New urban developments and restructuring
Keeping the Netherlands safe from water and attractive does not stop at the dikes. To ensure that we can continue to live and work well in the future, something also has to change in the way in which we design our urban developments. We need to take into account the opportunities and limiting conditions of the water system, the soil and a changing climate. The New Urban Developments and Restructuring sub-programme finds the best way to do this.
Urban areas are under pressure. Densification and hardening are making towns and villages more vulnerable to the consequences of heavy bouts of rainfall, heat and drought. Streets and cellars become flooded more quickly because water cannot be properly discharged. Heat waves are becoming more severe because the heat cannot escape. Moreover, the expected changes to the climate may mean that heavy rainfall, drought and heat waves will occur more frequently.
In addition, a large portion of the Netherlands is potentially in danger of flooding. Increasingly more development is taking place in deep polders, outside the dikes or in places where any flooding would have a major impact. Our dikes constitute our first and major line of defence. And yet, there is always the small chance of flooding or of a dike being breached. A real disaster could have enormous consequences.
Measures
In recent years, all kinds of measures have been thought up to make our houses and companies, neighbourhoods and towns more resistant to flooding, excess water and heat. Many of the measures that address the latter two aspects are no-regrets measures, and do not cost any more – or cost virtually no more – than a standard solution. This definitely applies when such measures are included in a town’s own dynamics. This means the measures are included in new urban developments, the restructuring of districts and in large-scale maintenance work. Measures against flooding in urban areas are more dramatic. The consequences of flooding are more severe in these areas. The measures include escape routes and flood-proof construction.
Many measures also offer opportunities. Climate-proofing often involves the proper use of greenery and open water. For example, lanes lined with trees and ponds, as well as intelligent and beautiful solutions like wadis, green roofs and water squares. Improvements to our living environment and improved climate-proofing go hand in hand. Everyone benefits from them. Water safety too can create new opportunities, such as the multifunctional use of dikes and the areas around dikes.
Awareness
Despite the need for climate-proof urban planning and its possible benefits, the concept is not yet widely accepted. Many parties are reflecting on specific elements but the concept is still only put into practice in a fragmented form. This demands increased awareness and the acquisition of knowledge. It also demands an integrated approach and taking the long term into account regarding climate change and urban development, supported by customised instruments.
In the New Urban Developments and Restructuring sub-programme, the state, provinces and water boards are together seeking the right instruments for making sustainable and climate-proof urban design a generally accepted practice.
Delta Decision
The package of solutions and instruments that is being developed is linked to the other integral choices of the Delta Programme. Under the name Spatial Adaptation, it is one of the five so-called Delta Decisions.
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