Project by Miguel Angel Santivanez @lifeofmiguelangel, Jie-En Lee, Amy Connor
Surco Canal Mapping examines the historical and contemporary transformations of Lima’s pre-Hispanic hydraulic infrastructure through the Surco Canal. Once part of an extensive irrigation network originating from the Rímac River, the canal transformed the desert valley into productive agricultural land and structured settlement, agriculture, and territorial governance for centuries. Through historical cartography, georeferenced aerial imagery, and tracing, the project traces how Lima’s rapid urban expansion gradually absorbed this hydraulic system into the metropolitan fabric. The research reveals how the canal shifted from a territorial irrigation network into fragmented urban infrastructure shaped by transportation systems, flood control interventions, pollution, and institutional fragmentation. By examining historical and contemporary spatial conflicts in the Chorrillos district at the canal’s outlet to the Pacific Ocean, the project highlights the tensions between urban growth, environmental vulnerability, and water governance, while uncovering the hidden persistence of the Surco Canal within the contemporary city.
