Editorial Issue 1/2025

Narratives on Water History and Heritage: Agents of Value-Based Adaptive Design Approaches

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2025.1.ed

Abstract

Blue Papers aims to inspire new approaches to water, culture, heritage and sustainable development. We believe historical and historiographical analysis can help shift the discourse from strategies focused on short-term gains to long-term approaches that consider both historical dynamics and the potential consequences of future developments. An analytical focus on water – its materiality and flows – can help shift the discourse from disconnected, monodisciplinary approaches to spatial, social and cultural analysis, connecting multiple scales, diverse stakeholders and local characteristics over time.

How to Cite

Hein, C., D’Agostino, M., Salzinger, M., & Sliwinska, Z. (2025). Editorial Issue 1/2025: Narratives on Water History and Heritage: Agents of Value-Based Adaptive Design Approaches. Blue Papers, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2025.1.ed

Published

2025-07-09

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2025): Water & Heritage for Sustainable Development

Section

editorial

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Carola Hein, Matteo D’Agostino, Maëlle Salzinger, Zuzanna Sliwinska

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Carola Hein, Delft University of Technology

Carola Hein is Professor History of Architecture and Urban Planning at Delft University of Technology, Professor at Leiden and Erasmus University and UNESCO Chair Water, Ports and Historic Cities. She has published and lectured widely on topics in contemporary and historical architectural, urban and planning history and has tied historical analysis to contemporary development. Among other major grants, she received a Guggenheim and an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship. Her recent books include Port City Atlas (2023), Oil Spaces (2021), Urbanisation of the Sea (2020), Adaptive Strategies for Water Heritage (2020), The Routledge Planning History Handbook (2018), Port Cities: Dynamic Landscapes and Global Networks (2011). Carola is also the leader of the PortCityFutures research group.

Matteo D’Agostino, Delft University of Technology

Matteo D’Agostino is a researcher at the Delft University of Technology, a member of the PortCityFutures research group, and currently affiliated with the UNESCO Chair for Water, Ports and Historic Cities. Matteo is a cultural anthropologist experienced in the analysis of perceptions and relational dynamics between public and private actors. His research focuses on understanding multiple structural, spatial and socio-economic factors as the basis for spatial planning and social interventions. Other interests include policy implementation for granting access to basic resources, such as water, and the strategic reinterpretation of heritage by institutional and activist organizations.

Maëlle Salzinger, Delft University of Technology

Maëlle Salzinger is a researcher and policy analyst from France, based at Delft University of Technology, in the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning. She develops methodologies and practical tools to support just sustainability transitions and adaptation to climate change, with a focus on long-term impact. She leads the impact analysis of the Bauhaus of the Sea Sails project (2022–2025), funded by the European Commission as part of the New European Bauhaus initiative. After four years working as a policy analyst and gender focal point at ECDPM (the Centre for Africa-Europe Relations), she aims to advance equity and climate justice. She holds a master’s degree from Sciences Po Paris, France.

Zuzanna Sliwinska, Independent researcher

Zuzanna Sliwinska is an architectural designer and researcher with an MSc (cum laude) from Delft University of Technology and a bachelor’s degree from Westminster University, London. She has worked on several projects on water-related heritage sites and climate change hazards in Europe and Asia. As co-creator and editor of the open-access journal Blue Papers: Water & Heritage for Sustainable Development, which was featured at the 2023 UN Water Conference, she investigates the interplay between water, culture and heritage to inform sustainable water systems. Her personal research focuses on the relationship between human activities and the Deep Bay wetland ecosystem in Hong Kong. She examines how traditional practices like aquaculture have shaped the landscape, supported local wildlife and have been impacted by urban expansion and changing cultural priorities.

References

De Martino, Paolo, John M. K. Hanna and Carola Hein. 2023. “Adaptive Strategies in Naples and Beirut: Methodology, Scenario Thinking and Design Fiction.” European Journal of Creative Practices in Cities and Landscapes (CPCL), 6, no. 1: 114–40. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2612-0496/16986.

Hein, Carola, Zuzanna Sliwinska and Matteo D’Agostino. 2025. “Editorial: Ancient Hydro-Technologies.” Blue Papers: Ancient Hydro-Technologies: 3–6. https://bookrxiv.com/index.php/b/catalog/view/57/104/355.

Carola Hein, Maurice Harteveld, John Hanna, Paolo De Martino, Muamer Tabaković, Carlien Donkor and Libera Amenta. 2024. “A Journey through Water Scarcity: A Blend of Openness and Sharing in Public Spaces and Guarded Secrecy in Four Moroccan Cities.” PortCityFutures Blog, September 6, 2024. https://www.portcityfutures.nl/news/a-journey-through-water-scarcity-a-blend-of-openness-and-sharing-in-public-spaces-and-guarded.