Amsterdam’s Development Boom Runs Up Against Rising Seas
Climate change poses new challenges to a city that’s already below sea level.
Water, water everywhere.
Photographer: Robin van Lonkhuijsen/AFP/Getty Images
The Netherlands’ network of barriers, dams and wind-powered pumps has long enabled Dutch city-dwellers to build and live on the water. But even the most advanced flood control system has its limits as sea levels continue to rise, spelling uncertainty for the future of development in Amsterdam over the next century — in particular, its waterfronts.
The city’s engineering achievements were on display during the Bloomberg CityLab summit this week, as attendees took a ferry tour down the IJ River. Urban planner Zef Hemel pointed out a series of formerly industrial man-made islands and peninsulas on the eastern bank, known as the Eastern Docklands, that the city has spent the last 30 years redeveloping.