Innovation & Resilience

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Rotterdam offers unparalleled room for innovation and entrepreneurship. In Rotterdam, residents, entrepreneurs and students are provided with the intellectual and physical capacity to develop, innovate, grow and conquer the world. Rotterdammers themselves lead the way and seize every opportunity to actively contribute to building the sustainable city of tomorrow.

The Rotterdam region is home to internationally renowned knowledge institutions – Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus Medical Centre, Delft University of Technology, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences – and start-up and innovation hubs such as the Cambridge Innovation Centre with its sister organisation Venture Café, Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship and many more.The Rotterdam Makers District covers the Merwe Vierhaven (M4H) and RDM districts, home to multi-company facilities including the Rotterdam Science Tower and RDM Rotterdam. This district used to be the biggest port of call for fruit exports and imports and is now a new hotbed of innovative and creative entrepreneurship.

Rotterdam is a member of the 100 Resilient Cities programme of the Rockefeller Foundation. As the largest port city in Europe, Rotterdam is striving to be an inspiration to other cities around the world, especially in the area of innovation, sustainability and adaptation to climate change. One of the best-known projects in Rotterdam is the water-storage square that was developed by De Urbanisten. Other examples of the city’s resilience strategy are the green roofs programme, underground water storage facilities and the use of residual heat from port-related industries.

Highlights

ZoHo district ZoHo district: Climate Proof ZoHo shows the implementation of the Rotterdam Climate Adaptation Strategy on the district scale.
Resilient Rotterdam Rotterdam works to enhance the city’s resilience – to make absolutely sure that its ready for the 21st century.
Clear Rivers (formerly Recycled Park) Clear Rivers / Recycled Park is a proposal to retrieve plastic from the river Nieuwe Maas just before it reaches the North Sea and becomes part of the plastic soup. The plastics were recycled into floating platforms and form a new green environment.

Developments like climate change, digitisation, the new economy and globalisation bring new opportunities and risks. Cities which can respond to these dynamics have good growth potential. The Resilience Strategy aims to ensure that Rotterdam is prepared for the opportunities and challenges of the future.

Highlights

Aerial photo of Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam The port of Rotterdam wants to boost the technological and economic innovation which is necessary to build a sustainable, dynamic and future-proof port.
Floating Farm The world’s first Floating Farm has opened in Rotterdam in the spring of 2018. Forty cows will graze on real grass and produce 1,200 litres of milk a day. The production will be circular, involving closed cycles of nutrients, energy and water in so far as is possible.
The Dutch Windwheel The Dutch Windwheel is many things: an iconic building, tourist attraction, hotel, residence and energy generator. This game-changer for sustainable development is intended to showcase Dutch design and innovation on the international stage. The construction will start in M4H.

Header photo: Iris van den Broek

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