How our citiesâ lost rivers are being revived
Most city-dwellers are unaware of the subterranean waterways flowing beneath their feet, but many cities have forgotten rivers that have been buried underground for over a century.
In Paris, a stream named the BiÚvre used to flow through the Left Bank, joining the Seine near the Gare Austerlitz. In the 1800s, Victor Hugo described it as an idyllic urban oasis and its water was rumoured to have magical properties. But over time water-mills, tanners and shoemakers gathered around the BiÚvre, and by the mid-nineteenth century it had become a health hazard. Baron Haussmannâs transformation of the city saw it gradually buried underground, until it completely disappeared from the Parisian landscape in 1912.
Several efforts to revive the BiÚvre have since failed, but in 2020 the Paris city council announced its intention to recover the forgotten waterway as part of its ambition to bring nature back into the city. Bodies of water can mitigate the heat island effect by absorbing heat, and can also help prevent flooding by carrying excess rainwater. âThe renaissance of the BiÚvre is no longer an unrealistic hypothesis,â Dan Lert, the deputy mayor in charge of climate, water and energy, said after mayor Anne Hidalgo was re-elected in 2020. âThere is a real need for more cool, green areas in Paris!â
A river in Yonkers, New York, revealed by daylighting. Photograph: rblfmr / Shutterstock.com
The BiÚvre is not the only urban river to experience a renaissance. Around the world, âdaylighti