28 GIS IN ACTION Planning for a Polder in the Netherlands Geodesign Project Integrates Water Management and Land-Use Planning Highlights „ Land tracts surrounded by dikes (polders) were modeled with quantitative and qualitative trade-offs regarding water and land-use plans. „ With ArcGIS and CommunityViz design tools, land-use stakeholders work together on new plans, sketching ideas and receiving fast feedback. „ The project combined GIS mapping and scenario planning tools, which allowed the team to integrate expert knowledge into the decision process. The Dutch are familiar with polders—low tracts of land typically enclosed by dikes—and their characteristic hydrologic and land-use challenges. The Bodegraven polder, located in the province of South Holland, is a low-lying peat meadow area of some 4,672 hectares (11,545 acres) in the Netherlands, where water tables are controlled to enable multiple land uses. While Bodegraven has been predominantly used for commercial dairy farming, it is also important for its high natural, cultural, and historical value. Bodegraven is currently facing a number of problems that will affect the sustainability of its land uses: ground subsidence, preservation of the peat meadow landscape, inefficient water management, poor water quality, and the changing economics of dairy farming. Multiple stakeholders are thus involved, including the local water board, the City of Bodegraven, the Province of South Holland, farmers’ organizations, and nature conservation organizations, as well as individual farmers, residents, and recreational visitors. Consequently, the provincial authorities have started a planning process to review and adjust both water management practices and land uses in the area. The The project study area is the Bodegraven polder, located in the Province of South Holland in the Netherlands (photo copyright Frank Stroeken from Terra Incognita).