Private sector participation in flood proof urban development projects

Floods are a serious threat for the Netherlands. The majority of the Netherlands lies beneath sea level. Since the great North Sea flood in the Netherlands in 1953, which caused 1,836 victims and widespread property damage, the state focused on protecting the country against floods by building dikes and dunes. Recently, representatives of the national government explored different strategies to protect the country from flooding. The ambition of the state is to work as efficiently as possible with the money available when it comes to flood protection. One of the strategies is to integrate flood protection in urban development projects and share responsibility for flood protection with private actors like real estate developers.