Water cities: a typology

Human settlement is often related to water. This can be the edge of a lake, a well, the bank of a river or the shore of the sea. As the availability of enough fresh drinking water is important for the survival of the species this is hardly surprising. As settlements developed some were granted a special status or surpassed other settlements because of a particularly favourable position. As these urban settlements grew they differentiated. Some cities grew naturally as a result of the cultivation of the area around it. Some cities grew as result of the foundation of a power base like an abbey, castle or high status residence. Other cities grew because they had been granted special rights, for instance to hold markets, to administer justice, to staple certain goods and commodities, to weigh goods, to mint coins, to tax passing traders, vessels and carts and to build defenses.

Some cities are located on the edge of the water, for instance on a lake, on the sea or on a large river. Other cities spread on both sides of a watercourse. This can be a natural river but also an artificial water channel (one only needs to think of the city of Delft). Often cities grew where a smaller watercourse joined a larger one; for instance a brook flowing into a larger river, a river flowing into the sea, etcetera. Some cities were built on an island. This can be a natural island (think of Manhattan), but also one or more artificial islands (Venice is the best known example).

Water cities can be characterized by their spatial relation to a specific body of water. There are waterfront cities that edge a large body of water like a lake, the sea or wide inlet or river. This type of water city borders onto the water on one side with parallel patterns on that side as well.

A more common location of a water city is on one or both sides of a watercourse. This can be a natural brook or small river, but also a manmade drainage channel or canal. These waterside cities can be located on high ground next to a river or brook, but also in the floodplain. Dam cities are a special category within the latter. Damming the watercourse regulates water levels behind it and can prevent frequent flooding when combined with moats and canals that encircle the urban area.

The third category of water city is also located along a watercourse, but specifically at the junction of two streams or canals. These water junction cities can be located at the junction of two streams of similar width or at the junction of a smaller stream with a bigger one. Such cities can be located on higher ground but also in the floodplain.

The last type of water city is surrounded by water on all sides. Such island cities can be located on a large single island or on many separate islands. These clusters of urbanised islands can be both natural (Stockholm) and artificial (St. Petersburg).

For many people a true water city has to have visible surface water present throughout the urban area. This means that waterfront and waterside cities on higher ground and cities on large islands are not seen as a water city but as a city by the water. Especially cities characterised as water junction cities, waterside cities in the floodplain -including dam cities- and cities built on several small island (especially when artificial) are to most people true water cities. For instance London (the City) is a city by the water and Rotterdam like all dam cities is a water city.