With all 300 tickets sold out and a welcoming atmosphere for fresh insights, the TEDx event held on December 2nd in Freiburg, Germany, featured talks that explored the intersection of biology and technology, likened life to a jazz improvisation, and challenged the notion that truly innovative ideas may not initially sound promising.

However, a standout moment of the program introduced the audience to a slice of Blumenau, Brazil. Brazilian architect Carolina Nunes, in her talk titled “The Fluid ‘Nature’ of Modernity: Just Like a River,” shed light on how public spaces are entwined with preservation and how the interaction between cities and nature is positively impacting people’s quality of life and sustainability.

Carolina’s research primarily focuses on rivers, particularly their renaturation. Germany has been at the forefront of this process, embarking on the transformation of its rivers and streams by removing concrete from their banks and even “daylighting” streams that were previously confined to pipes.

As a result, now that sewage treatment is a reality, rivers have transformed into hubs for recreation and leisure. They offer new options for Germans and foster greater integration of cities with water, parks, and green spaces.

Germany has also embraced concrete banks as a means to control its rivers, a trend that gained momentum in the 20th century. In Brazil, this idea continues to find support and implementation.

“The importance of the river was forgotten, since the rivers were not on people’s minds anymore, nobody cared about them, the quality of water and of nature’s conditions were not a concern. Development of the city demanded more land for streets and buildings, so the rivers started to be rectified, walled in and buried out of view”, said Carolina.

The architect envisions the city of the future in an optimistic light, one that is embraced by its citizens. The use of riverbanks as linear parks is expected to have a positive impact on health and encourage green mobility through bicycles and other eco-friendly means of transportation. The “daylighting” of rivers and streams will enhance biodiversity and the microclimate in communities. Renaturing streams will also instill a greater awareness of the importance of environmental conservation in future generations.

“Even modernity is fluid like a river. The world is not fixed anymore, so why should the river banks be?”, added the speaker.

Making of TEDxFreiburg – Video: Walter Carlos Weingaertner