I’ve been thinking about trying to depict some of the ideas from this conversation: https://slrpnk.net/post/12735795, using a sort of flat, diagram-like style similar to this old photobash:

Though a bit more complex. The obvious answer is ‘don’t build cities in swamps’ but we already have a bunch of them, and though I don’t live there I recognize that they have a lot of unique cultural and historical value and are peoples’ homes, so I’m interested in what a solarpunk-adapted version of these would look like.

At the same time, I know basically nothing about New Orleans or similar areas, have no background in civil engineering, and no qualifications to make this except for the capability to do so using an old version of GIMP. So I’d absolutely love to identify issues, places to make improvements, and things that are missing now rather than once I’ve spent days chopping up images and finessing them into something coherent.

So what’d I get wrong? What’s unworkable, out of scale, or dangerous? What style of buildings or cultural touchstones would you like to see? What kind of plants are missing?

  • JacobCoffinWrites@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    Thanks!! That’s really good to know about Bald Cypress! That was my first guess for selecting trees. I ended up picking them and black willows, just based on range and look but I’ll take your advice and leave the willows generic. I think these chinampas are kind of overgrown at the moment, but I figure the trees don’t cover the entire thing, just the corners. I was able to find some roots to reference (mostly from washouts or other exposed roots) and tried to get the details right for cypress and willow (but I’m not an arborist and had trouble finding info on depth). Let me know what you think!

    • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.netEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      Generally, the depth that tree roots grow to varies greatly depending on soil conditions and species and isn’t very well studied due to the difficulty and destructive nature of such research, so this might not be fully answerable. In most cases, tree roots won’t grow very deep in poorly oxygenated, wet soils but I don’t have much experience with the roots of these species, so they could be exceptions. Certainly their ability to survive and grow in these aquatic environments that are deadly to other trees suggests that they might be.

      Another factor is that if there is a seasonal fluctuation in water level, which would be the case in most places on earth, then the roots can grow deeper during the dry season and might be partially underwater during the wet season, similar to what you’ve depicted here.