IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section B

Abstract

Urban rivers stand among the world’s most degraded ecosystems, with their transformation marked by formidable challenges and high costs. A potential avenue for positive change emerges as we shift our focus to rivers coursing through urban fringes. The Citarum River, once labelled the “World’s Dirtiest River”, exemplifies such a landscape. Its degradation is compounded by the swift urban expansion surrounding the city of Bandung. The complex Indonesian context, however, introduces a set of challenges that impede the feasibility of implementing catchment-scaled projects. Government and international initiatives targeting this riverscape face intricate mosaics of rural and urban systems, evolving social structures, and fragmented institutional landscapes, all of which hinder their success. This research explores design strategies for localised and nuanced decision-making at the interface between natural and urban systems in Southeast Asia, examining possible approaches for river transformation at the intersection of ecology and architecture. Degraded landscapes are often framed from a reparation perspective, where different approaches may seek distinct restoration objectives. These ecosystem repair approaches have material and spatial implications; concepts like restoration, reclamation and revitalisation carry their own ontological premises that might not fit appropriately and effectively into any given context and culture. The research reviews how different disciplines translate these concepts into action, and what lessons we can take from each to inform better and nuanced design decision-making for the geographical, institutional and cultural context of the Citarum River.