Faced with rising temperatures, prolonged drought and escalating building material costs, a lot of Tucsonans are rethinking what actual “home improvement” means in this region. And increasingly, we’re turning to Tucson’s own environmental DNA for inspiration — tapping into regional traditions, climate-responsive design and low-impact building methods that have long made desert living sustainable.
Brad Lancaster, author of “Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond,” said the best solutions — planting shade trees on the east and west sides of the home, digging basin-like shapes in the yard to hold rainwater and reusing gray water from washing machines to irrigate landscaping — are often the oldest.
“None of the stuff is new,” he said. “It’s all ancient practices — but ones that we forgot. I’m just bringing it back into the modern context.”
Lancaster’s own home, a once-condemned adobe near downtown Tucson, now serves as a showcase for hyperlocal water harvesting…