Land reclamation

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about land reclaimed from ocean, riverbeds, or lake beds. For land reclaimed from the desert, see Dedesertification. For the disposal of waste material, see landfill.
"Reclaimed" redirects here. For other uses, see Reclaim.
Reclaiming in Mounts Bay, Perth, Australia 1964
The former airport of Hong Kong (pictured) and the current airport of Hong Kong were built on reclaimed land.
The largest city square in the world, the Xinghai Square of Dalian, China, was created entirely through land reclamation.

Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste

seas, riverbeds or lake
beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground, reclaimed land, or land fill.

In some jurisdictions, including parts of the United States,[1] the term "reclamation" can refer to returning disturbed lands to an improved state. In Alberta, Canada, for example, reclamation is defined by the provincial government as "The process of reconverting disturbed land to its former or other productive uses."[2] In Oceania, it is frequently referred to as land rehabilitation.

History

One of the earliest large-scale projects was the

Colonial Hong Kong era.[3] Some 20% of land in the Tokyo Bay area has been reclaimed,[4] most notably Odaiba artificial island. Le Portier, Monaco and Gibraltar are also expanding due to land reclamation. The city of Rio de Janeiro was largely built on reclaimed land, as was Wellington, New Zealand
..

Methods

Land reclamation can be achieved by a number of different methods. The simplest method involves filling the area with large amounts of heavy rock and/or cement, then filling with clay and dirt until the desired height is reached. The process is called "infilling"[5] and the material used to fill the space is generally called "infill".[6][7] Draining of submerged wetlands is often used to reclaim land for agricultural use. Deep cement mixing is used typically in situations in which the material displaced by either dredging or draining may be contaminated and hence needs to be contained. Land dredging is also another method of land reclamation. It is the removal of sediments and debris from the bottom of a body of water. It is commonly used for maintaining reclaimed land masses as sedimentation, a natural process, fills channels and harbors.[8]

Notable instances

East Coast Park in Singapore was built on reclaimed land with a human-made beach.
The Flevopolder in the Netherlands, reclaimed from the IJsselmeer, is the largest reclaimed artificial island in the world.
Land Reclamation in the Beirut Central District
The whole district of Fontvieille, Monaco was reclaimed from the sea

Africa

 Morocco

 Nigeria

 South Africa

 Tanzania

Asia

 Bahrain

 China

 India

 Indonesia

 Japan

 Lebanon

 Maldives

 Malaysia

 Pakistan

 Philippines

 Qatar

 Singapore

  • The city-state of Singapore, where land is in short supply, is also famous for its efforts on land reclamation.[13]
  • The size of Singapore has increased by 25% from 581.5 square kilometres in 1960 to 725.7 in 2019. This is part of the nation's plans to create more homes and common spaces in the land scarce city-state. Upcoming projects, such as the Long Island project, involving the reclamation of three tracts of land (expected to span around 800 ha), which is set at a higher level to protect against rising sea levels. It will also enclose a body of water, acting as a reservoir, strengthening the nation's water resilience. Detailed technical studies are currently underway lasting 5 years. This project would take a few decades to plan and implement[14][15]

 South Korea

 Sri Lanka

  • Colombo International Financial City
    .

 United Arab Emirates

Europe

 Belarus

  • The southwestern residential area in Brest.

 Belgium

 Denmark

 Finland

  • Helsinki (of which the major part of the city center is built on reclaimed land).

 France

 Greece

 Ireland

 Italy

 Monaco

 Netherlands

 Norway

  • Parts of Bryggen, Bergen including the Dreggekaien cruise terminal and other ship services.

 Russia

 Spain

 Turkey

 United Kingdom

 Ukraine

  • Majority of left-bank and some right-bank residential areas of Kyiv were built on a reclaimed fens and floodplains of the Dnieper river.

North America

 Bahamas

 Bermuda

  • Much of
    St David's Island
    are reclaimed; the island, the site of Bermuda's international airport, was formerly several smaller islands.

 Canada

 Mexico

 United States

Oceania

 Australia

 Fiji

  • My Suva park, a recreation park for the Greater Suva area.

 New Zealand

  • Considerable areas of
    Southern Endowment", stretching from the central city to the southeastern suburbs along the shore of Otago Harbour
    .
  • Prior to the Napier earthquake of 1931, significant reclamation of the then-lagoon was undertaken in areas of Napier South and Ahuriri. There were also minor reclamation works undertaken after 1931 on the new low-lying lands brought up by the earthquake.
  • Areas around Wellington and Auckland's harbours have also been reclaimed.

South America

 Argentina

 Brazil

 Chile

 Colombia

 Panama

 Uruguay

  • Parts of Montevideo, Rambla Sur and several projects still going on in Montevideo's Bay.

 Venezuela

Agriculture

Tong'an District, Xiamen
, China

Agriculture was a driver of land reclamation before

sea shore near a river mouth or river delta. The species of rice that are grown on these grounds are more salt tolerant. Another use of such enclosed land is the creation of fish ponds. It is commonly seen on the Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong. These reclaimed areas also attract species of migrating birds
.

A related practice is the

habitat. It is also an important method of mosquito control
.

Even in the post-industrial age, there have been land reclamation projects intended for increasing available agricultural land. For example, the village of

Akita, Japan, was established on land reclaimed from Lake Hachirōgata (Japan's second largest lake at the time) starting in 1957. By 1977, the amount of land reclaimed totalled 172.03 square kilometres (66.42 sq mi).[28]

Artificial islands

Burj al-Arab off Dubai in the United Arab Emirates are other examples of artificial islands (although there is yet no real "scarcity of land" in Dubai), as well as the Flevopolder in the Netherlands
which is the largest artificial island in the world.

Beach restoration

Main article: Beach nourishment

Beach rebuilding is the process of repairing beaches using materials such as sand or mud from inland. This can be used to build up beaches suffering from beach starvation or erosion from longshore drift. It stops the movement of the original beach material through longshore drift and retains a natural look to the beach. Although it is not a long-lasting solution, it is cheap compared to other types of coastal defences. An example of this is the city of Mumbai.[11]

Landfill

As

methane capture
is customarily carried out to minimize explosive hazard within the building.

An example of a

Aerial photographs prior to 1965 show this area to be tidelands of the San Francisco Bay. A clay cap was constructed over the debris prior to building approval.[29]

A notable example is Sydney Olympic Park, the primary venue for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, which was built atop an industrial wasteland that included landfills.

Another strategy for landfill is the incineration of landfill trash at high temperature via the

St. Lucie County, Florida.[30]

Environmental impact

Parts (highlighted in brown) of the San Francisco Bay were reclaimed from wetlands for urban use.

Draining wetlands for ploughing, for example, is a form of habitat destruction. In some parts of the world, new reclamation projects are restricted or no longer allowed, due to environmental protection laws. Reclamation projects have strong negative impacts on coastal populations, although some species can take advantage of the newly created area.[31] A 2022 global analysis estimated that 39% of losses (approximately 5,300 km2 or 2,000 sq mi) and 14% of gains (approximately 1,300 km2 or 500 sq mi) of tidal wetlands (mangroves, tidal flats, and tidal marshes) between 1999-2019 were due to direct human activities, including conversion to aquaculture, agriculture, plantations, coastal developments and other physical structures.[32]

Environmental legislation

A map of reclaimed land (grey area) in Hong Kong. Many of the urban areas of Hong Kong are on reclaimed land.

The State of California created a state commission, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, in 1965 to protect San Francisco Bay and regulate development near its shores. The commission was created in response to growing concern over the shrinking size of the bay.

Hong Kong legislators passed the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance, proposed by the Society for Protection of the Harbour, in 1997 in an effort to safeguard the increasingly threatened Victoria Harbour against encroaching land development.[33] Several large reclamation schemes at Green Island, West Kowloon, and Kowloon Bay were subsequently shelved, and others reduced in size.

Dangers

Reclaimed land is highly susceptible to soil liquefaction during earthquakes,[34] which can amplify the amount of damage that occurs to buildings and infrastructure. Subsidence is another issue, both from soil compaction on filled land, and also when wetlands are enclosed by levees and drained to create Polders. Drained marshes will eventually sink below the surrounding water level, increasing the danger from flooding.

Land amounts added

Asia

Country or territory Notes
 Bahrain 76.3% of original size of 410 km2 (160 sq mi) (1931–2007). [citation needed][35]
 Bangladesh About 110 km2 (42 sq mi) in total and has 12,000 square kilometres (4,600 sq mi) potential (8% of total area) up to 12 metres (39 ft) depth in the territorial sea area.[36]
 Hong Kong
Main article: Land reclamation in Hong Kong

67 km2 (26 sq mi) of land was reclaimed up to 2013. Praya Reclamation Scheme began in the late 1860s and consisted of two stages totaling 20 to 24 hectares (50 to 60 acres).[3] Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong International Airport, and its predecessor, Kai Tak Airport, were all built on reclaimed land. In addition, much reclamation has taken place in prime locations on the waterfront on both sides of Victoria Harbour. This has raised environmental issues of the protection of the harbour which was once the source of prosperity of Hong Kong, traffic congestion in the Central District,[37] as well as the collusion of the Hong Kong Government with the real estate developers in the territory.[38][39]

In addition, as the city expanded, new towns in different decades were mostly built on reclaimed land, such as Kwun Tong, Sha Tin-Ma On Shan, Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O, Tuen Mun, and West Kowloon.

 India Mumbai – An archipelago of originally seven separate islands were joined by land reclamation over a span of five centuries. This was done to develop Mumbai as a harbour city.
 Indonesia Jakarta – Giant Sea Wall Jakarta is part of a massive coastal development project at Jakarta Bay.
 Japan
  • Tokyo Bay – 249 km2 (96 sq mi)[40] including the entirety of Odaiba artificial island.
  • Kobe – 23 km2 (8.9 sq mi) (1995).
 Macao 170% of the original size or 17 km2 (6.6 sq mi)[41]
 North Korea In the 1980s, North Korea commenced a "find new land" program to reclaim 300,000 hectares of land (3,000 km2 or 1,160 mi2) in order to expand the country's supply of
long-range ballistic missiles.[42][43][44]
 Philippines
Main article: Land reclamation in Metro Manila
Additional 626 hectares along the eastern coast of Manila Bay created in the 1990s[45] to the 88-hectare Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex. The shore road of Manila (Roxas Boulevard) is actually reclaimed land, as well as its extension road to Cavite (Manila-Cavite Expressway / Aguinaldo Boulevard).
  • Cebu South Road Properties, Cebu City, Philippines - Artificial island which is 300 hectares was built along the sea between Mainland Cebu and Kawit Island. This was done to address the increasing need of urban and residential development in Cebu City due to its very progressive economy.
  • Bulakan
    , Philippines
 Singapore
Main article: Land reclamation in Singapore

20 percent of the original size or 135 km2 (52 sq mi). As of 2003, plans for 99 km2 (38 sq mi) more are to go ahead,[46] even though disputes persist with Malaysia over Singapore's extensive land reclamation works.[47] Parts of Changi Airport are also on reclaimed land.

 South Korea As of 2006, 38 percent or 1,550 km2 (600 sq mi) of coastal wetlands reclaimed, including 400 km2 (150 sq mi) at
Songdo International Business district
, the largest private development in history, is a large-scale reclamation project built entirely on tidal mudflats.
 United Arab Emirates
Main article: Land reclamation in the United Arab Emirates

Dubai has a total of four reclaimed islands (the

Palm Deira). There are several human-made islands in Abu Dhabi, such as Yas Island and Al Lulu Island
.

Europe

Country Notes
 Monaco
Main article: Land reclamation in Monaco

0.41 km2 (0.16 sq mi) out of 2.05 km2 (0.79 sq mi), or one fifth of Monaco comes from land taken from the sea, mainly in the neighborhoods of Fontvieille, La Condamine, and Larvotto/Bas Moulins.

 Netherlands
Main article: Land reclamation in the Netherlands

About 1/6 (almost 17%) of the entire country, or about 7,000 km2 (2,700 sq mi) in total, has been reclaimed from the sea, lakes, marshes and swamps. The province of Flevoland has almost completely been reclaimed from the Zuiderzee.

Other countries

Country Notes
 New Zealand Significant areas of land totalling several hundred hectares have been reclaimed along the harbourfronts of
Wellington have had significant reclamation for runway use.[48][49]
 Nigeria Eko Atlantic,[50] Lagos – 25 square kilometers

List of reclaimed land by country and territory

Country or territory Reclaimed land (km2) Notes
 China 13,500+ km2 Land reclamation in China
 Netherlands 7,000 km2
de Beemster, Afsluitdijk
Land reclamation in the Netherlands
 South Korea 1,550 km2
 United States 1,000+ km2 Artificial islands of the United States
 Japan 500+ km2
 United Arab Emirates 470 km2 Land reclamation in the United Arab Emirates
 Bahrain 410 km2
 Singapore 135 km2 Land reclamation in Singapore
 Bangladesh 110 km2
 Hong Kong 67 km2 Land reclamation in Hong Kong
 Qatar 35 km2
 Macao 17 km2
 Philippines 9.26 km2 Cebu South Road Properties Central Business District and
Land reclamation in Metro Manila
 New Zealand 3.3 km2 Reclamation of Wellington Harbour[51]
 Sri Lanka 2.33 km2
Colombo International Financial City[52][circular reference
]
 South Africa 1.94 km2 Cape Town Foreshore[53]
 Maldives 0.62 km2 Velana International Airport[54]
 Monaco 0.41 km2 Land reclamation in Monaco

See also

Notes

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  2. ISBN 0-7785-2156-7. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2012-04-09. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
  3. ^
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  4. ^ Petry, Anne K. (July 2003). "Geography of Japan" (PDF). Japan Digest, Indiana University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  5. ISBN 978-9956-11-005-6
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  6. ^ "Wisconsin Supplement Engineering Field Handbook Chapter 16: Streambank and Shoreline Protection" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture. February 2009. p. 16–WI–36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  7. ^ "Regional Road Maintenance ESA Program, Part 2: Best Management Practices" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 2.42. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  8. ^ Administration, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric. "What is dredging?". oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2018-03-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. doi:10.1890/130260
  10. Ts'ui-jung Liu
    (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), 135–64
  11. ^ a b Mumbai, Srinath Perur in (2016-03-30). "Story of cities #11: the reclamation of Mumbai – from the sea, and its people?". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  12. ^ Elyda, Corry (3 February 2017). "Jakarta clears hurdle in reclamation project". The Jakarta Post.
  13. ISBN 9781941806975
    .
  14. ^ "Land reclamation plan to create 800-ha 'Long Island' along Singapore's east coast, Singapore - THE BUSINESS TIMES". www.businesstimes.com.sg. 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  15. ^ "CNA Explains: Why does Singapore want to build a 'Long Island'?". CNA. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  16. ^ "Depth charges: Land reclamation and dredging are big business". UAE: Abu Dhabi (Report). Oxford Business Group. 2013.
  17. ^ The references are given in the article on the topic.
  18. ^ "Watching Brief | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  19. ^ Contributors, Ewan Crawford. "Dundee Esplanade - RAILSCOT". www.railscot.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-21. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  20. ^ "Waterfront Place | Maritime Trail". www.dundeemaritime.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  21. ^ "How Boston Made Itself Bigger". Culture. 2017-06-13. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  22. ^ "MEMÓRIA DE FLORIANÓPOLIS - A cidade de Nossa Senhora dos Aterros | ND Mais". 11 September 2016.
  23. ^ Vargas, Bruna (10 May 2019). "Porto Alegre dos aterros: saiba como a cidade avançou sobre o Guaíba ao longo das décadas". GZH (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  24. ^ a b Guerrero, Natalia (2018-04-13). "Cómo es vivir en Santa Cruz del Islote, la isla artificial más densamente poblada del mundo". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  25. ^ "Segundo lote de cisternas llegó al puerto La Guaira canjeadas por petróleo". La Voz (in Spanish). 2020-05-04. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  26. ^ Alejandro Durán (2016-11-02). ""Isla Paraíso" en Venezuela, causa sensación | El Sumario" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  27. doi:10.1016/j.jhg.2013.10.004
    .
  28. ^ "The History of Ogata-Mura". Ogata-Mura. 2008. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.
  29. Environmental Site Assessment, 7000 Marina Boulevard, Brisbane, California, prepared for Argentum International
    by Certified. Engineering & Testing Company, Boston, Massachusetts, July 15, 1993
  30. ^ "Florida county plans to vaporize landfill trash". USA Today. 2006-09-09. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  31. PMID 29018610
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  32. S2CID 248749118
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  33. ^ Wallis, Keith (February 12, 1996). "Bill seeks to protect harbour". Hong Kong Standard. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  34. ^ "The REAL Dirt on Liquefaction" (PDF). ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA GOVERNMENTS. February 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-23.
  35. ^ Chief, Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau (2010-01-12). "Bahrain parliament wants solution to land reclamation issue". GulfNews. Retrieved 2018-02-04.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ Gravgaard, Anna-Katarina; Wheeler, William (18 October 2009). "Bangladesh Fights for Survival Against Climate Change". Pulitzer Center.
  37. ^ "Courts protect our imperiled waterway – at least for the time being". Hong Kong Standard. August 14, 2006. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  38. ^ DeGolyer, Michael (March 15, 2007). "Commentary: Just Looking for Answers". Hong Kong Standard. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  39. ^ Ng, Michael (October 5, 2006). "Lawmaker warns of West Kowloon arts venue glut". Hong Kong Standard. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  40. ^ "Japan Fact Sheet". Japan Reference. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  41. ^ gov.mo
  42. ISBN 978-0-06-199850-8
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  43. ^ Makowsky, Peter; Town, Jenny; Kae, Michelle Y.; Pitz, Samantha J. (2021-12-22). "North Korea's Tideland Reclamation Efforts - 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea". 38 North. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  44. ^ Kaiman, Jonathan (2017-05-03). "North Korea is building mysterious artificial islands that would be perfect for missile launches". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  45. ^ "Philippine Reclamation Authority". pea.gov.ph. Archived from the original on 2016-05-06.
  46. ^ Koh Gui Qing (12 April 2005). "Singapore Finds it Hard to Expand Without Sand". PlanetArk – via Wild Singapose.
  47. CIA
    . 1 September 2010. section Transnational issues. Retrieved 1 October 2010. disputes persist with Malaysia over […] extensive land reclamation works
  48. ^ Charles Fairbairn (2017-04-04). "Auckland International Airport: A work in progress". Contractor Magazine.
  49. ^ Wellington City Council — Off to a flying start with Wellington Airport
  50. doi:10.15396/afres2013_109
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  51. ^ "150 years of news: How reclamations shaped Wellington". Stuff. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  52. Port City Colombo - Wikipedia
  53. ^ Halkett, D.J. (October 2012). "ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE PROPOSED CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE 2 ON ERWEN 192 , 245, 246 AND THE REMAINDER OF ERF 192, "SALAZAR SQUARE", ROGGEBAAI, CAPE TOWN FORESHORE" (PDF). sahra.org.za. p. 18. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  54. ^ "UAE Dredging Company Gulf Cobla Delivers Maldives Airport Land Reclamation for Expansion Project - International Dredging Review - May-June 2017". dredgemag.com. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-13.

References

External links

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