After decades of being banished from residential areas, water is now becoming an increasingly significant feature in urban design. Whether it is the integration of natural water courses into the built environment rainwater management, the incorporation of water elements in urban areas for climatic purposes or the creation of oases of tranquility or drama such as pools or fountains – all these aspects are not only encountering renewed interest among architects and urban planners, but they are also greeted with appreciation by the general public. This book reveals the wide variety of possibilities for using water as a creative element in the city, in art, in the landscape and architecture. Amongst the works documented are a large new city park in Portland (Oregon), the botanical gardens in New York Queens, the conversion of a former airport in Oslo, the park for a new residential area in Oulu, near the Polar Circle in Finland, or a project for Hangzhon, China.