ABSTRACT
Water and ecological system are under pressure due to increasing salinity and floods and further subsidence of the soil. This chapter presents a design-led approach in which the water is embraced as a primer for resilient coastal development. The Double Defence project is located in the northern part of the Netherlands. The north shores and the Wadden Sea are currently under threat of sea level rise and storm surges. Using a similar principle as applied in the Sand Engine, the incoming water enforces the landscape behind the dike to adjust and adapt. The Floodable Eemsdelta project predominantly focuses on disruptive sea level rise and to a lesser extent storm surges and heavy rainfall, using an unorthodox and counterintuitive approach in which an entire landscape provides the space to adapt to constantly changing circumstances. To propose projects that can help to increase the resilience of the coastal area of Kuttanad is one thing, but to realize these is a different task.
