travels day two: around Holland

Chloe, Andrea and I drove from Amsterdam to two sites that are part of a large-scale planning initiative called "Room for the Rivers." This federal program is based on the assumption that the country can no longer try to just keep water out of settlements-- instead, it needs to allow more room for the river and some temporary flooding.

This project, near Arnhem, is pushing back the existing dike (and some houses) and constructing a sluice to control flood waters-- at times, a large area will be allowed to flood.











On our drive, we saw some surprisingly artful sound barriers next to the highways. Some were covered in vines, some were patterned concrete, and some were translucent.