Locality in Water-Related Urban Design: Dimensions and Examples

Abstract

On account of globalization and the world-wide urbanization processes, our towns are becoming increasingly uniform. By way of a counterreaction, the concept of locality and site specificity is being examined in greater depth in the context of town planning and is gaining in significance. But what does the term locality mean exactly in terms of town planning and the planning of open spaces? How can references to a locality in planning be clearly recognized and what options are there for integrating them into designs regarding the planning of urban and open spaces? In order to answer these questions, the article examines the various dimensions of locality. It points to methods of integrating a sense of locality into planning and, on the basis of implemented practical examples, examines the means of putting them into practice. In addition, on the basis of student projects it shows how references to locality can be integrated concretely into a design process. One thus recognizes that locality is always produced in the field of tension between temporal, spatio-physical and socio-cultural dimensions. These dimensions can be weighted differently, depending upon the circumstances and planning task. At the same time, the three principle methods of preservation, reconstruction and adaptation can be recognized as design methods. But investigating the idea of locality in the design process does not remain an end in itself. Rather, it is suited to serving as a source of inspiration and as an important provider of topics.