Changing Waterscapes, Changing Plans

When climate is changing it affects not just the weather, but the entire circuit of water. From the basics of Geology, we realize, that water is one of the most forceful powers in the endlessly reshaping of landscapes. We also learn, that there is no such thing as status quo — that change is the state. In the era of climate change, one might say: dynamic is the state. If we then turn to considering landscape processes as foundation of all existing and future urban constructions, we realize that changing climate causes dynamic conditions for the urban realm. However, the question of how dynamic landscape conditions could be approached strategically in large scale planning, is still lurking in the dark. I have investigated the barriers and prospects of entailing landscape processes as actors in large scale physical planning in the municipality of Aarhus. The reflections put forward here will focus on the most dynamic landscape actor of the Danish winter of 2019–2020: Waterscapes.