Valencia turns to Dutch water expertise for 1,500 hectare flood resilience project

The initiative highlights the international relevance of Dutch experience in combining flood-risk management with spatial planning, nature-based solutions and landscape design. The webinar brought together a broad range of Dutch expertise, with participants including FieldFactors, OKRA, West 8 and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, as well as NWP members ONE Architecture, Witteveen+Bos and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). Ilse Wollerich, head of the Netherlands Business Support Office (NBSO) in Valencia, also joined the session. The meeting was also attended by Daan Hirs, Honorary Consul of the Netherlands in Valencia, and Paulina Coronal, Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands to Spain.

Dutch expertise for a changing climate

The involvement of Dutch organisations reflects the growing international demand for integrated approaches to flood resilience. The Netherlands has a long history of managing flood risks, but Dutch expertise increasingly extends beyond the conventional hydraulic infrastructure. Water management is now closely integrated in urban development, landscape architecture, ecology and climate adaptation. Concepts such as creating more space for water, temporary water storage and designing public spaces that can perform different functions during extreme weather events have become an important part of the Dutch approach.

Valencia’s proposed floodable parks represent a large-scale application of many of these principles. The Generalitat Valenciana plans to create two major green areas associated with the Turia river and Poyo ravine catchments. Together, they would cover approximately 1,500 hectares. During normal conditions, the areas would provide accessible green space, recreational facilities and ecological corridors. During periods of extreme rainfall, parts of the landscape would provide temporary storage and space for floodwater, helping to reduce peak flows and protect surrounding urban areas.

Responding to the 2024 floods

The project follows the catastrophic floods of 29 October 2024, when extreme rainfall caused widespread floods across Valencia province. The l’Horta Sud metropolitan area south of the city was among the areas most severely affected. The official number of deaths attributed to the DANA (a high-altitude isolated low-pressure system) in Valencia province has since risen to 230 people.

The disaster demonstrated the vulnerability of densely populated metropolitan areas to extreme rainfall and has accelerated efforts to develop a more climate-resilient approach to water and spatial planning. Rather than relying solely on concrete channels and other conventional flood-defence infrastructure, the floodable parks would create more space for water while simultaneously improving the metropolitan landscape.

International competition creates opportunities for the Dutch water sector

The Generalitat is now finalising an international competition for the design of the project. The design commission has a budget of EUR 6.6 million, and the competition is expected to be published shortly.

“We want to attract the best proposals and the best international talent to develop a transformative project that will shape the future of resilience and climate adaptation in the Valencia metropolitan area,” said Valencia Recovery Commissioner Raúl Mérida.

A 12 member jury is expected to select five finalists, with approximately EUR 360,000 in prize money to be distributed among them. The final design may combine ideas from several of the shortlisted proposals. For Dutch companies and knowledge institutions, the competition represents an opportunity to apply expertise in major international climate-adaptation challenges developed in the Netherlands. The capacities represented by the Dutch delegation span hydraulic engineering, flood-risk management, landscape architecture, water-sensitive urban design, nature-based solutions and climate-resilient spatial planning. Together, these disciplines reflect the integrated approach to water management for which the Netherlands is increasingly recognised internationally.

From Dutch experience to international application

Valencia is far from alone in facing the challenge of accommodating more extreme rainfall within densely developed urban areas. Across Europe and beyond, cities are looking for ways to combine flood protection with climate adaptation, biodiversity and better public space.

The Valencia project is therefore more than an individual design opportunity. It has the potential to be a showcase for how Dutch water knowledge and integrated design expertise can contribute to climate-resilient urban development internationally. With 1,500 hectares of floodable landscape planned around a major European metropolitan area, the project could become an important example of turning space for water into space that also benefits people and nature.

The forthcoming international competition will determine how that ambition is translated into practice, and could provide Dutch water-sector organisations with an opportunity to play a significant role in shaping the result.