Authors:Hilke Marit Berger, Teresa Erbach, Annika Kuehn, Jan-Philipp Possmann, Gaby S. Langendijk Abstract: Communities around the world are facing climate change impacts with coastal communities being particularly vulnerable. While there is a growing awareness of the pivotal role of culture in adaptation, there is a lack of practical approaches for the incorporation of culture in adaptation planning. Skills and knowledge for today´s adaptation challenges can be drawn from cultural heritage since the confrontation with climatic changes and extreme weather events are an elementary feature in human history. We argue that cultural heritage is a rich resource in this context and describe five functionalities of heritage. It can be used to transfer knowledge, to process loss, to strengthen community resilience, to change paradigms in adaptation practice, and to find socially accepted solutions in post-disaster reconstruction. The transdisciplinary research project Sinking Cities: Cultural Heritage as a transformational resource focuses on the potential of cultural institutions and artists in using heritage to support climate adaptation in coastal communities. PubDate: 2024-03-28 DOI: 10.59490/jdu.4.2023.7334
Authors:Sylvie Nguyen Abstract: A radical project is proposed for the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, calling for the urgency to realize its Ecological Transition, as a response to the need to reverse the detrimental environmental impacts accumulated over the course of its history of agrarian colonization. The article reveals the evolution of the delta’s territory, through an atlas of palimpsests regarding the delta’s past transformations primarily driven by the hydraulic management of its territory. The resulting environmental degradation and obliteration of much of the Mekong Delta’s ability to self-regenerate are found in large part as the consequence of the devotion of the delta’s ecosystem resources to mass rice production; driven by vast irrigation infrastructural expansion. However, as an unintentional consequence of the investments made in infrastructural networks during the Green Revolution, a new value was propelled by farmers and the local community through the diversification of infrastructural uses, resulting in hybrid rururban land transformations, indicating the potential for Ecological Transition in the delta. Through the theoretical perspective of alternative ways for metropolization defined in the ‘Horizontal Metropolis’ and the conceptual approach developed under the ‘Project of Isotropy’, post-rationality of the agrarian territory is proposed through the reorganization and design of the primary canals established for irrigation after the 1986 ‘Doi Moi’ reform period. Social-Techno-Ecological corridors are proposed to transform the currently overlooked and engineered canal settlements living in Long Xuyen Quadrangle and Can Tho province, through a resilient community-based living and cultivation paradigm based on the advancement of the traditional Vietnamese VAC (Garden-Pond-Animal) model. In addition, the Water Ecological Framework is proposed as a wider Delta Intervention whereby a series of circular water processes can take place ecologically across the territory, to promote the partial reinstatement of the Mekong’s deltaic regenerative processes. As a radical integration between the wider Water Ecological Framework and the Social-Techno-Ecological corridors, the evolution of the deltaic territory is envisioned to create new social ecologies across the Mekong Delta, offering valuable climate-resilient ecosystems through biodiversity and a synergetic coexistence. Bringing into reality an Ecological Transition for the delta’s resilient future, whereby the regeneration of its deltaic processes shall be reinstated with a more conducive coexistence between humans and nature, as a new paradigm to address the wicked problems of our time. PubDate: 2023-12-24 DOI: 10.59490/jdu.4.2023.7331
Authors:Clara Olóriz Sanjuán, Alfredo Ramírez Galindo Abstract: What role do policies play in shaping landscapes, especially in the context of the climate crises, considering the specific geographical and historical history of landscape practices' The first part of the essay discusses “operative landscapes” (Brenner) and “reciprocal landscapes” (Hutton) as a framework to look at the global exploitation of hinterland landscapes shaped by policies. We interrogate the role that both landscape images and landscape policies have historically played in today’s urban-rural divides, displacements and dependencies. Through cartographic examples, we propose the notion of policy palimpsests to look critically at the overlapping of forms of territorialisation through policies over time. In this framework, we interrogate the role and agency of landscape-oriented designers in policy-making to re-imagine and re-think alternative relations between nature and society. In the second part, we look at two examples from the work of Groundlab, demonstrating instances where designers actively participate in transdisciplinary teams to co-produce future visions through policy advocacy. These ways of seeing are encapsulated in the landscape visions that bring to the fore the labour and materials that sustain urban agglomerations. PubDate: 2023-12-24 DOI: 10.59490/jdu.4.2023.7332
Authors:Kate Orff, Henk Ovink Abstract: Redesigning deltas is the theme for our 182nd anniversary week at the Delft University of Technology. Two honorary doctorates are awarded to people who have an outstanding contribution to the field of Delta Urbanism: Kate Orff and Henk Ovink. The dialogue between Kate and Henk focused on four key aspects, each shedding light on their shared values, design philosophies, real-world projects, and their future visions. The first part delved into their commonalities, uncovering shared approaches to work, a strong commitment to making the world a better place, and advocacy efforts. Their dialogue revealed a mutual optimism and dedication to motivating people while emphasizing responsibility. The second part encompassed design and design-driven solutions. The conversation explored their perspectives on design in the context of design-based research, both in its present state and future trajectories. They deliberated on the definition of design, its role in problem-solving, and what changes might be necessary in academia. The third part centered on their real-world projects, such as the Water as Leverage program and the Living Breakwaters initiative. They shared insights gained from these endeavors, outlining lessons learned, areas for improvement, and collaborative opportunities for learning and growth. The discussion covered lessons learned from these projects and outlined the next steps. Finally, in the last part, they envisioned the future, particularly academia's role in catalyzing positive change and fostering innovation. Their dialogue encapsulated shared values, experiences, and aspirations, highlighting the potential for collaborative action within design, advocacy, and academia. PubDate: 2023-12-22 DOI: 10.59490/jdu.4.2023.7350
Authors:Taneha Kuzniecow Bacchin, Fransje Hooimeijer, Baukje Kothuis Abstract: The latest IPCC report which is named ‘The Synthesis Report , Climate Change 2023’ was released on 20 March 2023 to inform the 2023 Global Stocktake under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The report finds that ‘there is more than 50% chance that global temperature rise will reach or surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2021 and 2040 across studied scenarios, and under a high-emissions pathway, specifically, the world may hit this threshold even sooner, between 2018 and 2037.’ These findings again emphasise the growing pressures and challenges that deltas are confronting in their path towards future development. It is evident that the global imperative for deltas to adapt has reached an unprecedented level, but at the same time the question arises if adaptation is enough. Especially considering the scope of societal challenges that need to be the point of departure for sustainable spatial transformation in general. Aren't they of such a fundamental nature that we need to reconsider our urban system as a whole and aim for transformation instead of adaptation' Looking more closely to the societal challenges we can organise them according to their environmental and socio-economic drivers. The environmental drivers are the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis. The socio-economic drivers are ongoing urbanisation, the energy transition, and the new economy. PubDate: 2023-12-22 DOI: 10.59490/jdu.4.2023.7349
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