NETHERLANDS
ASHLEY SCHWEMMER
Waterfront cities across the globe are at risk to rising sea levels. Nonetheless, development practices have not dramatically changed to consider critical water issues and their impact on coastal systems. EDSA’s 2017 Joseph J. Lalli Fellowship Recipient, Ashley Schwemmer, set out to study how changes in societal mindsets, government policies, and acceptance of alternative solutions are evolving. More importantly, Ashley delved into the ways cities and nations are currently addressing water management problems. Can design make a difference? At what scale and cost? “The program gave me VIP access to major water infrastructure sites as “We are powerless in addressing this dilemma without knowledge,” well as interviews with government officials, operators, and engineers Ashley begins. To gain answers and insights, she set her sights on The Netherlands. As a country, where 40 percent of the land is below sea level, involved in The Netherlands’ political and physical water management system.” From their collective mindset, Ashley educated herself on the they are ahead of the U.S. in both desperation and innovation regarding means, methods, and practices for protecting, rehabilitating, and resolving water management. A participant in the U.S. Netherlands Connection water management issues. “As landscape architects we are shaping how (USNC) program sponsored by the Florida Earth Foundation, Ashley people experience the world and determining how development effects the toured programs and facilities connected to The Netherlands’ Building natural environment. We must take our role seriously so that our projects with Nature Initiative, which has gained worldwide attention as an become conduits for creating more resilient cities and landscapes.” adaptive and resilient approach to sea level rise.
THE JOSEPH J. LALLI FELLOWSHIP is an annual designation granted to an EDSA employee who presents a compelling proposal to travel and immerse themselves in a new culture in order to better understand the attributes of that place and its influence on design.
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