Canalised Urban Waterways, Palimpsest Landscapes and Climate Adaptation: Comparison of Ecomorphological Trajectories from Isparta and Chelmsford

Abstract

This paper examines canalised urban waterways as active ecomorphological agents in the Anthropocene city through a comparative study of Isparta, Türkiye, and Chelmsford, United Kingdom. Focusing on Isparta’s Çayboyu canal and associated stream system, and Chelmsford’s canalised corridor shaped by the Rivers Chelmer and Can, the paper investigates how urban waterways form and modify relationships between urban morphology, spatial memory and public space. Canalised streams and rivers are reviewed as palimpsest landscapes and spatial corridors that continue to influence urban form, multispecies movement, and everyday experience in the age of climate change and redevelopment pressures. This study reviews how each waterway has been altered, marginalised, and reactivated within the evolving processes of urban development. The findings demonstrate that the integration of town centres depends not only on standard design solutions or location, but also on the ability to make ecological and everyday spatial relations visible and accessible. In this sense, ecomorphological trajectories contribute to debates in river restoration, ecological and morphological approaches and multispecies urban studies. Finally, the paper suggests that more permeable and adaptive approaches to canalised waterways could support spatial scenarios for reconnecting town centres with blue-green infrastructure under climate uncertainty.