Since more than half of the Netherlands is situated below sea level, the Dutch have developed extensive knowledge and centuries of experience in protecting their citizens against floods.
Hurricane Katrina made Americans all too aware of the importance of effective water management. And the US today faces more hurricanes as well as floods, droughts and challenges of water shortages, contamination and storage.
Making a fictional character come alive isn't easy. Yet it's exactly why Dutch engineers and water management experts were asked to come to New Orleans.
Dutch company Micronit Microfluidics has opened an office in San José, California, a major step for the two young entrepreneurs behind the company.
In March of last year, a group of water experts from the Netherlands— planners, landscape architects, and engineers—arrived in New Orleans to study the city’s post-Katrina water defenses.
According to researcher Rutger de Graaf of Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), a floating city linked to the mainland by a floating road offers a sustainable solution to enable us to continue to live in low-lying delta areas in the future.
The Dutch planners and engineers visiting New Orleans last March made much of the similarities of “delta cities.”
