Design of floodproof urban riverfronts

Aim of the PhD research is to find a solution for the difficulties in improving the flood protection structures and the redevelopment of an urban riverfront in the shared realm. The question is if it is possible to create and maintain synergy in an urban riverfront between the technical function of flood protection and urban functions, taking economic development and physical processes, such as climate change, into account. This research mainly focuses on the municipalities and water boards of the Dutch Rhinedelta. Two directions have been looked at in order to find an answer to the question asked above. The first direction looks at physical synergy between different functions, which is described in part 2 of the thesis, and the second direction looks at synergy in the process of (re)development of an urban riverfront, which is described in part 3 of the thesis. Part 4 of the thesis evaluates both directions. The PhD research demonstrates that it is possible to create and maintain physical synergy by applying the newly developed concept of adaptable flood defences (the AFD concept) and that it is possible to create synergy in the (re)design process by consulting the newly developed web-based decision support tool ‘Urban Flood Protection Matrix’ (UFPM tool). A pilot version of this tool is currently available at http://www.urbanriverfronts.com.Hydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience