Learning from the past to plan for the future: the Waterland case study, an example of integrated implementation of urban resilience macro-strategies

The relationship between humans and nature — with particular attention to the role of water — has historically shaped coastal areas, giving rise to systems of coexistence in which hydrogeomorphological processes are assumed to be a structuring component of living (Marino & Mariano, 2022). Today, the acceleration of climate phenomena and growing anthropogenic pressure are reducing this adaptive capacity (IPCC, 2023), making it necessary to move from static defensive models to forms of adaptive planning based on the co-evolution of natural and anthropogenic systems (Carter et al., 2024). In this perspective, the Dutch territory of Waterland—north of Amsterdam—represents a paradigmatic context in which hydraulic risk has historically been assumed as the organizing principle of territorial planning, transforming itself from a threat to a structuring matrix of spatial transformations. The research analyzes the transition from the ancient model of terpen to a multi-level adaptive system that integrates gray infrastructure and nature-based solutions within a progressively more performative regulatory framework. The analysis of the strategic and regulatory urban planning tools that shape the 33 km of the Hoorn–Amsterdam Coastal Zone highlights how Dutch multi-level governance is not limited to defining strategies, but also translates them through tools (territorial frameworks, performance matrices, functional zoning) that act as a link between climate objectives and urban planning regulations. From this perspective, the Waterland experience is not only a virtuous case study, but also a transferable methodological reference point that can be used to rethink planning practices in fragile coastal areas.