Seite - 4 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

4 AnnetteHaugandUlrichMüller design of a city? How are specific water practices linked to mental concepts?What roles do different typesofwaterpractices (religious, political, economic, andartistic) play in the forma- tionof urban ‘identities’? 2)Perceptions of urban agglomerations referring to theirwaterscapes are particularly im- portant for harbour cities and cities located on rivers. As specific urban architectural forms (aqueducts, fountains, nymphaea) stage and aestheticise water elements, they shape the per- ception of ‘urbanwater’. The following questionswill be of importance: Howdo ‘water cities’ (located on rivers, lakes or the sea) differ fromother cities with respect to their ‘atmospheric’ qualities?What is the influenceof theclimate (arid/humid)on theperceptionofurbanagglom- erations?What are the sensual qualities of practices involvingwater? 3)A large rangeofarchitectural formsand infrastructuralmeasuresaimat the control, provision, removal, or staging ofwater. ‘Water architectures’ thus become prominent features of anurban setting. The followingquestionswill be of importance:What kindof architectures result from thepresenceor absenceofwater? Inwhatwaydoeswater and its relatedbuildings and infrastructurehavean influenceonurban lifestyles (agency)andonurbandesign (percep- tion)? 4)As thepresence or absence ofwater is linked tourbanpractices, perceptions andarchi- tectural settings, it is thus alsoan important factor for themental conceptualisationand im- agining of cities. The following questionswill be of importance:What role doeswater play in specific urban (religious, political, social)mind-sets?Howdosuchconcepts interferewith spe- cific practices andperceptions?Are there conflicts andcontests connected to the access towa- ter?What significancedoeswater have in the senseof empowerment? 5)Water as such is the central resource of any settlement. It not only quenches thirst, it also provides an aquatic infrastructure for transport (rivers, lakes, sea), for energy generation, for craft activities, etc.Waterasamaterial resource is thusalwaysembedded inmanifold forms of knowledge and techniques (immaterial resources) that allow for its use. The followingques- tions will be of importance:What forms of actions and perceptions does the ‘resource’ water enable or prevent?How is the ‘resource’water instrumentalised socially andpolitically?What are the economic effects ofwater availability and scarcity? 6) Water constitutes a central environmental factor. The following questions will be of importance: Inwhatwaydoes thepresenceor scarcity ofwater havean influenceon flora and faunaandthusonurbandiets? Inwhatwaydoesthefrequencyorscarcityofrainwater (climate) have an influence onurbanhabits (agency), perceptions and themental concepts of cities? In whatwaydodroughts, but also floods threatenurban life? Andon amore general level: How doecological factors influence the formationof settlementnetworks? Apparently, all categories (Fig. 1) – urban agency and perception, urbanmaterial design, theavailabilityof resources,urbanmindsets,andenvironmentalsettings–aremutuallyrelated. Thematic organizationof thepresent volume The present volume provides case studies that start fromdifferent facets of the networkmen- tionedabove:water as anaesthetic category (perception),water in the context of rituals (agen- cy), urbanwater as amental category,water infrastructure (architecture),water as an environ- mental factor, and, on a more general level, water as a factor of urbanization. However, all contributors focus on the interdependency of several of the aspects mentioned. In so doing, they refer to theMediterranean region as well as Central Europe, and cover a time span that ranges from the 6th century BC to the 18th century AD. The volume thus focuses on the ‘Euro- pean’ town.