ABSTRACT
In his book Bellamy’s Europe the botanist, David Bellamy, has this to say about Venice, Italy’s city of water without parallel:
It may seem to be a contradiction in terms to be suggesting, as does David Bellamy, 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 to be constantly 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.
