Two water cities?

By Paulien Hartog 

strategic advisor in Waternet, the public water authority of the city of Amsterdam and the region

Recife is known as the Brazilian Venice, a water city. Its city centre is located on islands in the end of the delta of Capibaribe river, looking out over the ocean. This sounds impressive, and it is. But when you are walking in the city centre, you notice that the physics are there, but that Recife is not a real water city at this moment. In the streets you can always smell waste water, due to poor sanitation. The banks of canals and rivers are full of waste, and they also smell. Most waterfronts are private in bad shape. And due to sharks the beach is not for swimming. There are only a few boats on the impressive mangrove river: some crab fishermen, inhabitants of the "palafitos" and an educational boat tour for kids. Most local delegates in our workshop enjoyed the river for the first time of their life!

As the "water lady" in the Amsterdam delegation I was impressed by the enormous water challenges Recife has to deal with. Sanitation and problems with water quality are the most obvious, but at the same time the drinking water resources (70% river water upstream, 30% groundwater) are under stress and floods occur frequently during extreme storm water events or high tide. In a metropolitan area with 4 million people and in a growing economy the opportunities are good. But where to start? 

During the 2 day workshop with an enthusiast group of (mainly) architects we could only make a little step to a strategy. Our main observation in the last year of rXa contact via video conferences and email was that there seems to be little integration of challenges in urban planning in Recife. Dealing with water challenges is from our European perspective essential for cities of the future. But if Recifians are not aware of the value of this, the politicians won't empower this. 
In the results of the workshop the "Water Tree" concept was presented as long term strategy for more cohesion in the city. In the structure of the delta, with the main rivers and the smaller streams, solutions for a more liveable city could be integrated: places where people could meet, sanitation, social housing, parks, biking routes and transport over water. The main challenge the coming months will be to have dialogues with a broader group of inhabitants about their dreams for the city. And, based on this, start with realizing a first branch of the Water Tree as a pilot project.
I expect that the smart, highly educated young people that I met in Recife, will change this city the next decade, and maybe develop it to a real water city again. They are eager, involved and connected to worldwide knowledge. Operational experience in water management is low, thus knowledge exchange like the rXa will be worthwhile. I enjoyed my stay immensely and want to thank all of you again for your enormous hospitality.