Redesigning Deltas

Towards inclusive and sustainable urbanizing deltas by design

Unsustainable growth (urbanization) and climate change increase the urgency to radically change our current practice of delta management. There is still too much emphasis on short term solutions which constrains options to consider sustainable solutions on the long term. Moreover, in the coming decades, an opportunity for a ‘reset’ of the existing infrastructure is near as huge investments in this sector are foreseen in many deltas.  However, an integrated strategy, an appealing perspective on the ‘delta future’ and the knowledge to develop the pathways to a sustainable and inclusive delta, are lacking.

It is more important than ever to collectively build the knowledge needed to develop these pathways in which transformations will likely be necessary. Both require a design-based approach in which these different perspectives are recognised and joint new perspectives are explored, identified and visualised.

We therefore initiated an ambitious, inter-disciplinary and multi-annual project, which puts design and design-based research at the heart to deliver these outcomes. This project, Redesigning Deltas (RDD), also aims to build in parallel new partnerships and capacities within the Dutch delta community and of other deltas to foster implementation for instance by delivering an innovative educational ‘delta-design’ program.

Redesigning Deltas will start the first year (2021) with three activities to identify and articulate the main gaps in knowledge required to get there. These activities are (i) Joint Fact Finding, (ii) Design Study and (iii) Methodology/Academic Synthesis. These three activities are interlinked and will result in the definition of the contours of this ambitious 5-year scientific program involving research and education.

The partners of Resilient Delta in the Redesigning Deltas project are Deltares, WUR and PBL.

This project gives an impression of the public-private partnerships that will be developed for Resilient Delta. Currently this project is still under construction. Activities have yet to start. Interested in joining the consortium? Please reach out to the business developers of Resilient Delta.

Any questions?

Reach out to one of our business developers.

Michelle Damen

Innovations Manager