Cultivating Commons

Abstract

The traditional Dike–fish pond system in the Pearl River Delta represents a historically integrated model of agriculture, aquaculture, and community-based water management. This system not only maintained ecological balance through the integration of farming and fishing (Chen, 1995), but also fostered daily interaction between people and water, supporting the socio-economic fabric of water-based communities (Hou, Li, & Sun, 2023). However, with rapid urbanization and the expansion of the monoculture-based fishing industry, this balanced model is facing severe disruption. Traditional fishponds have been largely replaced or modified, dikes once used for cultivation have disappeared, and the spatial and ecological integrity of the system has been lost (Tian, 2019). Moreover, locally organized water management practices have been replaced by top-down, profit-driven aquaculture, eroding the social connections between people and water.
Drawing from the sociology of water, this project views the current crisis as not merely ecological, but deeply social. As Bakker (2012) emphasizes, water is inherently political and biopolitical—it is shaped by governance, culture, and community relationships. The reduction of water to a purely economic or productive resource neglects its vital social functions and undermines cultural identity, emotional connections, and communal agency. The case of Sangyuanwei, a once-thriving mulberry–dike–fish–pond system in the central Pearl River Delta, exemplifies this transformation, where spatial disintegration reflects broader shifts in the relationship between humans and water.
In response, this project proposes a landscape infrastructure design framework that re-centers the social nature of water. Through multi-scalar strategies, it aims to regenerate ecological function, restore local livelihoods, and reestablish cultural practices. At the regional level, it restructures water systems and production zones to form a network of blue-green infrastructure supporting both ecological and economic resilience. At the medium scale, it rebalances the dike-to-pond ratio to revive the multifunctionality of the system. At the local scale, it creates participatory water spaces that reconnect daily life with water through tourism, education, and community use.
Ultimately, this project raises a critical question for contemporary landscape practice: How can a landscape approach mitigate the negative impacts of the fish industry, enhance local livelihoods, and create a healthier, more sustainable, and visually attractive landscape through local participation? By reinterpreting water, water systems, and agricultural production as interconnected media carrying ecological, economic, social, and cultural value, the project offers an integrated approach that links spatial transformation with community agency, ecological resilience, and cultural renewal.