ABSTRACT
In this chapter I discuss the role of spatial design in The Netherlands in its struggle with the consequences of climate change as an example of coping with turbulence.
The world is facing substantial and uncertain climate changes. The processes that influence these changes are contextual, diffuse and can only be understood over the longer term. It is a typical example of what Emery and Trist (1965) have called turbulence (see Chapter 2 in this volume). Coping with turbulence asks for a new planning strategy to anticipate future developments, while at the same time retaining a flexible stance to cope with irreducible uncertainty.
