ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the different roles water can play in development, using two Dutch areas as examples: Holland in the west of the country and the Dommel basin in the south. In Holland, water was the motor of development. Land drainage, flood protection and its location on the North Sea facilitated the development of agriculture, shipping, trade and industry. In the Dommel basin, development was triggered only partly by factors related to water, but when development took place, it resulted in flooding and water quality problems. Moreover, in Holland, water played an important role in the development of a national identity, but not in the Dommel basin. In both areas, however, development was multi-sectoral and multi-scalar, involving technical, economic, political and cultural changes at the local, national and international levels.
