Urban Future

Urban Future Related pages

The urban future presents a lot of challenges. Society is becoming increasingly diverse. The rise in digital options is creating new revenue models and having a major impact on our daily lives, the labour market and education. Circular thinking and acting are gaining ground. The way we move about within cities is changing: we walk more, we cycle more, and we take public transport more often. We are all being confronted with the consequences of climate change. And we are in the middle of a transition from fossil energy to sustainable energy.

Rotterdam has reinvented itself and developed its own signature over the past 70 years. The city has achieved this by allowing plenty of room for ideas, venturing into uncharted territories and not being afraid to take risks. The city, the port, and the metropolis have all gone through a myriad of improvements and innovations. The transitions are helping Rotterdam develop into a resilient city and society and the city keeps on anticipating the future.

Urban development highlights

RUGGEDISED Rotterdam is part of the RUGGEDISED project funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Working in partnership with businesses and research centres, six European cities will demonstrate how to combine ICT, e-mobility and energy solutions to design smart, resilient cities for all.
Urban Roofs in Rotterdam
Urban Roofs The future challenges facing the city of Rotterdam are increasingly complex when it comes to keeping the city liveable and resilient. Demand on the existing space continues to expand. Therefore, Rotterdam aims to lift the city to a higher level. Its potential space of 14.5 square kilometres in flat roofs will be designated for new functions, such as temporarily buffering rain water to reduce pressure on the sewage system.
Vrouwen fietsen voorbij Hofbogen waar mensen staan.
Rotterdam Energy and Climate Accord Rotterdam delivers its own climate agreement following the COP21 Paris agreement objectives. Within 10 years, Rotterdam will reduce the emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases with 50 percent. This will be the result from the measures in the Rotterdam Climate Agreement that the municipality has concluded with more than 100 companies and social organizations.

Urban mobility highlights

Geeba Cargo bikes without a driver (Droids) and drones in the sky that pick up cargo from a smart hub and then deliver it to your doorstep. According to Geeba, situated in Rotterdam and founded by Qatar-based companies Airlift Systems and N-gon, this will be the solution to the expensive last stage of local delivery within cities. This newest innovation aims to disrupt last-mile logistics and significantly cut costs for e-commerce companies. In 2019, tests will take place on the public roads with pilot retailers in the cities of Delft and Rotterdam.
Optimising the e-bus fleet Testing and development are planned for a large-scale deployment of up to 40 zero-emission e-buses in Rotterdam, alongside real-time planning software managing the new logistical operations needed for this bus model. Simulation models designed by the Erasmus University Rotterdam will be used to optimise the software infrastructure and explore its effect on the city infrastructure.
Electric trucks for urban distribution With its 100% electric distribution trucks, BREYTNER offers a solution for zero-emission, future-proof deliveries in inner cities.

Highlights green business and innovation

BlueCity inside old building Tropicana in Rotterdam
BlueCity BlueCity is an incubator for circular entrepreneurs in and around Rotterdam. Currently situated in a deserted swimming pool, the hub represents a dynamic community of entrepreneurs, researchers, neighbours, the government and the education sector. This incubator provides a breeding ground for 16 innovative, circular companies linking their waste streams.
Floating Solar Park Rotterdam wants to build an artful floating solar park of 3,770 solar panels shaped like a gigantic concentric wave, mimicking a pebble effect. The floating solar park is designed by Mothership BV. The expectation is that the park will be completed by the end of 2019, situated at the Rijnhaven or in the surrounding area.
Studio Roosegaarde
Studio Roosegaarde Studio Roosegaarde is the social design lab of Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde. Together with his team of designers and engineers, Roosegaarde creates landscapes of the future for a better world. The studio connects people, technology and spatial design to improve daily life in urban environments and spark the imagination.

Urban leadership

UN Environment – climate centre The Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation (GCEA) advances bold actions to help societies across the world become more resilient to climate-related threats. We act as a solutions broker, bringing together governments, the private sector, civil society, intergovernmental bodies, and knowledge institutions that can address the obstacles slowing down adaptation action. The Global Centre builds on, improves, and accelerates breakthrough solutions that catalyse transformation at scale and at speed. The centre has locations in Rotterdam and Groningen.
Erasmusbrug en Wilhelminapier Rotterdam
Rockefeller Foundation The 100 Resilient Cities—Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC) is dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century. As one of the 100 Resilient Cities, Rotterdam released its Resilience Strategy in 2016.
Roadmap Next Economy The Roadmap Next Economy offers an impression of the challenges in the Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan region in the next few decades, aiming to define the transition of the economy and society. The Roadmap offers the region a compass for the future based on five transition pathways: Smart Digital Delta, Smart Energy Delta, Circular Economy, Next Education and Next Society. In doing so, the region seeks to taking a leading role within Europe in moving towards a new economy, offering an attractive environment for talented professionals, entrepreneurs and investors. The EU has acknowledged and acclaimed this regional vision, framing it as a best practice in Europe.
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