Abstract
The catastrophic flooding of recent years has revealed the inadequacy of formally defined flood-protection areas as a means of guaranteeing the necessary levels of containment in water meadows. If we are to effectively alleviate the gravity of such critical cases of flooding, it will be necessary both to restore the water-retention spaces previously maintained, and also to create additional flood plains. As a precautionary measure, where land has already been earmarked (including for development) to serve these purposes, it will be particularly vital to ensure that this intention is not thwarted by permitting conflicting land uses. This is the prime task of regional planning, and, in the form of what are termed „area development plans”, it has at its disposal in North Rhine-Westphalia a sophisticated and effective array of planning instruments capable of meeting the key requirement of precautionary flood protection, namely that of securing the spaces required, initially by indicating them as „flood areas”, and subsequently by designating them specifically for this purpose within legally-binding land-use plans. This article describes the scope for action available in spatial planning as reflected in regional planning in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
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