Urban hydraulic systems and city transformations: a historical approach of an intimate relationship

Abstract

The paper examines the dialectical relation between production systems, the cities and their hydraulic networks (water-sewage) in a historical context. The historical review starts from the prehistoric times and considering the archaic and medieval periods expands to the 19th and 20th centuries and the modern postfordist era. The paper identifies substantial differences in the conception of the network rationale depending on the production regimes of slavery, feudalism and all phases of capitalism (namely pre-fordist, fordist and post-fordist accumulation regimes), in relation with the dominant spatial city patterns. Special emphasis is given to the latest post-fordist period as it is combined with the climate change challenges that pave the way to new eco-sustainable city planning concepts that include a new attitude towards the reuse of water that may transform it from a planning object into a planning partner.