Doel - Belgium

Doel in Belgium is threatened with complete demolition due to the future enlargement of the Port of Antwerp. This has seen many people having to sell their homes to the development corporation of that enlargement. Many historical buildings will be destroyed. Street art in Doel. Since the depopulation of Doel, it is attracting street artists. An author says in one magazine article concerning the demolition of the village, "The Belgian village of Doel was reclaimed from the river Scheldt at the beginning of the 17th century. Three hundred years later and the village that would grow behind the sea wall is under threat. The threat comes not from a failing dyke or an unexpectedly sudden rise in water levels, but rather from the expanding Port of Antwerp and its insatiable need for more and more land along the Scheldt in which to grow. Now, Doel, the last of the Belgian polder villages on the banks of the Scheldt near the North Sea, faces possible demolition. The construction of a large dock and container terminal capable of receiving deep-sea ships is already underway on a site immediately next to the village, and the Port Authority proposes building a second one where the village now stands.