Oslo Hydropolis (A Watershed Approach to Urban Landscapes)

Oslo Hydropolis argues that a society’s relationship to water must be reimagined before its landscapes and cities can become more resilient, interconnected, and livable. It introduces the concept of “watershed urbanity”: a civic vision of urban life that focuses on the retention, circulation, and visibility of water. This approach starts where rain reaches the ground: the landscape, the slope of the land, and the way people manage water all shape what becomes of it. The same interplay is put to work at the scale of the whole region, where water is to be guided, used, and stored across urban and rural spaces alike. The Oslo region is a test bed for this proposition—specific enough to explore it, open enough to reveal dynamics shared by metropolitan territories elsewhere. 

With a foreword by Alex Wall and contributions by Elisabeth Sjödahl, Miguel Hernández Quintanilla, Espen Heggertveit, and Eirik Mikalsen Stokke.

• Reframes water as a vital cultural force in the city, challenging the legacy of “modern water” as an abstract commodity

• Introduces “watershed urbanity” as an innovative framework for reshaping urban life through rain, terrain, gravity, and care

   

• Advances the discourse on water and urbanism by exploring how regenerating watersheds can generate new, fine-grained forms of urbanity