Climate solutions that blend right in
A mix of natural and technology solutions help this Dutch municipality save resources, protect property and make life safer and more comfortable for residents.
As the world takes steps to mitigate climate change, many urban areas are already adapting to its effects. In the Netherlands, Horst aan de Maas is an example that others can learn from.
The Dutch municipality used a combination of above- and below-ground solutions, mixing nature and technology to address its key challenges – abnormal summer heat and flood risks, caused by too much pavement and an old sewer system.
Under the roads, parking lots, and walkways around the popular Gasthoes area is one of the technologies at work: Rockflow, the stormwater management system by Lapinus. When the hard and heavy rains come, a network of gullies and pipes direct water away from sewers and into an underground stone wool buffer that retains and slowly releases the water into the surrounding soil –retaining valuable groundwater and unburdening the sewer system.
Meanwhile above ground, traditional pavement in some areas has been replaced by ceramic surface tiles that absorb rain into the soil below. In other areas, the pavement has been replaced by plants and grasses that support biodiversity, and help retain rainwater and lower summer temperatures.
When climate maps made clear the challenges facing the residents of Horst aan de Maas, they chose to act – and adapt. The chosen combination of nature and technology makes Horst aan de Maas a more comfortable and safer place to live that is also more resilient to climate change.
Project location
Horst aan de Maas
Netherlands
