Coastal engineering-quo vadis?

This paper traces the development of coastal engineering, drawing parallels with history of civilization and development of society in general. It recognizes three distinct ages-those of providence, progress and nihilism. It recalls the impact of the enlightenment and describes the rise of the modern era, in which coastal engineering has its roots; the time with the underlying motto “yes we can!” Next, we follow the move to postmodernism where we find that our models have practical limits, that there are no single, correct answers and that good coastal engineering is not necessarily good. We explore the concepts of uncertainty, pluralism and sustainability. Finally, we attempt to find some direction to proceed with coastal education, research and management within the postmodern environment.