Safety First? Place attachment in the conflict of Durgerdam
Friso van Alphen, 10510303 [email protected]
Master Urban and Regional Planning Graduate School of Social Sciences University of Amsterdam
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Maria Kaika Second reader: Prof. Dr.Tuna Tasan-Kok
11-06-2018
Safety First?
Safety First? Place attachment in the conflict of Durgerdam
Friso van Alphen
Preface
Dear reader,
In the summer of 2017, I made a bicycle tour with my father around the IJsselmeer, as he was surprised that I never cycled over the Afsluitdijk and thought this is something you have to do at least once in a lifetime. This became a tour with the theme of cycling and a father-son adventu- re, but also an informational tour on flood protection. The first village that we passed through was Durgerdam. Even though I have been there before, this time my interest was caught by the complex conflicts at the villages along the Markermeerdijken were facing. This made me realize that I would like to know more about what is happening in Durgerdam, but not through desk re- search, but by coming in contact with the residents themselves.
I would like to thank Maria Kaika in special for the motivational supervision and constructive feedback. The motivational feedback sessions were right what I needed and gave me new in- sights on how to improve this thesis. Also, I am grateful to the residents of Durgerdam for sha- ring their unique stories with me. I have been welcomed by all of you with open arms which gave me a warm feeling. Hester and Ben from Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier and Anke from Natuurmonumenten deserve a special thanks as well for making time to have a con- versation with me during these hectic and busy times. Finally, I would like to thank my brother Sander for brainstorming with me during the times that I got stuck with my results, My father Jos for making pictures with me of Durgerdam with his drone, and my friend Max for revising this thesis on grammar and legibility.
I hope you enjoy your reading.
Friso van Alphen
Amsterdam, June 2018
Index 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11 2. Theoretical framework……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….13 3.1. Attachment to place and community………………………………………………………………………… 13 3.2. NIMBY conflicts…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16 3. Methodology……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….20 4. Context of Durgerdam…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………24 4.1 History of Durgerdam……………………………………………………………………………………………………24 4.2 Durgerdam in the 21st century…………………………………………………………………………………….25 4.3 Dike reinforcement……………………………………………………………………………………………………….26 5. Analysis place attachment………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30 5.1. Physical landscape elements……………………………………………………………………………………….30 5.2. Landscape experiences……………………………………………………………………………………………….33 5.3. Social identities……………………………………………………………………………………………………………35 6. Analysis matters of conflict……………………………………………………………………………………………………….38 6.1. Practical matters…………………………………………………………………………………………………………38 6.2. Aesthetics matters……………………………………………………………………………………………………….40 6.3. Trust matters…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…42 6.4. Scale matters……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….44 7. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………46 8. Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………48 9. Literature……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………50 10. Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………54 .
1.Introduction For over 10 years already, there is a conflict about the dike at Durgerdam. The dike got condem- ned in 2006 because it is not stable enough to guarantee safety to the 1.2 million people living in North-Holland. The plans to reinforce the dike led to resistance of the local community as they were afraid that the reinforcement would harm the spatial characteristics of the historical village (Meershoek, 2017). This thesis is about the role of place attachment in the conflict of the dike reinforcement in Durgerdam, and the main research question is: What meanings does the local population attribute to Durgerdam, and how does this play a role in the conflict?
The Netherlands is internationally well known for its battle against water. For centuries, the Dutch are fighting flooding hazard and it can be seen as part of its culture (Wesselink, 2007). Dikes keep the land free of flooding, but also big manmade structures such as the Maeslantke- ring are a symbol of the constant struggle of living below sea level and are part of the Dutch cul- tural landscapes. Due to climate change, this struggle against a rising sea level demands con- stant maintenance on these dikes. After the Watersnoodramp in 1957, dikes were built and rein- forced into such a heavy degree that sometimes dike houses were demolished and existing characteristic landscapes were affected (Van Rijswijk, 2014). This did not always go without op- position, for example in Brakel in the 1970’s. Houses that were standing on the dike got exprop- riated and demolished and the characteristic appearance of the village disappeared (van Meurs, n.d.). The citizens of Brakel came in protest but without any results. Houses, farms, the school, the mayor's house and the 100-year-old town hall got demolished, but more important, a part of their cultural landscape was destroyed.
The fear of similar matters is now present in Durgerdam. The 33-kilometer long Markermeerdij- ken between Amsterdam and Hoorn got condemned in 2006 (Meershoek, 2016b). Within this 33 kilometer lies the small village of Durgerdam, a former fisherman village known for its unique long line of picturesque houses along a small road on top of the former Zuiderzeedijk (Everink, 2001). Plans to reinforce the dike were made but inhabitants of Durgerdam fear sharp damage to their monumental village as they are not convinced that dike reinforcement is necessary in the proposed way (Meershoek, 2017). The residents of Durgerdam objected to the proposed plans and a resistance was formed which gave them more time in the process of decision making. What has followed is a process in which residents and the waterboards together are figuring out a possible solution that is supported by the local community.
The way this conflict unfolds can be seen as a ‘’not in my backyard’’ (NIMBY) conflict. The Mar- kermeerdijken protect 1.2 million Dutch citizens from flooding and the general attitude towards flood protection is positive. However, residents of Durgerdam don’t agree on the measures that are proposed in this particular case. Different aspects of place attachment and sense of commu- nity play a role in this conflict as the residents fear that part of their unique place will be har- med. Therefore it is interesting to study this peculiar case of NIMBY conflict from a place at-