About the Research
For more than 2,000 years, dikes have protected the Netherlands. What once began with the raise of small mounds of earth is now an extensive network of over 22,500 km of dikes and dams. Without those at least 33% of the Netherlands would not be land but sea. Presently about 40% of the world's population live in coastal areas in a complex and dangerous cocktail of rapid population growth, haphazard urban planning, often a neglected flood protection system, subsidence and a changing climate.
The research ‘Dutch Dikes’ marks the first time in history that all of the Dutch dikes have been described in one document, at a pivotal moment in the age of climate change. It presents an overview of our dikes in their current state, and offers a look towards the future. The dikes are fully mapped, the defense system is explained and the diversity is categorized. All dikes are brought together in a unique, systematic genealogy. This could be of interest to all those who work to keep deltas dry worldwide.
About the Book
Dutch Dikes offers a complete overview of the Netherlands’ most important invention: the dike. Based on the first map of dikes in the Netherlands, the dikes are characterized, explained and categorized in all their diversity. In addition, the book features a surplus of dike anecdotes and in-depth portrayals of 40 of the 100 most remarkable Dutch dikes. The authors show the technical, cultural and historical sides of the dikes, as well as a glimpse of the future: the Dutch dikes as the parks of the twenty-first century.
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