Water networks have been integral to the expansion of urban centres and the development and expansion of trade, thus also interacting with flood control strategies and the construction and maintenance of rural landscapes. There has been a long history of artistic and cultural representation of these waterways, and the life that they have brought to their surrounding landscapes. This is in danger of being lost. In this post-industrial age it is therefore necessary to develop new, more coordinated, strategies to promote memory and identity of river cultures, linking institutional activities and encouraging the exchange of experiences. The presence in many European countries of artificial waterways and connected natural hydrography can thus be considered a significant cultural heritage. Characterized by an intrinsic hydraulic complexity, this heritage goes back far in time at least to the Middle Ages, develops further during the Renaissance and reaches its maturity during the industrial era. In some cases, this hydraulic network is already a tourist attraction; in other cases, it has a hidden potential for sustainable development. Such a precious, historic heritage deserves today a renewed, coordinated commitment to its re-evaluation, by considering both the structural heritage of the waterways (canals, bridges, locks, shipyards, mills, quays) and the artistic and cultural artefacts that are now in peril (artistic and cultural interpretations of river life, traditional wooden boats and other crafts). The research will be undertaken from a multi-disciplinary perspective, involving teams from the University of Brighton (UK), University Ca Foscari Venice (Italy), the University of Leiden and the Free University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and the University of Gerona (Spain). The project will bring cultural geography into conversation with art history, oral history, digital media and design. In the contexts of geography and spatial planning, discourses about the cultural-historical dimensions of landscape are elaborate and on-going, particularly in the field of cultural geography. At the same time, in the humanities - for example in the research field of 'ecocriticism' - a growing interest in ecological concerns is being expressed by artists and writers. From the diverse disciplines of geography, spatial planning and the humanities, there is thus clearly a need to research how (both historical and contemporary) cultural heritage can contribute to our knowledge about land and waterscapes. Allied to this is a broad wish to explore the new opportunities offered by digital media to record, represent and interpret cultural heritage, particularly where it engages with often hidden secondary and essentially local communities and their environments. This project aims to develop these theoretical discussions and to elaborate - beyond theory and at the same time developing theory further - concrete tools in which both oral history and cultural heritage information are linked to geospatial information that can be shared with the communities that created the content, as well as the wider public, government agencies and other bodies who share a stake in the future of Europe's rich heritage of secondary waterways and associated waterscapes.