Author(s): P. Nijssen; Ma
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Two near-disasters in the middle of the nineteen-nineties resulted in a fundamental change in the attitude towards safety in the Dutch river areas. In contrast to the approach adopted for many decades, when the rivers had been enclosed and the height of the dikes had been raised, the creed for the new Millennium was: 'Room for the River’. At the end of the last century the authorities realised that raising the height of the dikes even further would, in the event of a dike breach, confront the highly-populated and vulnerable Netherlands with a disaster of a magnitude unparalleled in history. The Dutch government appreciated that continuing to work against nature had become untenable. Working with nature was the sole sustainable alternative. Giving the rivers more room would accommodate climate changes and simultaneously increase safety. The example of the Room for the River Project at Nijmegen demonstrates that expanding the area available to the river is also highly compatible with the development of new urban qualities.
Year: 2010