In 2040, the current dikes in the 80 kilometre long river area between the Dutch cities of Nijmegen and Den Bosch will be perforated. During the next 30 years, all municipalities involved will focus their construction plans on the creation of dike villages with a damming function. These villages will form compact and protective shells around the existing residential nuclei. Developments caused by climate change, the recommendations of the Delta committee and large investments in water safety will be put to use to make our country more attractive. We will provide several towns and villages with new fronts or faces in a unique delta area!

Large and compact residential construction programs have suddenly become a challenge for dealing with the river floodings. Dutch companies and research institutions are working together to supply innovative solutions. Because of free downstream rivers the water level will drop several meters. Should a dike village give way, only one village rather than an entire low-lying region will be flooded. As for the use of land, one could choose for a permanent dynamic delta with ditches and creeks, but also for e.g. sustainable agriculture on pieces of land that are only flooded once every year or every few years. New opportunities arise for landscape, town-planning, architecture, ecology, recreation and economy. Because of the proximity of the rising water and municipal responsibility for dike management, the hundreds of thousands of inhabitants of the delta area will once again know what it means to live in a river delta.

Client: Delta Concepts
Designer: Rietveld Landscape
Location: Dutch riverdelta
Status: study 2009