Waterside Voices: connecting communities to waterscapes

Project description 

Many European cities and towns are shaped by rivers, yet climate change and urban pressures strain these waterscapes. Rivers are detached from both citizens and nature, worsening ecological challenges or succumbing to gentrification. While strategies exist, the potential of rivers and canals to foster resilience, social cohesion and sustainable urban living remains underused. Waterside Voices aims to reclaim urban rivers and canals for, by and with the communities living by their shores. Communities whose visions and involvement are crucial for needs-based action. Through participatory research and design in Brussels, Rijeka and Budapest, three resilient interventions will turn the Danube, Rječina, and Senne into vibrant hubs – incubating green and blue skills and shaping long-term plans. On a transnational scale, a shared and adaptable digital platform that documents urban waterscape renewal across Europe will be developed, alongside workshops and discursive formats.Many European cities and towns are shaped by rivers, yet climate change and urban pressures strain these waterscapes. Rivers are detached from both citizens and nature, worsening ecological challenges or succumbing to gentrification. While strategies exist, the potential of rivers and canals to foster resilience, social cohesion and sustainable urban living remains underused. Waterside Voices aims to reclaim urban rivers and canals for, by and with the communities living by their shores. Communities whose visions and involvement are crucial for needs-based action. Through participatory research and design in Brussels, Rijeka and Budapest, three resilient interventions will turn the Danube, Rječina, and Senne into vibrant hubs – incubating green and blue skills and shaping long-term plans. On a transnational scale, a shared and adaptable digital platform that documents urban waterscape renewal across Europe will be developed, alongside workshops and discursive formats.

Objective

- Innovation

Priorties

- Social inclusion

- Sustainability

- International dimension