The main aspiration of this project is to transform the river from a threat to a potential that can be used for a city’s benefit; to be used to protect the urban environment instead of being confined within its natural movement. The river as an everchanging system offers myriad opportunities to the adjacent cities who are forced to constantly invent new uses in order to give the river the freedom it needs to act naturally and provide future opportunities. Currently, most rivers in middle Europe are engineered in urban areas which provokes major flood events further downstream.
The approach to give space to rivers will decrease that risk. Due to shrinking cities in east Germany, it is possible to ‘re-naturalise’ rivers in an urban context. This is important not least because of the high unemployment rates, to include inhabitants into the process and guarantee satisfaction in the population and give a sense of self-determination. Besides this main objective, alternative uses for the dedicated flood-protected areas will be in the interest of local residents who can then inhabit the created space.
