Changing currents: Industrialising water and hydrosocial experiences in nineteenth-century Berlin

Abstract

This paper explores the evolving social nature of water in nineteenth-century Berlin, building upon the idea that water is deeply intertwined with human meanings, values, and power relations. Focusing on the industrialisation of urban water environments, it traces the emergence of “modern water”—a conceptual abstraction that enabled water to be transformed into a manageable, industrial resource. Through a study of the eastern stretch of the river Spree, the paper examines how Berlin’s urban water environment became a site of complex hydrosocial change. The river developed into both an industrial core and a leisure zone, illustrating how the water’s biophysical and social dimensions were co-constituted within the urban fabric. This dual role of water challenged established social norms, as public access to water leisure intersected with gender and class dynamics. Furthermore, the design of waterways and new water infrastructures such as sewage systems comprising a governance strategy intended to establish spatial and social order in the urban sphere. The paper highlights how water infrastructures supported industrial and urban growth and simultaneously reinforced, negotiated, or occasionally disrupted social hierarchies. By addressing these contradictions, the paper argues for a more nuanced understanding of urban water histories and their lasting influence on urban development