For this reason, the analysis is developed on two fronts. The first intercepts top-down logic and policies. Following the 2014-2020 national reform period, investigate specifically what actions and policies individual regions apply in their territories with regard to issues such as agriculture, biodiversity, and soil.

In this sense, of particular interest are the experiences of the ‘Life+ Environmental Policy and Management projects’<fnref n="3" />: ‘Life HelpSoil’ and ‘HelpSoil - After Life” activated by a consortium of five regions including Piedmont, Lombardy, and Veneto, and their respective managing entities, *Regione Piemonte, ERSAF, Veneto Agricoltura*.

‘HelpSoil - After Life: The After Life Communication Plan’ gives continuity to the ‘Life HelpSoil’ project.

This is an EU-funded project that started in 2013 and ended in June 2017. This experience has
demonstrated and promoted Conservation Agriculture practices and innovative soil management
techniques with the aim of:

- improve the ecosystem functions of soils (carbon sequestration, increased biological fertility, protection against erosion, development of agrobiodiversity);

- increase the ability of agricultural systems to adapt to climate change by reducing energy consumption and ensuring crop yield stability;

- enable efficient use of technical means of production (irrigation water, fertilisers, plant protection products) while reducing the impact on the environment;

- increase the sustainability and competitiveness of farms.

One of the products developed thanks to the participation of twenty farms located in the Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Piedmont regions are the guidelines for the application and dissemination of *conservative agriculture*. They aim to define a framework of shared technical references, applicable in the Veneto valley, but open and transferable to other Italian and European territorial and agricultural contexts. In this sense, the scalability and reproducibility of the techniques is one of the criteria according to which the top-down and bottom-up approaches could find a common point of comparison and applicability.

For three consecutive agricultural years, data was collected on the cultivation practices implemented and a series of indicators, both agronomic and environmental, were monitored on the selected farms. The ‘Life HelpSoil’ project, the project was also created as a tool to support the application of the 2014-2020 ‘Regional Rural Development Programme’ (RDP) measures concerning *conservative agriculture*. The result is a network of companies and contacts and experiences that can become part of a broader and lasting system of dissemination and demonstration in the field of innovation, in the sign of a continuous focus on improving the sustainability of agriculture.

¹From territories to soil through food based practices and networks.

From a different point of view, adopting a bottom-up gaze and keeping the lenses of soil and food,
within the same perimeter, it is possible to intercept, ‘others’ many interactions.

Those networks, fluid grids, people are conventionally grouped and as Alternative Food Networks (AFN). These new types of organisations, mostly configured at the local level, involve small-scale producers and consumers who aim to increase the sustainability of the agricultural system (Schiff et al., 2014; Matacena, 2016). This is pursued through the adoption of traditional knowledge and ecological principles manifested in low-input agricultural production, local food, zero kilometres, or with an identifiable geographical origin (Matacena, 2016). To respond to this bottom-up demand, city governments around the world are adopting new laws and programmes, the Urban Food Policies, and forming institutional systems, the Food Policy Councils (FPC). In this sense, they seek to bring the actors of the food chain closer together and intercept their demands, promoting innovation in local food systems, applying, and disseminating the principle of environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

<footnote n="1">¹ Italy, at whc.unesco.org. URL consulted on 10 May 2023.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">2 Espon, agenzia di ricerca della Commissione Europea.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³Life+ Helpsoil, http://www.lifehelpsoil.eu/</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ EUR-Lex - 32014R0668 - EN - EUR-Lex, su *eur-lex.europa.eu*. consulted on 16 May 2023.</footnote>
Agricultural activity shapes and marks landscapes, through a long history of land occupation and sometimes through changes with a spectacular result. Revealing these signs and dynamics to actors is one of the objectives of those dealing with the territory, an often-fruitful premise for a territorial dialogue, capable in turn of influencing many areas of public action that help shape the landscape.
Despite this evidence, as scholars Kameshwari Pothukuchi and Jerome L. Kaufman, there is a gap from the insiders down to the university classrooms, about the awareness of the effects of the food system on spatial planning. In their article, until that food system planning was absent from the writings of urban and planning scholars.

By food system, the two researchers mean the chain of activities that links food production, processing, distribution, consumption and processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management, as well as all associated institutions and regulatory activities, associated activities. (Kaufman, Pothukuchi, 2000) In their article, they begin by examining the major planning journals, texts used to introduce future planners to the profession, some classic texts that have expanded the boundaries of planning thought, presenting evidence of the limited presence of the food system in the list of concerns of planning.

To try to respond to this gap, they invite, among other points, the evaluation of AFNs to promote sustainable activities of the food system, including chemical-free agriculture, waste reduction, and recycling, urban food production urban food production and greater connection between farmers and local consumers. Thus, the concordance of principles and objectives between AFN and FPC is evident, but what spatial effect do they have on the territories in which they are located?

Current approaches to food governance focus on food policies on a (supra)national scale and a top-down view. Rarely taking local food policies into account.

The links between diversity, sustainability and territory are complex and vary according to food products, supply chains and contexts. In this logic, examining what has already been put in place by the Slow Food Italia (SFI) network can help in identifying an overall geography within which to produce some reflections. Moreover, the organisation on which the national scale, at the regional level down to the local action through presidia, means that the action developed is an element of the Slow Food (SF) movement and network. The actions developed are a transversal element supporting inter-scalar geographies. Furthermore, the presidia do not confine a product in a specific area, which has to be rediscussed and eroded in order to wrest the prestige of a food brand. On the contrary, they emphasise a territorial attitude of a community that cultivates a peculiar food product according to good, clean and fair principles.

The territoriality implemented by the presidia, in fact, is not intended to be passive, implemented simply through forms of control of space; rather it is an active territoriality. Rather, it is active territoriality (in a positive sense) that "descends from the territorialised and territorialising collective action of local subjects and makes use of inclusive and operational strategies" (Dematteis, Governa, 2005), in which "people experience both the territorial process and the territorial product through a system of existential and/or productive relations. Indeed, territoriality is a set of relations that arise in a three-dimensional society-space-time system with a view to achieving the greatest possible autonomy compatible with the system's resources" (Raffestin, 1981). Their spatiotemporal spread between 2001 and 2017 grew significantly: from 94 to 368 *presidia*<fnref n="5" />. Despite the apparently excellent results and the policy implemented over the years, even practices activate by SFI kind must be analysed from a methodological point of view, advancing a critique, for example, of the effective monitoring capacity of these systems in the folds of the territory.

²Why plants? Why food? Back to the *fermé* ornée.

In 1998, Scholars James Wandersee and Elizabeth Schussler introduced the term 'plant blindness' This attempt seems to be further hampered by our inherent alienation from nature which has prevented us from seeing plants and truly understanding them as more than materials and decorative elements. The authors state that the definition of plant blindness is broad and includes: "the inability to see or notice plants in their environment, leading to an inability to recognise the

<footnote n="5">5 www.fondazioneslowfood.com</footnote>
importance of plants in the biosphere and in human affairs" (Wandersee, Schussler 1998). Plant blindness also includes "the inability to appreciate the unique aesthetic and biological characteristics" of plants and "the anthropocentric misclassification of plants as inferior to animals, which leads to the erroneous conclusion that they are not worthy of human consideration" (Wandersee, Schussler 1998). In recent years, however, new rewritings, scientific discoveries, and philosophical theories have challenged the human-nature dualism that is deeply rooted in Western society.

On this line of reasoning, fifteen years later, at the Stockholm Resilience Center some researchers defined the concept of *bio-cultural refugia* (areas that harbour place-specific social memories related to food security and stewardship of food biodiversity), which could help stop the erosion of diversity in landscapes of food production (Colding, Barthel, 2013). “There is an urgent need to better evaluate the role of these sites that host traditional ecological and food knowledge, when preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services in landscapes of food production and diverse memory carriers, such as natural resources, landscape features, oral and artistic traditions, and self-organised systems of rules, must be included in current debates on landscape ecology and sustainable food systems.” (Fontefrancesco, Zocchi Pieroni, 2023)

In this sense, I introduce the term *ferme ornée* as that image used in the history of the English garden introduced by Stephen Switzer to indicate an 'ornamental farm'. The author and gardener describe it, in fact, as a country estate cultivated between agriculture and aesthetic principles. Stephen Switzer, in The Nobleman, Gentleman and Gardener's Recreation (Switzer, 1715), describes the practice of the *ferme ornée*. 'By mixing the useful and profitable parts of gardening with the pleasant ones in the interior parts of my designs, and the paddocks, dark enclosures, etc. in the exterior parts, my designs are thus greatly enlarged, and both profit and pleasure may be pleasantly blended together'. In conclusion, this image is meant to be a provocation and a 'model', an built Utopia reminding me emphasising how foodscapes are complex and interconnected systems whose characteristics are the results of endogenous and context-based elements and interactions, but also of socio-economic, cultural and political dynamics that occur at more-than-local scales.

## Bibliography

- Waldheim, C. (2016) Landscape as urbanism: a general theory, Princeton University, Princeton

- Latini, L., Zanon, S., et al. (2022) Suolo come paesaggio. Nature, attraversamenti e immersioni, nuove topografie, Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche Antiga, Treviso

- Marot, S, (2019), Taking the country's side. Architecture and agriculture, Lisbon Architecture Triennale: The Poetics of Reason, Poligrafa, Barcelona.

- Schiff, R., & Levkoe, C. Z. (2014), From disparate action to collective mobilization: collective action frames and the Canadian food movement, in Occupy the earth: Global environmental movements. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Hartmann, M. Corporate social responsibility in the food sector. Eur. Rev. Agric. Econ. 2011, 38, 297–324.

- Matacena, R. (2016) Linking alternative food networks and urban food policy: A step forward in the transition towards a sustainable and equitable food system? Int. Rev. Soc. Res., 6, 49–58.

- IPES-food (2016) From Uniformity to Diversity: A paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems, International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food systems.

http://www.ipes-food.org/_img/upload/files/UniformityToDiversity_FULL.pdf

- Dauro, M.Z., Fontefrancesco, M.F, Corvo P., Pieroni A. (2021) Recognising, Safeguarding and Promoting Food Heritage: Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Sustainable Food System; MDPI, Sustainability 2021,13,9510. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179510

- Verhoeven, S., Wiskerke, H. (2018), Flourishing Foodscapes: Design for City-Region Food Systems; Valiz, Amsterdam

- Kameshwari Pothukuchi, Jerome L. Kaufman (2000), The Food System: A Stranger to the Planning Field, City Farmer; Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture, Journal of the American Planning Association, v. 66, no. 2

- Yasmeen, (2006) G. Bangkok's Foodscape: Public Eating, Gender Relations, and Urban Change; White Lotus Press: Bangkok, Thailand

- Dematteis, G., (2001), Per una geografia della territorialità attiva e dei valori territoriali. In: Bonora P. (a cura di), SLoT Quaderno 1, Baskerville, Bologna, pp. 11-30.

- Dematteis, G., (2007), Paesaggio come “codice genetico”. In: Balletti F. (a cura di), Sapere tecnico-sapere locale.
Conoscenza, identificazione, scenari per il progetto, Alinea, Firenze, pp. 33-37.

Dematteis, G., Governa, F., (2005), Il territorio nello sviluppo locale. Il contributo del modello SLoT. In: Dematteis

G., Governa F. (a cura di), Territorialità, sviluppo locale, sostenibilità: il modello SLoT, FrancoAngeli, Milano, pp. 15-38.

Magnaghi, A., (2010), Il progetto locale. Verso la coscienza di luogo, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino.

Manifesto Slow Food Internazionale, Parigi, 1989.

Pedrini, C., (2001), Slow Food. Le ragioni del gusto, Laterza, Bari.

Raffestin, C., (1981), Per una geografia del potere, Unicopli, Milano.

Colding, J.; Barthel, S. The potential of ‘Urban Green Commons’ in the resilience building of cities. Ecol. Econ. 2013, 86, 156–166.
II.c
Water urbanisms

*Imagining Public Space beyond metropolization* (p.260)

Begum, Salma, KULeuven (BE)

*Gradients of wetness: a wet experiment towards wet transition* (p.276)

Aragone Andrea, IUAVenezia (IT)

*Water & sand: chronicles of collective trajectories from the valley of Bumbu river, Kinshasa* (DRC
(p.286)

Manaresi Pietro, UCLouvain (BE)

*Developing Spatio-Temporal Mappings of the Polder Landscape in the Yangtze River Delta based on
Educative Speculations* (p.298)

Lei, Wei, KULeuven (BE)

*Water as ecosystems driver for the Ecological Transition in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta* (p.312)

Nguyen Sylvie, EPFLausanne (CH)
# Imagining Public Space beyond metropolization

*Salma Begum*

Doctoral Researcher, Urbanism and Architecture (OSA), International center of Urbanism (ICoU),
Department of Architecture, KU Leuven, Belgium

**Bruno De Meulder, K.K.Asharf,**

Expected thesis defence: September 2023

samabegum@gmail.com/salma.begum@kuleuven.be

Dhaka's essence originates in the interplay of land and water. Monsoon rains sustain the city's sociocultural, economic, and ecological life. Therefore, the variations among the months of heavy and less rainfall during the monsoon and after post-monsoon form fluctuating hydrology. Monsoon, a geomorphic agent responsible for varied ecotones<fnref n="1" />, is also instrumental in producing 'otherness', where pocket public spaces (a spatial articulation of specific social practices) emerge as a geographical by-product in a natural constellation. This unique interplay of land and water explains why open space appropriation needs to be understood as a practice in a system and identify their taxonomy rather than putting them under a generic name. An alternative understanding of how public spaces emerge from the unique geographic traits and sociocultural behaviour depending on time and seasonality might offer a way to accurately rearticulate the city's public open space issues for Dhaka's distinct context. Hence, this research opts for a hybrid definition of Dhaka's public open space by mapping spatial and social structures where the city blends with water.

## Introduction

Dhaka's public open space is often a by-product of the riverine landscape [fig 1], yet unnoticed and undefined within the discourse of water and landscape urbanism as much as in public space literature. Architects, urbanists, planners, sociologists, geographers, and many other scholars address public space differently. But, in most cases, they are disconnected universal physical manifestations crafted in a city. For example, plazas and parks are the most common form of universally manifested public space, which is disconnected from the notion of spaces emerging from the constant negotiation between wetness and dry land in a different context. Thus, public space emerges from a hydrological phenomenon in a particular geography by native socio-cultural practices based on seasonal adaptations. However, a critical reading of concepts is necessary before embarking upon the discourse of public space. As Mehta (2014) argues about “meanings and uses of the words public space abound” (Mehta, 2014). Therefore, defining public space by decolonizing universal concepts needs to be contextualized.

<figure><img src="image_148.png" /><figcaption>[fig 1]: Dhaka's monsoon fed liquid landscape. During monsoon, the lower topographical elevation of the western fringe of the Turag-Buriganga River submerges.</figcaption></figure>

Source: (By Huda appointed by Begum, August 2021 fieldwork)

<footnote n="1">¹ Ecotone- refers to a transitional area between two ecosystems defined by Andrea Kahn.</footnote>
The designing of public spaces became an isolated phenomenon without anticipating the role of
hydrology in the deltaic Dhaka, which experiences wetness for an extended period of the year, where
monsoon punctuates everyday life. For a monsoon-fed landscape, water plays a vital role in shaping
varied public spaces and socio-cultural practices.-The shifting nature of water shapes urban life and is
transformed by it in turn. How do cultural meaning and social interactions produce public space
within the constant negotiation between shifting grounds and water transformations without a fixed
border, shape, or size? Dhaka urges to redefine public space from water ethos. Since water is the
agent for constantly mutating zones between land and water, this produces every day new social and
cultural realities. As Ashraf (2014) argues, water challenges the concept of land as ground as a granted
concept since it does not assure either dry land or a territory (Ashraf, 2014). New terminology needs
to be developed for understanding the constantly moving ground that creates momentary realities.
Consequently, how within these ambiguous water dynamics, spaces are produced by socio-cultural
practices where water is the fundamental structure of social organization. This paper intends to
understand the emergence of a distinct form of public spaces through cultural practice in the constant
negotiation of dry ground and wetness embedded within the liquid landscape of the Ture-Buriganga
River, Dhaka.

Thus, this paper develops a definition of public space that draws on assorted pieces of literature while
expanding knowledge based on fieldwork that provides an entirely different reading from
conventional notions of public space. A second objective is to portray how understanding is utilized
to explore and support historical and present episodes. I propose to title these spaces as "gradient
space," where the geometry of deposition (sandy, silty, or muddy-enclave<fnref n="2" />) and water is unpredictable,
blended with native practices, festivals, and seasonal adaptations, can be seen as a contextual matrix
that provokes an alternative reading of public space in a terrain of rain.

**Methodological positioning**

The research follows the interpretative urbanism approach that dwells upon qualitative study based
on primary, secondary and hybrid data sources. Primary data are collected from fieldwork, including
observation and inquiry of GIS data. The Secondary data is consolidated from multiple sources
ranging from archival data to media mapping. The research aims to formulate an atlas that follows a
transdisciplinary inquiry system. The tenant of the atlas is maps that use the concept of 'operative
mapping' that follows cartographic exploration -a methodological approach that interweaves insights
from urbanism, geography, and ethnography. As Paez (2019) notes about mapping, " The map is a
graphic device for spatial knowledge and communication, generated in contact with reality, that
functions in both interpretive and projective terms" (Paez, 2019). Therefore, the idea is to portray a
narrative of multiple stories into one single map followed by a series of 'Myrioramas' that are semantic
to each other and developed by decolonizing varying historical episodes, texts, folksongs, maps, and
fieldwork.

Visual language is an intense form of communication and storytelling that began as mapmaking or
cartography that influenced people's perception through the visual language presenting the historical
context of culture (Willard, 2017). Therefore, this methodology is the essential fit to show how public
space emerges within the constant shifts of water embedded in a monsoon-fed landscape and its
relation to the more extensive hydrological system changes concerning human settlements. Designing
a map means illustrating the complex reality of the world of a selected story in a simplified manner.
So, a map illustrates the complex reality of hydrology, geomorphology, ecological changes, and
demonstrate how public space embeds itself within these conditions. So, the maps of this atlas aim to
bring the complex story about a specific site in one synoptic composition, combining different scales,
text blocks, drawing and graphical techniques, typification, hierarchy, contrast, and symbolization.
By developing the atlas, the inquiry aims to search for public open space identity in Dhaka through
understanding the emergence of public space at the threshold of water and settlements. Thus, the
concept aligns with the artistic research paradigm that can also be positioned within the juxtaposition
of transdisciplinary and creative practice as suggested by Woyseth and Nilsson (Woyseth and Nilsson,
2011). Besides, the cartographic mapping idea reflects Kelly Shannon's approach as a research strategy

<footnote n="2">² Muddey-enclave- refers to a zone of the muddy overlay of land and water that creates a vocabulary of public space from the matrix and shades of mud, sediments, water, and vegetation changing its face with the coming and going of the monsoon.</footnote>
titled 'An image is worth 1000 words' (Shannon, 2021). So, this atlas is an assemblage of art and science, interpreting insights from hydrology, geomorphology, topography, geography, and landscape, expressed beautifully of places and history through visual language.

## Defining public space in the terrain of monsoon:

"The sense of place and embeddedness within local, mythical, and ritual landscapes is important" (Stewart and Strathern, 2003). People who inhabit the place and people who experience it from outside have vastly different mental meanings of a place. Moreover, the dwellers have a cultural meaning gained from living within the social landscape, which defines the normative character of public space. As Howitt (2001) notes, the edges of the ecosystems can be understood as 'liminal spaces', a zone of interaction, transformation, and possibility, instead of lines of separation (Howitt, 2001). So, the patches or pocket spaces that emerge from the gradients of water, vegetation, and a muddy-enclave in the monsoon-fed landscape, which I sometimes title "liminal zones", provide a broader context to situate community and place-based practices.

However, Swanson, Gregory, Sedell, and Campbell (1982) define this zone of interactions as a 'riparian zone', a three-dimensional interface between aquatic environment and terrestrial ground, ranging from water edges and floodplains to vegetation (Swanson et al., 1982). According to Crawford (2008), based on Edward and Lefebvre, conceptually, these spaces can be titled as 'thirdspace', which is a space of representation, potential to have new meaning, and activated socially with actions (Crawford, 2008). In a deltaic landscape, such liminal spaces exist somewhere in the juncture between hydrology, geomorphology, and sociocultural practices, where space evolves beyond boundaries as noted by Cunha (2019) rain blurs the lines of separation (Cunha, 2019). Dhaka's landscape symbolizes a setting beyond the border where the land-water interface acts as the negotiated territory, more of a transformative zone which offers multiple states across different scales (Begum, 2021). Thus "Landscape becomes a form of codification" (Stewart and Strathern, 2003).

These spaces within the monsoon landscape host multiple and simultaneous activities knitted into everyday life patterns, some are fixed, some are subject to changes in the season and timing of a day. Since the land-water interface in Gangetic plains is appropriated by four elements: architectural response, social functions, landscape symbolism and religious rituals (Sinha and Ruggles, 2004) therefore, often these areas are named after socio-economic or cultural activities highly related to festivals and religious rituals. Nevertheless, the land-water interface varies in different parts of Bengal based on a specific mode of visuality driven by religion. Part of them is relevant to many festivals. "Festivals generate regulated and liminal spaces through temporary appropriations of local settings" (Stevens and Shin, 2014). In Dhaka, such collective rituals and festivals bear historically celebrated phenomenon emerged in the space where water and land collide.

The Turag-Buriganga River, on Dhaka's western fringe [fig 2], lies primarily within lowlands, and depression connects the city to the extensive Padma-Ganges-Brahmaputra hydrological network. Even though Dhaka is the birth child of The Buriganga River, and this has always been the primary source of human habitation in the history of Dhaka, yet at present state can be defined as an open dump of wastewater from industries. The river, the most significant open space within the urban fabric, brings cultural significance into physical space. Thus, the geographical features such as rivers, water channels and surrounding areas, following natural dynamics, co-produce spaces between *Aqueous and Terra Firma*. These undefined neglected spaces are the activity patches connecting urban and rural life. Nevertheless, Bremner (2022) defines monsoon as a geomorphic agent (Bremner, 2022) that can unfold the entanglement monsoon in space-making. Therefore, this paper critically explores the changes in the landscape along the Turag-Buriganaga River and emerging liminal spaces to frame the spontaneously appropriated spaces as public spaces as a new way of reading the civic importance of wet landscape in the terrain of monsoon.
<figure><img src="image_149.png" /><figcaption>[fig 2]: Fluvial-geomorphology and aquifer formation of the Turag-Buriganga River transect.</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Elaborated by author from Dhaka DAP GIS 2015, Google earth pro-2019, existing open space of Dhaka by Habib, open street map 2018, Geomorphologic Map of Greater Dhaka City, Bangladesh BGR, Schematic geological cross section of Dhaka 2009 by Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and OYO International Corporation)

## Emerging practices along the Turag-Buriganga River:

The monsoon-fed liquid landscape of the Turag- Buriganga confluence combines both natural and man-made open water bodies since, traditionally, deep ponds are dug as a tool to anticipate monsoons. Its unique combination contains water systems and lush green swamps. So, primarily nine landscape features characterize the Buriganag landscape: *doba* (ditch), *jolabhumi* (marsh), *khal* (canals), *pukur* (ponds), *khola jaiga* (open space), *math* (field), *koborstan* (graveyard) and *bon* (forests) [fig 3]. As we move from north to south, the topography changes from a low elevation of 1.3 m as a floodplain to a 10m elevation with depression and finally more towards the north at Mirpur area with a higher
height of up to 15m composed of red soil. Most of the south is made of alluvial silt and clay.-

<figure><img src="image_150.png" /><figcaption>[fig 3]: Landscape and the constructed landscape in the terrain of monsoon along the Turag-Buriganga River
Source: (Elaborated by author from Dhaka DAP GIS 2018, Dhaka GIS 2015, Google earth pro-2021, fieldwork2021)</figcaption></figure>

The overlay of mud and varied water level creates a gradient of height in topography and zone of otherness, which is transient. The impermanent character of the monsoon landscape portrays not only multiple ground planes in the shifting terrain across the river but also inhabits different local practices in the overlayed zones of transformation that emerged from the constant negotiations along the river. Thus, the interplay of water-land and local practices creates a second landscape (Stewart and Strathern, 2003), besides what we see as a landscape. Such practices manifest in the everyday and entangled with landscape changes. The southern and western zone of the river hosts
many different occupations of land on different elevations, starting from the proposed residential plot filled with sand pumping to coal storage space. Moving further to the North of the western fringe is choreographed with traditional settlement nested within the constellation of trees and water system. The Northwestern edge still resonates with the traditional landscape settings, whereas the eastern zone of the river is highly urbanized. The reason behind the rapid-in-migration is the western embankment provides a flood-free elevated highland. However, within this embanked zone, spaces emerge out of different social practices, such as pottery display and selling, kite playing, urban farming by the inhabitants, etc. The southeastern zone along the river shows a different fabric with commercial and industrial use, whereas the southern edge of the south area is powered by rampant urbanization. An elevated walkway with many other mediating devices to water in between brings life to the urban life at this part. Thus, these mediating devices, which have traditionally been used to settle with water for many years, become a part of the public domain that fits well with urban life and emerges as a cultural landscape and a second landscape. Locally these mediating devices, in other words, the water-land interface, are known as *Ghat*<fnref n="3" />.

**Ghat-as a constructed site in everyday urbanism:**

*Ghat* is a widely known structure or landscape element in the South Asian context with different meanings. This has always been seen as a hinge between water and land. *Ghat* has many forms, shapes, sizes, materials, and uses, which must be explained beyond its functionality. *Ghat* also has religious meaning in the Hindu religion, where it has extensive structural notions and many uses. But besides being religiously significant, *Ghat* in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh often is an extension of climatic or site-specific response based on many different uses-starting from domestic to large-scale communal use. *Ghat*-a multipurpose space comprised of site-specific elements, can portray a symbolic image of the physical state of the deltaic Dhaka. However, even though the terminology *Ghat* carries meaning to settle with water, it is a space where public life unfolds daily. It is one of the constructed sites, as Dixon (2021) mentions Burn on the conception of the ‘constructed site’ as an outcome of the lineage process (Dixon, 2021). The *Ghat* is one of the ‘constructed sites’, an artificial device to amend and domesticate the landscape. Besides, it has another meaning based on commercial purposes. This is often referred to as a landing station where boats, barges, land to load and unload goods. In Dhaka, the *Ghat* is one of the most successful public spaces yet to be recognized and defined as a public space. In the following discourse, this section will analyse different *Ghats* found across the Turag-Buriganga River to understand their significance as a public space. To understand the meaning a *Ghat* brings into people's life and context, I chose six *Ghats* [fig 4] to explore depending on the scale of operation, accessibility, and function. This paper will discuss four *Ghats* in detail and two synoptic maps that tells different anecdotes in one narrative. The *Ghats* will be discussed on the map from top to bottom in positional order. The four Ghats are *Diabari*, *Palpara*, *Malertek*, and *Aminbazar-Gabtoli Ghat*.

<footnote n="3">³ Ghat-refers to a form of land-water interface. The word 'Ghat' is originated from sankskrit word 'Ghatta', meaning a landing place or steps to the river. The Ghat is linear in shape, runs parallel to the river, and allow access to water at any height. Sometimes act as retaining structure and protect the settlement from getting wiped out during high tide. But in East Bengal besides linear steps traditionally the Ghat is built by curving out mud, with bamboo, and wood known as *Ghatla*, that serves multiple purposes ranging from access to a place, household course to economic hub. Many forms of Ghat exist now, which is more urban in terms of materiality.</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_151.png" /><figcaption>[fig 4]: Constellation of *Ghats* along the Turag-Buriganga River</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Elaborated by author from Dhaka DAP GIS 2018, Dhaka GIS 2015, Google earth pro-2021, fieldwork2021)

The first *Ghat* lies at the northmost of the transect, known as *Diabari Ghat*, and can be titled +D<fnref n="4" /> [fig 5]. The *Ghats* at *Diabari* is flanked by an elevated embankment road, which created a slopey muddy water-land threshold on the river's eastern edge. As a result, this section has a higher topographical variation than the southern edge of the river. The northeast side is made from Madhapur clay with a higher elevation, almost around 15m. Conversely, the western fringe is nearly next to the water level. The part of the west often comprises natural wetlands that go underwater during heavy rainfall. *Diabari Ghat* is primarily a landing station for large boats on the water, which is more formal. But regular small boat passengers use another informal *Ghat* made of a slopey muddy area with few low-height steps that lead to the embankment road [fig 5]. This small slopey *Ghat* connects the *Kaundiya*

<footnote n="4">⁴ +D-D refers to the initial of the place name of Diabari and + refers to the symbol of Ghat.</footnote>
Ghat on the other side. The section next to the Diabari Ghat illustrates higher differences in the topography, the variations of the water-land threshold, and seasonal changes [fig 6]. The muddy slope has vegetation on different levels [fig 7].

<figure><img src="image_152.png" /><figcaption>[fig 5]: Ghat as constructed landscape at Diabari along the Turag River
Source: (Image by author and Huda from fieldwork 2021, sketch on the right elaborated by author)</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_153.png" /><figcaption>[fig 6]: Ecotones and monsoon water movement in the liminal space at Diabari along the Turag River
Source: (elaborated by author from fieldwork 2021)</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_154.png" /><figcaption>[fig 7]: The informal muddy Diabari Ghat nested within vegetal slopey liminal space.
Source: (Author from fieldwork 2021)</figcaption></figure>
The second *Ghat* along the belt is the *Palpara Ghat* can be titled +P, which does not have any formal design but rather spontaneously developed and appropriated by native inhabitants in many ways. This *Ghat* is a muddy slope with five major components: a vegetable garden, tea stall, small hut, stair, and pottery display area [fig 8].

<figure><img src="image_155.png" /><figcaption>[fig 8]: Palpara Ghat & components of Ghat making.</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Image by Huda and author from fieldwork 2021; sketch elaborated by author from fieldwork 2021)

The vegetable garden lies between slopes and walkways, fenced with local bamboo sticks, and managed by the inhabitants [figs 9 and 10]. It has local red spinach and other local vegetables. The *Ghat* is approached in two ways: from the embankment road through a muddy slope and a concrete stair, the *Ghat* is accessible from the city side. The muddy path slopes downwards and broadens at the junction of the land and water.

<figure><img src="image_156.png" /><figcaption>[fig 9]: Water-land threshold as garden at Palpara Ghat.</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Image by author from fieldwork 2021)

Interestingly there is no permanent structure next to the water edge. The residential areas cover most of the eastern belt across the road [fig 10]. The tea stall is a temporary structure with low height sitting areas accommodating four to five people [fig 11]. The stair leads to the *Ghat* with smaller boats [fig 12], whereas the muddy slopes take to the motor-driven big boat. The extended part of the *Ghat* to the south displays' pottery [fig 13]. The edges along the Turag River do not follow a specific line. Instead, it has many gradients of pocket spaces along the belt. The pottery
display space is one of those spaces that operate between the water and land, covered with Madhupur clay and tropical vegetation.

<figure><img src="image_157.png" /><figcaption>[fig 10]: Section showing different constellation within a liminal space at *Palpara Ghat*. The water rises from .5m up to 3m, from July to September at the beginning of the monsoon to the peak.</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Elaborated by author from fieldwork 2021, and graph on water level hydrographs for Turag, Buriganga, and Balu Rivers and rainfall in Dhaka during 1998 by Huq and Alam, 2003) (Huq and Alam, 2003)

<figure><img src="image_158.png" /><figcaption>[figs 11 & 12]: Tea stall as part of *Ghat* making at *Palpara Ghat*. Staircase leading to informal *Ghat* area at *Palpara Ghat*.</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Image by author from fieldwork 2021)

<figure><img src="image_159.png" /><figcaption>[fig 13]: Land-water interface appropriated differently, Everyday practices at *Palpara Ghat*.</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Image by Huda & author from fieldwork 2021)
The third *Ghat* along the Turag River from the top is the *Malertek Ghat*, titled +M, which has an exciting way of dealing with seasonality [fig 14]. The *Malertek Ghat* lies on the western side of the Turag River and is nested within the dense plants and tree fabric. From the top, the *Ghat* compound looks like open spaces, vegetation, clay, and muddy-enclave constellations that transform into floating islands during monsoon. Consequently, people adapt to changes. As a result, these practices evolve from a specific place rooted to the native appropriation that brings the 'notion of identity' mentioned by Escobar (Escobar, 2008).

<figure><img src="image_160.png" /><figcaption>[fig 14]: *Malertek Ghat* nestled within fluid landscape.</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Image by Huda & author from fieldwork 2021, sketch elaborated by author)

*Malertek Ghat* has an extensive system with two main *Ghat*: informal steps and formal stairs [fig 14]. One *Ghat* is made from a stone walkway next to the water level in combination with a bamboo platform where the boat stops [fig 15], and the other *Ghat* is a concrete stairway [fig 16] which takes to a higher elevation. The bamboo platform extends from the stone end to the deeper water. The passenger gets off at a certain distance and uses the stones to reach the land. The same stone-bamboo *Ghat* submerges during the high water rise in monsoon. The water spreads until the stairway, which becomes the primary *Ghat* at that period. Therefore, the use of the *Ghat* alternatively changes based on the seasons.

<figure><img src="image_161.png" /><figcaption>[fig 15]: Stone-bamboo platform *Ghat* - a 'constructed site' in the monsoon fed landscape at *Malertek Ghat*.</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Sketch elaborated by author, image by author from fieldwork 2021)
<figure><img src="image_162.png" /><figcaption>[fig 16]: Stairs transform to alternative Ghat at Malertek</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Image by author during fieldwork 2021, sketch elaborated by author)

<figure><img src="image_163.png" /></figure>

Moving further south of the Turag River, near Gabtoli, after the confluence of Turag and Buriganga, two types of *Ghat* titled +AM and +GS on both sides seem to harbour the city's life [fig 17]. These *Ghats* have a unique character. One is more formal, a landing station with a built structure connecting the land with the floating barge next to the Aminbazar passenger terminal operates under the Bangladesh Inland water transport authority (BIWTA). Giant sand-carrying barges stop at this landing station since this location is significant for the city due to the Aminabazar Bridge and Gabtoli area, famous for material wholesale markets. Therefore, most of the barge's land at this point to unload the goods and send them out to the final destinations across the city. The other *Ghat* informally emerged from traditional knowledge used by the laborers. They use the small-scale informal *Ghat* to carry coal from the barges to the storage area.

<figure><img src="image_164.png" /><figcaption>[fig 17]: Commercial formal and informal Ghat at Aminbazar and Gabtoli</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Image by author & Huda during fieldwork 2021, sketches elaborated by author)

<figure><img src="image_165.png" /><figcaption>[fig 18]: Land-water threshold tying grounds on different levels at Gabtoli Ghat</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Sketches elaborated by author from fieldwork)

Thus, the *Ghats* play a significant role in the local economy. According to Low (2003), "Social and economic relations produce space" (Low, 2003). The *Ghats* at this edge of the city bring both the economic and social aspect, producing spaces in-between as a by-product of the land-water dynamics in the monsoon-fed landscape.
These commercial types of *Ghats* evolved in response to commercial functions [fig 18]. This function requires a mass labor force, generating an alternative dwelling between water and land. Due to the low-income generation, it is difficult for the labor to afford accommodation in the city. Instead, they make temporary boat houses to settle next to the workplace [fig 19]. Therefore, this kind of *Ghat* has a different morphology than the other *Ghats* along this river's edge.

The narrow bamboo platform connects the paved pathway on one side, connected to the storage area. The walkways are aligned with trees [fig 20]. A long staircase leads to the water. The *Ghat* combines a stilt bamboo platform, a staircase, a paved walkway lined with canopy trees, and small boathouses.

<figure><img src="image_166.png" /><figcaption>[fig 19]: Alternative informal dwelling units within the liminal space *Ghat* at Gabtoli
Source: (Image by author during fieldwork 2021)</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_167.png" /><figcaption>[fig 20]: Walkway shadowed by canopy tree used as public space as part of the constructed site-*Ghat* at Gabtoli
Source: (Image by author fieldwork 2021)</figcaption></figure>

Nevertheless, the canopy trees provide shadow, becoming a part of public space-making along the walkway. Traditionally the space under the Banyan tree is known as Tola, which is famous for its prominent canopy that people use for many purposes. The *Ghat* at Gabtoli resonates with the traditional setting of a water-native public space embedded in the landscape.

## Map as a 'second landscape'

The map [fig 21] is a synoptic of the 'second landscape' produced through local practices, and *Ghats* understood from fieldwork and interpreted as this brings meaning to the place. In doing so, the map manipulates and re-shapes the liminal space as a social space, portraying these spaces as
threads enmeshed within the city. Additionally, the map unfolds pocket spaces along the Turag-Buriganga River of Dhaka city in constant dialogue with the monsoon.

<figure><img src="image_168.png" /><figcaption>[fig 21]: Constellation of Ghats as different episodes of varying anecdotes along the dynamic spine of the Turag-Buriganga River</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Elaborated by author from Dhaka DAP GIS 2018, Dhaka GIS 2015, Google earth pro-2021, and fieldwork 2021)

The map [fig 22] highlights the occupation of space that brings the reasoning for the presence of the Ghats following the hydrological cycle and the different ways of nestling within the city mesh.
<figure><img src="image_169.png" /><figcaption>[fig 22]: Inhabited space where Ghats are nested in different ways.</figcaption></figure>

Source: (Elaborated by author from Dhaka DAP GIS 2018, Dhaka GIS 2015, Google earth pro-2021, and fieldwork 2021)

**Conclusion:**

This investigation calls for an alternative reading of public space in Dhaka as a liminal zone, riparian zone, floodplain, shifting ground, and other ground in the terrain of monsoon. It challenges the conventional notion of public space by demonstrating an alternative narrative for a deltaic landscape where the emergence of public space is rooted in a shifting ground woven into an intricate landscape pattern. Nevertheless, emerging public spaces and practices still resonate with the logic of water. Exploring Dhaka's public space emergence along the Turag-Buriganga River through the lens of water-land dynamics shows alternative ways of producing space. For example, *Ghat*, a 'constructed site', is an agent driven by hydrological and geomorphological force in a monsoon-fed landscape that acts to co-produce public space. Therefore, the notion of public space in Dhaka's liquid landscape evolves from episodes of anecdotes along a dynamic spine like a beaded necklace. This paper highlighted the public space-making by the traditional practices and appropriation within in-between zones by the inhabitant based on seasonality and timing. Thus, focusing on the narrative of public space-making in Delta differs from the Westernized notion of making a plaza. Therefore, the spaces in-between land and water in the monsoon-fed landscape of Dhaka demand an alternative reading and naming it as a public space where the investigation requires site-specific methodologies and unconventional approaches for innovative solutions.

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# Gradients of wetness: a *wet* experiment towards *wet* transition

*Andrea Aragone*

IUAV, University of Venice; Université libre de Bruxelles, Faculté d'Architecture La Cambre Horta

Maria Chiara Tosi (IUAV); Luisa Moretto (ULB)

Expected thesis defence: September, 2024

andrea.aragone@ulb.be

*Gradients of Wetness* investigates the role and the possible actions of private actors to actively manage rainwater and its pervasive infrastructure in the dense urban environment of the Brussels-Capital Region. The research questions the current socio-technical regime by stressing the tension between private actions and the management of a common-pool resource—as it is rainwater—insisting on the paradigm shift from *dryness* to *wetness*. This shift means, firstly, to comprehend that rain and its flows should be at the core of the reflection. Ground, vegetation, and atmosphere should be considered as *wet* infrastructure, thus infiltration, evaporation, and evapotranspiration as basic *wet* practices. Secondly, the shift suggests to look at dense urban contexts as complex and plural ecosystems that embed today-disguised environmental potentials. To this extend, the research is a wet experiment that actively tests wetness in individual and collective gardens. The research recognizes gardens as testing grounds for potential citizen *wet* stewardship, based on different socio-ecological arrangements to manage rainwater.

## The (cultural) act of *dryness*

Water has always been a driver for the constitution of first human settlements, gaining a cultural and symbolic role within communities (Latour 2004). Water is a necessity and an economical element for livelihood and for social structures. Communities privilege areas along rivers and on nearby fertile soils, in between *wet* and *dry* lands. These lands, seasonally affected by floods, are among the most fertile and productive ones, ensuring the development of early forms of agriculture (Laureano 2013; Blackbourn 2006). Inundations bring the sufficient fertile limes for agriculture and sediments that are, among others, a resource for construction materials. The seasonality—therefore the alternation of *wet* and *dry* periods—also guarantees an extreme alive environment for a multitude of species. These alluvial lands have been lived and used, thanks to their fluctuating and flexible condition of being both a *wet* and a *dry* environment (Rossano 2021). Over time, communities shift from a social organisation based on rural activities towards one based on urbanity and capital. Hence, communities start to manage water flows by constructing water infrastructure to ensure resource accessibility, provision and protection. In other words, they “domesticate” water (Rossano 2021). They reclaim *wet* lands by drying them out through the construction of pervasive water drainage infrastructure made of above-ground and underground gears. This infrastructure is a complex centralised and spread network that runs underground, along roads, collecting both waste- and rainwater from public and private buildings and open spaces, finally, discharging after treatment into surface water. The water drainage and sanitation infrastructure is structured around the paradigm of *dryness*, which consists in keeping space dry by channelising and discharging waste- and rainwater as quickly as possible. To this extend, the water drainage infrastructure supports the collective cultural shift that transforms what it was “natural” into the “social and urban” question (Graham 2010; Herendeen 1986). The *wet* lands of the alluvial valleys, in which water could seasonally flow, have been reclaimed and become lands in which dikes and riverbanks channel each drop of water. As Dilip da Cunha explicitly says in the introduction of *The Invention of Rivers* (2020: 1), “separating land from water on the earth’s surface is one of the most fundamental and enduring acts in the understanding and design of human habitation” and it is in itself an “act of design”, that has a strong “cultural value on civilisation and on the establishment of the social upon the natural”.

In the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR), as in many other European and North American dense urban environments, the paradigm shift towards *dryness* peaked during the industrialisation process of the 19th century: waste- and rainwater have been conveyed into underground pipes; the remaining alluvial lands have been incrementally reclaimed; watercourses, in the case of the BCR the river Senne and its tributaries, have been progressively channelled; springs have been diverted into the water drainage infrastructure; and the numerous ponds and wetlands have been drained. In the course of a few decades, the *wet* landscape that characterised the BCR almost completely disappeared to make room for new urbanisation (Deligne 2005). Just as quickly, the BCR’s *wet* landscape disappeared from
the collective imagination and culture. Even though the construction of the huge machine to dry out the BCR, water still finds its way back (Borgomeo 2020). In fact, the BCR still suffers of considerable hydraulic problems. Floods, rise of water table, and humidity in basements—especially in the lower part of the valleys—are frequent phenomena that affect private and public spaces. During heavy rainfalls, the combined water drainage and sanitation infrastructure cannot cope with the large quantities of water drained, causing widespread flooding (De Bondt, Claeys 2010). This results in 21% of the urbanisation of the BCR being located in flooding risk zones<fnref n="1" />, which translates that one out of three inhabitants is affected by this problem (Bruxelles Environnement 2022). The zones at risk of floods correspond to the former alluvial lands of the Brussels *wet* landscape, where rivers were running open-air, while today are diverted in sewer collectors. The today-reclaimed alluvial lands occupy around the 18% of the current regional surface<fnref n="2" />. The two maps show the *wet* landscape of the BCR, made by the large alluvial land of the main river of the BCR, the Senne, and the ones of its tributaries [fig. 1]. The proximity between the two figures—21% and 18%—underlines the fact that although the installation of a huge and pervasive water drainage infrastructure, the space that rainwater takes is almost the same. Beside the shift in the infrastructure, also practices and perception changed: from a *wetness* state in which the urban coexists with rainfall within *wet* lands, to a *dryness* paradigm in which rain is only a source of problems within what is conceived to remain *dry*. In this framework, the dysfunctions in the drainage infrastructures (i.e. floods, leakages, infiltrations, overflows) highlight its obsolescence, and the fact that the infrastructure does no longer manage either the increased runoff<fnref n="3" /> from growing urbanisation or the changing precipitation patterns (Karvonen 2011). Moreover, climate changes increase the impact of events and the necessity to act immediately (Tjallingii 2012). Expensive costs for maintenance and institutional fragmentation of stormwater management (Knieper, Pahl-Wostl 2016) underline even more than the centralised water drainage and sanitation infrastructure is no more sustainable (Mitchell 2006) and needs to undergo a process of transformation (Gandy 2014).

<figure><img src="image_170.png" /><figcaption>[fig 1] Flooding risk areas (left) and former alluvial plains (right) within the Brussels-Capital Region.</figcaption></figure>

Source: elaborated by the author

<footnote n="1">¹ Flood hazard is defined by the regional agency for environment, Bruxelles Environnement (2019). The 21% corresponds to the total of flooding risk zones within the BCR, which are divided as follow: 2% are high-risk zones (a flood every 10 years), 8% are medium-risk zones (a flood every 25 to 50 years), 11% are low-risk zones (a flood every 100 years).</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² The information is retrieved from the Ferraris map (1777). This is a military map design by Ferraris in which the characteristics of the landscapes have been deeply detailed. Through the reading of the legend, it has been possible to trace the alluvial plains crossing the today Brussels Capital Region and its surroundings via the use of GIS software.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Marsh (2010: 493) defines runoff "in the broadcast sense the flow of water from the land as both surface and subsurface discharge; in the more restricted and common use, surface discharge in the form of overland flow and channel flow".</footnote>
## The (cultural) need to wetness

The former *wet* and *dry* conditions that supported the development of first community settlements have been incrementally dismantled. This does not mean that dense urban environments are no longer affected by hydrologic flows; on the contrary, they are still present and manifest themselves more disruptively. Dense urban environments are currently not yet equipped to overcome the ongoing climate crisis (Brenner 2017) and, as above-mentioned, that there is a need to transform the current water drainage and sanitation infrastructure. This transformation can only be achieved when the conditions of the physical, economic, cultural and institutional levels are studied together (Grin, Rotmans, Schot 2010). The transition framework defines transformations to answer to the environmental crisis as “sustainable transitions” (Elzen, Geels, Green 2004). Within this framework, transitions are seen as radical and fundamental changes in the structure, culture and practices (Loorbach, Rotmans 2006). In *Transitions to Sustainable Development*, Grin, Rotmans and Schot (2010) argue that culture has a fundamental role because the transition “involves a change in mind-set or perspective” and that “sustainability transitions also is a quest for new value systems”. An opportunity for transforming the current drainage practices, referred to in this research as *wet* transition, arises from the ongoing paradigm shift in urban planning and design from *dryness* to *wetness* (Da Cunha 2018). The shift towards *wetness* suggests looking at the hydrologic cycle differently, thus considering rainwater as a collective resource, instead of an issue that increases floods. If *dryness* places at the centre surface water and its discharging flow, *wetness* comprehends that *rain* is where every flow of water starts, and its runoff should be the core of the reflexion (Da Cunha 2018). Precipitations, runoff, flood, evaporation, evapotranspiration, and infiltration of rainwater are basic *wet* practices; thus, the atmosphere, vegetation, and ground are components of a *wet* infrastructure. At the core, this *wet* infrastructure is a form of decentralised infrastructure—small-scale, spatially distributed, ‘fit-for-purpose’ and embedded in the urban environment (Yu et al 2011)—that combines both technology (often low-tech) and natural elements. The backbone of the *wet* infrastructure is rainwater that reaches every space in dense urban areas and touches every *human* and *non-human* feature, while falling on every roof and reaching every garden (Tjallingii 2012). By understanding the pervasive behaviour of rainwater, the research highlights the potential of gardens to enable *wet* transition in dense urban environments. Gardens already perform as a structural component of urban environment and biodiversity and rainwater management, through the presence of vegetated species and permeable surfaces (Seitz et al. 2022). In these terms, gardens are strongly embedded in the urban ecosystem (Cameron et al. 2012; Kowarik 2011; Gandy 2022), even though they remain largely understudied and with unexpressed potential (Chalmin-Pui et al. 2019). Gardens disclose concurrently huge cultural and environmental potential (Egerer et al. 2018), being spaces in which *human* and *other-than-human* practices overlap. They are ‘real places’ of everyday human life marked by the *mitoyenne* experience (Foucault 1986), thus being hybrid urban spaces at the diaphragm between *human* and *wet* practices. Gardens accommodate food production and gardening practices, as well as they host insects and vegetation and they infiltrate rainwater (Egerer et al. 2018; Chalmin-Pui et al. 2019). Beyond their cultural and environmental potentials, gardens are a spatially-spread and pervasive feature of European and North American dense urban environments, occupying large portions of them (Cameron et al. 2012; Jakobsson, Dewaelheyns 2018).

As many other urban environments (Secchi 2011), the majority of the BCR surface is covered by residential parcels that form inaccessible urban blocks, the so called *ilots*. Currently, the 43 percent of the regional surface is covered by residential parcels<fnref n="4" />, while the 37% by collective public spaces<fnref n="5" />. Even in terms of rainwater runoff production<fnref n="6" /> and management, residential parcels exceed the amount produced by public spaces: the former produce around 30 million m³ of rainwater per year,

<footnote n="4">⁴ The information is calculated by identify parcels (source: Urbis) that are within residential zones, predominantly residential zones, mixed zones, and highly mixed zone defined by the *Plan Régional d'Affectation du Sol* (Land Use Plan). In the context of this research, residential parcels are both privately and publicly owned plots (e.g. social housing).</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ The information groups public road network, public parks and public forestry. The information includes spaces managed by municipalities, by the Regional Agency for Environment (Bruxelles Environnement), and by the Regional Mobility Agency (Bruxelles Mobilité). The information excludes spaces such as railway and harbor, which are managed by specific actors (e.g. Infrabel and Port Authority). The information crosses sources from the Brussels-Capital Region cartographic portal Urbis and the *Plan Régional d'Affectation du Sol*.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ Rainwater runoff is calculated considering runoff reduction coefficients. For further information see Marsh (2010).</footnote>
and the latter 19 million m3 per year. By investigating residential parcels in detail, their surface type diversity can be disclosed. The 38% of residential parcel surfaces are covered by roofs, while 62%, which corresponds to the majority, is open-air surfaces—here defined as residential gardens—, either vegetated or sealed [fig 2]. Vegetated open-air surfaces<sup>7</sup> are the 43% and take multiple forms: small domestic gardens, front yards, vegetated pathways, collective gardens in apartments blocks, accessible gardens at the feet of residential slabs. The other 19% of residential open-air surfaces corresponds to sealed—impermeable—spaces such as front-yard parking lots, household terraces, and concrete-tiles pavements.

<figure><img src="image_171.png" /><figcaption>[fig. 2] residential parcels (left) and residential open-air spaces (right) within the Brussels-Capital Region</figcaption></figure>

Source: elaborated by the author

Vegetated surfaces in residential gardens intercept 24 million m3 of rainwater per year, but they only discharge the 10% of it into the centralised water drainage and sanitation infrastructure (Marsh 2010). On the contrary, sealed open-air surfaces intercept 11 million m3 of rainwater per year, while discharging the 70%. These figures show how residential gardens—where vegetation and permeable ground are in contact with the atmosphere—already partially operate as *wet* infrastructure for *wetness*, via infiltration, evaporation and evapotranspiration, which are *wet* practices. Residential gardens are potential spaces of the urban dense environment where to enable *wet* transition. In this sense, the new regional water management plan—*Plan de Gestion d'Eau 2022-2027* (Bruxelles Environnement 2022)—goes along the necessity to prioritise a different management of rainwater within the BCR, by enhancing *wet* practices. The new water management plan aims at changing the paradigm in rainwater management in order to restore its natural cycle in the region. It underlines the rainwater potential to deliver multiple benefits to face climate change for the urban space: from reducing heat islands and floods to increasing vegetation and biodiversity. The plan states that the regional shift is of collective concern and that all regional actors should commit to regional integrated rainwater management. The plan recognises the importance to engage private users in rainwater management, by managing rainwater *à la parcelle*. To this extend, the plan priorities rainwater management at the parcel scale, to multiply the number of small-scale implementations for rainwater and nature in the urban tissue, especially increasing permeable soil and vegetation designs. This approach has the objective to bring benefits to the quality of life of residents and to the ecological network and biodiversity, while increasing infiltration and evapotranspiration to reduce runoff from sealed surfaces.

<footnote n="7"><sup>7</sup> The information concerning vegetated and sealed surfaces is retrieved by the vegetation map (2020) produced by the Regional Agency for Environment (Bruxelles Environnement). The map presents three layers: forestry, grassland, sealed surfaces. Within this research, forestry and grassland are merged together to define the “vegetated open-air surfaces”.</footnote>
## Wet stewardship in Brussels' gardens

The shift towards a decentralized and integrated rainwater management proposed by the new regional Plan de Gestion d'Eau 2022-2027 is aligned with other regional strategic objectives. Like other European contexts, the BCR has recently put environmental issues at the centre of its development, also in reaction to the infrastructure dysfunctions experienced by its users. The main regional objective is to achieve a sustainable urban transition with an emphasis on environment (Degros, De Cleene 2014) through the implementation of the Plan Régional pour l'Innovation 2021-2027 (Innoviris 2020), the Stratégie Régionale de Transition Économique 2022-2030 and the strategy Go4Brussels2030 (Conseil économique et social 2020). To achieve this objective, regional institutions increasingly fund research into innovative transition experiments to improve the performance of environmental, health and economic systems and to introduce new participative governance methods (De Muynck, Nalpas 2021). Transition experiments are a means to search for new forms of learning and experience to transform the current infrastructure (Van der Brugge 2009). Transition experiments become the foreground on which current cultural values are discussed (Grin, Rotmans, Schot 2010). Particularly, the transition literature defines urban climate change experiments when their purpose is to reduce climate change vulnerabilities and impacts and, simultaneously, they are developed for/with communities (Broto, Bulkeley 2012). Within this framework, the research here presented can be defined as a climate change—wet—experiment that investigates the roles and the actions of private actors to manage rainwater in individual and collective gardens within the BCR. It explores coalitions of private and public-private actors to support wet transition by design and implementation of wet infrastructures in gardens. The exploration is part of the action research project *Brussel sensible à l'eau Bis* (Brussels sensitive to water Bis – BrusseauBis)<fnref n="8" />. BrusseauBis benefits of the regional subsidy *Experimental Platform*, funded by the Regional Agency for Innovation and Research—Innoviris—to support on-site experiments to enable ecological transition through the active and multi-scalar collaboration among regional actors (Innoviris 2020). The project aims at accelerate the implementation of a decentralized infrastructure for rainwater management in the region by engaging civil society and public institutions. The action research focuses on the territory of the Molenbeek watershed, a tributary river of the Senne in the North of the BCR. BrusseauBis develops transdisciplinary instruments from different disciplines, such as hydrology, urban planning and design. These instruments stimulate the participation of multiple actors, while also raising awareness and reaching out other participants to join. Each instrument answer to a specific objective in order (i) to analyze wet flows and territories, (ii) to planning new wet multi-actor governance practices, (iv) to design and (v) to implement wet infrastructure, and (vi) to define managers of the wet infrastructure.

Within the frame of BrusseauBis, gardens are seen as one of the key spaces of the urban dense environment where to enable wet transition. Gardens become testing grounds for potential citizen wet stewardship (Nassauer 2011), based on different socio-ecological arrangements in which livelihood can coexists with watery spaces. They are spaces in which humans interact with nature, being hybrid spaces for the negotiation between users and their human and wet practices. The wet experiment tests the paradigm of wetness through low-tech design operations in individual domestic gardens and collective gardens in social housing blocks. The two garden types present different features in terms of ownership and management. Individual domestic gardens are private spaces managed by single private citizens; while collective gardens in social housing blocks are public spaces managed by private citizens in agreement with a private manager. Within the two garden types, the wet experiment is supported by a co-design process, based on three collective workshops. During the first workshop, participants are introduced to designing with rain, its flows and seasonality, in order to sketch the wet infrastructure. At this stage, participants contextualise the concept of wetness by primarily placing rainwater and its flows at the centre of the design project as well as by framing wet and human practices hosted in the garden. They negotiate their roles and means to manage the wet infrastructure. Between the first and the second workshop, the researcher details the wet infrastructure for the garden, that is

<footnote n="8">⁸ BrusseauBis (2021-2023) is coordinated by the no profit organization EGEG and the two Brussels universities (VUB with the Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering and the ULB with the department LoUIsE). Part of the consortium are also three technical partners (LATITUDE Platform, Arkipel, Ecotechnic), Regional Agency for Environment (Bruxelles Environnement), four municipalities part of the Molenbeek river watershed (Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Ganshoren, Jette, Ville de Bruxelles), and the regional sewage network manager (Vivaqua).</footnote>
the object of discussion during the second design workshop. In this moment, participants validate the design of the *wet* infrastructure, while also choosing the vegetation species and their position in the garden based on the *wetness* gradients defined by the *wet* and *human* practices. Finally, participants identify the phases of the collective construction site and their personal implication. The third workshop corresponds to the collective construction site, during which participants are called to engage physically in the implementation of the *wet* infrastructure within individual and collective gardens. The three workshops are collective moments during which a multiplicity of actors participates in the *wet* infrastructure design and implementation: from individual inhabitants to citizens associations, and from researchers to institution representatives.

In this section, two examples of *wet* infrastructure implementations part of *BrusseauBis* are briefly presented: Sebastien's individual domestic garden and the collective garden of the social housing Strauwen. Sebastien's individual domestic garden displays the typological architectural features of a *maison bruxelloise* garden. It is an elongated garden within a private residential parcel, where two third of the surface are dedicated to it and one third to the building. In Sebastien's case, he is the sole owner. The collective garden of the social housing of Strauwen has a more complex spatial and management structure. It is part of an ensemble of social housing buildings of five floors, located in the centre of an urban block surrounded by private residential parcels. The social housing buildings are separated from each other by collective gardens. The social housing is built on a public parcel managed by a private manager. One of the gardens is a collective vegetable garden managed by a group of inhabitants of the social housing. The *wet* infrastructure implementation focuses on the collective vegetable garden and the contiguous garden. Both *wet* infrastructure implementations undergo the multi-actor co-design process. Within the case of Sebastien's garden, he, his neighbours, one representative of the municipality, and researchers attend the three moments. In this way, design choices have been discussed together, by sharing the knowledge of each participant in order to define the collective *wet* infrastructure to transform Sebastian's garden. The result is an infiltration basin that expresses the potential of vegetation and ground of soaking the rain redirected from the roof; a small wetland in the middle of the infiltration basin provides a water body for insects and birds; a *dry* lawn allows Sebastien and his son to play ping-pong [fig. 3]. The design results are implemented during the collective construction site during which all the actors engage physically to put in place the collective choices. The *wet* implementation in Sebastian's garden has reverberations in the neighbourhood and beyond. It attracted the attention of other inhabitants to transform their own garden and become part of the decentralised infrastructure.

<figure><img src="image_172.png" /><figcaption>[Fig. 3] The *wet/dry* design project of Sebastien's domestic garden
Source: elaborated by the author</figcaption></figure>
The *wet* implementation within the collective garden in the social housing Strauwen is driven by the need to renovate the vegetable garden, which was underused because of a poor drainage system and the presence of rats. The vegetable garden collective and the socio-cohesion no-profit organisation<fnref n="9" /> collaborate together with researchers to design the *wet* infrastructure. The co-design sketch merges the collective’s needs and willing with the *wet* infrastructure to valorise roof rainwater flows for reuse and infiltration. The proposed *wet* design also extends into the adjacent garden. Within the vegetable garden, the *wet* infrastructure provides rainwater to a storage tank for watering plants, while its overflow is diverted into an infiltration ditch. The adjacent garden is instead equipped with devices for *wet* and *dry* practices: a vegetated infiltration basin intercepts rainwater from the roof; and a cloth-drying rack system becomes a modular shelter to host inhabitants’ outdoor activities. The collective construction site has been the occasion to invite participants outside the inhabitant collective. Students from architecture and landscape architecture universities<fnref n="10" />, institutional representatives and associations join the group of inhabitants, researches, and professionals [fig. 4]. The process involving such a variety of participants shows that not all actions are accessible to everyone, even if low-tech design does not require great technical skills. The self-construction of a *wet* infrastructure is a set of actions that have different effort gradients. In this regard, digging the ground to build an infiltration basin requires a particular effort, whereas, for example, planting is a more encompassing action because it is less labour-intensive and therefore involves a wider public (e.g. children).

<figure><img src="image_173.png" /></figure>

[Fig. 4] The construction site in the collective garden of the social housing of Strauwen: view on the vegetated infiltration basin in the adjacent garden. Source: Bruno Dias Ventura

## Rainwater as common-pool resource via *wet* design and multi-actor governance

The *wet* experiment *BrusseauBis* explores both the physical transformation of the water drainage infrastructure and new methods of multi-actor governance to support the sustainable transition that the BCR aims to enable. To this extend, the *wet* experiment expands its regard to hybrid forms of design and governance structures towards *wetness*, where rainwater is the backbone of the demanded cultural shift. *Wetness* emphasises the hybrid condition to design for/with rainwater. This means to deal with continuous negotiation, uncertainty, porous edges, and incessant transformation (Metta 2017). *Wet* infrastructure design proposes an infrastructure that opens up to a multiplicity of *dry* and *wet* conditions and practices. It introduces gradients of *wetness*, where rain and humans are equally living actors negotiating, sometimes together and sometimes against, in dense urban environments (Aït-Touati, Arènes, Grégoire 2019). This negotiation experiments with multi-actor forms of

<footnote n="9">⁹ In the BCR, most social housing blocks have a corresponding no-profit organization that launches and monitors social cohesion projects. These projects are defined together with the inhabitants. They can range from after-school activities for children to the formation of vegetable garden collective, as in the case of the social housing Strauwen. The no-profit organization is funded by the private manager.</footnote>

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ The collective construction site has framed within the *Semaine d'innovation pédagogique*, which is a series of annual workshops dedicated to students of the Faculty of Architecture La Cambre Horta of the Université libre de Bruxelles and of the landscape architecture program of the Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech-Université de Liège.</footnote>
governance, thus for studying how climate change experiments lead to possible new governance
changes (Köhler et al. 2019). *BrusseauBis* points out that even today, non-institutional actors (i.e. no-
profit organizations, community groups) are the most engaged profiles in climate change experiments
(Broto, Bulkeley 2012), although new collaborations between civil society and institutions need to be
increasingly established (Köhler et al. 2019). To trigger *wet* design and multi-actor governance for
*wetness*, the required cultural shift to give a different collective value to rainwater is needed. As
mentioned in the second paragraph, this means to shift from the current paradigm of *dryness* that
emphasizes the perception of rainwater as a source of problems (e.g. floods), to the one of *wetness*
that sees rainwater as a constitutive common-pool resource (CPR) for the everyday life. Currently
rainwater is not commonly accepted as a CPR, unlike surface water and groundwater (Ostrom 2008).
Embracing *wetness* means to enlarge the framework to comprehend that also rainwater is a CPR. As
defined by Ostrom (1999: 497), a CPR is a “natural or man-made resource from which it is difficult
to exclude or limit users once the resource is provided”. This definition underlines the pervasive
aspect of rainwater and its nonexcludable feature. If it is true that a CPR reaches (almost) every *body*,
it is incorrect to say that the management is unique. A CPR needs to be managed and it can be usually
managed by individual, collective, or governmental forms, although none of these works alone
efficiently (Ostrom 1999). Ostrom (2010: 552) suggests to manage CPR via a polycentric system that
is “characterized by multiple governing authorities at differing scales rather than a monocentric unit”.
In a polycentric system, each unit<fnref n="11" /> has to be engaged in its day-to-day activity in order to cope with
the climate actions. In this sense, Ostrom (2010: 553) expresses the importance of the household
scale unit to have an impact on the large scale. Differently from large scale units, households are
potentially more independent in climate action if they are well informed on the subject (Ostrom
2010). In addition to that, Ostrom (2010) continues that households can easily form stronger
reciprocal trust by working locally to engage neighbours in climate action. In particular, citizen
engagement, which is voluntary and not imposed, can lead to positive changes and is recognized as
a necessity for the integration of rainwater system at different scales (Dobre et al. 2018; Mees et al.
2018).

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# Water & sand: chronicles of collective trajectories from the valley of Bumbu river, Kinshasa (DRC)

Pietro Manaresi

UCLouvain, Louvain Institute for Landscape, Architecture and Built Environment, -SST-LAB-Super-Positions

Chiara Cavalieri & Jean-Philippe De Visscher

Expected thesis defence: 2026

pietro.manaresi@uclouvain.be

This paper focuses on the description of the urbanization of a sub-watershed of the Congo river nested in the dispersal urbanization of Kinshasa, within the administrative borders of the Selembao municipality: the Bumbu river watershed. If a diffused awareness of the structural weaknesses (i.e. hydrological as well as socio-ecological) of this territory is observable amongst scholars and public actors, a description of the specific socio-technical arrangements holding up this fragile geography is still lacking. After a five-month period of observation on site, the aim of the paper is to cross the existing narrative of risk of the watershed of Bumbu river with the description of social and spatial patterns of water and soil management, deploying a resource management-oriented perspective. Deepening the understanding of the socio-natural territory of the valley, the paper explores the role of water and soil as new ‘urban commons’ capable of shape place-based solidarities as well as place-based conflicts.

## Introduction

The mighty Congo river ahead, the sandy mountains crossed by its tributaries behind: the geography of the born site of Kinshasa can be read as the emblematic relation between these two elements, shaping a natural theatre where human trajectories overlap and intersect with hydrography and geology of the site, giving life to a never banal spectacle. The Bumbu river is part of the hydrological element shaping the south hilly region of this natural theatre. In the upstream part of its watershed, the municipality of Selembao is known as one of the cités des extension sud [fig.1]: one of the first territories hosting the demographic explosion Kinshasa experienced after the independence in 1960 (Lelo Nzusi 2011). Since then, it has been facing an increasing pressure of hydrogeological risks (i.e. landslides and flooding) due to fast paced and unplanned urbanization accentuated by more recent climate change effects.

<figure><img src="image_174.png" /><figcaption>[fig.1] Road pattern of Kinshasa in relation to terrain relief and the main hydrographic network, with the Selembao municipality shaded. Source: elaborated from the author.</figcaption></figure>
Despite its central position within the geography of Kinshasa, and due to its morphology, the valley is weakly connected to the public utilities. The access and management to urban resources (e.g. water, soil, electricity) are sustained by hybrid forms of governance based on the participation of several actors from public and private domain. These features granted to Selembao the official classification of “urban-rural municipality”, fostering (or perhaps just emphasising) the common perception of this territory as an urban margin, a peri-urban territory (Leloutre et al. 2021). In an interesting attempt of problematizing the kinois urban trajectories and imaginaries, Leloutre proposed a specific theoretical framework for the study of the kinois urbanization: the Mboka Bilanga (Leloutre 2019). In a more recent attempt of description, Selembao and the Bumbu river valley were taken as exemplary territory for showing off certain features of the Mboka Bilanga: (a) phenomenon of specific hybrid urbanity instead of generic physical transition space from urban to rural; (b) structuring presence of a socio-morphological gradient based on the topography; (c) territory implemented by place-based survival tactics, where the population itself is protagonist of the urbanisation process (Leloutre et al. 2021). This paper, in continuity with previous efforts of problematisation and spatialization of the kinois urban phenomenon, strives to add a piece to the understanding of this form of urbanity. In the following paragraphs, the intention is to establish a trans-scalar and trans-historical reading of two processes of struggle for access to the basic resources of soil and water. Through the observation of the access and management of two urban resources (i.e. potable water and soil) the article investigates the physical and social outputs of the urbanization of a sub-watershed of the Congo river nested in the dispersal urbanization of Kinshasa, within the administrative borders of the Selembao municipality: the valley of Bumbu river [fig.2].

<figure><img src="image_175.png" /><figcaption>[fig.2] General view of the valley landscape, 2018
Picture of author's own.</figcaption></figure>

## Water & Sand

Ideally re-placing Selembao at the core of the kinois urban conundrum, the paper looks at the urbanization process of Kinshasa as a tangled skein between water, soil and human settlement. From the point of view of the valley, this set of relations is more evident and structuring than in other parts of this city, reinforcing the bipolar and conflictual territorialities of *la ville* and *les cités* (D'Ascenzo 2013; Pain 1984) On one side we have the centre of the former colonial capital, *la ville*: on the alluvial plain where the networked urban city rose up eliding almost completely the relationship between human and physical environment, or at least making it unintelligible for its very inhabitants. In fact, if the space of the former colonial city still refurbishes the imaginary of the
proper, networked and effective city (D'Ascenzo 2010), it also represents the space of emancipation from the voluble logics of nature that structured the pre-colonial and pre-urban living habits (LeloNzusi 2008). On the other side, to look to the *cités* means to look to a sandy and hilly city where disconnections from urban networks and destructive landslides are structuring new post-colonial territorialities grounded in renovated relations between human, soil and water (D'Ascenzo 2013; De Boeck 2019). Taking the point of view of these latter territories, we seek to describe and analyse the geographies of access to land and water in the context of the kinois urbanization in order to reveal the logics of social exclusion embedded in the management and control of these two urban resources.

The question of access to basic urban resources (i.e. soil and water), together with their management within the urban ecosystem, brings us back to the inseparable link between man and nature -essential for political ecology- looking at the process of urbanization as the “historical-geographical process of the urbanisation of nature” (Swyngedouw, 2006a, p.106-107) structured through the creation of new socio-natural configurations and generating specific socio-ecological urban territories (see, among others: Swyngedouw, Heynen, Kaika 2006; Swyngedouw 2006b).

In the last decades, this theoretical field has been a fertile ground for the emergence of new approaches deepening the exploration of various socio-natural configurations, depending on the interaction between human settlement and different ecologic rationales. A first framework is given by Clark and Youssouf (2017) through the conceptualisation of a common field of exploration between earth and social science, where social and geological forces are irremediably entangled in what are defined “geosocial formations”. Taking the Anthropocene geoscience as paradigmatic turning point in the definition of the relations between social and geological forces, these scholars stress the importance of investigate the “socio-historical processes that configure human geologic agency”, in the seek for new interpretative models (Youssouf, Clark 2017).

A second framework comes from the study of the everyday water use praxis in urban context, leading to the recognition of “hydrosocial cycles” (Swyngedouw 2009). Through the observation of the urbanisation of water, the hydrosocial framework “examines how socio-natural arrangements and water politics either enhance or challenge the unequal distribution of resources and decision-making power in water governance: the mechanisms, structures, knowledge systems and discourses underpinning their operation” (Boelens et al., 2016, p.2). Both geo- and hydro- social perspectives suggest a site-specific approach in observing socio-natural dynamics deepen rooted in struggle processes for ‘access-to’ and ‘manage-of’ urban and natural resources: defining new social formations and geographies of power, as well as new socio-technical models for access and maintain natural resources over and below the urban soil (Swyngedouw 1997; Youssouf 2017).

The socio-natural assumption of the inseparability of social and geo/hydro-logic rationales constitutes the starting point for the exploration of two historic-geographies over the urban territory of Kinshasa: ‘the right for the land’ and ‘the right for water’.

The first geography is the more evident and banal product of the historical urban expansion of Kinshasa: from a pre-colonial settlement until the current urban explosion. This geography crystalizes the traces of different logics of inhabitations superposed on the south shores of the Malebo Pool: from indigenous settlements to contemporary urban present, the notion of “right for the land” has been shaped over different societal transformations, and associated with changing notions of “common resource”. At the same time, the right for the land opens to questions of socio-environmental justice while urbanization expands and pushes his dwellers to set up over fragile landscapes, in an attempt of domesticate the sandy nature of the soil. The historical geography of soil will be used as a narrative device capable of linking the socio-political narrative of kinois urbanisation with the geographical studies of the ecological limits of its territory.

The second geography seeks to unravel the historical geography of water control in the process of urbanization of Kinshasa. From the need of efficiency of the colonial machine until the recent efforts of social engineering for an equitable access to this resource, the struggle for access to potable water has always been the reflection of logics of exclusion and territorial organisation: the control upon water flow can be seen as a spatialization of power relations throughout the urban territory and through time (Swyngedouw 1997). From this political ecology perspective, water, thanks to its exchange value, has recently assumed a principal role in fostering and shaping new social geographies around its access and distribution. To explore the historic-geography of water
will allow to place recent water related conflicts and alliances in an historical perspective, nourishing
the reflection on the role of water as “urban common” capable of foster new place-based alliances
as well as place-based conflicts in Congolese urban worlds.

In the attempt to show how these two struggles are constantly intertwined in the valley, the paper is completed by two chronicles of collective trajectory: following the evolution of some specific social project, the aim is to highlight and question the imbrication of water and soil management in these territories. It emerges a description of the counter-geographies taking shape in the valley, giving rise to new social geographies and new socio-technical arrangements (Smith 2021) for common resources management: fundamentally challenging the logics of exclusion and control presented in each narrative of right to the city. Taking the point of view of these neglected territories pushed to the ecological margins of the city, the intention is to show the intertwining of right-to-the-city, and management-of-the-land in its most fragile areas: the hotspots of the socio-ecological challenges to which Kinshasa is increasingly exposed.

To approach the Congolese urban phenomenon from this twofold political ecology perspective, echoes the claiming from anthropological literature that new hybrid forms of city are taking the place of the old colonial logics in a process of re-appropriation of urban space and re-territorialisation both of its physical and social structure (Simone 2010; DeBoeck 2019; Trefon 2009). Lastly, the paper contributes to the unveiling of new communitarian modes of re-making the urban: inscribing the contemporary African city in an historical perspective, we seek for socio-spatial traces of continuity (and discontinuity) between pre-colonial world and “new” postcolonial urban realities (Robinson 2013).

I. *Right to the land*

Malebo Pool, the birth place of the contemporary Kinshasa, is the remnant of a Pliocene Congo
lake dammed by the uplift of the Atlantic Rise: a stepped series of fluvial terraces near flat surfaces
on both sides of the Pool (Runge 2008). Its western edge is characterised by a series of turbulent
rapids impossible to navigate through: it's the last navigable spot connecting the inner territories
with the Atlantic Ocean, a natural key spot for the extractive logics of the Belgian expedition. The
arrival of Norton Stanley at the end of 1870's defines the beginning of an irremediable upset of the
social geography of the site due to intrusive colonial land politics of control and exclusion: starting
from causing the rising of tensions for the control of the land between Humbu and Teke clans
inhabiting the Pool Malebo (De Saint Moulin 1971, De Boeck 2019). We can read the kinois
urbanization process as a societal process of meaning shift in the notion of land rights. From the
first Land Ownership Act of the Congo Free State in 1885, until the disestablishment of the
Belgian Congo in 1960, the colonial period has been punctuated by land reforms (Pain 1984)
superimposed with violence over complex pre-colonial territorial management systems organised at
the scale of the village: under the authority of a land chief, access to soil and resources where based
on traditional rules and beliefs, and inherited through lineage (Bortolami 2009, De Boeck 2019).
The colonial will of access and control over urban and productive soil is traduced by various legal
devices aiming at generate a denial of the pre-colonial spatial, social and political structures. The
creation of a new spatial order around Leopoldville, capital of the colony, was based on the
definition of urban zones clearly identified such as *cites indigènes* and *centres extra coutumiers* where
indigenous population could live confined, in exchange of labour (Pain 1984, Lelo Nzusi 2011). At
the end of 1950s, the city extended all over the alluvial plain, surrounded on the south by the sandy
hills, considered a natural barrier for the urbanisation due to their fragile soil. At this time, the
colonial land politics of spatial order already accentuated violent clan conflicts for the control of the
*cités indigènes* between Kongo populations from the Kongo Central and the populations coming
from the Bandundu region (Tshimanga, Verhaegen 2003).

After independence, in 1960, the urban territory became a veritable field of conflict between, on
one side, the population reclaiming their precolonial right over the land, and on the other side the
population of the so called ‘rural exodus’ came from the surrounding areas for political reasons. It’s
the period of the urbanisation under the slogan *sala ngolo zako*: “fend for yourself” or “debrouillez
vous” (Titeca, Malukisa Nkuku 2019; Kayembe 2020). Under this slogan the city expanded at an
incredible pace, trespassing the southern limit given by the topography and descending down to the
sandy valleys surrounding the plain.
<figure><img src="image_176.png" /><figcaption>[fig.3] 'Right to the land'
The urbanisation of soil in the valley of Bumbu river, Selembao (Kinshasa).</figcaption></figure>

Source: elaborated from the author.
This urban explosion wasn´t sustained by a real infrastructural project, the only anchor points for this urbanisation were the ridge roads, where new rich neighbourhoods have been built for the new Congolese upper class on the top of the southern hills, linked to basic urban supply system (e.g. water, electricity, drainage). Since then, the deforestation and parcellation of the sandy slopes are considered the origin of the erosive and flooding phenomena affecting the city until now and causing dozens of deaths each year. A shared consensus among researchers, recognize this calamity as an inevitable consequence of the nature of the soil in the southern region of the city (Lateef 2010; Van Caillie 1990), accelerated by human driven factors such as: informal settlement on the slope, inappropriate road construction, lack of drainage system (Makanzu et al. 2014; Girard, Delis 1985).

In the cartography of the right to the land [fig.3], the chronological reading of land occupation and soil degradation is coupled with the reading of the public rainwater-draining machine, letting emerge its functionalist logics of preserving the main roads and serving the rich neighbourhoods: in fact, the steepest parts of the slopes are not served by the drainage system, and, when the public authority intervenes, it does with the help of the public waste service transforming the landslides in veritable open-air landfill within the informal neighbourhoods. While increasingly attention is given to the social impact of these phenomena, the strategies implemented by the population itself are also at the core of different fieldwork researches (Kayembe 2020; Lopanza et al. 2020) highlighting the socio-ecological inequalities in the issue of soil management and rainwater drainage. In a territory such as the valley of Bumbu river, counting more than 750.000 inhabitants, where more than one third are living in risk prone areas, and marked by erosions since the 1960s (Kayembe, Wolff 2015), these hydrogeological questions are more and more infilled by social meaning, raising new speculative reflections about ‘cohabiting with’ aside from ‘fighting’ soil erosion. In fact, ancient gullies, already controlled and naturally re-filled with vegetation trough time, starts to be re-parcelled and to be sold to new residents looking for a cheap plot, or became a natural stash for illegal business.

Through the historical geography of the urbanisation of the soil, we can though see how the notion of ‘land right’ muted through time during this process. From a pre-urban notion of ‘common land’, subjected to notions of clan membership and heritage, towards a commodified good in the colonial period of land right reforms, breaking de facto the community-based land bonds and preparing the ground for individualistic arrangements of land property and soil management.

## II. Right to potable water

The pre-colonial settlement, at the end of the XIX century where structured through the hydrographic network of river and streams of the Pool: along the shore of the Congo and through the lines of its tributaries (De Saint Moulin 1971). The process of urbanization of the south shore of Pool Malebo, can also be read as a process of mastering and engineering of the flow of water necessary to satisfy the growing needs of the expanding station of Leopoldville before and Kinshasa today, at the expenses of its previous inhabitants and of the territory itself. From the end of XIX century the villages on the shore of the Congo river had already suffered the extension of the colonial station of Leopoldville, forced to relocate elsewhere. But, starting from 1929, the urbanization extended its limits over the physical built space towards the surrounding environment in the effort of satisfy the growing needs to sustain the demographic and economic growth of the station. The growing demand for regular water supply from the growing private factories, pushed the colony rulers to build the first pumping station in the watershed of one of the Congo river's tributaries, forcing the villages settled all along this watershed to relocate in order to preserve the quality of the pumping station (De Saint Moulin 1971): the new networked system started then to stand against the traditional systems of land owning and water access, reinforcing the intrusive logics of colonial territorial management. In 1939 the *Régie des Distributions d'eau* (REGIDESO) was created by the colonial government, as company of public-utility. At its creation, the REGIDESO adopted a distribution system based on three different modalities: private taps in domestic house, neighbour taps for groups of two or three families, public standpipe for proximity users (JICA 1990). Until 1960 the spatialization of these practices is the reflection of segregation logics adopted by colonial rulers: the domestic and private tap of the colonial city centre stand against the public standpipe of the indigenous workers' city extension.
<figure><img src="image_177.png" /><figcaption>[fig.4] 'Right to potable water'
The urbanisation of water in the valley of Bumbu river, Selembao (Kinshasa).
Source: elaborated from the author</figcaption></figure>
After 1960 the demographic explosion that upset the relation between city and soil, had a severe impact on the urban water supply system: the infrastructures designed to serve about 400.000 inhabitants had to be confronted to the doubling of urban population by the end of 1970s (Lelo Nzusi 2011) revealing the crucial role of natural water resources of this territory marked by the tributaries streams of Congo river and abundant rainfall (Lateef 2010). Tributary rivers though, hosting handmade wells and sources at the bottom of the valleys, can be read as the main natural infrastructure enabling city expansion soon after independence, and still sustaining it. In fact, ever since 1960, the REGIDESO, monopolist of the water distribution in the country, has never been able to fill the gap between water demand and water supply capacity: during the Mobutist regime, the implementation of the urban network has never pursued technical efficiency, rather it followed financial interests related to international development projects (Maratcho, Trefon 2004). The result is a twofold distribution network where the inefficiency of water supply system is coupled by the abundance of natural water resources (Katalayi Mutombo 2014), raising significant concern among researchers about the impact of urbanization over water quality, and reinforcing the socio-environmental gap introduced in the previous paragraph.

The year 2016 marks a significant turning point in the potable water supply management, a new law is adopted that liberalize the extraction, distribution and selling of potable water (Loi sur l'eau, 2016): putting an end to the monopole of REGIDESO in water management and facilitating private investment in the sector. The stakeholder list in the distribution of potable water has considerably enriched since then, increasing competitiveness among actors and the spread of several private initiatives notably in the sector of boreholes for exploiting groundwater. Moreover, in the last decade, various projects of decentralized water supply systems, financed by various international donors, emerged in Kinshasa (Bedecarrats et al. 2019, Cammaerts et al. 2021): especially in the valleys, where inaccessibility due to erosions and landslides have turned these geographically central territories in veritable peripherical spot of the urban network supply (JICA 2009). Basically, the decentralised mini-networks (RADEP: Réseau de Distribution d'Eau Potable) work on a borehole-pump-reservoir system linked through an underground network to public standpipes hosted by private plots, distributed at the scale of a neighbourhood. The main feature of these projects is the will for structuring non-profit organizations, run by a water network users' association, structured around the management of the decentralized system.

The cartography of the right to potable water [fig.4] shows the disruptive role of topography and landslides, leaving the water wells and natural springs of the valley floor a major role in the fight for the access to potable water. However, the ongoing shift from a centralized network towards collective decentralized water systems, seems to be an effective approach for filling the gap left by the deterioration of the former urban network and for building new place-based alliances towards the recognition of potable (ground) water as a new 'urban common'.

## Chronicles of collective trajectories

If the geographies of the 'right to the land' and 'right to potable water' helped to depict the marginal role of the valleys in the kinois urbanization, through two chronicles of collective trajectories, the article aims in this section to investigate the role of water (especially drinking water) and sand (as fragile and erodible soil) in shaping new socio-spatial geographies within the territory of the Bumbu river valley. We can then consider them as 'counter-geographies', where access-to and management-of the two urban resources are the operations that give life to collective chronicles of struggle: the specific trajectories observed aim to investigate the potentials as well as the limits of such arrangements. In both cases, the entanglement of soil and water management lay bare the systemic relations between human, water and sand that structure this neglected urbanity.<fnref n="1" />

### *Cronicle I : (un)Building commons to cope with water shortages, the RADEP.*

The creation of the RADEP/KONDE (Réseau de Distribution d'Eau Potable, quartier Konde) goes back to 2011. It is a pilot project of an EU-funded program for the creation of an Association sans but lucratif à vocation socio-économique et sanitaire to compensate for the lack drinking water supply due to

<footnote n="1">¹ Both chronicles are the result of the on field research carried out in two separate moments: from march to June 2022 and from march to may 2023.</footnote>
the landslides affecting the neighbourhood since 1970s. The social structure of the association, organised at the neighbourhood scale, is rooted in a broad base of citizen participation: the supreme management body is the General Assembly (GA), composed of one representative per street, accompanied by a Management Unit (MU), elected by the Assembly itself. The economic structure is based on membership fees, which must allow the proper functioning of the common infrastructure, aiming to the reinforcement and extension of the drinking water network. The supervision of the project in undertaken by EU during the launching phase (2011-2015) then taken over by the Ministry of rural development.

In between 2011 and 2015 the distribution network operates as planned: the reinvestments for the maintenance and extension of the network not only grant a proper access to drinking water in the neighbourhood, but it also has positive impacts on territorial management. In fact, since the infrastructure is installed through the road network, it stimulates the take in charge of the roads maintenance, reducing the erosion risk and then providing a community-based system of landslides risk prevention. Fulfilling the need to access drinking water in an unserved area, the social project of RADEP, stimulates a community-based organisation for the protection and development of a common resource: the sandy and erosive soil. In other words, the intention is to promote the common management of urban resources (soil and water) by creating new urban commons based on the needs for access to drinking water ('right to potable water') and the management of erosive soil ('right to the land'). In 2014, thanks to the support of EU program and the reinvestments of the community participation fees, a new borehole-pump-reservoir system was added to the first network, doubling impact area of the distribution system.

However, in 2016, bitter conflicts arise within the GA, undermining the community-based principles on which the arrangement had hitherto been based. It is a turning point: the director of RADEP is ousted and a new private Management Committee (MC) takes the place of the MU, changing the statutes and functioning of the entire RADEP. If, from a technical point of view, the infrastructure does not change, the social organisation changes severely: the AG is dissolved and the membership fee is replaced by a payment system based on consumption. This situation has recently come to the attention of the State, which in 2020 took in charge the supervision of the new structure. In October 2020, the new MC is recognised by the public authority as a 'Crisis Committee' (CC), admitting the ineffectiveness of the previous community-based system with respect to a hierarchical system.

From the point of view of land management and erosion control management, these structural modifications have not caused much change. The virtuous mechanism of access to drinking water and reinvestment in land maintenance is still evident today, but some questions remain from the point of view of service equity. First of all, the taking over of the works by a small group of people supervised by the state has denoted a clear change in the approach to reinvestment: the enlargement of the distribution network is no longer a priority, and the lack of representatives of the population in the CC seems to be a way to avoid to further deal with the issue. It follows, from a spatial point of view, that the network still does not supply the most critical plots (i.e. those on slopes, at risk of erosion), limiting the possible social impact of the original project and emphasising the role of the slope as a factor of social exclusion. Even if potable water supply is still the priority, the socio-technical arrangement has undergone an evident and continuous change over time: mirroring the adaptability of the original social project with respect to the contextual contingencies. What emerges from this example is how an attempt to make water an 'urban common', capable of enhancing a communitarian management of the territory, eventually lead to the emergence of a hybrid, public-private, system that allows for the basic functioning of the infrastructure, dealing with the social conflicts linked to the management of the water resource and its revenues.

*Chronicle II : new collaborative approaches for fighting against landslides.*

The *Collectif en Esprit Bananier* (CEB) is a local NGO providing grassroots strategies and technical support to populations living in risky and inaccessible areas of the city: subject to soil landslide risk and water scarcity. Its motto reflects the philosophy of its approach: “(as banana trees) aware of our individual weakness, we act together”. It operates in Selembao, developing erosion control and recovery systems to recuperate soil loss after landslides. The intervention consists of two complementary actions: firstly, the securing of the gully head to stop its progression upstream,
secondly, the installation of sandbag dams at the bottom of the erosion. Thanks to the accumulation of deposit due to runoff, the dams are gradually raised, until the recover the pre-erosion soil level. To carry out its interventions, CEB relies on the support of the inhabitants affected by the erosions who are asked to associate into informal groups called *comité de lutte* or *comité de développement*, reassembling people living in the gully's watershed: the runoff surface contributing to its advancement. However, such intervention is not always welcomed by the inhabitants: not all the owners of the lost plots support the project of stabilisation and recovery. In the best-case scenario, before starting the operations, the ONG or the new born committee are forced to buy the space previously occupied by the plots and now swollen away by the landslide. In fact, the cohabitation with erosion has led people to consider it a passing phenomenon: "like a seasonal rain, once the gully head has passed, the danger is over". People never stopped to build inside these holes, temporary regaining (until the next catastrophic event) the lost ground.

The repeated failures of the CEB in the communitarian anti-erosion fight led them to initiate a new type of approach: in order to strengthen cohesion between committee members and to motivate people living nearby, they started testing an anti-erosion fight model based on the combined action of access to drinking water and recovery of soil loss. The *forage antiérosif* ("anti-erosive water well") is based on the creation of a hand-made drill well at the bottom of the erosion: where the dept of the gully allows to reach the water table without heavy machineries, unusable due to the inaccessibility of the slopes.

The results of this approach are evident: the perspective of the creation of a decentred water distribution system in a non-deserved area, serves as encouragement to allow the access to the soil of the erosion and to promote collective effort, extremely facilitating effective interventions in the gullies. In fact, if during the rainy season the priority is to recover soil, during the dry season the forage can operate at full capacity: at the time of greatest need and gain. To foster collaboration between NGOs and communities, the management and the incomes of the new technical arrangement is thus divided between several actors: NGOs, committee and private owners of the plots hosting the boreholes and taps for water distribution. Technically, once the gully head is blocked and the dikes are placed on the bed of the erosion, the water well is placed on the side of the runoff channel at the bottom of the erosion. As the soil level raises, PVC pipes are added to the borehole allowing the simultaneous rising of the drinking infrastructure.

This example represents a very basic but effective socio-technical arrangement, which show us how an individualistic approach to soil management can be overcome through the creation of new forms of communitarian land management, tackling the access to more resources at once in order to overcome the conflicting rationalities underlying its creation. But, despite the effectiveness of this approach, these arrangements are still fragile: collaboration is always based on personal interests and aspirations that often override the public interest. To cite a recent example: in one of the forages created last year, a prototype of the *forage antiérosif*, the collaboration between private owners and the association lasted a few months. Just long enough for rising quarrels and misunderstandings over the management of drinking water revenue. Once the fight against erosion is won, social cohesion has been undermined by the fight around the commodification value of drinking water. But here the aim is not to show or propose efficient or flawed land management systems, rather we try to make a transversal reading of the logics that guide the management of a marginal territory.

## Conclusions

The two geographies of the 'right to the land' and 'right to potable water' tell us about the marginal role of the Selembao municipality in the urban geography: an "urban-rural" municipality surrounded by the network of narrow streets and urban junctions. It is considered a leftover of an extensive urbanisation structured around veritable urban holes, the valleys. These voids invite a stigmatizing representation of this type of settlement, result of an uncontrolled and deregulated human settlement. From the water access point of view, the valley floor remains an off-grid area in relation to the weak water supply network. At the same time, the landslides affecting this territory are left out of public intervention, unless they affect the main ridge roads circumscribing the valley. In spite of this, and precisely because of this "marginal" role in the *kinois* urban discourse, this space is characterized by a process of stratification capable of tracing an historical continuum between
indigenous settlements, colonial urbanization, post-colonial settlement and contemporary densification: towards new hybrid forms of territorial governance, challenging its dichotomous categorizations. First: ‘centre-periphery’, in the relativization of the geographical position compared to the mental and social one. Second: ‘public-private’, through the study of the complex relations between different stakeholders involved, included human and non-human. Third: ‘upstream-downstream’, in the imbrication of the fight for access to potable water and urban soil revealing the social gradient existing between these two extremities.

Looking beyond these categorizations, the article contributes to the socio-spatial delineation of "new" urban forms (Robinson 2013) taking place in contemporary Congolese urban realities. In order to nuance the "decentralization-privatization-participation" approach dear to developmental studies (Jaglin et al. 2018), a focus on the stubborn and conflictual rationalities (Watson 2013; Yiftachel 2006) supporting urban resources management is proposed: favouring the appearance and delineation of the "practical norms" underlying the production of hybrid forms of governance, rather than proposing "good governance" perspectives (De Sardan 2015).

In this sense, the chronicles of collective trajectories open a path towards the recognition of new collectives based on proximity and on sharing a ‘common ground’ at the socio-ecological margins of the city: suggesting a paradigm shift from the precolonial notion of ‘common land’. This common ground has been left in the hands of the most precarious city dwellers, along with the burden of the management of its sandy soil. Here, the study of the imbricated practices of water and soil management, and their evolution through time, reveal the essential role of transversal systemic relationships embedded in the social organization of this territory. The soil stability (sand) in fact, is not a priority: apart from massive public intervention for recovering major urban infrastructure after catastrophic events occurrence, the rest is in the hands of individual and sporadic initiatives of those directly concerned. In order to motivate people to act collectively and to increase effectiveness of development projects, local NGOs (Chronicle II) and international donors (Chronicle I) implement strategies to combine water access and soil control needs, in order to avoid land access conflicts and to increase the rentability of their strategy. What emerges from this narrative is the image of a territory in which urban resources management is in constant balance between ecological rationality and personal interests for profit. Sometimes the logic of profit prevails, undermining virtuous collective management systems and causing their mutation, or collapse. Other times the logic of protecting endangered resources prevails, favouring the creation of community forms of management and the creation of urban commons.

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# Developing Spatio-Temporal Mappings of the Polder Landscape in the Yangtze River Delta based on Educative Speculations

Wei Lei

OSA, International Centre of Urbanism, Faculty of Engineering Science, KU Leuven

Kelly Shannon, Bruno De Meulder

February, 2025

wei.lei@student.kuleuven.be

As part of the doctoral research studying landscape urbanism in a polder (Wei-Tian)-based area in China's Yangtze River Delta (YRD), speculative mapping is an approach to site analysis and bridge gaps from spatiotemporal perspectives. Based on observation, the paper linked the potential emergence of the characteristics of Chinese mappings to the invisible polder systems. To examine the idea, a framework of speculative mapping and a chosen site are introduced. Followed by a series of mappings, a narrative of urbanism is embedded. By comparatively observing the historical and the created pieces, initial findings are discussed on the necessity of mapping as a method, the inheritance of water-land representations, and the identity of the indigenous polder-based landscape behind it. It is inspired that under modern urbanization the historical ways of mapping the site provide referable interpretations to enhance the indigenous polder-based landscape.

## Intro

Mapping involves a subjective interpretation of the site based on objective observations, which can be interpreted as conveying the critical site perception and cognition with creative illustrations (Corner 1999; Crampton, Krygier 2018). The emergence of Chinese map-making in a scientific way can be traced back to Xiu Pei (224-271 AD), a cartographer who proposed the concept of "six components of mapping" (scale, orientation, road distance, elevation, gradient, and curvature). However, it has been observed that the six components were not rigorously adhered to as principles in practical application, and in some cases, they were entirely absent in a range of stylistically diverse works (Yee 1994). There is an ongoing debate regarding the appropriate approach to studying ancient cartography. One perspective advocates for a quantitative analysis of the science and technology involved in achieving accuracy, while the other perspective emphasizes a qualitative interpretation of the maps as a means of communication and expression, which may intentionally incorporate artistic, cultural, and political elements (Harley 1989). Different from reproduction or imposition of geographical features through direct tracing, the process of mapping is often found to reveal previously unseen or unimagined realities through the use of open-ended and creative techniques employed by the cartographer (Corner 1999). The process of mapping has led to the depiction of more conspicuous variations, which may have been deliberately introduced. It is important to observe and provide speculative explanations for those variations that are based on historical interpretive illustrations.

For the YRD, deltaic urbanism can be traced for thousands of years. Mapping water and land is an ever-lasting challenge, especially when considering their spatial and temporal characteristics. From a historical hydraulic perspective, the instability of the landscape largely refers to the reshaping caused by flow, land subsidence, and human intervention throughout decades and centuries (Miu 1985; Zheng 1987; Wang 2016). The pre-modern era is characterized by a dearth of references owing to the limitations of techniques and inadequate preservation of materials. While in the later era, the integration of modern technologies with geo-coordinated satellite images has facilitated site observation. Despite its usefulness, mapping is still challenged by the selection and visualization of details echoing that in ancient pieces, which inevitably entails emphasis and exclusion. Moreover, modern urban sprawl is facilitated by enhanced control of water through vast engineering based on historical practices. Significant transformations are hypothesized to pose a challenge in mapping the site with a potential alternative understanding of the indigenous water-based practices, that perished, preserved, and transformed. The research applies site-specific examples to examine the linkage of mappings from a spatiotemporal perspective. It gains knowledge from making new mappings to understanding water urbanism diachronically.
# Water-land illustrations from a historical perspective

## Overview of the available mappings

The YRD, being a historical hub of China, has a considerable amount of mappings preserved. Nevertheless, they do not possess the ideal level of abundance across all dynasties. In general, the availability is in accordance with the development and preservation of Chinese cartographies. The chronology of cartography in Chinese monographs typically employs a division at the end of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 AD) (Cao, 1900). The main reason is that before the Yuan dynasty, the majority of mappings were either attested to merely in literary or preserved through subsequent copies (Yee, 1994). Contemporary scholars have produced mappings that cover dynasties (Guo, 1979; Tan, 1982), but the majority of these works tend to focus on national and provincial scales. Similar circumstances can be discerned in the mappings encompassing or situated in the YRD. Depictions of the delta's shape on a national scale can be traced back to the 13th century, whereas mappings of the delta on a smaller scale can only be traced back to the 17th century. During the early years of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), Chinese cartographers started to be influenced by Western techniques and created pieces more in a modern way. Or, in essence, the Western approach to cartography has regenerated Pei's six elements of cartography. Mappings that feature scales and intricate depictions of civic settlements, land-water contours, and other details were then predominantly produced. In short, the zenith of referable ancient maps falls only within the last five hundred years.

## Mainstream deltaic land-water representations

Scholars have recognised the different kinds of ancient mappings based on the main content (Harley, Woodward, 1994). For the plan mappings, as the major type, land and water are quite articulated, while cities and towns are often only visible as labels. Water is thus an alternative entity to indirectly understand urbanism from the mappings, particularly for the deltaic region for its nature of being water sensitive. Three summarised co-existed styles of mapping depicting the deltaic water environment are referred to (Ding 2011): the hydrographic net representation [fig.1, no.1], the densified water representation [fig. 1, no.2], and the hybrid of the two [fig.1, no.3]. According to such categorization, the critical difference between the representations is whether to ignore the dense water or to sacrifice the hydro hierarchy of the main tributaries. The hydrographic net representation is the most classic style, initially applied in mappings of the national territorial scales. It is considered relatively rational and quantitative as it is often proven to meet the archaeological facts of the elements' spatial relations. Deemed as an opposite, the densified water representation is described as a scale-adaptive innovation inspired by Song dynasty (960-1279AD)'s impressionism drawings. Under this style, the lowland is mapped with a chase for symbolic similarity of the scenic impression. The mode of representation is hereby explained by styles while deeming it as "a situated knowledge construing the site" (J.Burns, Kahn 2005) is less revealed and expressed.

<figure><img src="image_178.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_179.png" /></figure>

(1) Provincial Atlas of the Great Qing 大清分省輿图 (unknown author, 1760);
(2) Water Conservancy Map of the Entire Suzhou Prefecture 苏州府全境水利图 (Zhang, 1638);
(3) Military Map of Jiangnan Corps 江南水陆营汛全图 (unknown author, 1843)

<caption>[fig.1] Selected mapping examples corresponding to the summarized three styles. Source: from (1) (3)数位方輿; (2) 《中国古代地图集 (明代)》</caption>

As shown in the examples, although the depicted land's texture bears an obvious resemblance to that of nowadays polder areas, particularly in the mapping pieces under the style of the densified water representation, it does not depict polders at all. The polder-based landscape is uncommonly mapped, even in those pieces that focus on much smaller city and town scales. Despite their absence from cartographic representations, the historical linkage between polder reclamation and water management was undoubtedly recognized by ancient practitioners (Wang, et.al. 1980; Miu 1985). It is thus speculated that the development of the polder system plays a crucial role in the mapping of the land and water where the polders are located. The alteration in cartographic representation is associated with the progressive development of polder systems and human settlements, rather than a mere deviation towards an alternative artistic style. The knowledge of polder-based water urbanism is linked to how cartographers think of the site and then utilise the graphics as a tool.

## Invisible polders behind

The water-land illustrations that have changed over time are supposed to be associated with the historical discourse regarding the prioritization of water versus reclamation. From the hydro hierarchy of the main tributaries to the non-hierarchical water net, the change seems to eco the switches. The hydrographic network representation can be regarded as a response to the imperative of prioritizing transportation along major canals and rivers. It is easily observed that non-primary waterways for transportation are often overlooked, where cartographers intentionally amalgamated small land masses into larger ones. The shift from water transportation to flood control and polder management during the later dynasties can be attributed to extensive land reclamation. The increased frequency of flooding has resulted in a growing significance of managing waterways aside from the major canals and big rivers. The emergence of settlements, particularly the prominent market towns, necessitated the accentuation of the contour of the primary land masses to indicate their locations. Despite the absence of direct representation of polders in those cartographic depictions, it can be speculated that the selected land masses that were illustrated had been reclaimed and inhabited because of a prevalent graphic technique that omits extraneous details.

In general, the polders in the YRD region exhibit a tendency towards significant variations in size [figure.2]. The early ancestors initiated small-scale reclamations in the lowland, which were subsequently followed by the introduction of gridded polders through garrison reclamation by the kingdoms between the 3rd and the end of the 10th century. According to the description provided, such gridded polders were big enough to compare to a large walled city<fnref n="1" />. The giant polders characterized by elevated embankments and extensive irrigation channels underwent gradual

<footnote n="1">¹ Tang-Pu (塘浦): Tang (embankments)-Pu(ditches) is a polder system initially created by the garrison reclamation. Such polder units used to be gridded and giant, described as "garrison bases are arranged like the combs, governmental agencies are set up like the chess on the board." (“屯营栉比，靡署棋布。”左思记载于《吴都赋》), and “2.5-3.5km per longitudinal Lou, 3.5-5km per horizontal Pu.” (“五里七里一纵浦,七里十里为一横塘。”).</footnote>
degradation and alteration due to the loose management of the central government, taking place by the smaller polders. The emerged smaller polders are speculated to present significant challenges to cartographers because they were less resilient to flooding and thus often changed in their shapes. And many were recorded to be vast uncontrollable illegal reclamation in the lower areas (Wang 2016). After the feudal period, it is noteworthy that the modern agricultural social campaigns have reintroduced a comparably large-scale polder system to the YRD, making polders bigger and stabler, and thus easier to be mapped. With the shapes of the traditional small-scale polders being predominantly preserved rather than being restructured into the historical gridded pattern, such a polder system is somehow a hybrid of modern engineering and the two different indigenous practices. The correlation between water management and the reclamation of polders, as well as the resulting alterations to the landscape, ought to be associated with the various cartographic techniques employed.

## EVOLVED POLDER TYPES

<figure><img src="image_180.png" /></figure>

[fig.2] The evolved polder types throughout history. In general, there is a trend of a reiterative switch from small polders to big polders, from loose bottom-up management to strong top-down control. Source: elaborated by the author based on references (Miu 1985; Xie 2017).

## Method and Study Case

In this study, it is posited that indigenous mapping techniques hold significant value in comprehending the historical utilization of water-based practices. It is essential to recognise not only the indigenous ways of depicting the deltaic waterscape through mapping but also the similarities that might be shared in mapping practices nowadays and thus acknowledge the legacy of the indigenous landscape. Conducting experimental mapping based on a specific site is deemed a chance to directly examine the appropriateness and indispensability of various visual representations. The mapping is a process of hybridizing the cross-disciplinary findings and bridging the gaps of insufficient visualised spatiotemporal materials based on educative speculations. The depiction of details in historical mapping poses an alternative reference, particularly concerning the intentional omission of the predominant regional polder-based landscape and settlement shapes. The study posits that the traditional methods of mapping retain a degree of relevance in certain contexts. Numerous research findings have been put forth to elucidate their rationales (Ye 1994; Yu 2006; Ding 2011), while the
knowledge is mostly only based on historical pieces. As a further way to approach the mappings, new spatially and temporally consistent mappings based on synthesised historical materials, cross-disciplinary conclusions, and necessary educative speculation has been experimented with [figure 3].

<figure><img src="image_181.png" /><figcaption>[fig.3] The procedure of educative mapping based on materials of speculations, source: elaborated by author.</figcaption></figure>

The sample area is a site of 30km x 20km in Wujiang, a county of Suzhou, located on the east bank of Taihu Lake [fig.4 and 5]. The scale of the site is in between the delta scale and the city (town) scale, which is less common in historical mappings. Utilizing this scale in between avoids becoming bogged down in the intricate geographic details of the complete delta while retaining an extensive scope. The sample is a typical water-sensitive lowland of proven significant landscape change throughout history (Wang 2016). Owning a tributary joint of major canals has given rise to the development of historical water-based agriculture, industry, towns, and villages over an extended period. During the contemporary era, as a suburban area belonging to the metropolis, rapid urbanisation and fast sprawl based on the ancient water towns can be observed. Nonetheless, for the limitation of the typology, plenty of lakes, canals, and polders are not erased and continue to operate. Bearing profound environmental changes, it is a rather peculiar piece of lowland in the YRD where the reclamation is delayed, resulting in a landscape that is primarily characterized by the presence of Hu (lake)-Dang (ponds) polders. It is one of the certain regions that still bear similarities to the indigenous polder-based landscape concerning the vast urbanization and the loss of the indigenous landscape in the YRD. The site's historical evolution is categorized into three distinct phases based on the succession of dynasties and the advancement of canal engineering, settlements, and reclamation efforts. A variety of historical cartographic materials have been chosen and listed as visual aids for each phase [table.1].
<figure><img src="image_182.png" /><figcaption>[fig.4] Typology and the main water network of the YRD and the location of the selected sample (30km x 20km). Source: elaborated by the author from China Geological Survey, GeoCloud.</figcaption></figure>

<caption>[fig.5] Major canals and several historical water towns can be found in the 30km x 20km sample : (1) the Taihu Lake ; (2) the Taipu Canal ; (3) the Ditang Canal ; (4) the Lanxi Canal ; (5) the Grand Canal ; (6) Zhenze (town) ; (7) Pingwang (town) ; (8) Shengze (town) ; (9) Lili (town). Source: elaborated by the author from Google Earth.</caption>

<table><caption>Table 1: Level of the speculations according to the mapping references. The criteria of mapping selection are based on the availability of the limited mappings containing readable and referable information.</caption><thead><tr><th>Divided Stages</th><th>Speculation</th><th>Main referable map(pings)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Stage 1<br>(circa 200-1350)</td><td>High</td><td>/</td></tr><tr><td>Stage 2<br>(circa 1350-1930)</td><td>Medium-high</td><td>Water Conservancy Map of the Seven Southeastern Cities 东南水利七府总图, and Panorama of Taihu Lake 太湖全图, made by Qi Shen, circa 1500, Water Conservancy Survey of Wujiang County 吴江水考增辑;<br>Panorama of Taihu Lake 太湖全图,1748, Chorography of Suzhou during Emperor Qianlong;<br>Map of Wujiang County and Zhenze County 震泽吴江两县图, circa 1870, Chorography of Suzhou during Emperor Tongzhi;<br>Panorama of Wujiang County 旧吴江县全境图, 1893, Chorography of Zhenze County during Emperor Guangxu;<br>Military Map of Jiangnan Corps 江南水陆营汛全图, 1843, Academia Sinica;<br>1893 Wade and Villard Hunting Map of Shanghai and its Environs, 1893, Greograohicus;<br>1:450000 Map of the shooting districts lying between Hangchow-Nanking-Wuhu and Shanghai, made by Fred Mann, 1909, Virtual Shanghai;<br>1:240000 General map showing the district around and the approaches to Shanghai, 1920, made by Whangpoo Conservancy Board, Virtual Shanghai;<br>1:250000 Shanghai and Hangzhou, made by War Office. General Staff. Geographical Section. Ordnance Survey Office, 1927, Virtual Shanghai;<br>1:5000, map_loc_052865 平望鎮 (Pingwang), 1937, Academia Sinica;<br>1:5000, map_loc_052863 震澤鎮 (Zhenze), 1929, Academia Sinica;<br>1:10000, map_loc_008350 吴江縣 (Wujiang), 1931, Academia Sinica;</td></tr><tr><td>Stage 3<br>(circa 1930-now)</td><td>Low</td><td>1:250000 Shanghai West and Hang-Chou, made by the United States Army Map Service, 1959, Old Maps Online;<br>Satellite images captured by the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft in 1976, USGS Eather Explorer;<br>Satellite images ((low resolution available from 1984)), Google Earth;<br>Satellite images, Google Earth;</td></tr></tbody></table>
### 3. Spatio-temporal mapping with the narrative of urbanism

The mappings that were experimented with exhibit a resemblance to the depictions found in historical artefacts, where the primary subjects were depicted on land and water. Prior to showcasing the final artwork, various sketches of illustrations are experimented with. The land is deliberately kept unoccupied, akin to the historical ones. Additionally and differently, semitransparency is employed to denote unstable land pieces. Given that the selected site only formed a substantial amount of stable land masses by the end of the first millennium, and subsequently experienced intermittent scar cities of arable land, it is reasonable to classify all of the stable land masses depicted in the maps as reclaimed polders. Except for that, the new mappings are accompanied by directional indicators of the water flower, while the historical pieces lack such features. The purpose of these extra elements is to highlight the significance of several monographs that place great emphasis on the development of deltaic typology and aquatic environments (Miu 1985; Zheng 1987; Wang 2016). Based on the new mappings, it appears that urbanization has solely taken place in the most recent phase. In fact, each phase has the potential to establish a robust connection with urbanism, especially when linking to the zoom-out regional perspectives. The mappings highlighted by the water are thus explained by text from the perspective of water-based urbanism.

#### Cross-scalar urban infrastructure

The engineering of China's canal system resulted in the creation of waterways and accompanying embankment roads that served as cross-scalar urban infrastructure (Vannoorbeek, Nolf 2019). Canals not only passed through many suburban areas, but they also defined the functions and spatial layouts of those areas (Wang 2019). Top-down functional positionings are primarily directed by the distant capital city and the numerous nearby provincial capitals. At this relatively small spatial scale, the first stage lacks any ancient mapping references, despite the canals conforming to the recognizable spatial layout. Historically, the canals were primarily utilized for military purposes, but over time, their function evolved to include the transportation of grain to the capital. Evidently, the excavation of the canals was not carried out with the intention of facilitating the development of the site per se. Prior to the Song Dynasty, reclamation efforts within the Eastern Taihu Lake Basin were primarily concentrated downstream of the Wusong River (Zheng 1987). The region of Wujiang, situated in the upstream vicinity of the Wusong River, was predominantly submerged. During that period, the site was characterized by open water due to its function as the flow outlet of Taihu Lake. A mud-based embankment was constructed along Ditang Canal around 810 AD to safeguard the ships from the large waves from Taihu Lake on the western side. In this sense, though visually staying suburbs, urbanism is cross-scalar rooted in the future development of the site from the very ancient time.

<figure><img src="image_183.png" /><figcaption>[fig.6] Mappings of the site: (1) circa 200 AD and (2) circa 1000 AD. Source: elaborated by the author.</figcaption></figure>

#### Emergence of the reclaimed dish-shaped lowland

In contrast to the initial phase, a notable alteration in the topography occurred as a result of both geographical and human interventions (Xie 2015; Wang 2016). In terms of geography, circa 1000 AD, there was a notable occurrence of earth subsidence centred in Wujiang, laying the typological foundation for the dish-shaped lowland. And during that particular period, the fluctuation of sea level
resulted in the accumulation of sediment in the downstream river outlet, generating additional sedimentary land masses upstream due to the decelerated flow of the stream. Regarding human intervention in typology, the double-sided stone-based embankment roads were developed around 1025 AD as an improvement to the single-side mud-based embankment aiming to enhance the protection of ships and facilitate land transportation. As a side effect, the implementation of advanced canal engineering significantly disrupted the smooth flow of water, further accelerating sedimentation. Moreover, the sediments facilitated and concurrently expedited the process of land reclamation, necessitated by a significant influx of refugees from the Northern region circa 1131 AD. The development of polders was highly privatized and overseen in a less stringent manner by the weaker government. The culmination of the dish-shaped lowland is deemed to be signified by the lakefront Lou-Gang polder system formed circa 1660 (Zheng 1987). Under the function of such a lakefront system, the site ceased to maintain a direct unblocked connection with the lake.

<figure><img src="image_184.png" /><figcaption>[fig.7] Mappings of the site : (1) circa 1350 AD ; (2) circa 1650 AD ; (3) circa 1930 AD. Source: elaborated by the author.</figcaption></figure>

The onset of urbanization from garrisons and small villages was observed at the outset of the first millennium on the site. It is commonly acknowledged that polder reclamation gradually reached a saturation point in the Ming dynasty, unable to keep pace with the increasing population (Huang 1990). Despite the fertility of the land, the size of the farmland is insufficient to sustain a household. The small-scale peasant economies have experienced overpopulation. As alternatives to make a living, industries that are based on family units, such as the production of silk textiles, have increasingly emerged as a significant means of generating revenue. This phenomenon established the groundwork and expedited the process of urbanization centred around market towns, transitioning from a region primarily focused on agricultural output to one that caters to the needs of the capital with diversified products. Urbanization encompasses not only the expansion of settlements and early industrialization but also the distinctive urban way of life that was introduced by travellers and immigrants. Typical elements like gardens and ornamental trees can be observed in ancient paintings indicating a shift from a utilitarian landscape to an urban one. Despite experiencing periodic flooding and destruction due to wars, the market towns have persevered and continue to thrive to this day.

## Vast water engineering and the following urban sprawl

The perceptible expansion of urban areas, which is visually identifiable in this scale of mapping, has occurred solely in the last twenty years. Prior to that, extensive hydraulic engineering laid the
foundation for its occurrence in this lowland. One major engineering involves the excavation of new
canals. The Taipu River (Canal) is considered the most strategically significant, as it restores the site's
historical role as the primary outlet of Taihu Lake. This can be interpreted as a means of restoring
the indigenous water system that existed prior to the Ming Dynasty. Since the issue of blockage of
sea outlets has consistently posed a challenge for the delta region, such a project significantly
influenced the feasibility in which the expansive lower regions can be intensively developed. The
other major engineering involves polders. Broadly speaking, the vast polder engineering can be
attributed from a technical standpoint to the gradual prevalence of electrical hydraulic devices from
the 1930s, while from a socio-political perspective, the reemergence of a powerful central government
that effectively spearheaded extensive social campaigns spanning several decades. In 1985, a
significant achievement was announced to have reached, characterized by the completion of four
distinct polder-based engineering projects: 1) field irrigation using channels and pumping stations; 2)
field flood control using sluices and embankments; 3) drainage and storage of major rivers and lakes
using the crisscross canal network; and 4) regional flood control using the great embankment of
Taihu Lake and the sluices along it. With further development, this is the water-based system that is
still functioning on the site serving contemporary urbanised areas and the surrounding suburbs.

<figure><img src="image_185.png" /><figcaption>[fig.8] Mappings of the site: (1) circa 1975; (2) circa 2020. Source: elaborated by the author.</figcaption></figure>

Discussion

The necessity of reproducing mappings

The many educative speculations and trials of illustration suggest a significant necessity in making mappings. It should be noted that the selected site, owing to its unique location, is frequently cited in numerous publications spanning multiple disciplines. Numerous monographs containing extensive accounts of the environmental transformations in the YRD have been consulted in order to produce the mapping. Nevertheless, a clear impediment exists in projecting the explicit literal content onto the mapping where a significant disparity is between the ostensibly well-articulated phenomena and mappings to be made. Besides, despite several referable ancient mappings mentioned, there is difficulty in linking them to the site shortly. From the limited examples presented in this article, it is evident that they possess a range of distinctive illustrative features. The utilization of leaving blank space, as commonly observed in traditional Chinese ink drawings, necessitates a level of speculation that is rooted in a comprehensive comprehension of the site. In addition, due to the different georeferencing systems, it is necessary to employ tracing methods that rely on identifiable components. Although urban and rural areas are typically identifiable by their names, significant spatial distortions can frequently be observed, which can complicate the interpretation of other spatial data. In short, the aforementioned experiences underscore the need for the creation of supplementary mappings that run parallel to both historical mappings and modern literal works.

*Inheritance in mapping based on iteration in the polder system*

It is not hard to find that the evolving water-land spatial characters in the mappings are visually linked
to the indigenous densified water representation and the hydrographic net representation. They co-
existed in the mappings in most cases, however, one prevailed over the other during distinct time
periods. The densified water representation in the experimental mappings dominates the pre-
modernization period, during which the river systems were too dense to stratify in the early stages of
the typical dish-shaped lowland typology. Therefore, it is pragmatically speculated that this factor is
a primary consideration in the initial implementation of this illustrative representation, in addition to
the suggested association with the Song dynasty's artistic genre. Over time, due to the expansion of
reclaimed land, it has become increasingly suitable to utilize hydrographic network representation.
Discernible primary tributaries began to emerge, particularly following the implementation of
modern polder-based campaigns. Joint polders formed water management zones and began to
visually coalesce into cohesive land masses. Once strategically ignore or made the dammed tributaries
between the polders less visible [figure.9], the mappings highly resemble the ancient pieces under the
style of the densified water representation [figure.10]. In the context of enhanced water networks,
the modern polder system renders such omissions more justifiable.

<figure><img src="image_186.png" /><figcaption>[fig.9] An alternative illustration which only remains the main tributaries: (1) classification by jointed polders (water management zones) and (2) classification by the non-dammed water at the status quo (2020). Source: elaborated by the author.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_187.png" /><figcaption>A part of Panorama of the Grand Canal 运河全图 (Zhang, 1703)</figcaption></figure>

<caption>A part of Panorama of the Grand Canal in Four Provinces 四省运河水利源泉河道全图
(unkown author, made before 1855).</caption>

<caption>[fig.10] Drawings from a bird-view perspective depict the landscape along the Grand Canal, passing around Suzhou and Wujiang. The settlements within the fortressed cities and the polders on the islands outside the cities were left vacant. Source: (1) from《治河全书》(2) from Library of Congress.</caption>

An alternative urbanized polder

With the emergence of the modern polder system and the following vast urbanization, there is a
significant change in the polder-based landscape. The identification of the inherited indigenous
polder landscape is a subject of discussion (Wang et al, 2022). During the pre-modern era, the
dimensions of towns and villages were comparatively diminutive and closely linked to the polders. In
comparison with the present, this is not the same case applicable at all. A zoom-in sample centred by
a historical water town Zhenze is given as an example to further depict the relationship between
urbanization and the existing polders. It can be observed that a significant number of land pieces
have been entirely urbanized surrounding the historic town [figure.11]. Despite the existence of
several preserved agricultural fields, they are no longer surrounded by traditional waterfront
farmhouses or bodies of water, and thus can not be classified as polders under a narrow definition.
Although modern polder engineering did not directly impact the function of single polder units, they do have a noteworthy impact on water management, particularly in the areas of flood control and water storage. Consequently, the polder units in this modern system exhibit greater potential for urbanization with fewer constraints compared to their previous state less resilient to flooding. This phenomenon is not solely associated with the depletion of polders in peri-urban regions; rather, it is primarily due to the fact that the polder-based landscape is less connected to urbanization.

<figure><img src="image_188.png" /><figcaption>[fig.11] The extension of the jointed polders and the disappearing polder units under urbanization in the 5km x 5km sample centred by the historical town of Zhenze: (1) 1976; (2) 2020. Source: elaborated by the author.</figcaption></figure>

The purpose of the argument is not to provide criticism of the phenomenon through learning from and making mappings. Instead, the mappings clearly suggest that the new jointed polder units take the place of the original ones defined by single polders based on a subjective preference that the indigenous ways of mapping are to be learnt and inherited. While under modern urbanization, the historical polder units present two extremes. One type is (almost) fully urbanised and deprived of the polder-based water system. The other, though highly influenced by modern agriculture, still maintain the functionality of the polder. Taking the zoom-in sample Zhenze as an example, the sample of mapping centred by urbanization can hardly recognize complete polder units [figure.11]. In contrast, when the choice of mapping on this certain scale is given centred by the jointed polder unit, despite being heavily urbanized, the jointed polder unit upholds the fundamental roles of the individual polders with an active water management system [figure.12]. Moreover, several units of the single polder can be recognized within with basic productive landscape and traditional waterfront settlements remained [figure.13]. By this way of depicting the site through mapping, the conceptual preservation of the identity of the polder-based landscape is achieved despite the effects of urbanization. Additionally, the consistency between mappings from various periods is maintained. While mapping alone does not provide a substantial solution to the issue of indigenous landscape loss, it can offer a strategic perspective to highlight their existence over urbanization at present and build connections to various historical clues backwards.
<figure><img src="image_189.png" /><figcaption>[fig.12] An alternative 5km x 5km sample centred by the polder rather than urbanization (2020). Source: elaborated by the author.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_190.png" /><figcaption>[fig.13] A single polder unit in a zoom-in 3.5km x 1.5km sample. Source: elaborated by the author.</figcaption></figure>

## Conclusion

The paper experimented with a procedure of mapping based on educative speculations. The illustrative representations learnt from the ancient mappings are highlighted, rationalised, and adaptively applied on a specific site. The process of creating mappings on a particular site elucidates various potential ways in which the ancient illustrative depictions could be relevant and applicable to modern-day mapping practices. And further, a conceptual suggestion has been put forth based on historical reasons to adaptively apply the indigenous way of mapping for the purpose of maintaining visual inheritance in spatiotemporal mappings. Behind such a diachronic concern, the utilization of
mapping is a subjective tool to emphasize the polder-based landscape and its historical linkages. The loss of the single polder units due to urbanization will alternatively be highlighted with remained polder system by strategically mapping the formed joint polder units to replace them. The mappings, as presented in this paper, have the potential to be expanded in terms of their quantity, level of detail, and range of zoom-in and zoom-out scales. The experimental expansion is expected to further yield valuable insights for future observations, as opposed to the limited mappings currently utilized for each long time gap.

## Acknowledgement

The doctoral program is funded by the China Scholarship Council (No.202006250049).

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# Water as ecosystems driver for the Ecological Transition in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

Sylvie Tram Nguyen

Laboratory of Urbanism, EPFL Lausanne

Prof. Paola Viganò

Expected thesis defense: September 2023

Sylvie.nguyen@epfl.ch

As a vast rural agrarian landscape with approximately 30% of urbanization, Vietnam's Southern central metropolitan region is trending towards the peri-urbanization of the greater Ho Chi Minh City, some of which crosses the border into the Vietnamese Mekong Delta region in the South (Kontgis 2014). At the territorial scale, the thesis uncovers the dynamic transformation of the Delta's urban-rural territories, revealing rururban expansion across the agrarian fabric resulting from agricultural and non-agricultural activities, a phenomenon identified by Terry McGee in South East Asia as "Desa-Kota" or "village-city," (1991), as the Asia equivalent condition to Citta Diffusa, as identified in the Veneto region by Indovina (1999)—however much can be learned from their radically opposite social, historical, political, economic and environmental atmosphere.

The research includes palimpsest atlases across urban-rural territories of Long Xuyen Quadrangle in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta; and how the once agrarian-oriented production region has transformed into that of diversified mixed fabrics—for habitat, leisure, commercial services, and production in agriculture, orchard and aquaculture—evident of a Social-Ecological resilience at play resulting from dynamic activities. The research concludes different patterns of alternating landscape mixes and patches, shedding light on farmers' alternative use of existing water infrastructure to better adapt to the changing fresh and saline water ecosystems resulting from the impact of climate change and anthropogenic modifications of the Delta by large-scale hydraulic projects.

These hybrid land transformations reveal a new value propelled by the local population of farmers and families, which evokes alternative rationalities concerning the initial infrastructure investment made to drain and irrigate land during the Green Revolution since the 1990s. An alternative way of metropolitanization is discussed through the perspective of the Horizontal Metropolis (2018, 2018, 2022) and the lens of Urban Political Ecology as a radical Social-Ecological urban-rural integration strategy (Swyndegouw 2003). Furthermore, in addressing the Vietnamese government's current promotion of an integrated sustainable development strategy across the Mekong Delta regions (Resolution 120) through their proposed Agri-business plan (MDP 2013, MDIRP 2022), the thesis aims to promote an Ecological Transition for the Mekong Delta's communities, under the principles of Agropolitan development in the Asian context as defined by Friedman (1978). A research-by-design approach is taken to synthesize the mappings and integrate principles through urban design.
## A brief introduction to the Mekong Delta, challenges

Centered in the Southeast Asian milieu, the Mekong River branches out into tributaries, together with Hau River's tributaries; they make up the "Nine Dragon River Delta" in the Delta in southern Vietnam. Vietnam's Mekong Delta area lies south of Ho Chi Minh City, with a population of over 17 million. As one of the world's largest rice export, the Mekong Delta is known as the "rice bowl" of Vietnam, exporting approximately 80% of its total agricultural production (Biggs, 2005).

The Delta's naturally self-regenerating river estuary faces the consequences of climate change and sea-level rise, whereby formerly fertile soils have become degraded by land subsidence and salination due to weather fluctuation and temperature rise, excessive groundwater extraction, increasingly infrastructurally controlled water resources, and the intensification of irrigation. Numerous scientific studies conducted from the Mekong River transboundary region down to the Vietnam Mekong basin conclude the dire impacts of climate change, sea-level rise, and anthropogenic processes on the Mekong Delta.

Consequently, future projects are even more urgent in addressing the numerous overlapping alarming claims in the increase in sea-level rise, flooding, drought, land subsidence, salinity intrusion, and a decrease in sedimentation necessary, which generally nourishes the Delta's estuary and enables ecosystem services in agriculture production. In particular, climate change impacts have exacerbated environmental degradation and risk in dense urban areas in the Mekong Delta over the last few decades. In addition, climate change impacts are compounded by anthropogenic impacts, including the urban heat island effect, urban water pollution, urban flooding, and ground subsidence, escalating the urgency to rethink future projects to ameliorate the challenges faced in dense cities. These challenges highlight the need for a shift towards a more adaptive climate and geomorphic processes as a resilient, sustainable development approach.

## Palimpsest research and findings

The Vietnamese Mekong Delta's evolution towards modernization stems from a Marxist view of economic progress, that of capitalist production—as it has undergone what Lefebvre defines as the stages in spaces-of-production, a progressive spatial shift from the extraction and exploitation of environmental resources into the commodification of ecosystems services and towards an acontextual capitalist-driven globalization of services, resulting in the fragmentation of spaces and territorial processes.

The Delta has established its state as 'second nature,' and its water ecosystems must become the subject of discourse moving forward in the state of the Anthropocene. The Delta's current state, composed of canalized irrigation works, these complex processes between water nature and techno-hydraulics have paved the way to New Nature as new kinds of spaces: Spaces for production, spaces for inhabitation, and spaces whereby regenerative social-ecologies could emerge as the new deltaic territorial dynamic between humans and nature.

The historical narrative generated from the palimpsest atlases in Figure 1 reveals how centralized and decentralized mechanisms led by hydro social-technology and managerial water policy have radically altered the Delta by transforming its territory against the laws of nature. The palimpsest maps show the progression of the planning of territories through regional zoning of different water control mechanisms added over time, from the alignment of the first canals to the artificially devised watershed management zoning, and on top of this system, large-scale hydraulic projects were added—all mechanisms partaking in water control.
<figure><img src="image_191.png" /><figcaption>a. Funan Kingdom</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_192.png" /><figcaption>b. 1900s</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_193.png" /><figcaption>c. 1930s</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_194.png" /><figcaption>d. 1960s</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_195.png" /><figcaption>b. 1980s</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_196.png" /><figcaption>c. 2000s</figcaption></figure>

[fig.1] Palimpsest of Long Xuyen Quadrangle and the West Bassac Region, from the Funan Kingdom period to the 2000s. Elaborated by the author.

### Desakota response

The rural-urban territory in the Mekong Delta exhibits a new value propelled by the local population, characterized by rururban *Desakota* activities. These activities challenge the traditional infrastructural investments made during the Green Revolution and present alternative rationalities for development. The land mosaic and hegemonic transformations found in the Mekong Delta's rural-urban territory reveal a new value that evokes alternative rationalities concerning the initial infrastructural investment made to drain and irrigate land during the Green Revolution since the 1970s.

The Section in Figure 2 illustrates a hypothetical construction of the canal over time to rationalize the sequence of logic behind development: Step 1, stilt homes are locally and historically built along the river levee; step 2, dikes are built behind stilt homes to prevent flooding and to cultivate ricefields, and shophouses appear with ramp access to the road; and Step 3, once dikes are further raised and stilt dwellings relocated, the local response is to densify mixed uses adjacent to it and, provide direct platform access into houses, & illegally breach the agricultural field zones by extending the orchard zone via an extended landfill.

<figure><img src="image_197.png" /></figure>

[fig.2] Diagrams showing the logical sequence of canal fronting construction. Elaborated by the author.
As a result, the area becomes densified with old and new fabric along the 'multi-functional' dike-based roads; new development appears to thicken the riverfront fabric, however, by turning their backs on the waters and catering to commercial activities along the roadside. Thus, throughout the decades, the Desakota response to infrastructure investment was to capitalize on the elevated embankments along the canals, the flood protection provided by the dikes by building shophouses along them, and, by activating the street fronts with commercial activities with direct access to industrial processes. Paradoxically, the investments made during the Green Revolution to capitalize on water irrigation works to bolster rice production, have attracted the encroachment of habitat and commercial activities into the intensified fields. This reveals resilient actions at the local level in response to socio-economic needs to bridge the climate change impact gap by diversifying crops as the gradual bottom-up proliferation.

*Case Study sample: Long Xuyen*

Over time, the Mekong Delta's land cultivation and development patterns have evolved. From mixed perennials and seasonal rice fields in the past, there has been a shift towards rice intensification and urban-rural growth due to water infrastructure improvements. The valorization of water infrastructure through landfill and highway linkages further led to rice intensification and urban densification. However, environmental degradation has necessitated diversification away from intensified rice crops towards orchards and aquaculture in saline and freshwater areas.

The research raises the question of how future diversification can mitigate threats to the Mekong Delta's water ecosystems in the face of climate change and anthropogenic impacts. The case studies highlight a transition where the original investment in engineered infrastructure, such as irrigation, has been adapted to meet Social-Ecological needs. The Desakota movement towards a rururban horizontal model has transformed *Hard Structures*, or engineered infrastructural structures, into multi-functional spaces, integrating living, working, and agricultural activities. Despite the limited presence of public open spaces, the concept of *Weak Structures*, which emphasizes the continuity in ecological open space systems and processes, holds the potential to reshape the Delta's currently gridded hydraulic infrastructure system.

Figure 3 shows how the overall changes over four decades from 1988 to 2018 through the LandSAT land-use mapping. Here, the rationality of the final conversion into a buildable area logically expands from the old city and territorially dispersed within the green corridors, whereby double rice and perennials were converted into built areas (in orange and light pink). Moreover, green corridors are at the edge of the urban extents, whereby larger sprinkles of triple rice have been converted into small built areas (in bright pink). As a result, more diversified primary canals have emerged along the identified 'double-triple rice corridors,' with thickened orchards and settlement areas, whereby some triple rice crops have been converted into water bodies or fish ponds in the form of gridded pond compartments.
<figure><img src="image_198.png" /><figcaption>[fig.3] Map of Long Xuyen City's study area land-use from 1988 to 2018. Elaborated by the author from Can Tho University in collaboration with Diem Kieu Phan, Land Resources Department.</figcaption></figure>

Radical territorial transformations have occurred since 1988. First, the most ecologically pressing changes to the land include the vast amount of monorice crop fields in the deep-water region, which were gradually intensified and converted into triple rice crops. Second, the fact that almost the entire region at some point (at over 80% coverage) had been converted in one way or another into double and triple rice crops, notably from double rice crops. Third, by 2018 amount of rice fields was reduced by converting smaller areas into triple rice crops—thus yielding the same amount of rice and making room for more diversified perennials by converting the combined double-triple rice zones, more than doubling the number of perennials from 2008 to 2018. Lastly, a visibly significant land shift was into buildable areas, which shaped the Long Xuyen urban extent, multiplied by almost triple.

## An Ecological Transition for the MD

The Mekong Delta's hybrid land transformations and the engagement of farmers and local communities in diversification indicate the potential for an Ecological Transition. This transition involves integrating urban and natural processes through territorial projects that shall foster resilient development strategies—under the Urban Political Ecology lens and the Horizontal Metropolis paradigm.
The Delta under the Urban Political Ecology lens

Prevailing political and historical events have propelled the Mekong Delta into its current state of a 'Delta Hydraulic Machine' (Biggs et al. 2009), turning it into a great case for demonstrating the process of modernization in a relatively short period of the history of materialism based on land resource extraction, appropriation, and capitalistic production. These processes have exploited the Delta's ecosystem services mainly for agricultural production, treating the Delta as an *object*, as a local and global commodity.

As processes in the Delta consist of an action and reaction, political local, global, or ecological winners and losers from the complex dynamics (between humans and nonhumans), it is manifest that Urban Political Ecology is at play in the metabolic transformation of the Delta's ecosystems mainly for industrialization and urbanization purposes. The Urban Political Ecology perspective theoretically claims that global and local forms of capitalism are integrated into social life, which has Social-Ecological consequences, as it reclaims the natural order of things and reconfigures it (Erik Swyngedouw, Maria Kaika, and Esteban Castro 2002; Heynen, Kaika, and Swyngedouw 2006).

The call by Urban Political Ecologists is to address Social-Ecological justice through the emergence of the democratic project (Heynen, Kaika, and Swyngedouw 2006). Hence, Vietnam's rapid rise onto the world stage as one of the principal rice exporters in the world must be challenged, as it has subsequently transformed the Mekong Delta's dynamics into a global competitor at the Social-Ecological cost of the livelihood of its local demographics and the environmental cost of its water ecosystems.

Resolution 120 and Mekong Delta Plans

Despite the massive investment made in hydraulic works in the widespread extension of irrigation systems across the Delta since the 1970s, today's "Green Revolution" in Vietnam is centered on *Resolution 120*. As a new nationwide mandate, Resolution 120 takes on a radically different approach via environmental adaptation based on more adaptive models, as a means of adapting to extreme weather conditions from climate change, sea-level rise, and the consequential fresh water and saline water soil conditions, as the new norm in the Delta (Resolution 120). This mandate has been further developed through the Dutch and Vietnamese bilateral cooperation through the Mekong Delta Plan, with the approved *Agri-business* scenario, and further implemented through the Mekong Delta Integrated Regional Plan (MDP 2013, MDIRP 2022). These newly approved master plans reflect sensitivity with respect to nature, for example, through the Dutch Delta Approach in Nature-Based solutions, which are encouraged in the 2050 master planning vision for the Mekong Delta's Agri-business plan, with the intention to elevate 80% of the agriculture sector based on ecological and high-quality agriculture (The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Kingdom of the Netherlands 2013; VNA 2019; Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Kingdom of the Netherlands 2020).

Moreover, Resolution 120 calls for interregional development across provincial and district scales of implementation via planning strategies across multiple projects and subprojects adapted to different contextual soil qualities. This call brings purpose to the (re)consideration of the Delta at the watershed level, with the potential to explore the cross-scalar and interrelationships built across water ecosystems. Therefore, Resolution 120 serves as an excellent opportunity to foster not only the Delta's natural ecosystems but the farmers' livelihoods as a community living in the rural and rururban territories of the Delta. Through this initiative, the thesis aims to promote an Ecological Transition for the Mekong Delta's communities, through a radical project vision, with principles founded by Friedman in the *Agropolitan* district within the Asian context (Friedmann 1979). Furthermore, the thesis proposes *in-situ* urban design frameworks to realize further the *Agri-Business* plan vision as a Techno-Nature-based, Agro-Social-Ecological framework that could build the rururban population.

The MDIRP's latest plan offers a strategic integration of past hydraulic projects and new sub-hydraulic projects (2022) based on a more interconnected water management plan of mechanisms associated across existing canals (the dikes, sluice gates, pumping stations), which has the potential to be integrated into the thesis' proposal of an Agro-Social-Ecological framework by (re)configuring sub-hydraulic projects across multiple functional waterscapes, in relationship to socio-ecologies. This integration would benefit not only water ecosystems but society via new relationships to work, live, and outdoor leisure. In addition, engineered water structures established by canalized hydraulic infrastructure could be reorganized under the principles of blue-green ecological corridors, comprised of elements of natural waterscapes and collective open water spaces.