Last week I spoke and discussed at the Urban Future 2024 symposium in Rotterdam. As to be expected, many, sometimes emotional, reactions to the proposal to defend the coast seaward (see previous post). And that while I have also shown a scenario moving along, the carefully named Superdelta ,-)
Our approach to design research is that knowledge is broadly gathered and possible futures are clearly visualized. After all, a picture says more than 1000 words. The special thing was that students in the room mainly emphasized that we should explore the desired future without values and respectfully for other opinions. Especially now that climate change is forcing us to make choices. Look, those are texts! Because often (pre)judgments are still lurking. Such as that the time of large-scale human intervention is over and that it is now nature’s turn. Soil and water guiding is today’s mantra. But look around you. The chair you sit on, the roof over your head, the city you live in. Without a human hand, they would not exist and our current life would not exist. The Netherlands would not exist. We live with nature and nature moves with us. Sounds complicated, but it’s not that bad if we use the lives of future generations as a compass. That was another great lesson this week!
Henk Hartzema, LinkedIn, 8 June 2024. Image: The Flooded Atlas – Rotterdam (2019)
