The rationale behind creating waterscapes is to produce sustainable and beautiful urban spaces where people can engage with the pleasures of water. In the ten years since the planning and design of Potsdamer Platz, waterscapes have increasingly become a part of our urban landscapes - mostly due to the vision of Atelier Dreiseitl.

While each case study presented here achieves a different level of "sustainability" - for example, Dreiseitl's approach is of a high level of ecological functionality while Gustafson's approach is geared more towards interpreting and reflecting how water shapes the urban landscape - all of the projects allow people to see, hear, touch and experience water moving through segments of the city.

I see these contemporary urban waterscapes as playing a similar role in our cities as the Roman fountains and Moorish gardens did centuries ago. As pieces of urban infrastructure, waterscapes respect and celebrate the hydrologic cycle of nature while simulataneously expressing the cultural importance of water for humankind.

Through their accomplished designs - from a functional and artistic perspective - Dreiseitl and Gustafson's waterscapes have the potential to create lasting memories for people. You could imagine that someone who encounters the future Washington Canal Park as a child will understand, in an intuitive and experiental way, that the water that falls on the streets and buildings of the city eventually ends up in the Anacostia River. If this water is polluted, then the river will be polluted. If the river is polluted, then the water that we need for drinking, bathing, and living is more difficult to find.

Therefore, the types of experiences offered by waterscapes can contribute to creating a better understanding of the relationship between water and our urban environments. And in this manner, people who encounter waterscapes - particularly at a young age - will have an increased consciousness of water's importance and fragility and will have the potential to become the future stewards of our urban nature and our increasingly scarce water resources.