Presentation short abstract

This paper examines how civic stewardship and sociotechnical imaginaries shape just hydrosocial transformations in the Besòs river, Barcelona, revealing how Nature-Based Solutions mediate emerging narratives of justice, resilience, and climate adaptation.

Presentation long abstract

This paper examines how civic environmental stewardship and sociotechnical imaginaries shape the hydrosocial transformation of the Besòs river (Barcelona) through Nature-Based Solutions (NbS). The case of the Besòs is particularly significant as urban rivers remain largely absent from the explicit targets of Nature Restoration Laws , despite being vital socio-ecological systems where water governance, biodiversity, and urban transformation converge. In recent years, the renaturalization of the Besòs has been advanced through projects supported by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), the Consorci Besòs-Tordera, and the Pla Estratègic Metropolità de Barcelona (PEMB). In all of them, the reuse of regenerated water plays a central role in enabling new forms of NbS implementation. Drawing on Political Ecology and the hydrosocial cycle framework, this research explores how policymakers, experts, and civic actors negotiate competing visions of restoration, resilience, and justice. Through interviews and policy analysis, the study identifies an emerging sociotechnical imaginary of a “future-proofed” river, where technological innovation in water reuse is positioned as both ecological restoration and climate adaptation. Yet these narratives, while promising resilience, also reproduce inequalities and raise new concerns about access, affordability, and health. By integrating the concepts of futures-in-the-making and nature-inspired justice, the paper argues that the Besòs river may serve as a laboratory for reimagining NbS as political and ethical arenas where technological futures, ecological care, and civic claims for environmental justice intersect. This paper is framed under the research project “HYDROSOCIAL”.