Rivers, as powerful natural agents, have historically been not only sources of life and sustenance but also the creators and connectors of culture. From ancient civilizations that shaped agricultural lands and built their cities along riverbanks to the modern landscapes that have developed around them, rivers have always been central to the identity, sustainability, and evolution of human societies. The Menderes (Maeander) River in southwestern Anatolia presents a unique case of how a river can shape both natural and cultural landscapes. This river basin, often called the "Valley of Civilizations”, has played a crucial role in settlement development and cultural shaping throughout Anatolia's history. As the landscape evolved, its water-related relationships—marked by the river's fluctuating presence, scarcity, and abundance—have given rise to new heritage forms, further complicating management of this multi-layered landscape. Addressing this complexity requires a heritage information management and decision support system capable of integrating multi-scale, multi-faceted data for sustainable management. In this regard, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have proven to be valuable tools, creating comprehensive, interdisciplinary platforms to understand, analyze, and manage diverse layers of complex landscapes. Thereupon, MeRiΔGIS, a GIS-based heritage information management and decision support system, is established to understand and assess the multi-dimensional characteristics of the Menderes River Delta for its conservation and sustainable management. MeRiΔGIS provides a comprehensive understanding of the ongoing transformations in the riverine landscape, emphasizing the interaction between natural and cultural components, as well as the key human and more-than-human agents shaping its evolution. Ultimately, the MeRiΔGIS serves as a tool to re-establish fragmented relationships between the river, its surrounding communities, and the landscape. This interdisciplinary, GIS-based approach offers a model for managing other riverine and water-linked landscapes, integrating heritage conservation with modern information management technologies to address the complexities of the natural-cultural nexus. ... Read more

This deliverable focuses on 20 national case studies that shed light on 200 women who spearhead unique innovations in the realm of rural areas and farming across ten European countries. The innovations led by the women are centred around four pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, economic, and cultural. They span across three distinct rural typologies: rural areas close to a city, rural villages, and remote rural regions. This comprehensive study provides a rich tapestry of female-led ingenuity and resilience in rural Europe.

The case study reports on 100 women-led farming innovations revealing a diverse, unique, and dynamic set of innovations. However, the rural location’s impact on these innovations is debated, with some countries finding that the type of innovation or regional differences within a country are more significant than the rural typology. The women have introduced farming innovations that vary in scale, duration, and ownership structure, with many based on organic, biodynamic, and agroecological farming. Women engaged in farming innovation often face challenges due to patriarchal social norms, with many feeling that they are not being taken seriously, particularly those without a family farming background. Despite these challenges, which include motherhood, financial constraints, bureaucratic hurdles, and infrastructural issues, many women gain community respect and inspire others by successfully managing their farming projects. Despite challenges, women engaged in farming innovation are combining domestic and care work with business, and leveraging support from partners, family, and friends. They also benefit from financial grants, strong local and international networks, technology, visibility through media, and support from local governments, demonstrating resilience and adaptability in their endeavours.

The case study also reports on 100 female-led rural innovations, which vary greatly across and within countries, with many recent initiatives in the past four years. These innovators, ranging in age from 26 to 78 and often highly educated, lead these initiatives either individually or in groups, and operate through registered businesses, associations, or informally, demonstrating the diversity and adaptability of women in this sector. The innovations are mostly related to environmental activities, community engagement, rural job creation, tourism, and training and education initiatives. The impact of the rural location on these innovations varies, with some countries finding that the type of innovation or other characteristics like local culture and religiosity are more significant than the rural typology. Despite these challenges, women innovators leverage their rural environments, integrating community needs, utilizing local resources, and creating urban-rural connections, demonstrating adaptability across different rural typologies. Support from intimate social circles, including partners and family, is essential for women-led innovations in rural areas, though work-life balance can be a challenge, particularly in relation to childcare. Local communities can provide resources and support, but gaining trust can be difficult, and infrastructure constraints, such as public transport and broadband, can impact innovation. Financial constraints are common, with complex regulations and bureaucracy posing additional challenges, yet public funds and alternative funding routes can provide crucial support. Despite these challenges, favourable conditions such as technical and business support systems, passion for their innovations, supportive networks, and geographical circumstances can offer opportunities for innovative solutions.

Drawing together female-led farming and rural innovations we can see that they are both diverse and have a high degree of adaptability. The importance of local and international networks, financial grants, and support from local governments are emphasized in fostering these innovations. Also, the role of and support from partners, family, and friends in these innovations are significant in both female-led farming and rural innovations. The challenges the women face include patriarchal social norms, financial constraints, bureaucratic hurdles, and issues related to infrastructure. The impact of rural location varies, with some countries finding that factors other than the rural typology, such as the type of innovation or regional differences within a country, are more significant. ... Read more

Throughout history, fresh water supply has been an issue of political, social, economic, and cultural importance to cities. Istanbul and its hinterland have a rich water heritage of more than 1,500 years. This includes dams, tunnels, aqueducts, distribution stations, water towers, reservoirs, fountains, and baths, as well as the social and cultural traditions that go with them. Many of these remains are protected by cultural heritage regulations but also suffer from neglect, uncontrolled urban development, and deliberate destruction. At present, planners, policymakers, and the public are insufficiently aware of the value and potential of this heritage. The Netherlands Institute in Turkey (NIT) Urban Heritage Lab was set up in 2021 to address urban sustainability challenges through heritage-focused education programs. It operates from the basic notion that contemporary urban issues require (conservation) architects, planners and heritage professionals that are trained in multi-disciplinary approaches. To address the challenges and possibilities for the transformation and reuse of water heritage from a multi-disciplinary perspective, the Urban Heritage Lab offered a post-graduate course in the autumn of 2022. The course took place partly online (lectures and discussions), partly on-site in Istanbul (field trips, study groups, and workshops), and was open to early-career professionals and graduate students of any discipline from higher education institutions in the Netherlands and Türkiye. We will show that our course ‘Water Heritage for Sustainable Cities’ explored water heritage by approaching it as a complex network of material and immaterial remains - not as isolated historical relics - in a modern urban setting. With a focus on Istanbul’s water heritage and discussing case studies from elsewhere, the course participants investigated how water heritage can be employed to raise awareness of worldwide historical and contemporary water issues. In this way, the course relied on constructive and inquiry-based pedagogical approaches as the participants developed group projects to enable the community to re-valorise Istanbul’s water heritage through its transformation and reuse. Scholars and experts from the Netherlands and Türkiye (two countries with a rich history in water-related developments) contributed with presentations and discussions of historical and contemporary water-related topics. The course participants investigated the material and immaterial history and aspects of the ancient Valens Aqueduct (Bozdogan Kemeri) in today’s Istanbul, as an example of a water heritage object that underwent many transformations over the centuries and lost its original function. To deal with the challenges of studying water heritage in education, the course introduced “landscape biography” as a methodology for understanding heritage places with multiple narratives and layers. In this presentation, we will discuss the potential, limitations, and outcomes of the course by assessing the proposals for action that the participants developed in a multi-disciplinary design studio which utilized research-by-design as a tool to stimulate social and active learning, thereby focusing on sustainable development and/or increasing public awareness of contemporary and future water issues. ... Read more

Tijdens de Open Bunkerdag op 2 en 3 juni 2023 zijn toekomstplannen voor diverse bunkerlocaties tentoongesteld op 4 locaties: De Fuhrer der Schnellboote bunker (Van der Stolkpark), Seys-inQuart bunker (landgoed Clingendael), Atlantikwall museum Noordijk en Atlantikwall museum Katwijk (Duinweg). Op de locatie Fuhrer der Schnellboote bunker zijn enkele studenten in gesprek met bezoekers gegaan naar hoe zij de Atlantikwall zagen. ... Read more

This books describes from multiple perspective the importance of planted avenues ... Read more

This book is about the first ten years of the master track in Landscape Architecture at the Department of Urbanism in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft. It delves into the personal, educational, didactical, organizational and, above all, substantive dimensions of the teaching of this appealing and highly relevant discipline at the academic level. The book has three parts. The first part – PROFILE – discusses the context and events that led up to the development of the master track and influenced its further development – from the very first landscape architecture related appointments and initiatives in the 1940s to the first day in September 2010 when the programme began with seven participants, and on to the celebration of its tenth anniversary in 2021. Infographics show the numbers and profiles of the student population and illustrate the structure of the master curriculum. The second section – WORK – contains snapshots of drawings, photos, collages and other graphic material produced by our students. The images are loosely grouped according to the five stages in the design process: exploring, understanding, conceptualizing, modifying and engineering the landscape. Interspersed with this kaleidoscopic variety of images you will find a series of short essays on key topics in landscape architecture education written by the present staff of the Landscape Architecture section. Finally, at the end of the book you will find a few lists – PEOPLE – of all those involved: students, staff and guest lecturers. They are the ones who made and still make the master track such a wonderful community to belong to. ... Read more

This article describes how students’ landscape architecture made objects to 'describe' the history of a part of Midden-Delfland. These objects could be models, series of drawings, films, websites, et cetera. ... Read more

In this exhibition landscape biographies of Midden Delfland are presented in objects and timelines. The exhibition took place in Museum Het Tramstation, 15 October 2022 - 15 January 2023. ... Read more

This article describes the four most important locations of avenues and design principles. Planted avenues were created on and next to country estates, in cities (as part of the urban fabric), along main roads through the open landscape, and in reclaimed landscapes. ... Read more

In this exhibition models of the landscape biography and designs for the future of Midden-Delfland are exhibited. Organised by TU Delft and gemeente Delft in Stadskantoor Delft. ... Read more

This article describes the definition of planted avenues with it's seven perspectives on the influence of planted avenues. ... Read more

This article describes the discussion about the felling of planted avenues due to road safety. ... Read more

This paper is on the understanding of the cultural (historic) coherence in the urban landscape systems in the Netherlands and the use of this knowledge for sustainable landscape transformations. When culture (use, meaning) is hermeneutically read in (historic) landscape features, we can fully understand how the historic landscape functioned as a system in the past. If we understand the historic landscape system, we can find future solutions to spatial problems nowadays maintaining its heritage value. This paper presents a hermeneutic approach to heritage preservation describing the coherence of our culturally formed landscapes or heritage landscapes in a threefold approach based on the parameters form, meaning and use on different scales and in various timeframes The explanation of this approach is given by presenting an example from, the chosen a study of Dutch country houses and suburban villas erected as part of Dutch landscape in the seventeenth century. Nowadays, these individual green monuments are seen as countryhouses-and-suburban-villas landscapes. These landscapes can be defined as large scale landscape structures or even systems. Research learned that water (rivers, brooks, canals et cetera) was the backbone of all Dutch country-houses-and-suburban-villas landscapes and by defining these water systems, we can create country-houses-and-suburban landscapes for spatial, ecological, climatological, cultural and organisational reasons; an example of this application is the story of the Baakse Beek. ... Read more

The Southern Waterline (Zuiderwaterlinie) is a defence landscape with fortresses, fortified cities, bunkers, inundation areas from Bergen op Zoom to Grave in the Netherlands. The article starts with a brief overview of its construction since the fifteenth century.

The second part of the article deals with the three major approaches in heritage management nowadays. These are restoring and reconstructing the built objects, reusing and transforming the ensemble for future use, and revitalising and visualising the narratives. ... Read more

Abstract 366. This contribution deals with design workshops as part of public participatory processes in (sometimes) stiff processes on the rehabilitation of heritage landscapes. ... Read more

Editorial of the special issue Zuiderwaterline ... Read more

Student workshops, design charrettes or student hubs are different forms of design education used to contribute to the spatial transformation of heritage management.
In this article, the advantage of using workshops in heritage transformation processes in participatory processes is underlined in this article. This is in line with the power of designing (in Dutch: ontwerpkracht). ... Read more