INTEGRATED DESIGN FOR FLOOD RISK AND SPATIAL QUALITY—EXAMPLES FROM THE DUTCH DELTA PROGRAMME

INTRODUCTION The Netherlands faces a significant flood risk task. In order to remain a safe place to live the Netherlands has to upgrade its extensive flood risk protection system. This results in an elevation and reinforcement task for many of the Netherlands water barriers. When those barriers are positioned in an open landscape, the technical reinforcement is often easy to embed specially. However, many barriers have been built over the years making the reinforcement into a challenging spatial assignment. This article shows different case study examples of a research by design study (performed in the broader context of the Dutch Delta programme) that explores integral design solutions for flood risk and spatial (re)development. The Houston Galveston Bay case study demonstrates the international applicability of the research by design method.

Process design and management for integrated flood risk management: exploring the multi-layer safety approach for Dordrecht, The Netherlands

New flood risk management policies account for climate and socio-economic change by embracing a more integrated approach. Their implementation processes require: collaboration between a group of stakeholders; combining objectives and funding from various policy domains; consideration of a range of possible options at all spatial scale levels and for various time horizons. Literature provides limited guidance on how to organise a collaborative planning process to devise integrated flood risk management (IFRM) plans. This paper presents a case study where a recently developed framework for process design and management has been used and evaluates whether or not the collaborative planning process led to an IFRM plan. The case study is Dordrecht (NL) where the new multi-layer-safety (MLS) approach has been applied in the context of the Delta Programme. The Delta Programme investigates how the Netherlands can adapt to the effects of climate change. MLS comprises three flood safety layers to reduce flood risk: flood protection, spatial planning, and emergency response. The framework has been shown to be effective in the delivery of an IFRM plan, it has been enriched by defining the interfaces between and phasing of planning activities, and can be further improved to better guide implementation and governance activities.

Training by Satellite

Within the EC DELTA programme (Developing European Learning Through Technological Advance), Action Line V was dedicated to projects analysing and promoting favourable conditions for the development of advanced learning technologies. From 1989 to 1991 PRO-DELTA (Portuguese Research On DELTA) studied current and future conditions, in a peripheral country, for the diffusion of a high-technology satellite distribution system for professional training. This article analyses three aspects of implementing and diffusing the system, and is based on FUNDETEC's experience with EuroPACE, of which it is a founding member. The authors discuss: the preferences of Portuguese small and medium-sized enterprises in relation to the use of satellite-based training; the current method of diffusing the system; and the costs and viability of different options for the reception and diffusion of satellite-based courses.