Kerala: How to Waste

The town of Alleppey, Kerala, India, situated on the Arabian Sea, is a hub for tourism and a home for 170,000. Miles and miles of antiquated canals run among the city's streets, no longer serving their original purpose of transportation between the port on the sea and the inland markets. Over time, these canals have been reduced to a fraction of their original size and have become a drain for the city's solid waste, liquid waste, and stormwater runoff. Cleaning up the canals and keeping them beautiful will require change at multiple levels, but a coalition including the local government, an architecture firm, a youth campaign, and academic researchers is piloting systemic changes to rejuvenate the "Venice of the East."