Institution(s): University of Pennsylvania
Simon Richter’s research concerns cultural aspects of climate adaptation and resilience, with a focus on how delta cities are responding to accelerated sea level rise in Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, and Indonesia. As an environmental humanist, Simon engages in activities that blur distinctions between traditional scholarship, urban design, and environmental activism. In 2018/19, he was a member of One Resilient Semarang, an international team of designers, engineers, ecologists, and urban and environmental activists. Semarang is a rapidly subsiding, coastal port city in North-Central Java. In 2020, he was a member of One Architecture's team in the Resilience by Design program for the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam. In 2021, he started Project Poldergeist, an experiment in storytelling, creative reflection, intercultural awareness, and collaboration through animated video, accessible on the Poldergeist YouTube channel. In 2023, with comedian Patrick Nederkoorn and filmmaker Maria Kolossa, he produced A New Peace of Münster, a documentary about possible climate migration along the Dutch-German border.
“Poldergeist YouTube channel”: https://www.youtube.com/@professorpoldergeist/videos
“A New Peace of Münster” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaYhnEM3Ibs
Recent publications in the last five years (with hyperlinks):
“When Climate Policy Bogs Down, Humanities and the Arts Can Move Things Forward,” German Quarterly 97:3 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1111/gequ.12471
“Banking on Optimism: Why Do Some Dutch Delta Engineers Resist the New Water and Soil System Policy,” Blue Papers 3:1 (2024). https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2024.1.07
"The Translation of Polder: Water Management in the Netherlands and Indonesia,” in The Oxford Handbook of Translation and Social Practices, ed. Christine Ji (Oxford UP, 2023). https://doi-org.proxy.library.upenn.edu/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190067205.013.11
“Introducing Dr Poldergeist: Using Animated Video to Motivate New Attitudes towards Climate Adaptation in the Dutch Water Sector.” Water Governance Tijdschrift 2 (2022): 32-37. https://www.stowa.nl/sites/default/files/assets/PROJECTEN/Projecten%202022/Water%20Governance/Edities/WAGO_2023-02%20International.pdf
“The Dutch International Water Sector Needs Storytellers,” Flows: The Water Governance Blog at the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (2019). https://flows.hypotheses.org/3852
