In Fluid Environments, Human-water engagements and reconfigurations in an urban context. A case study for Can Tho, in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

Abstract

This thesis highlights the socionatural forces that produced the Vietnamese Mekong Delta as well the entangled dynamics in which humans inhabit it and give meaning to it. Over the past decades the Delta experienced a rapid transformation which is mostly defined by the changing role of water. State-led water control efforts have largely altered the way people engage with water in which adaptation made place for the perception that human can construct their environment. Under the process of urbanization rivers were replaced by roads and life along the rivers was considered backwards. Despite rapid urban transformations there are still traces from the water-centered way of living detectable in present-day Can Tho. Cai Rang floating market embodies the human-engagement with water and is not only a tourist attraction but also an expression of how human adapt to the changing conditions in the Delta. By focusing on human-water engagements in an urban context, this thesis will show how the perception that humans can construct nature is to be contested and that adaptation is still a valuable quality of those who inhabit the Delta.