Il delta fluviale come sistema territoriale ramificato: il paesaggio metropolitano del fiume Zhujiang

Territories characterised by the presence of river deltas of considerable extension have to deal with the alternating phenomena of deposition and erosion, which shape the soil and constitute the substratum orienting their territorial structure. The branched-out network of principal watercourses and tributaries outlines these landscapes and their infrastructural layout, impacting the establishment and position of towns and settlements and, more generally, the overall spatial and physical organisation in the delta territories. A system highly ramified, with the river network serving as the ordering principle for spatial organisation, can be observed in the Zhujiang River delta in Guangdong, which boasts a multi-millennial settlement history shaped by its proximity to water resources. The identifiable components of its spatial configuration contribute to a grand design stretching along the river bends and include the oldest urban cores, arranged on alluvial cones, the urban expansion beyond the walled cities developed with a strong relationship with river banks, and the agricultural land plot, which is integrated with aquaculture and articulates the hydrographic network.