From Paris Plages to the Seine Watershed: Hydrology, Governance and Culture in a Time of Transition (1950s-2020s)

Presentation

Long-stay fellows at the Paris IAS meet every week to attend a presentation by one of their colleagues on their research project and to discuss the methods, research areas and perspectives adopted, in a spirit of dialogue and openness. Lasting three hours, these weekly internal seminars begin with a 45-minute presentation. They enable fellows to develop fresh perspectives on their research and encourage interdisciplinary and transnational discovery.

The aim of these discussions is to build fruitful, original and innovative dialogue between researchers from different scientific backgrounds.

Each presentation is followed by a critical commentary from a guest discussant affiliated with a Parisian university. The sessions are closed to the public, in the spirit of an academic seminar, and chaired by the Director and the Executive Director. The freedom of discussion they allow leads to productive exchanges.

Programme

On Tuesday 6 October, the internal seminar will be devoted to Carola Hein's research project, From Paris Plages to the Seine Watershed: Hydrology, Governance and Culture in Times of Transition (1950s–2020s).

Carola Hein is Professor of History of Architecture and Urban Planning at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. She joined the Institute in September 2026 for a ten-month stay. She also holds the 2026–2027 City of Paris Chair, supported by the City of Paris and the Paris IAS.

Her project examines how water infrastructure, governance and planning tools have shaped spatial development around the Seine since the post-war period. It draws on major development plans, urban planning competitions and recent participatory initiatives, such as the Entente Axe Seine, to lay the foundations for integrated spatial planning at the scale of the river.

How to attend

This seminar is closed to the public.