What does a ‘good’ river look like? Sustainability and aesthetics in river restoration

Abstract

Today, keywords such as sustainability are at the core of societal debates and political conflicts about pressing global water-related environmental issues. These and other terms are brought into play as (e)valuating, explanatory or legitimizing categories or as desirable goals when it comes to questions about how humans do or should relate to watery environments. I examine these valuation and negotiation processes by looking at river restoration in Switzerland and Europe and ask how sustainability is ‘made’ in practices, e.g., how it is enacted and how, thereby, this omnipresent but often un-reflected value is actually imbued with meaning. My focus in this paper lies on media discourses and representations within river restoration and the aesthetics with which sustainability is evoked: How is sustainability, how is a ‘good’ river supposed to look like in these water-related utopias and how are they represented (visually and otherwise)? After giving an overview of my theoretical approach and presenting my general research interest regarding the field of river restoration, I investigate these questions by analysing three case studies.

Keywords: River restauration, Sustainability, Aesthetics, Anthropology of water