Martín-Antón, M.; Negro, V.; del Campo, J.M., López-Gutiérrez, J.S., and Esteban M.D., 2016. Review of coastal Land Reclamation situation in the World. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 667–671. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Land reclamation from the sea has been occurring since ancient times, especially in harbors. The vast majority of the world's docks now occupy spaces that were once water and this heavily influences the coastal landscape. Japan has been one of the country's most needing to expand into the sea due to its topography and land requirements for agriculture, urbanization and, especially, industries and port facilities. Ninety per cent of Tokyo Bay's coastline is reclaimed land, which is almost 250 km2 of new land. In the 21st century, this disproportionate conquest of the sea has shifted to other co...

Part of human beings’ relationship with the world around them includes constructing or building. They connect with the land and makes civil engineering an action of reflection with the environment, a use of material, and a function of construction work. This involves a combination of necessities and perfection in order to fulfil an aim. To build is essential on this earth. From a “mud hut” as the commencement of architecture up to water regulating with dams, conducting it via a channel, overcoming obstacles by use of a bridge, or finding shelter and sailing by using harbours, a public work requires the welfare of a community as its “raison d´être”. The aim of this investigation is to analyse the human condition in construction and how works of an enormous size that change the way of “being on earth” have been tackled for instrumental reasons by disassociating necessities, revitalizing noxious effects, destroying nature’s scenery and landscapes, disturbing the environment, and negatively affecting the urban development of our “poly-cities”. Referred to by the authors of this article as “gigantism of public works”, this concept is analysed using examples in Asia and works of a notable size in China.