Publications
The Water Management System of Augsburg: UNESCO World Heritage Property, Global Practice Example and Role Model
Augsburg's Water Management System stands as a global model for sustainable water resource management over 800 years. Its innovative solutions and resilience to climate challenges are underpinned by the 2019 management plan and augmented by Augsburg's 2022 Climate Adaptation Plan, which prioritizes 'water' as a key action field. The system's adaptability is further demonstrated through its integration into three EU projects: Licca Liber, LIFE, and Contempo2, aimed at restoring the Lech River and its floodplain habitats. This interplay of historical ingenuity and modern adaptation offers a blueprint for urban resilience and sustainable development worldwide.
Naturalizing Technology, Technologizing Nature: On the Global Political Ecology of Smart Environments
Integrating sensor-based technologies into urban green infrastructures, such as smart trees equipped with soil moisture sensors in Augsburg, Germany, reshapes and re-politicizes the relationship between humans, nature, and data. While terms like The Internet of Nature frame these practices as neutral means for environmental protection, they overlook the sociotechnical configurations that produce and interpret data. This study argues for understanding such developments as a technologization of nature, where digital technologies are used to artificially maintain ecosystem services amid climate instability. However, this approach isolates and optimizes selected causal relationships, transforming self-sustaining ecological processes into engineered systems. Moreover, the global political economy enabling these smart interventions disproportionately benefits wealthy regions in the Global North, reinforcing inequalities while obscuring the complex social arrangements underpinning technologized ecosystems.
The Power of Urban Water
Urban water management is a critical factor in the development and sustainability of cities, shaping their social, economic, and cultural landscapes. The study highlights that cities, even premodern ones, rely heavily on centralized water systems for survival and growth. It emphasizes the importance of water as a universal urban resource, influencing health conditions, diets, and infrastructural development such as aqueducts, sewers, and bridges. The research underscores that the presence or absence of water significantly impacts urban practices, economies, and aesthetic quality. By focusing on Augsburg's premodern water management systemthe study provides a case example of how water has been historically managed to support urban life, offering insights into its broader significance across civilizations.
You are here:
World Heritage Explorer > World Heritage Research > World Heritage Sites > Water Management System of Augsburg