Articles

• Visual Water Biography

  The supervision of water systems in many countries is centralised and taken over from local water management collectives of ‘water workers’ by governmental or other water management institutions. Communities are literally and figuratively cut-off from ‘their’ water systems, due to the increase of urbanisation and industrialisation. On account of water management, humankind changed from communities of actively engaged water workers into passive users. In so doing, crucial knowledge about how communities created, maintained, and expanded ‘living water systems’, such as rice terraces, low-pasture systems, polders, floating-gardens, brooks-mill, and tidal systems, is rapidly diminishing. Revealing stories (oral accounts)  of water workers generate insights and understanding of forgotten aspects of the landscape. They hold information on how to engage with water in a more holistic way, strategies that might help in facing today’s challenges. The world in general, but planners, spatial designers, and water managers working with water, in particular, have so far taken little account of these stories. Without documenting stories that are about the dynamic interaction between people and landscape, valuable knowledge has disappeared and continues to do so.  To help to overcome this knowledge gap, to learn from the past, the Visual Water Biography (VWB) is developed. The novel method is based on the Delft layer approach in which the spatial relationship of a design and its topography is studied, and developed by many authors from the faculty of landscape architecture at TU Delft  in combination with the landscape biography approach. The Visual Water Biography visualises and maps: 1) knowledge and 2) engagement of water workers by focusing on 3) circular and 4) cyclical processes that are descended in the landscape. The method developed for spatial planners, researchers, and designers explicitly allows for multi-disciplinary engagement with water workers, water professionals, people from other disciplines such as historians and ecologists, and the general public. The added value of the VWB method is shown by the case of the Dutch Sprengen and Brooks system, a water system that is well documented in terms of landscape biography but less understood as a living water system.

   

  The supervision of water systems in many countries is centralised and taken over from local water management collectives of ‘water workers’ by governmental or other water management institutions. Communities are literally and figuratively cut-off from ‘their’ water systems, due to the increase of urbanisation and industrialisation. On account of water management, humankind changed from communities of actively engaged water workers into passive users. In so doing, crucial knowledge about how communities created, maintained, and expanded ‘living water systems’, such as rice terraces, low-pasture systems, polders, floating-gardens, brooks-mill, and tidal systems, is rapidly diminishing. Revealing stories (oral accounts)  of water workers generate insights and understanding of forgotten aspects of the landscape. They hold information on how to engage with water in a more holistic way, strategies that might help in facing...

  The supervision of water systems in many countries is centralised and taken over from local water management collectives of ‘water workers’ by governmental or other water management institutions. Communities are literally and figuratively cut-off from ‘their’ water systems, due to the...

  Inge Bobbink, Suzanne Loen

  5-22

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• A Study on Traditional Asian Gardens as Parts of Water Network

  This research aims to reveal the workings of hybrid systems with ornamental garden ponds and functional water systems in historical Japanese garden cities through researching old maps, documents, and measuring canals and garden ponds in three old cities (Edo/ Tokyo, Kanra-Gunma, and Kojirokuji-Nagasaki). As a result, the following things became clear: (1) If more than 50% of canals run through private land, canals are complicatedly divided to reduce quantitative (flood and drought) and qualitative (pollution) risk; (2) Lords of these cities lived at the termination points of the systems to control the water quality of the entire water networks; (3) In most cases, canals are not directly connected to garden ponds. In the few cases in which garden ponds have the functionality to control amounts of water downstream or upstream, garden ponds are directly connected; (4) Garden design variety becomes richer in accordance with the topographical situation; (5) In gardens, canals are divided into different uses; ornamental use and practical use for daily life.

  This research aims to reveal the workings of hybrid systems with ornamental garden ponds and functional water systems in historical Japanese garden cities through researching old maps, documents, and measuring canals and garden ponds in three old cities (Edo/ Tokyo, Kanra-Gunma, and Kojirokuji-Nagasaki). As a result, the following things became clear: (1) If more than 50% of canals run through private land, canals are complicatedly divided to reduce quantitative (flood and drought) and qualitative (pollution) risk; (2) Lords of these cities lived at the termination points of the systems to control the water quality of the entire water networks; (3) In most cases, canals are not directly connected to garden ponds. In the few cases in which garden ponds have the functionality to control amounts of water downstream or upstream, garden ponds are directly connected; (4) Garden design variety becomes richer in accordance with the topographical situation; (5) In gardens, canals are...

  This research aims to reveal the workings of hybrid systems with ornamental garden ponds and functional water systems in historical Japanese garden cities through researching old maps, documents, and measuring canals and garden ponds in three old cities (Edo/ Tokyo, Kanra-Gunma, and...

  Akihiko Ono

  23-38

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• The Watermills of the Sierra de Cádiz (Spain)

  Traditional hydraulic milling was the main productive activity in the Sierra de Cádiz (Andalusia, Spain), as evidenced by the existence of 85 mills spread throughout the region. Although the date of their construction is unknown, the first documentary evidence of their existence appeared in the 16th century. In the 18th century, a more comprehensive account of the set of mills in the Sierra was drawn up thanks to the Ensenada Cadastre. The majority were operational until the mid-20th century, albeit with some difficulties. The disappearance of this handmade trade has led to the obsolescence and abandonment of its architecture and infrastructure. However, the infrastructure remains there, as traces of a recent past in which it is still possible to see the Circular Water Story that made them work. This article explains the hydraulic system that was used by the mills in the Sierra de Cádiz. Located next to rivers and streams, they formed part of an open water re-circulation system, which captured the water at a specific point in the riverbed of origin, artificially diverted it to the mill and then ended up returning it to the same riverbed of origin, at a different point from the initial one. The methodology used is based on the preparation of graphic documents and photographic recognition to select the riverbanks that show the adaptations and variations of the water re-circulation system according to the hydrographic, topographic, and productive characteristics of each territory. As some of these old artificial riverbeds are still operational, today they are used as a natural resource to supply water to other productive activities, thus proving the usefulness of the system, the suitability of the construction techniques applied, and their consequent integration into the landscape. The research carried out justifies the need to protect and catalogue these architectural hydraulic systems before they disappear completely, in order to benefit from the learning that can be derived from the reading, interpretation, and transformation of the territory and its landscape.

   

  Traditional hydraulic milling was the main productive activity in the Sierra de Cádiz (Andalusia, Spain), as evidenced by the existence of 85 mills spread throughout the region. Although the date of their construction is unknown, the first documentary evidence of their existence appeared in the 16th century. In the 18th century, a more comprehensive account of the set of mills in the Sierra was drawn up thanks to the Ensenada Cadastre. The majority were operational until the mid-20th century, albeit with some difficulties. The disappearance of this handmade trade has led to the obsolescence and abandonment of its architecture and infrastructure. However, the infrastructure remains there, as traces of a recent past in which it is still possible to see the Circular Water Story that made them work. This article explains the hydraulic system that was used by the mills in the Sierra de Cádiz. Located next to rivers and streams, they formed part of an open water re-circulation...

  Traditional hydraulic milling was the main productive activity in the Sierra de Cádiz (Andalusia, Spain), as evidenced by the existence of 85 mills spread throughout the region. Although the date of their construction is unknown, the first documentary evidence of their existence appeared in...

  Gloria Rivero-Lamela, Amadeo Ramos-Carranza

  39-58

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• Living with Nature

  Rapid urbanisation and sprawling growth have become constant hindrances to nature in most developing countries. West Java is the most populated province in Indonesia under rapid urbanisation. In this rural area of the province, however, there is a traditional Sundanese hamlet called Kampung Naga that has succeeded in cohesively cohabiting with nature. This article discusses how the interaction of water, ecology, and anthropo-systems influences the spatial layout of the village, forms its cultural landscape, and shapes people’s social life. In addition to its sustainability, this article also reflects on the challenges of the possible application of this heritage landscape system in wider contexts. Three lessons can be learned from the water heritage system of Kampung Naga: (1) Understanding how the workings of the natural landscape are critical in determining the living space development; (2) The circular water system and its metabolism could only be maintained by integrating it into its cultural, social, and economical values; (3) Community planning and water circularity create a self-sustained living unit in Kampung Naga. Findings from this study can improve our body of knowledge of potential solutions for future spatial development, where the relationship between human and water could be profoundly re-established.

  Rapid urbanisation and sprawling growth have become constant hindrances to nature in most developing countries. West Java is the most populated province in Indonesia under rapid urbanisation. In this rural area of the province, however, there is a traditional Sundanese hamlet called Kampung Naga that has succeeded in cohesively cohabiting with nature. This article discusses how the interaction of water, ecology, and anthropo-systems influences the spatial layout of the village, forms its cultural landscape, and shapes people’s social life. In addition to its sustainability, this article also reflects on the challenges of the possible application of this heritage landscape system in wider contexts. Three lessons can be learned from the water heritage system of Kampung Naga: (1) Understanding how the workings of the natural landscape are critical in determining the living space development; (2) The circular water system and its metabolism could only be maintained by integrating...

  Rapid urbanisation and sprawling growth have become constant hindrances to nature in most developing countries. West Java is the most populated province in Indonesia under rapid urbanisation. In this rural area of the province, however, there is a traditional Sundanese hamlet called Kampung...

  Ayu Tri Prestasia, Boomi Kim

  59-76

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• Mapping the Maritime Backyards of Póvoa de Varzim

  In order to improve their professional activity, fishermen have developed special methods and procedures for organising the space of their maritime territory. This article presents some of these practices, based on the specific case of the fishing community of Póvoa de Varzim, a town on the north coast of Portugal. Over the years, each fishing family has developed mental maps of the “seas”, creating original names to identify certain places and their different characteristics, while simultaneously producing a remarkable intangible heritage. Together with the productive transformations that were characteristic of industrialisation, traditional fishing methods have also gradually changed, incorporating the use of electronic navigation devices and other mechanisms for the detection of marine resources. In this way, the sea has begun to be mapped digitally through a system of “maritime backyards” that divide the space according to the fishing gear used. The aim of this work is to map and compare the maritime space produced by traditional fishing methods and by the contemporary system of “maritime backyards”, giving visibility to practices and territories that are normally absent from the representations of places.

   

  In order to improve their professional activity, fishermen have developed special methods and procedures for organising the space of their maritime territory. This article presents some of these practices, based on the specific case of the fishing community of Póvoa de Varzim, a town on the north coast of Portugal. Over the years, each fishing family has developed mental maps of the “seas”, creating original names to identify certain places and their different characteristics, while simultaneously producing a remarkable intangible heritage. Together with the productive transformations that were characteristic of industrialisation, traditional fishing methods have also gradually changed, incorporating the use of electronic navigation devices and other mechanisms for the detection of marine resources. In this way, the sea has begun to be mapped digitally through a system of “maritime backyards” that divide the space according to the fishing gear used. The aim of this work...

  In order to improve their professional activity, fishermen have developed special methods and procedures for organising the space of their maritime territory. This article presents some of these practices, based on the specific case of the fishing community of Póvoa de Varzim, a town on the...

  José Pedro Fernandes, Marta Labastida

  77-94

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• Participatory Management of Traditional Urban Water Infrastructures in Iran

  Qanats have played a vital role in underground water extraction since ancient times based on the community-based water management schemes in Iran. Due to recent urban sprawl and development pressures, qanats are progressively abandoned and degraded in the cities and are considered as endangered assets. To be sustainable, in addition to physical maintenance, the ecological and social aspects of qanat management systems, as the main characteristic of Urban Water Infrastructures in Iran, also need to be taken into account. A review of the traditional participatory management systems in Iran, as well as the contemporary community-based interventions (CBI) in the context of qanats, demonstrates the significant role of public participation in this regard. This research aims to provide solutions and recommendations for enhancement of stakeholder engagement in contemporary qanat rehabilitation practices by adapting the traditional communal management techniques and multi-stakeholder approaches to qanat maintenance in Iran. For this purpose, the transformation of the key urban water stakeholders from past to present are studied and mapped based on their roles and influence on decision making process for the management of qanats. The resulting illustration of the stakeholders’ networks and the comparative study of inter-relationships not only reveals today’s institutional gaps and missing links in qanats’ management procedures, but also highlights the former community-based coordination mechanisms that used to support the smooth functioning of this socio-technical infrastructure by promoting constructive interactions among conflicting parties. In order to tackle contemporary governance challenges, this research also provides a set of practical recommendations to adjust those traditional learnings to new conditions by addressing the physical, environmental, and socio-cultural aspects of qanats in Tehran.

   

  Qanats have played a vital role in underground water extraction since ancient times based on the community-based water management schemes in Iran. Due to recent urban sprawl and development pressures, qanats are progressively abandoned and degraded in the cities and are considered as endangered assets. To be sustainable, in addition to physical maintenance, the ecological and social aspects of qanat management systems, as the main characteristic of Urban Water Infrastructures in Iran, also need to be taken into account. A review of the traditional participatory management systems in Iran, as well as the contemporary community-based interventions (CBI) in the context of qanats, demonstrates the significant role of public participation in this regard. This research aims to provide solutions and recommendations for enhancement of stakeholder engagement in contemporary qanat rehabilitation practices by adapting the traditional communal management techniques and multi-stakeholder...

  Qanats have played a vital role in underground water extraction since ancient times based on the community-based water management schemes in Iran. Due to recent urban sprawl and development pressures, qanats are progressively abandoned and degraded in the cities and are considered as...

  Sara Nourikia, Narjes Zivdar

  95-112

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• Oslo Hydropolis

  Oslo Hydropolis is a running landscape and urbanism design studio at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design that investigates how water can play a socially, ecologically, and economically active role in shaping life in the Oslo region. Historically a water-rich area, weather extremes and seasonal abnormalities question the functionality of cultural landscapes in the Oslo region, which is characterised by rain-fed agriculture in the soils of limited valley areas. Excess and scarcity of water—flood and drought—are exacerbated by the uncertainty of climate change, but even more so by the effects of urbanisation. Population in the Oslo region is growing and new models of how water, urbanisation, and social life integrate have to be defined.

  Oslo Hydropolis is a running landscape and urbanism design studio at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design that investigates how water can play a socially, ecologically, and economically active role in shaping life in the Oslo region. Historically a water-rich area, weather extremes and seasonal abnormalities question the functionality of cultural landscapes in the Oslo region, which is characterised by rain-fed agriculture in the soils of limited valley areas. Excess and scarcity of water—flood and drought—are exacerbated by the uncertainty of climate change, but even more so by the effects of urbanisation. Population in the Oslo region is growing and new models of how water, urbanisation, and social life integrate have to be defined.

  Oslo Hydropolis is a running landscape and urbanism design studio at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design that investigates how water can play a socially, ecologically, and economically active role in shaping life in the Oslo region. Historically a water-rich area, weather extremes and...

  Milja Tuomivaara, Sabine Müller, Elisabeth Sjödahl

  113-122

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