A Tale of Two Cities of Water
- Francesco Procacci
- May 7
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 18
Milan and Saigon: A Dialogue on Water, Memory, and Urban Futures
What happens when a city forgets its waters?
And what future can we imagine if it chooses to remember?
Milan and Ho Chi Minh City, two cities as distant as Europe and Southeast Asia, are brought together in this short visual essay—not by their similarities, but by the contrast in their relationship with water.
Milan, once a city shaped by its Navigli canals, buried its waters in pursuit of modernity. Streets replaced rivers. Boats disappeared. What was once the city's natural infrastructure faded into asphalt and memory.
Saigon, by contrast, still breathes through its waters. Its creeks and canals—though increasingly polluted or encroached upon—remain visible and vital. Yet the city stands at a crossroads. Will it follow the path of erasure, or embrace water as a structuring force for the future?
Water as Memory, Water as Structure
This publication is part of a broader investigation into Water Urbanism—an emerging field that reimagines how water can shape cities not just as landscape, but as structure, mobility, and identity. In times of climate change and ecological stress, water is no longer a constraint. It is an opportunity.
What Milan teaches us is clear:
Once water is buried, reclaiming it is infinitely harder—and more expensive—than preserving it.
What Saigon teaches us is even more urgent:
Water still flows. The future depends on whether we choose to flow with it.
📘 Download or purchase the booklet
This visual essay is available as a digital booklet (A5 landscape).
You can [download / buy it here]
Whether you’re a designer, planner, policymaker, or simply someone who loves cities, A Tale of Two Cities of Water offers more than a historical reflection. It offers a provocation—on how we build, forget, and (sometimes) remember.
Stay tuned for my upcoming LinkedIn post on Water Urbanism and how it can shape resilient cities across the Global South and beyond.
Because water is not just part of the city.
It is the city.
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