New uses for old waterways

Surface freshwaters system management can be considered as one of the most relevant issues affecting the quality of lived spaces in the western world. Growing water pollution and consumption, alongside with the opposing intensity of sudden floods and the long-lasting drought, are exacerbated by the remarkable spread of both urban sprawl phenomenon and intensification of agribusiness. This lead to irreversible loss of the main support underpinning the basic eco-systems, with special regards to the dynamic of the hydro-geological system. The chapter explores how the digital census and recovery of waterways as cultural and environmental heritage are becoming a central feature in European spatial planning. The long-lasting historical interaction between the natural base and anthropic intervention has produced peculiar waterscapes that today are linear paths of high cultural value where it is possible to identify specific and unique cultural and environmental heritage.