The many studies, some quite recent, that have been conducted on the morphological implications of the complex and multi-faceted relationship between human settlements and natural resources, particularly water, have questioned and mainly described strongly anthropised and historically well-documented realities, although mostly in Europe. This is why it is interesting to study some territories that have not been analysed by conventional historical or urban research; territories that can be defined as extreme due to their devastating, though cyclical, environmental emergencies linked to water (drought, but also excessive water caused by flooding, deluges, torrential rains and cyclones), and also due to the living conditions of the people living there, who are forced to adopt adaptive resource and energy saving strategies. In fact, these territories, where the people have always lived side by side with emergencies stemming from floods, cyclones and drought, seem to circumstantially prove a hypothesis of reciprocal “adaptation” (between humans and the environment), which appears to express an undeniable feature of sustainability. An important area to bear in mind in this regard is the territorial environment of the broad coastline of Bangladesh, where more than 40km is subject to cyclical flooding caused by seasonal cyclones. In studying these areas, it becomes clear how the water and energy emergencies have always been factors that have conditioned urban planning, enabling us to identify which spatial devices have remained over time which are able to save resources, and the persistence of settlement models adapted to the conditions and, as a result, adapted to the environment. The relative balance established by the populations over centuries to face emergency situations has, however, deteriorated over the last 50 years following modernisation processes that have taken place in this country. This balance seems to be on the way to breaking entirely in the future due to the heavy consequences of climate change.
Adaptive strategies for amphibian territories
MAGRIN, ANNA
2011-01-01
Abstract
The many studies, some quite recent, that have been conducted on the morphological implications of the complex and multi-faceted relationship between human settlements and natural resources, particularly water, have questioned and mainly described strongly anthropised and historically well-documented realities, although mostly in Europe. This is why it is interesting to study some territories that have not been analysed by conventional historical or urban research; territories that can be defined as extreme due to their devastating, though cyclical, environmental emergencies linked to water (drought, but also excessive water caused by flooding, deluges, torrential rains and cyclones), and also due to the living conditions of the people living there, who are forced to adopt adaptive resource and energy saving strategies. In fact, these territories, where the people have always lived side by side with emergencies stemming from floods, cyclones and drought, seem to circumstantially prove a hypothesis of reciprocal “adaptation” (between humans and the environment), which appears to express an undeniable feature of sustainability. An important area to bear in mind in this regard is the territorial environment of the broad coastline of Bangladesh, where more than 40km is subject to cyclical flooding caused by seasonal cyclones. In studying these areas, it becomes clear how the water and energy emergencies have always been factors that have conditioned urban planning, enabling us to identify which spatial devices have remained over time which are able to save resources, and the persistence of settlement models adapted to the conditions and, as a result, adapted to the environment. The relative balance established by the populations over centuries to face emergency situations has, however, deteriorated over the last 50 years following modernisation processes that have taken place in this country. This balance seems to be on the way to breaking entirely in the future due to the heavy consequences of climate change.
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