Achieving a Water-Resilient Rotterdam: Past, Present and Future Perspectives

Authors

  • Nanco Dolman Deltares
  • Johan Verlinde Municipality of Rotterdam

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2024.1.13

Keywords:

blue-green infrastructure, climate adaptation, sponge cities, water resilience, water urbanism

Abstract

Rotterdam has a close and essential connection with water, both as a port city and a delta city. As a low-lying city situated in the estuary of the Rhine and Meuse rivers, most of the city (85 per cent) lies below sea level, and some areas are as low as 7 m beneath sea level. Except for the main port area, the remaining 15 per cent of the city lies in outer dike zones. Since evacuation is nearly impossible, adapting to climate change presents a significant challenge. This vulnerable delta city is continually revisiting its approach to water threats and climate change is demanding a new round of interventions. The historical fight against water is being abandoned in favor of living with water. Water connects and brings leverage. By creating more space for water and promoting blue-green infrastructure in the built environment, Rotterdam is becoming climate-resilient, greener and more livable. Rotterdam’s blue-green transformation to a sponge city of the future (2100) aims at achieving SDG 11 (“Sustainable Cities and Communities”) and has the potential to fulfill targets regarding climate action (SDG 13), the protection of water quality (SDG 6) and the restoration of biodiversity (SDG 14 and 15).

How to Cite

Dolman, N., & Verlinde, J. (2024). Achieving a Water-Resilient Rotterdam: Past, Present and Future Perspectives. Blue Papers, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2024.1.13

Published

2024-05-06

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2024): Water & Heritage for Sustainable Development

Section

methodologies and case studies

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Nanco Dolman, Johan Verlinde

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Nanco Dolman, Deltares

Nanco Dolman is the leading expert on water-resilient cities at Deltares, the Netherlands, and has wide experience in integrated (urban) water and spatial development projects. Nanco has worked on various water and adaptation strategies for delta cities in Thailand, the Netherlands, the United States, Bangladesh and China. From 2011 to 2016, he was a part-time lecturer in Water Management in Urban Areas at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. He has also been involved in several international “blue-green cities” research studies as an applied researcher and field expert, such as with the EU Interreg NSR – CATCH project (2017–2022) and the British Academy-funded “Developing Blue-Green Futures” (2019–2021). Since 2021, Nanco has been participating in Redesigning Deltas (RDD), a research-by-design study that aims for a new Dutch condition in delta urbanism. One of the RDD designs is Rotterdam Sponge Water City 2100. Since 2020 Nanco has been a member of the editorial team of IWA’s Journal of Water and Climate Change.

Johan Verlinde, Municipality of Rotterdam

Johan Verlinde is a climate adaptation and sustainability expert working as program director for Climate Adaptation at the City of Rotterdam. In his role as program director, Johan is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the “Rotterdam Weather-Wise” Climate Adaptation Plan. This plan aims to prepare the city for severe climate hazards, such as heavy rainfall, flooding, heatwaves and drought, by collaborating with citizens, the private sector, social housing corporations, water boards and citizens.Johan’s expertise lies in devising innovative climate-adaptive measures in public spaces, where space is scarce. He recognizes the importance of climate-proofing private spaces, which will become increasingly critical in the future. Johan is participating in several international collaborations, including C40 Cities, where he shares and gains knowledge on climate adaptation. He was a PUB Singapore Water Academy fellow from 2019 to 2021.

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