Five future strategies for the Dutch delta in 2120

A design approach is needed to keep the Dutch delta safe and liveable in the future. Researchers, urban planners, landscape architects and engineers created innovative designs for 5 regions in the Netherlands as part of the Redesigning Deltas movement. Their approach and the designs should spur bold long-term planning for our delta. The proposals were unveiled at the International Architecture Biennale now taking place in Rotterdam and can also be reviewed online. Should we give rivers and the sea free rein and retreat into densified metropolises? Can we give nature the freedom to buffer in times of abundance and scarcity? Are we going to ask companies to raise their land? Ask people to live differently? It's time to think about such drastic interventions, a group of researchers believes. They have united in the Redesigning Deltas movement: TU Delft, Deltares, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the convergence alliance Resilient Delta, Wageningen University, PBL and IHE are working together with practitioners to make it happen. As the effects of climate change are occurring more often and faster than previously thought, we need to act now to make sure we have major spatial interventions prepared in time.