->

      

        <div class="
          summary-item
          summary-item-record-type-text
          sqs-gallery-design-autogrid-slide
          
           summary-item-has-thumbnail
           summary-item-has-excerpt
          summary-item-has-cats
          summary-item-has-tags
          summary-item-has-author
          summary-item-has-comments-enabled
          "
          >

          
            <!-- Thumbnail -->
            

  
  <div class="summary-thumbnail-outer-container">
    <a href="/journal/2017/8/30/houston" class="summary-thumbnail-container sqs-gallery-image-container" data-title="Piling On Houston" data-description="">
      <div class="summary-thumbnail img-wrapper">
  

    

        <!-- Main Image -->
        <img data-src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59a793bcc027d8c79fa537f6/1505928304432/170827-A-ZW944-006A.JPG" data-image="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59a793bcc027d8c79fa537f6/1505928304432/170827-A-ZW944-006A.JPG" data-image-dimensions="1200x800" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="Piling On Houston"  data-load="false" class="summary-thumbnail-image"/>

    

    

        

        

      </div>
    </a>

    <!-- Products: Quick View -->
    

  </div>
  



          

          <div class="summary-content sqs-gallery-meta-container">

            <!-- Metadata (Above Title) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--above-title">
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	











</div>
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	











</div>
            </div>

            
              <!-- Title -->
              <div class="summary-title">
                <a 
                
                  
                    href="/journal/2017/8/30/houston"
                  
                
                class="summary-title-link">Piling On Houston</a></div>
            

            <!-- Metadata (Below Title) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--below-title">
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	











</div>
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	











</div>
            </div>

            
              
            
            
            
              
              <!-- Excerpt -->
                <div class="summary-excerpt">
                  <p>Anyone suggesting that more wetlands or more pervious surfaces would have done anything to mitigate what has happened in Houston is lacking a proper sense of scale.</p>
                </div>
              

              

              
            

            <!-- Metadata (Below Content) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--below-content">
              
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	
	<!-- Timestamp -->
	<time class="summary-metadata-item summary-metadata-item--date" datetime="2017-08-31">Aug 31, 2017</time>
	











</div>
              
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	








	<!-- Author -->
	<span class="summary-metadata-item summary-metadata-item--author"><a href="/journal/?author=53dd6675e4b0a35b708276e0#show-archive">Charles Marohn</a></span>




</div>
            </div>

          </div> <!-- End .summary-content -->

        </div> <!-- End .summary-item -->

      

        <div class="
          summary-item
          summary-item-record-type-text
          sqs-gallery-design-autogrid-slide
          
           summary-item-has-thumbnail
           summary-item-has-excerpt
          summary-item-has-cats
          summary-item-has-tags
          summary-item-has-author
          summary-item-has-comments-enabled
          "
          >

          
            <!-- Thumbnail -->
            

  
  <div class="summary-thumbnail-outer-container">
    <a href="/journal/2017/8/30/houston-hurricane-harvey-land-use" class="summary-thumbnail-container sqs-gallery-image-container" data-title="Houston isn't flooded because of its land use planning." data-description="">
      <div class="summary-thumbnail img-wrapper">
  

    

        <!-- Main Image -->
        <img data-src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59a6cdd58dd041ec3b726dba/1505928359317/170827-A-ZW944-005A.JPG" data-image="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59a6cdd58dd041ec3b726dba/1505928359317/170827-A-ZW944-005A.JPG" data-image-dimensions="1200x801" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="Houston isn't flooded because of its land use planning."  data-load="false" class="summary-thumbnail-image"/>

    

    

        

        

      </div>
    </a>

    <!-- Products: Quick View -->
    

  </div>
  



          

          <div class="summary-content sqs-gallery-meta-container">

            <!-- Metadata (Above Title) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--above-title">
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	











</div>
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	











</div>
            </div>

            
              <!-- Title -->
              <div class="summary-title">
                <a 
                
                  
                    href="/journal/2017/8/30/houston-hurricane-harvey-land-use"
                  
                
                class="summary-title-link">Houston isn't flooded because of its land use planning.</a></div>
            

            <!-- Metadata (Below Title) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--below-title">
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	











</div>
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	











</div>
            </div>

            
              
            
            
            
              
              <!-- Excerpt -->
                <div class="summary-excerpt">
                  <p>These 5 harmful myths about Houston's land use planning need to be put to rest.</p>
                </div>
              

              

              
            

            <!-- Metadata (Below Content) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--below-content">
              
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	
	<!-- Timestamp -->
	<time class="summary-metadata-item summary-metadata-item--date" datetime="2017-08-30">Aug 30, 2017</time>
	











</div>
              
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	








	<!-- Author -->
	<span class="summary-metadata-item summary-metadata-item--author"><a href="/journal/?author=54d91114e4b0740a2a5058d4#show-archive">Daniel Herriges</a></span>




</div>
            </div>

          </div> <!-- End .summary-content -->

        </div> <!-- End .summary-item -->

      

    </div> <!-- End .summary-item-list -->

  </div> <!-- End .summary-item-list-container -->

</div></div></div><div class="sqs-block horizontalrule-block sqs-block-horizontalrule" data-block-type="47" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_63692"><div class="sqs-block-content"><hr /></div></div><div class="sqs-block summary-v2-block sqs-block-summary-v2" data-block-json="&#123;&quot;hSize&quot;:null,&quot;floatDir&quot;:null,&quot;collectionId&quot;:&quot;54b6c50ae4b062126976ea98&quot;,&quot;design&quot;:&quot;list&quot;,&quot;headerText&quot;:&quot;Featured&quot;,&quot;textSize&quot;:&quot;medium&quot;,&quot;pageSize&quot;:10,&quot;imageAspectRatio&quot;:&quot;1.5&quot;,&quot;columnWidth&quot;:270,&quot;gutter&quot;:60,&quot;listImageSize&quot;:30,&quot;listImageAlignment&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;slidesPerRow&quot;:3,&quot;textAlignment&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;showTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showThumbnail&quot;:true,&quot;showExcerpt&quot;:true,&quot;showReadMoreLink&quot;:false,&quot;showPrice&quot;:true,&quot;productQuickViewEnabled&quot;:false,&quot;showPastOrUpcomingEvents&quot;:&quot;upcoming&quot;,&quot;metadataPosition&quot;:&quot;below-content&quot;,&quot;primaryMetadata&quot;:&quot;none&quot;,&quot;secondaryMetadata&quot;:&quot;none&quot;,&quot;filter&quot;:&#123;&quot;category&quot;:&quot;Marohn&quot;&#125;,&quot;autoCrop&quot;:true,&quot;lightbox&quot;:false,&quot;mixedContent&quot;:true,&quot;blockId&quot;:&quot;4f95b571b687064d020c&quot;&#125;" data-block-type="55" id="block-yui_3_17_2_4_1504803980507_64022"><div class="sqs-block-content">

<div class="
  summary-block-wrapper

  summary-block-collection-type-blog
  
  summary-block-setting-text-size-medium
  summary-block-setting-text-align-left

  summary-block-setting-design-list
  summary-block-setting-design-list-thumbnail-left

  summary-block-setting-metadata-position-below-content
  summary-block-setting-primary-metadata-none
  summary-block-setting-secondary-metadata-none

  summary-block-setting-show-thumbnail
  summary-block-setting-show-title
  summary-block-setting-show-price
  summary-block-setting-show-excerpt
  

  

  sqs-gallery-design-list

  
  "

  
>

  <div class="summary-item-list-container sqs-gallery-container">

    <header class="summary-block-header">

      <!-- Collection Title -->
      <div class="summary-heading">
        
          <span class="summary-header-text">Featured</span>
        
      </div>

      <!-- Carousel Nav -->
      <div class="summary-carousel-pager sqs-gallery-controls">
        <span class="summary-carousel-pager-next next"></span>
        <span class="summary-carousel-pager-prev previous"></span>
      </div>

    </header>

    <div class="summary-item-list sqs-gallery">

      

        <div class="
          summary-item
          summary-item-record-type-text
          sqs-gallery-design-list-slide
          
           summary-item-has-thumbnail
           summary-item-has-excerpt
          summary-item-has-cats
          summary-item-has-tags
          summary-item-has-author
          summary-item-has-comments-enabled
          "
          >

          
            <!-- Thumbnail -->
            

  
  <div class="summary-thumbnail-outer-container">
    <a href="/contributors-journal/charles-marohn" class="summary-thumbnail-container sqs-gallery-image-container" data-title="Charles Marohn" data-description="">
      <div class="summary-thumbnail img-wrapper">
  

    

        <!-- Main Image -->
        <img data-src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c50ae4b062126976ea98/55fae021e4b02aa4358e5329/1514925982109/i-qxmJc8w-X3.jpg" data-image="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c50ae4b062126976ea98/55fae021e4b02aa4358e5329/1514925982109/i-qxmJc8w-X3.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1600x1067" data-image-focal-point="0.6679862060546875,0.23265971109538736" alt="Charles Marohn"  data-load="false" class="summary-thumbnail-image"/>

    

    

        

        

      </div>
    </a>

    <!-- Products: Quick View -->
    

  </div>
  



          

          <div class="summary-content sqs-gallery-meta-container">

            <!-- Metadata (Above Title) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--above-title">
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	











</div>
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	











</div>
            </div>

            
              <!-- Title -->
              <div class="summary-title">
                <a 
                
                  
                    href="/contributors-journal/charles-marohn"
                  
                
                class="summary-title-link">Charles Marohn</a></div>
            

            <!-- Metadata (Below Title) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--below-title">
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	











</div>
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	











</div>
            </div>

            
              
            
            
            
              
              <!-- Excerpt -->
                <div class="summary-excerpt">
                  <p>Charles Marohn is a Professional Engineer (PE)&nbsp;licensed in the State of Minnesota and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). He is the Founder and President of Strong Towns.&nbsp;Marohn has a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute.</p><p>Marohn is the lead author of <em>Thoughts on Building Strong Towns —&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-Building-Strong-Towns-1/dp/1478319275/ref=pd_bxgy_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=1478319275&amp;pd_rd_r=J1YVNP9VVDEF4SWDXC16&amp;pd_rd_w=hZGKR&amp;pd_rd_wg=dM7Xn&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=J1YVNP9VVDEF4SWDXC16">Volume 1</a>,&nbsp;</em><em><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-Building-Strong-Towns-II/dp/1533018553/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0">Volume 2</a></em>&nbsp; and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-Building-Strong-Towns-III/dp/1979930139/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1514608731&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=thoughts+on+building+strong+towns"><em>Volume 3</em></a> — as well as the author of<em> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/World-Class-Transportation-System-Finance-ebook/dp/B00NDAB65W">A World Class Transportation System</a></em>. He hosts the <a href="http://www.strongtowns.org/podcast/">Strong Towns Podcast</a> and is a primary writer for Strong Towns’ web content. He has presented Strong Towns concepts in hundreds of cities and towns across North America and in 2017 was named one of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.planetizen.com/features/95189-100-most-influential-urbanists">10 Most Influential Urbanists of all time</a> by Planetizen.</p>
                </div>
              

              

              
            

            <!-- Metadata (Below Content) -->
            <div class="summary-metadata-container summary-metadata-container--below-content">
              
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--primary">

	











</div>
              
              <div class="summary-metadata summary-metadata--secondary">

	











</div>
            </div>

          </div> <!-- End .summary-content -->

        </div> <!-- End .summary-item -->

      

    </div> <!-- End .summary-item-list -->

  </div> <!-- End .summary-item-list-container -->

</div></div></div></div></div></div>
        

        <p class="entry-actions">
          
          <a class="entry-comments" href="/journal/2017/9/6/dont-empower-the-engineers-please#comments-outer-wrapper" title="Comments">
          
            
  <a href="/journal/2017/9/6/dont-empower-the-engineers-please" class="sqs-comment-link sqs-disqus-comment-link" data-id="59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a"></a>


          
          </a>
        
        
  <span class="sqs-simple-like" data-item-id="59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a" data-like-count="4">
    <span class="like-icon"></span>
    <span class="like-count"></span>
  </span>

<span class="squarespace-social-buttons inline-style" data-system-data-id="1504810440830-YVD4585GA861BS7MWPOS" data-asset-url="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/54b6c509e4b062126976d942/59b044a1d55b41f0f3333e4a/1505928344471/170831-F-KA253-0647.JPG" data-record-type="1" data-full-url="/journal/2017/9/6/dont-empower-the-engineers-please" data-title="After Hurricane Harvey, don't empower the engineers. Please."></span>
        </p>

        

      </div>
      
    </article>

    <div id="comments-outer-wrapper">
  <div class="squarespace-comments" id="disqus_thread"></div>

</div>
  

</section>
            </div>
            
            <footer class="entry-footer clear">
              <div class="outer-wrapper">
                <div class="wrapper">
                  
                  <div class="entry-meta">
                    <div><em>Posted in</em> <a href="/journal/?category=Engineering+Profession" rel="tag">Engineering Profession</a>, <a href="/journal/?category=Marohn" rel="tag">Marohn</a>, <a href="/journal/?category=Top+Story" rel="tag">Top Story</a>, <a href="/journal/?category=Urban+Design" rel="tag">Urban Design</a>, <a href="/journal/?category=Zoning" rel="tag">Zoning</a></div>
                     <em>and</em> 
                    <div><em>tagged with</em> <a href="/journal/?tag=water" rel="tag">water</a>, <a href="/journal/?tag=Houston" rel="tag">Houston</a>, <a href="/journal/?tag=hurricane+harvey" rel="tag">hurricane harvey</a></div>
                    
                    
                    
                  </div>
                  

                  
                  <nav class="pagination cf">
                    
                    
                    <div class="newer"><a href="/journal/2017/9/6/why-the-traditional-development-pattern-wins">Newer</a></div>
                    <div class="older"><a href="/journal/2017/9/5/podcast-bikeshare-and-equity">Older</a></div>
                    
                    
                  </nav>
                  
                </div>
              </div>
            </footer>
            
          </div>
        </section>
        
        

      

        <!--FOOTER WITH OPEN BLOCK FIELD-->
        <footer id="footer">
          <div class="back-to-top-link"><a href="#top"><span class="arrow"></span>Top</a></div>
          <div class="footer-wrapper">
            <div id="secondaryNav" data-content-field="navigation-secondaryNav">
              
            </div>
            <div class="sqs-layout sqs-grid-12 columns-12" data-layout-label="Footer Content" data-type="block-field" data-updated-on="1513798345846" id="footerBlocks"><div class="row sqs-row"><div class="col sqs-col-12 span-12"><div class="row sqs-row"><div class="col sqs-col-6 span-6"><div class="sqs-block socialaccountlinks-v2-block sqs-block-socialaccountlinks-v2" data-block-type="54" id="block-yui_3_17_2_1_1404423809069_5215"><div class="sqs-block-content">

<div class="sqs-svg-icon--outer social-icon-alignment-center social-icons-color-white social-icons-size-medium social-icons-shape-circle social-icons-style-knockout" >
  <nav class="sqs-svg-icon--list">
    <a href="https://www.facebook.com/strongtowns" target="_blank" class="sqs-svg-icon--wrapper facebook">
      <div>
        <svg class="sqs-svg-icon--social" viewBox="0 0 64 64">
          <use class="sqs-use--icon" xlink:href="#facebook-icon"></use>
          <use class="sqs-use--mask" xlink:href="#facebook-mask"></use>
        </svg>
      </div>
    </a><a href="https://twitter.com/StrongTowns" target="_blank" class="sqs-svg-icon--wrapper twitter">
      <div>
        <svg class="sqs-svg-icon--social" viewBox="0 0 64 64">
          <use class="sqs-use--icon" xlink:href="#twitter-icon"></use>
          <use class="sqs-use--mask" xlink:href="#twitter-mask"></use>
        </svg>
      </div>
    </a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTeYrzSQ3YCp3RovGH4y8Ew" target="_blank" class="sqs-svg-icon--wrapper youtube">
      <div>
        <svg class="sqs-svg-icon--social" viewBox="0 0 64 64">
          <use class="sqs-use--icon" xlink:href="#youtube-icon"></use>
          <use class="sqs-use--mask" xlink:href="#youtube-mask"></use>
        </svg>
      </div>
    </a><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/strong-towns" target="_blank" class="sqs-svg-icon--wrapper linkedin">
      <div>
        <svg class="sqs-svg-icon--social" viewBox="0 0 64 64">
          <use class="sqs-use--icon" xlink:href="#linkedin-icon"></use>
          <use class="sqs-use--mask" xlink:href="#linkedin-mask"></use>
        </svg>
      </div>
    </a>
  </nav>
</div></div></div></div><div class="col sqs-col-6 span-6"><div class="sqs-block search-block sqs-block-search" data-block-type="33" id="block-yui_3_17_2_1_1407212425279_39640"><div class="sqs-block-content"><div class="sqs-search-ui-text-input sqs-search-ui-button-wrapper color-light" data-source="block" data-preview="true" data-collection="">
  <div class="spinner-wrapper"></div>
  <input type="search" class="search-input" value="" placeholder="Search"/>
</div>
</div></div></div></div><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-yui_3_17_2_1_1407212425279_52050"><div class="sqs-block-content"><h3 class="text-align-center">&nbsp;<a href="/contact-information">CONTACT Us</a>&nbsp;| <a href="http://strongtowns.org/email">Email Sign up</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.strongtowns.org/annual-membership-form/">DONATE</a>&nbsp;</h3><h3 class="text-align-center"><a href="http://strongtowns.org/blog-post-index">Archive</a> |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/member-blogs">Member blogs</a> |&nbsp;<a href="http://www.strongtowns.org/success">Success Stories</a>&nbsp;| <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/pitch">Pitch a Story</a></h3><h3 class="text-align-center">&nbsp;<a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/privacy">Privacy Policy</a>&nbsp;| <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/comment-policy">Comment POlicy</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/?format=rss">RSS Feed</a></h3></div></div><div class="row sqs-row"><div class="col sqs-col-3 span-3"><div class="row sqs-row"><div class="col sqs-col-1 span-1"><div class="sqs-block spacer-block sqs-block-spacer sized vsize-1" data-block-type="21" id="block-yui_3_17_2_1_1407212425279_76929"><div class="sqs-block-content">&nbsp;</div></div></div><div class="col sqs-col-2 span-2"><div class="sqs-block image-block sqs-block-image" data-block-type="5" id="block-yui_3_17_2_2_1513798288503_7141"><div class="sqs-block-content">

  

  	
      <div class="image-block-outer-wrapper layout-caption-below design-layout-inline">
      
        <div class="intrinsic" style="max-width:88.0px;">
          
            <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"  target="_blank">
          
            <div style="padding-bottom:35.227272033691406%;" class="image-block-wrapper   has-aspect-ratio" data-description="" >
              <noscript><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/5a3ababe71c10b243c99b3af/1513798341495/88x31.png"  alt="88x31.png"  /></noscript><img class="thumb-image" alt="88x31.png" data-src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/5a3ababe71c10b243c99b3af/1513798341495/88x31.png" data-image="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/t/5a3ababe71c10b243c99b3af/1513798341495/88x31.png" data-image-dimensions="88x31" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="5a3ababe71c10b243c99b3af" data-type="image" />
            </div>
          
            </a>
          

          

        </div>
      
      </div>
    

  


</div></div></div></div></div><div class="col sqs-col-8 span-8"><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-yui_3_17_2_1_1407212425279_62789"><div class="sqs-block-content"><p>Strong Towns is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Our work is performed under a&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License</a>. Please share with others to use for good.</p></div></div></div><div class="col sqs-col-1 span-1"><div class="sqs-block spacer-block sqs-block-spacer sized vsize-1" data-block-type="21" id="block-yui_3_17_2_1_1407212425279_78498"><div class="sqs-block-content">&nbsp;</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
          </div>
        </footer>

      <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.2.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script>

init();             //Start the code when the page loads

function init(){
    $('.sqs-block-markdown h2').nextUntil('.sqs-block-markdown h2').slideUp();      //Your code (wrapped in a function)
    $('.sqs-block-markdown h2').unbind().click(function(){
        $('.sqs-block-markdown h2').not(this).nextUntil('.sqs-block-markdown h2').slideUp(),
        $(this).nextUntil('.sqs-block-markdown h2').slideToggle();
    });
  $('.sqs-block-markdown h2').css('cursor','pointer');
}

document.addEventListener('pageChange', function(){             //When the change page event fires due to ajax
    init();                                                     //Call the code again
});

/*This stuff listens for an ajax page change*/
window.onload = watch;
function watch(){MutationObserver=window.MutationObserver||window.WebKitMutationObserver;var a=new MutationObserver(function(a){for(var b=0;b<a.length;b++){var c=a[b];if("attributes"===c.type){var d=new Event("pageChange");document.dispatchEvent(d)}}});a.observe(document.body,{attributes:!0,attributeFilter:["id"]})}
</script>

<!-- Start Chartbeat Code -->
<script type='text/javascript'>
    var _sf_async_config = _sf_async_config || {};
    /** CONFIGURATION START **/
    _sf_async_config.uid = 62008
    _sf_async_config.domain = 'strongtowns.org';
    _sf_async_config.useCanonical = true;
    /** CONFIGURATION END **/
    (function() {
        function loadChartbeat() {
            var e = document.createElement('script');
            e.setAttribute('language', 'javascript');
            e.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript');
            e.setAttribute('src', '//static.chartbeat.com/js/chartbeat.js');
            document.body.appendChild(e);
        }
        var oldonload = window.onload;
        window.onload = (typeof window.onload != 'function') ?
            loadChartbeat : function() {
                oldonload();
                loadChartbeat();
            };
    })();
</script>
<!-- End Chartbeat Code --><script type="text/javascript" data-sqs-type="imageloader-bootstraper">(function() {if(window.ImageLoader) { window.ImageLoader.bootstrap({}, document); }})();</script><script>Squarespace.afterBodyLoad(Y);</script><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1" style="display:none"><symbol id="facebook-icon" viewBox="0 0 64 64"><path d="M34.1,47V33.3h4.6l0.7-5.3h-5.3v-3.4c0-1.5,0.4-2.6,2.6-2.6l2.8,0v-4.8c-0.5-0.1-2.2-0.2-4.1-0.2 c-4.1,0-6.9,2.5-6.9,7V28H24v5.3h4.6V47H34.1z"/></symbol><symbol id="facebook-mask" viewBox="0 0 64 64"><path d="M0,0v64h64V0H0z M39.6,22l-2.8,0c-2.2,0-2.6,1.1-2.6,2.6V28h5.3l-0.7,5.3h-4.6V47h-5.5V33.3H24V28h4.6V24 c0-4.6,2.8-7,6.9-7c2,0,3.6,0.1,4.1,0.2V22z"/></symbol><symbol id="twitter-icon" viewBox="0 0 64 64"><path d="M48,22.1c-1.2,0.5-2.4,0.9-3.8,1c1.4-0.8,2.4-2.1,2.9-3.6c-1.3,0.8-2.7,1.3-4.2,1.6 C41.7,19.8,40,19,38.2,19c-3.6,0-6.6,2.9-6.6,6.6c0,0.5,0.1,1,0.2,1.5c-5.5-0.3-10.3-2.9-13.5-6.9c-0.6,1-0.9,2.1-0.9,3.3 c0,2.3,1.2,4.3,2.9,5.5c-1.1,0-2.1-0.3-3-0.8c0,0,0,0.1,0,0.1c0,3.2,2.3,5.8,5.3,6.4c-0.6,0.1-1.1,0.2-1.7,0.2c-0.4,0-0.8,0-1.2-0.1 c0.8,2.6,3.3,4.5,6.1,4.6c-2.2,1.8-5.1,2.8-8.2,2.8c-0.5,0-1.1,0-1.6-0.1c2.9,1.9,6.4,2.9,10.1,2.9c12.1,0,18.7-10,18.7-18.7 c0-0.3,0-0.6,0-0.8C46,24.5,47.1,23.4,48,22.1z"/></symbol><symbol id="twitter-mask" viewBox="0 0 64 64"><path d="M0,0v64h64V0H0z M44.7,25.5c0,0.3,0,0.6,0,0.8C44.7,35,38.1,45,26.1,45c-3.7,0-7.2-1.1-10.1-2.9 c0.5,0.1,1,0.1,1.6,0.1c3.1,0,5.9-1,8.2-2.8c-2.9-0.1-5.3-2-6.1-4.6c0.4,0.1,0.8,0.1,1.2,0.1c0.6,0,1.2-0.1,1.7-0.2 c-3-0.6-5.3-3.3-5.3-6.4c0,0,0-0.1,0-0.1c0.9,0.5,1.9,0.8,3,0.8c-1.8-1.2-2.9-3.2-2.9-5.5c0-1.2,0.3-2.3,0.9-3.3 c3.2,4,8.1,6.6,13.5,6.9c-0.1-0.5-0.2-1-0.2-1.5c0-3.6,2.9-6.6,6.6-6.6c1.9,0,3.6,0.8,4.8,2.1c1.5-0.3,2.9-0.8,4.2-1.6 c-0.5,1.5-1.5,2.8-2.9,3.6c1.3-0.2,2.6-0.5,3.8-1C47.1,23.4,46,24.5,44.7,25.5z"/></symbol><symbol id="youtube-icon" viewBox="0 0 64 64"><path d="M46.7,26c0,0-0.3-2.1-1.2-3c-1.1-1.2-2.4-1.2-3-1.3C38.3,21.4,32,21.4,32,21.4h0 c0,0-6.3,0-10.5,0.3c-0.6,0.1-1.9,0.1-3,1.3c-0.9,0.9-1.2,3-1.2,3S17,28.4,17,30.9v2.3c0,2.4,0.3,4.9,0.3,4.9s0.3,2.1,1.2,3 c1.1,1.2,2.6,1.2,3.3,1.3c2.4,0.2,10.2,0.3,10.2,0.3s6.3,0,10.5-0.3c0.6-0.1,1.9-0.1,3-1.3c0.9-0.9,1.2-3,1.2-3s0.3-2.4,0.3-4.9 v-2.3C47,28.4,46.7,26,46.7,26z M28.9,35.9l0-8.4l8.1,4.2L28.9,35.9z"/></symbol><symbol id="youtube-mask" viewBox="0 0 64 64"><path d="M0,0v64h64V0H0z M47,33.1c0,2.4-0.3,4.9-0.3,4.9s-0.3,2.1-1.2,3c-1.1,1.2-2.4,1.2-3,1.3 C38.3,42.5,32,42.6,32,42.6s-7.8-0.1-10.2-0.3c-0.7-0.1-2.2-0.1-3.3-1.3c-0.9-0.9-1.2-3-1.2-3S17,35.6,17,33.1v-2.3 c0-2.4,0.3-4.9,0.3-4.9s0.3-2.1,1.2-3c1.1-1.2,2.4-1.2,3-1.3c4.2-0.3,10.5-0.3,10.5-0.3h0c0,0,6.3,0,10.5,0.3c0.6,0.1,1.9,0.1,3,1.3 c0.9,0.9,1.2,3,1.2,3s0.3,2.4,0.3,4.9V33.1z M28.9,35.9l8.1-4.2l-8.1-4.2L28.9,35.9z"/></symbol><symbol id="linkedin-icon" viewBox="0 0 64 64"><path d="M20.4,44h5.4V26.6h-5.4V44z M23.1,18c-1.7,0-3.1,1.4-3.1,3.1c0,1.7,1.4,3.1,3.1,3.1 c1.7,0,3.1-1.4,3.1-3.1C26.2,19.4,24.8,18,23.1,18z M39.5,26.2c-2.6,0-4.4,1.4-5.1,2.8h-0.1v-2.4h-5.2V44h5.4v-8.6 c0-2.3,0.4-4.5,3.2-4.5c2.8,0,2.8,2.6,2.8,4.6V44H46v-9.5C46,29.8,45,26.2,39.5,26.2z"/></symbol><symbol id="linkedin-mask" viewBox="0 0 64 64"><path d="M0,0v64h64V0H0z M25.8,44h-5.4V26.6h5.4V44z M23.1,24.3c-1.7,0-3.1-1.4-3.1-3.1c0-1.7,1.4-3.1,3.1-3.1 c1.7,0,3.1,1.4,3.1,3.1C26.2,22.9,24.8,24.3,23.1,24.3z M46,44h-5.4v-8.4c0-2,0-4.6-2.8-4.6c-2.8,0-3.2,2.2-3.2,4.5V44h-5.4V26.6 h5.2V29h0.1c0.7-1.4,2.5-2.8,5.1-2.8c5.5,0,6.5,3.6,6.5,8.3V44z"/></symbol></svg>
      <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/ta/53dd6676e4b0fedfbc26ea91/5/scripts/combo/?rafscroll.js&mutation-observer.js&site.js"></script>
      
      
      </div>
    </div>

  
  </body>
</html>
