Do you, like me, enjoy the mild start of winter? The end of autumn is near, and normally we would now be preparing for cold days. But it has not really been cold at all. Over the past two weeks, average temperatures were between 7 and 9 degrees Celsius, while 4 to 5 degrees is normal for this time of year. The Netherlands now breaks at least 15 heat records each year, while since 2023 almost no cold records have been measured. That is why researchers are working on a future plan that shows what the Netherlands could look like if we start working with the climate instead of against it.

Who is behind this

Wageningen University & Research (WUR) developed the new future vision The Netherlands in 2120, including maps that show how the country can become climate resilient. NL2120 is a large collaboration of more than 25 organizations, such as governments, companies, and knowledge institutions, that will further develop and test this plan, supported by 110 million euros from the National Growth Fund.

Water management

At some point, the Netherlands will have to accept that we are a water country, and that we need to learn how to live with that reality. In the vision of the Netherlands in 2120, water is given space again in smart locations, so that extreme weather does not immediately lead to disaster. Where possible, buildings will be higher and more flexible, and in some places entire neighborhoods will even be built on water, allowing the country to move along with rising water levels.

Energy

In the future, energy will no longer come only from large facilities far away, such as nuclear power plants. Instead, energy becomes part of the city itself. Roofs and buildings will generate electricity as a standard, and neighborhoods will use this energy together and share it locally. What remains is stored, so energy is also available at moments when the sun is not shining.

Green space

Stone and asphalt turn cities gray. This plan aims to bring green back into streets and neighborhoods. Green routes connect districts, gardens grow upward along facades, and public spaces are designed to cool the city, absorb water, and ultimately bring people together again. Cities cool down by replacing heat-storing stone with green and water, using plants and evaporation to lower temperatures, and designing streets and buildings that let heat escape instead of trapping it. The plan does not strive for a perfect utopia, but for a country that is prepared. By treating water, nature, energy, and space as one interconnected whole, the Netherlands can become stronger.

How do we know this plan can work

There are already many things the Netherlands has tested. Take Water Square Benthemplein in Rotterdam, for example. On a small scale, but with a clear idea: during dry periods it functions as a public square, and during heavy rainfall it temporarily stores water. In Amsterdam, there is also a neighborhood that shows exactly what 2120 envisions for energy: Schoonschip. The houses are connected to a smart grid that allows residents to share energy, and they already use energy storage. These approaches work. We simply need to apply them on a larger scale, and then this plan can truly make a difference.

Schoonschip Amsterdam

Hope as a direction

This plan cannot completely stop climate change, but that is not what it is meant to do. It shows how we can move with the climate, so that extreme weather is less likely to turn into damage and crisis. And precisely because it clearly shows what the Netherlands could look like, it also influences behavior. It makes the step from thinking to doing smaller. Not driven by fear, but by the feeling that we can truly build this together. It offers hope that the choices we make now in how we live, build, and shape our society add up and genuinely matter.

Would you be able to live in a neighborhood floating on water?

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