Case Study of the Netherlands (Illustrating the General Problem)

Abstract

Additional information given during the presentation of the introduction. The Netherlands (see fig. 1) are a small country with a high population density: width about 150 km.., length about 350 km., surface 41.2 × 10³ km² population 14.3 × 10⁶ and population density 435/km² land. The Western part of the Netherlands (called Holland) is highly industrialized and situated on ground consisting mainly of (sea) clay and peat while the Eastern part has relative small, more isolated industrialized areas and contains raw materials like (some) marl, sand and gravel (much) and (river) clay (much) which are used for cement, concrete and bricks. The dividing line (going from S.W. to N.E. — see dotted line in fig. 1) between these two areas has about the level of the sea, the lowest part of the Western part being about 7m. under sea level; if dunes or dikes, which protect the Netherlands against the North Sea, should break, about 50% of the country would be flooded.