This paper aims to describe the long process that has characterized the regional planning effort for the Po River Delta area and the particular development regulations for this territory, in this unique area of Italy, where water still plays an important social, economic and cultural role. The ongoing planning process seems to be an unresolved “open conflict” reflecting the forced compromise between an ambitious economic growth strategy and the preservation needs of an extraordinary natural and cultural resource. This paper will present some reflections starting from two different instruments of regional planning: the master plan of Ferrara and the strategic coastal master plan of the Po Delta Park. In both cases the aquatic network, and its associated ecosystem, is considered as part of the new local development scenario.