RESURRECTING RIVERINE IDENTITY Civic symbolism, ghostly traces and waterway restoration in 21st century Łódź (Poland)

Abstract

Rivers have been attractive sites for human settlement since time immemorial, offering access to freshwater and biological resources (such as fish, waterfowl, and riverine vegetation). During the IndustrialRevolution, waterways played an important role in the development of metropolitan centres, providingtransport routes for incoming materials and outgoing products, water for various manufacturing purposes,and serving as effluent disposal channels. In some cases, industrialisation led to rivers being variouslypaved over and/or directed into underground channels. In the developed world, in particular, the declinein established heavy industries over the last 50–75 years has resulted in areas around many formerindustrial sites being reimagined and repurposed as residential and/or public spaces. In these contexts,previously neglected waterways have become assets that can be developed for civic and/or commercialpurposes. This article examines a largely overlooked aspect of this: the ways in which the obscuredriverine identities of metropolitan areas have been retained and deployed in aspects of civic symbolismand/or place-naming. These practices may evoke what might be considered ghostly. It also considershow such traces have aided in the rediscovery of obscured waterways and, thereby, in the potential toexcavate and restore them. We explore these aspects with regard to the Polish city of Łódź and themanner in which its recent history provides insight into the potential to resurrect riverine identity andwaterside spaces. The article considers the historic importance of rivers in the development of Łódź;the factors underlying their burial and (in some contexts) near erasure; the relevance of the city’s nameand related public symbolism; and contemporary attempts to restore elements of the city’s waterways asnature reserves and public amenities.