The Xingu River Basin sits within the Amazon Biome and integrates its deforestation belt. It is home to a multitude of endemic species and indigenous nations which are now threatened by the disruption of the river’s water pulse caused by the construction and operation of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam. As we face our planet’s ecological collapse due to resource based developmentalism, life on a planetary scale is increasingly threatened. Under the Anthropocene, urbanization networks have expanded beyond the traditional concept of hinterland. Planetary urbanization theory (Brenner & Schmid, 2012) unravels how untouched regions are now operationalized and incorporated into global resource networks.

The project explores the possibilities for mediation between natural and local-social systems with the demands of development brought by modernity to the river’s basin, specifically to the areas directly affected by reduced water flow caused by the dam. Traditionally, Amazon rivers are spaces that allow for shared occupation. By considering water as the meditative space, forms of shared occupation are proposed which can enable a reconfiguration for coexistence and forms of life in the Xingu River according to varied worldviews. This sensitive approach towards local existences looks for a type of urbanization different from that of the modern project. In order to identify potential synchronicities between worldviews, a framework for reading worldview alignments regarding the systems in question was developed.

This thesis questions the limits of urban practice in such territories, posing a question that possibly cannot be answered with the tools we have at our disposal. If our field intends to position itself within such territories, we must begin to propose an alternative paradigm which can adequately territorialize cosmopolitics. Would Cosmourbanism be achievable?

Brenner, N. & Schmid, C. (2012). Planetary Urbanization. In M. Gandy (Eds.), Urban Constellations (pp. 10-13). Berlin: Jovis.

To help combat climate change, promote sustainable development and match the goals set in the Paris Agreement, the Province of Zuid-Holland wants to transition to a circular economy. To make this transition successful, the Province ought to adopt an integrative approach, addressing other elements such as socio-spatial inequality, pressure for urban expansion and economic challenges that have to be integrated in the transition strategy. The following report describes these elements and the challenges they bring and proposes a vision and a development strategy based on the sector where these elements connect: the agri-food sector. Zuid-Holland’s agri-food sector is an important link in the global economy, and many of its infrastructures are oriented towards export through the Port of Rotterdam. However, there is an unequal distribution of profit and power related to the agro-food sector, which results in socio-spatial inequality. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis of both the physical and social environment, we conclude that the spatial pressures and existing challenges are most present in the edges of the province’s biggest cities. Hence, the Living Edges project envisions how the linear global agro-food sector can be transformed into a circular regional agri-food sector in a social just way . By designing a strategy in which this transition is detailed in space, the project aims to decrease socio-spatial inequality through bypassing the linear food system with interventions in the edges between the urban and rural areas. It does so by increasing diversity, social cohesion and equitable access to healthy, affordable food. As a result of efficient local circular production, the delta province will have more space for regenerative, nature-based and robust water defense systems. The vision and strategy designed by the Living Edges project provides tools for emancipating the province from the linear global economy towards a local, equitable and circular economy. Through networked governance with a multi-scalar focus, the Province of Zuid-Holland can be an example to other similar regions in Northwestern Europe and promote the idea of a just region.
Dynamic Adaptation Policy Pathways are advised for the strategy in order to incorporate deep uncertainty in the long-term, large scale project. By using stakeholder engagement strategies, including stakeholders in different ways corresponding to the variety of scales and phases.