ABSTRACT
It may seem to be a contradiction in terms to be suggesting, as the botanist David Bellamy does, that ‘pollution is a good thing’. Yet in many ways the knee-jerk reaction to pollution inhibits a creative approach to the problem. Conventional wisdom needs constantly to be challenged. While it is ironic that Venice should still be standing thanks to its polluted water, this fact reflects a need to explore the physical and biological properties of water, the way its natural cycles are affected by the city and the implications for urban design when alternatives to its current uses and management are examined.
