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Piers, bridges and windmills are important landmarks in the urban space. In the towns along the Middle Meuse, from their origins to the seventeenth century, it is worth studying the location of these kinds of river infrastructure, their role in the evolution of urban space, and the potential offered by various sites. This approach enables us to propose a summary of the general trajectory of changes over time, establishing comparisons between different towns, seeking ties between this infrastructure and its political and economic context, and showing how this infrastructure reflects the rise of towns. Thus, these kinds of river infrastructure should be incorporated into the ‘range of criteria’ used to define and classify towns, and into an adequate typology for describing the urban phenomenon.