Paper short abstract:

This landscape ethnography in Alicante's huerta engages with diverse stakeholders in a collective reimagining of water relations. Practical design work serves as a screen, allowing participation in a conversation where these projects contribute to the rich tapestry of existence in Montegre's basin.

Paper long abstract:

This paper unfolds a practice based ethnography, immersing itself through landscape design in the endangered huerta of Alicante. The project engages (or is confronted) with many projects by diverse stakeholders, including neighborhood associations, 'West 8' Landscape Design Studio, agro-industrial enterprises, migrant workers, and local activists, fostering a collective reimagining of water relations. The practical work of landscape design becomes a screen that allows us to take part in the social game of giving each other ambiguous signals. Work with the 'Sindicato de Regantes' and water distribution workers unveil diverse imaginings—from relocalizing irrigation for large enterprises to ambitious plans for river recovery initiatives, just in the last two decades. This landscape design processes intertwine past endeavors, such as Felipe II's 16th-century construction of the Tibi reservoir, oldest working dam in Europe, with contemporary visions of living sustainably within the huerta. To this design ethnography, we add a series of semistructured interviews with women participating in informal vending of vegetables at mobile markets. Their narratives illuminate shifts in economic and social flexibility, shedding light on the impact of transitioning from informal setups to regulated markets, from them we learn to think with surplus, abundance and overflow.

The fragmented and partial projects imagined by these stakeholders are generators of social life, and rarely unfold exactly as envisioned. Instead, they contribute to the rich tapestry of social existence in this territory, weaving together historical legacies with the collective dreams, challenges, and adaptations of those navigating the complex landscape of Alicante's huerta.