Living with the river: Territorial imaginaries, risk cultures, and everyday adaptation in a flood-prone neighborhood

Abstract

As climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of floods, questions about the habitability of flood-prone territories are gaining urgency. This paper explores how residents of a floodplain neighborhood in Lachute, Québec (Canada), perceive, inhabit, and adapt to recurring floods. Based on 29 semi-structured interviews and qualitative fieldwork conducted in 2023, the study analyzes how lived experience, emotional ties, and symbolic representations shape risk imaginaries and adaptive behavior. Findings reveal two coexisting geographical imaginaries: one rooted in long-term exposure and a logic of cohabitation with the river; the other shaped by distance, denial, or defense. These imaginaries generate divergent attitudes toward adaptation, preparedness, and public policy. The paper introduces a conceptual framework linking representations of the river, flood events, and risk, highlighting the cultural dimensions of flood resilience. In doing so, it challenges dominant regulatory approaches based on static zoning and hydraulic models, and calls for more context-sensitive, territorialized forms of governance. The study contributes to debates on risk governance by foregrounding the symbolic and material dimensions of living with water.