Editing Canal (section)

==Cities on water==
[[File:Herengracht tussen Beulingstraat en Koningsplein pic1.JPG|thumb|A canal ([[Gracht]]) in [[Amsterdam]], Netherlands]]
[[File:Griboyedov Canal 2.jpg|thumb|[[Griboyedov Canal]] in [[St. Petersburg]], Russia]]
[[File:Goldcoast Queensland Australia aerial view.jpg|right|thumb|Aerial view of the man-made canals of the [[Gold Coast, Queensland]], Australia]]
[[File:Utrecht Canals - July 2006.jpg|thumb|Wharfs along the [[Oudegracht]] in [[Utrecht]], Netherlands]]
Canals are so deeply identified with [[Venice]] that many canal cities have been nicknamed ''"the Venice of…"''. The city is built on marshy islands, with wooden piles supporting the buildings, so that the land is man-made rather than the waterways. The islands have a long history of settlement; by the 12th century, Venice was a powerful [[city state]].

[[Amsterdam]] was built in a similar way, with buildings on wooden piles. It became a city around 1300. Many Amsterdam canals were built as part of fortifications. They became ''[[gracht]]en'' when the city was enlarged and houses were built alongside the water. Its nickname as the "Venice of the North" is shared with [[Hamburg]] of Germany, [[St. Petersburg]] of Russia and [[Bruges]] of Belgium.

[[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]] was dubbed the "Venice of the East" by Marco Polo during his travels there in the 13th century, with its modern canalside [[Pingjiang Road]] and [[Shantang Street]] becoming major tourist attractions. Other nearby cities including [[Nanjing]], [[Shanghai]], [[Wuxi]], [[Jiaxing]], [[Huzhou]], [[Nantong]], [[Taizhou, Jiangsu|Taizhou]], [[Yangzhou]], and [[Changzhou]] are located along the lower mouth of the [[Yangtze River]] and [[Lake Tai]], yet another source of small rivers and creeks, which have been canalized and developed for centuries.

[[File:Quai Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, Sète 02.jpg|thumb|Canal of La Peyrade in [[Sète]], France]]

Other cities with extensive canal networks include: [[Alkmaar]], [[Amersfoort]], [[Bolsward]], [[Brielle]], [[Delft]], [[Den Bosch]], [[Dokkum]], [[Dordrecht]], [[Enkhuizen]], [[Franeker]], [[Gouda, South Holland|Gouda]], [[Haarlem]], [[Harlingen, Netherlands|Harlingen]], [[Leeuwarden]], [[Leiden]], [[Sneek]] and [[Utrecht]] in the Netherlands; [[Bruges|Brugge]] and [[Ghent|Gent]] in Flanders, Belgium; [[Birmingham]] in England; [[Saint Petersburg]] in Russia; [[Bydgoszcz]], [[Gdańsk]], [[Szczecin]] and [[Wrocław]] in Poland; [[Aveiro, Portugal|Aveiro]] in Portugal; [[Hamburg]] and [[Berlin]] in Germany; [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida|Fort Lauderdale]] and [[Cape Coral, Florida|Cape Coral]] in [[Florida]], United States, [[Wenzhou]] in China, [[Cần Thơ]] in Vietnam, [[Bangkok]] in Thailand, and [[Lahore]] in Pakistan.

[[Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City]] was a [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Site]] near the centre of [[Liverpool]], England, where a system of intertwining waterways and docks is now being developed for mainly residential and leisure use.

[[Canal estate]]s (sometimes known as bayous in the United States) are a form of [[Subdivision (land)|subdivision]] popular in cities like [[Miami, Florida]], [[Texas City, Texas]] and the [[Gold Coast, Queensland]]; the Gold Coast has over 890&nbsp;km of residential canals. [[Wetlands]] are difficult areas upon which to build housing estates, so [[dredging]] part of the wetland down to a [[Navigability|navigable]] channel provides fill to build up another part of the wetland above the flood level for houses. Land is built up in a finger pattern that provides a suburban street layout of waterfront housing blocks.