The Oasis Effect: Reclaiming Tunis’s Indigenous Water Systems

Abstract

This thesis addresses Tunis’s pressing water management challenges primarily caused by colonialism and ongoing climate change. It examines Tunis’s development across the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial, concentrating on how future water management can mitigate four key issues: sea level rise and flash floods, rising temperatures, social vulnerability, and habitat preservation. Historical water management in the Medina of Tunis was effective until colonial urban development since 1881 neglected traditional drainage systems, worsening flash floods. Inspired by traditional water management, the design proposes urban-scale interventions with canals and neighborhood-scale interventions using the “shallow water dictionary.” This collection of eight historical water management systems, implemented in urban leftovers and open spaces, aims to create vibrant areas for flood control, temperature regulation, and social interaction. This thesis proposes “Dynamic Zoning” for adaptable space use during floods and droughts. It envisions a commons-based urbanism focused on water to achieve social and ecological harmony, proposing the “Tunis Water Management Trust” to manage and maintain these systems.