Governing Riverscapes Urban Environmental Change along the River Yamuna in Delhi, India

About this book

Existing research analyzes riverfront developments largely from a city-centric point of view, assuming a clear boundary between the river and the city. The research presented in Governing Riverscapes shows that the complexity of urban environmental transformation along rivers in the megacities of the Global South requires a change of perspective, going beyond such a dichotomous view.

By linking a discourse analytical approach with concepts from governance research and urban political ecology, this study introduces the theoretical framework of riverscapes as socio-ecological hybrids for a comprehensive analysis. The concept is applied to the river Yamuna.

Delhi's riverscapes have recently seen large-scale slum demolitions and the development of urban mega-projects. These dynamic land-use changes are deeply connected to changing discursive framings of the role and function of Delhi's riverscapes in the remaking of the megacity. The study shows how dominant discourses and their associated narratives have remained persistent over long periods of time and the influence they continue to have on urban environmental change and governance.

Contents

- Introduction and research context
- Theoretical reflections
- Methodology and methods
- Situating the case study
- Historical-geographical insights into the material and discursive remaking of delhi’s riverscapes
 The reclamation of Delhi’s riverscapes for a world-class city in the making
- After the urban mega-projects: purifying Delhi’s riverscapes for restoration, conservation and beautifcation
- Governing Delhi’s riverscapes: a synthesis

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Biography

Dr. Alexander Follmann studied geography at the University of Cologne and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. In 2009, he started his PhD as a visiting PhD candidate at the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi. From 2011 to 2013, he had a PhD fellowship from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes). Since 2013, he has been working as a lecturer and researcher at the Institute of Geography, University of Cologne.