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

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

), is the process of creating new

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

from

ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

s, seas, riverbeds or

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

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

History

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, the rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty (c. 2000–1800 BC) undertook a far-sighted land reclamation scheme to increase agricultural output. They constructed

levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...

s and

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

s to connect the

Faiyum Faiyum ( ; , ) is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. It is one of Egypt's oldest cities due to its strategic location. Name and etymology Originally f ...

with the

Bahr Yussef The Bahr Yussef (; "the waterway of Joseph") is a canal which connects the Nile River with Faiyum Oasis in Egypt. In ancient times it was called Tomis () by the Greeks, which was derived from its Egyptian name ''Tm.t'' ("ending canal"). That nam ...

waterway, diverting water that would have flowed into

Lake Moeris Lake Moeris (, genitive Μοίριδος) was an ancient endorheic freshwater lake located in the Faiyum Oasis, southwest of Cairo, Egypt, which persists today at a fraction of its former size as the hypersaline Lake Qarun (Arabic: بركة ق� ...

and causing gradual evaporation around the lake's edges, creating new farmland from the reclaimed land. A similar land reclamation system using dams and drainage canals was used in the Greek Copaic Basin during the

Middle Helladic Period Helladic chronology is a relative dating system used in archaeology and art history. It complements the Minoan chronology scheme devised by Sir Arthur Evans for the categorisation of Bronze Age artefacts from the Minoan civilization within a his ...

(c. 1900–1600 BC). Another early large-scale project was the Beemster Polder in the Netherlands, adding of land in 1612. In Hong Kong, the Praya Reclamation Scheme added of land in 1890 during the second phase of construction. It was one of the most ambitious projects undertaken during the era of

colonial Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 to 1981, and a dependent territory from 1981 to ...

.Bard, Solomon.

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 OO2, the minor planet 7499 L'Aquila *1990 OO2, the asteroid 9175 Graun Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'' ...

(2002). Voices from the Past: Hong Kong 1842–1918. HK University press. Some 20% of land in the

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

area has been reclaimed, most notably

Odaiba is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge (Tokyo), Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially built for defensive purposes in the 1850s. The land was dramatically expanded during the late 20th centur ...

artificial island. The city of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

was largely built on reclaimed land, as was

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, 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 A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

, then filling with clay and dirt until the desired height is reached. The process is called "infilling" and the material used to fill the space is generally called "infill". Draining of submerged

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s is often used to reclaim land for

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

use.

Deep cement mixing Deep cement mixing (DCM) is a geotechnical engineering deep foundation ground improvement technique where a binder material, typically cement, is injected into the ground for ground stabilisation and land reclamation. The technique can also be use ...

is used typically in situations in which the material displaced by either

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

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.

Notable instances

Africa

* The

Hassan II Mosque The Hassan II Mosque () is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the second largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the List of largest mosques, 14th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world's List of tallest minarets, second tallest m ...

is built on reclaimed land. * The Eko Atlantic in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. * Gracefield Island in

Lekki Lekki is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the south-east of Lagos city. Lekki is a naturally formed peninsula, adjoining to its west Victoria Island and Ikoyi districts of Lagos, with the Atlantic Ocean to its south, Lagos Lag ...

. * The

Foreshore The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of Marine habitat, habitats ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. *

Stone Town Stonetown of Zanzibar (), also known as , is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng'ambo, Swahili for 'the other side'. Stone Town is located on the western coast of Un ...

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

Asia

* Parts of the coastlines of

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. It is estimated that nearly 65% of

tidal flats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

around the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...

have been reclaimed. * The north of

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. * Inland lowlands in the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

valley, including the areas of important cities like

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

. * Nanhui New City in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

* Haikou Bay,

Hainan Province Hainan is an island province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally means "South of the Sea" ...

, where the west side of Haidian Island is being extended, and off the coast of

Haikou Haikou; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanized as Hoihow is the capital city, capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. ...

, where new land for a marina is being created. * The

Cotai Cotai ( zh, t=路氹城, cy=Louhtáhm Sìhng; ) is a piece of land reclamation, reclaimed land on the top of the Seac Pai Bay between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau that has connected two independent islands since 2005. The name, which is ...

area of

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, where many

casinos Casinos may refer to: * Casinos, Valencia, municipality in Spain * David Casinos (born 1972), Spanish Paralympian athlete * The Casinos The Casinos was a nine-member doo-wop group from Cincinnati, Ohio, led by Gene Hughes and which included ...

are located. * Parts of

Shekou Shekou () is an area at the southern tip of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Guangdong Province, China. It faces Yuen Long, Hong Kong across the Deep Bay, China, Shenzhen Bay. It has been designated as a free- ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

province. * Much of the coastline of

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India. It took over 150 years to join the original

Seven Islands of Bombay The Seven Islands of Bombay ( Portuguese: ''Ilhas de Bom Baim'') were 16th-century Portuguese colonial possessions lying off the Konkan region by the mid-west coast of India. History They were partly handed over to England under this tit ...

. These seven islands were lush, green, thickly wooded, and dotted with 22 hills, with the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

washing through them at high tide. The original

Isle of Bombay Isle of Bombay was one of the Seven Islands of Bombay, an archipelago of islands that were, in the eighteenth century, connected to form the area of the modern city of Bombay in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a cou ...

was only long and wide from Dongri to

Malabar Hill Malabar Hill is amongst the most affluent residential areas in Mumbai. It is home to several business tycoons and film personalities. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had built and lived in a bungalow, called South Court, in Malab ...

(at its broadest point) and the other six were

Colaba Colaba (; or ISO 15919, ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During the Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was ...

, Old Woman's Island,

Mahim Mahim (, ) is a neighbourhood in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Mahim Junction railway station on the Western Railway zone, Western Railway and Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Harbour Railway of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Mumbai Suburb ...

Parel Parel (ISO 15919, ISO: Paraḷ, pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əɾəɭ is a neighbourhood in the south of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Originally one of the Seven Islands of Bombay, Parel became an industrial center after the unificatio ...

Worli Worli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Varaḷī'', Help:IPA/Marathi, �əɾ(ə)ɭiː is a locality in central Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai with the others being Colaba, Bandra and Malabar Hill. The sea connect ...

and Mazgaon. (See also Hornby Vellard). * The shore of

Jakarta Bay Jakarta Bay () is a bay north of North Jakarta city. The Thousand Islands are located in Jakarta Bay. 13 rivers flow into the bay. The majority of the bay's coastal communities consist of people living below the poverty line, in conditions of po ...

. Land is usually reclaimed to create new housing areas and real estate properties, for the rapidly expanding city of

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

. So far, the largest reclamation project in the city is the creation of Golf Island, north of

Pantai Indah Kapuk Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) is an integrated township in northwestern Jakarta, Indonesia; located in parts of Penjaringan, North Jakarta, Kapuk, West Jakarta, and Kosambi, Tangerang, Kosambi, Tangerang Regency. It is one of the most prestigious r ...

. * Giant Sea Wall Jakarta * Nagoya Centrair Airport. *

Kansai International Airport Kansai International Airport (), commonly known as Kankū (; ), is the primary international airport in the Keihanshin, Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is located on ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. * Much of

, including

Port of Tokyo The Port of Tokyo is one of the largest Japanese seaports and one of the largest seaports in the Pacific Ocean basin having an annual traffic capacity of around 100 million tonnes of cargo and 4,500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units. The port is a ...

Haneda Airport , also known as and sometimes abbreviated to ''Tokyo-Haneda'', is the busier of the two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary domestic base of J ...

, and

Tokyo Disneyland is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney park t ...

. * Beirut Central District. * Hulhumalé Island, one of the six divisions of

Malé Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of , Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city i ...

City. * Addu Atoll, the southernmost atoll of the Maldives. * Forest City, an integrated residential and tourism district in

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

, Malaysia, was controversial due to its reclamation of wetlands of international importance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

in a designated Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) Rank 1 area. * Much of the coastline of

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. * The North Reclamation Area in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

. * The whole business district of Cebu South Road Properties in Cebu City. * The shore of

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

, especially along

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

, has attracted major developments such as the Mall of Asia Complex,

Entertainment City Entertainment City, also known as E-City (formerly PAGCOR City and Manila Bay Tourism City), is a gaming and entertainment complex under development by PAGCOR spanning an area of in Bay City, Metro Manila. It was first envisioned by PAGCOR in 2 ...

and the

Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex The Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, also known as the CCP Complex, is an Arts district, art district managed by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) located along Roxas Boulevard in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a mixed- ...

. * A part of the

Hamad International Airport Hamad International Airport (, ') is an international airport in Qatar, and the home base of the national flag carrier airline, Qatar Airways. Located east of the capital, Doha, it replaced the nearby Doha International Airport as Qatar's prin ...

, around . * The entire Pearl Island situated in West Bay (Doha). * The

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, where land is in short supply, is also famous for its efforts on land reclamation. * The size of

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

. Upcoming projects include 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 under way, lasting five years. This project would take a few decades to plan and implement. *

Incheon International Airport Incheon International Airport is the main international airport serving Seoul, the capital of South Korea. It is also one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. This airport opened for business on 29 March 2001, to replace the old ...

* Colombo International Financial City * Some of the coastline of

Saadiyat Island Saadiyat Island (; ', for "Island of Happiness") is a natural island and a Cultural tourism, tourism-cultural environmentally friendly project for Culture of the United Arab Emirates, Emirati heritage and culture that is located in Abu Dhabi, U ...

which is used for commercial purposes. * The

Palm Islands The Palm Islands consist of three artificial island, artificial archipelagos: Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Islands (formerly known as Palm Deira or Deira Islands), and Palm Jebel Ali, off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Palm Islands were ...

, The World and hotel Burj al-Arab off Dubai. * The Yas Island in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

Europe

* The southwestern residential area in Brest. * The port of

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...

. * Certain areas of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. * Paljassaare,

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

is a peninsula consisting of two former islands connected to the mainland during the 20th century * Port of Tallinn is largely built on land reclaimed over centuries. *

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

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

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionKavala. *

Lake Copais Lake Copais, also spelled Kopais or Kopaida (; ), was a lake in the centre of Boeotia, Greece, west of Thebes. It was first drained in the Bronze Age, and drained again in the late 19th century. It is now flat dry land and is still known as Kop ...

. * Parts of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, including the North Wall, East Wall,

Grand Canal Dock Grand Canal Dock () is a Southside (Dublin), Southside area near the city centre of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the border of eastern Dublin 2 and the westernmost part of Ringsend in Dublin 4, surrounding the Grand Cana ...

and

Bull Island Bull Island (), more properly North Bull Island (), is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, about 5 km long and 800 m wide, lying roughly parallel to the shore off Clontarf, Dublin, Clontarf (including Dollymount), Raheny, Kilbarra ...

. * The

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

peninsula, the industrial area of Cornigliano, the PSA container terminal and other parts of the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. *

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. * Rione Orsini, part of Borgo Santa Lucia,

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. * Fucine Lake. * Almost half of the

microstate A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law. Some recent attempts to define microstates ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

** Most of Fontvieille, Monaco ** Parts surrounding Port Hercules in

La Condamine La Condamine (; ) is the central ward and a quartier in the Principality of Monaco. The quartier's landmarks include Port Hercules, the Rainier III Nautical Stadium, and the Princess Antoinette Park. Its farmers' market, at ''Place d'Armes, ...

, Monaco * Large parts of the Netherlands. * Parts of

Bryggen Bryggen (''the dock''), also known as Tyskebryggen (, ''the German dock''), is a series of Hanseatic heritage commercial buildings lining up the eastern side of the Vågen harbour in the city of Bergen, Norway. Bryggen has been on the UNESCO lis ...

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

including the Dreggekaien cruise terminal and other ship services. * Parts of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, such as the Marine Facade. * Barceloneta area,

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. * Airports of

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

Giresun Giresun () is a city in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. It is the seat of Giresun Province and Giresun District.Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

* Yenikapı. * **

Pier Head The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. ** Samphire Hoe in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

was created using 4.9 million cubic metres of chalk marl from the nearby Channel Tunnel excavations from 1988 to 1994. ** Almost all of the Thames estuary including large parts of London **

The Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

. * ** Most of Belfast Harbour and areas of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. * ** The entire waterfront area of

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

. * Waterfront Centre,

St. Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island's total popul ...

* Majority of left-bank and some right-bank residential areas of

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

were built on a reclaimed fens and floodplains of the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

river.

North America

*The Potter's Cay in

Nassau, The Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

was connected to the island of

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. On the eastern side of the island is the national capital, national capital city of Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau; it had a population of 246 ...

. *The shore of

especially along East Bay street. * Much of

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

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

Notre Dame Island Notre Dame Island () is an artificial island in the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is immediately to the east of Saint Helen's Island and west of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the city of Saint-Lambert on the south sh ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

, 15 million tons of rock excavated from the

Montreal Metro The Montreal Metro (, ) is a rubber-tired underground rapid transit system serving Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The metro, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14, 1966, during the tenure ...

underground rail in 1965 to form an artificial island. *

Leslie Street Spit The Leslie Street Spit, or officially the Outer Harbour East Headland, is a human-made headland in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, extending from the city's east end in a roughly southwesterly direction into Lake Ontario. It is about long. The Spit is ...

, the downtown waterfront south of Front Street, and sections of the

Toronto Islands The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. * Part of Nuns' Island in

. * Infilling

False Creek False Creek () is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown Vancouver, Downtown and West End, Vancouver, West End list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It is one of the four ...

Burrard Inlet Burrard Inlet () is a shallow-sided fjord in the northwestern Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the lowland Burrard Peninsula to the south from the coa ...

and various creekways of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. * Tsawwassen ferry terminal causeway in

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

. * Wreck Beach, Metro Vancouver Electoral Area A *

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

(which is situated at the former site of Lake Texcoco); the

chinampa Chinampa ( ) is a technique used in Agriculture in Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican agriculture which relies on small, rectangle, rectangular areas of fertility (soil), fertile arable land to grow agriculture, crops on the shallow lake beds in the Va ...

s are a famous example. * The

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

shoreline. * The Northwestern University Lakefill, part of the campus of

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

. * Several neighborhoods in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

are the result of landfill. *

Battery Park City Battery Park City is a mainly residential planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the nor ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. * Several islands in

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is large ...

in the

Miami metropolitan area The Miami metropolitan area is a coastal metropolitan area in southeastern Florida. It is the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the lar ...

, including the Venetian Islands, are the result of landfill. * Brooklyn Bridge Park,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. *

Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with United States Bicenten ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

. * Parts of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

(which is partially built on land that was once

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

). * Much of the urbanized area adjacent to

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

, including most of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

's waterfront and

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...

San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is the primary international airport for the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. Owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco, the airport has a San Francisco mailing ...

, the

Port of Oakland The Port of Oakland is the port authority for the city of Oakland, California, United States. Its primary responsibilities are the operation of the Oakland Seaport and the Oakland International Airport. It also operates a commercial real est ...

, and large portions of the city of Alameda has been reclaimed from the bay. The entirety of

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

was also reclaimed to cover over the shallow waters north of Yerba Buena Island that presented a navigational hazard. * Large hills in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

were removed and used to create Harbor Island and reclaim land along

Elliott Bay Elliott Bay is a part of the Central Basin region of Puget Sound. It is in the U.S. state of Washington, extending southeastward between West Point in the north and Alki Point in the south. Seattle was founded on this body of water in the 1850s ...

. In particular, the neighborhoods of SoDo, Seattle and Interbay are largely built on filled wetlands.

Oceania

* Most of

Barangaroo Barangaroo ( – ) was an Aboriginal Australian woman best known for her interactions with the British colony of New South Wales during the first years of the European colonisation of Australia. A member of the Cammeraygal clan, she was the wi ...

, a commercial and residential suburb in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, New South Wales. * Areas of

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...

, a locality west of the Sydney central business district. * A large portion of the southern suburb of Sylvania Waters in Sydney. * Runway 16L/34R and the southern half of runway 16R/34L at

Sydney Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport — colloquially Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney Airport or Mascot Airport — is an international airport serving Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district, in the subu ...

. * Large portions of Brisbane Airport, including the newest runway, 01L/19R. * Large portions of Port Botany in metropolitan Sydney. * The majority of the Port of Brisbane, formerly the Fisherman Islands archipelago. * Large areas of the Melbourne Docklands. * Portions of the Swan River foreshore adjoining the

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

central business district in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, including the entirety of Mounts Bay (pictured above). * My Suva park, a recreation park for the Greater

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

area. * Considerable areas of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand, including the " Southern Endowment", stretching from the central city to the southeastern suburbs along the shore of

Otago Harbour Otago Harbour is the harbor, natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour m ...

. * 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

and

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

's harbours and airports have also been reclaimed.

South America

* The entire riverfront of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, including the port and an airport. * Large parts of

, most notably several blocks in the new docks area, the entire

Flamengo Park Flamengo Park, also known as ''Aterro do Flamengo'', Eduardo Gomes Park, and Aterro do Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes, is the largest public park and recreation area within the city of Rio de Janeiro, in eastern Brazil, and the largest urban seaside ...

and the neighborhood of Urca. * Parts of

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

. * Parts of the

Historic District A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

, including the docks of Port of Porto Alegre and the Beira-Rio Stadium, were built on reclaimed lands of Lake Guaíba between the end of the 19th century and the 1970s. * Parts of

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

. * Santa Cruz del Islote, in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

of Colombia, one of the most densely populated islands in the world, was built in an artificial way gaining land from the sea. * Parts of

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

urban and street development are based on reclaimed land, using material extracted from

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

excavations. *The Cinta Costera, in Panama City. * Parts of

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

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

Vargas State La Guaira State (), known until 2019 as Vargas State (, ), is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Formerly named after Venezuela's first civilian president, José María Vargas, the state comprises a coastal region in the north of Venezuela, bord ...

in the north of Venezuela, parts of Los Monjes Archipelago, the Isla Paraíso (paradise island) in the Anzoátegui, Anzoátegui State and the La Salina island in the Zulia, Zulia State, were built with land reclaimed from the sea.

Agriculture

Bingzhou Peninsula area - land reclamation - DSCF9204

Agriculture was a driver of land reclamation before industrialisation. In South China, farmers reclaimed paddy fields by enclosing an area with a stone wall on the 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

. These reclaimed areas also attract species of bird migration, migrating birds. A related practice is the drainage, draining of swampy or seasonally submerged

s to convert them to Farmland (farming), farmland. While this does not create new land exactly, it allows commercially productive use of land that would otherwise be restricted to wildlife habitat (ecology), 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 Ōgata, Akita, Ogata in Akita, Japan, was established on land reclaimed from Hachirōgata, Lake Hachirōgata (Japan's second largest lake at the time) starting in 1957. By 1977, the amount of land reclaimed totalled .

Artificial islands

Artificial islands are an example of land reclamation. Creating an artificial island is an expensive and risky undertaking. It is often considered in places with high population density and a scarcity of flat land.

(in

) and Hong Kong International Airport are examples where this process was deemed necessary. The

, The World and hotel 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

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 management, coastal defences. An example of this is the city of Mumbai.

Landfill

As overcrowding, human overcrowding of developed areas intensified during the 20th century, it has become important to develop land re-use strategies for completed landfills. Some of the most common usages are for parks, golf courses and other sports fields. Increasingly, however, office buildings and industrial uses are made on a completed landfill. In these latter uses, methane capture is customarily carried out to minimize explosive hazard within the building. An example of a Class A office space, Class A office building constructed over a landfill is the Dakin Building at Sierra Point, Brisbane, California, Sierra Point, Brisbane, California. The underlying fill was deposited from 1965 to 1985, mostly consisting of construction debris from

and some municipal wastes. Aerial photographs prior to 1965 show this area to be wikt:tideland, tidelands of the

. A clay cap was constructed over the debris prior to building approval. A notable example is Sydney Olympic Park, the primary venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics, 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 Plasma arc waste disposal, plasma-arc gasification process, which is currently used at two facilities in Japan, and was proposed to be used at a facility in St. Lucie County, Florida. The planned facility in Florida was later canceled.

Environmental impact

Converted wetland, 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 movement, environmental protection laws. Reclamation projects have strong negative impacts on coastal populations, although some species can take advantage of the newly created area. A 2022 global analysis estimated that 39% of losses (approximately ) and 14% of gains (approximately ) of tidal wetlands (mangroves,

, and Salt marsh, tidal marshes) between 1999 and 2019 were due to direct human activities, including conversion to aquaculture, agriculture, plantations, coastal developments and other physical structures.

Environmental legislation

The California, 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. Legislative Council of Hong Kong, 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. 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, 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

s and drained to create polders. Drained marshes will eventually sink below the surrounding water level, increasing the danger from flooding.

Land amounts added

Asia

Europe

Other countries

List of reclaimed land by country and territory

Notes

References

* * * * http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-parliament-wants-solution-to-land-reclamation-issue-1.567052

External links

The Cape Town Foreshore Plan 1947

The Canadian Land Reclamation AssociationThe case for offshore Mumbai airport
{{DEFAULTSORT:Land Reclamation Land reclamation, Coastal construction Riparian zone Environmental issues with water Environmental soil science