WHY ROTTERDAM IS ON A ROLL
- May 16, 2016
- 2 min read
Rotterdam has been the city of reconstruction ever since the bombardment on the 10th of May, 1940. And now, 75 years later, Rotterdam is celebrating its rehabilitation. Today the Stairs has been opened to celebrate and to see what has become of Rotterdam. And the reconstruction surely has done much good: last year Rotterdam has been declared as European City 2015.
Due to Steven Bee, chairman of The Academy of Urbanism Rotterdam won the award because of ''The City has a predominantly young, open, tolerant community that is embracing innovative architecture and urban design and new business models. Its strategy is to attract families and businesses to the central area with a variety of housing, excellent public transport and a lively public realm.”
I believe Rotterdam is doing so well, because it anticipates on the changing environments and landscapes from a living perspective. Where cities used to be divided in living areas, leisure areas and working areas we now want these aspects to be combined. Our ideal environment is a vibrant heart where everything we need is within your fingertips, where our daily activities can and will be combined and meetings are key. Take The Markthal for instance: it combines architecture, connecting and living, and Rotterdam Viert De Stad makes her inhabitants feel involved, proud and connected as well. But what are the motives of these new surroundings?
Work: digitalization has made it possible that we can anytime anywhere. So why stick to a secluded old office building if you can work somewhere that is comfortable and inspiring?
Play: We have more and more leisure time, so new meeting places arose to socialize and connect.
Shop: Physical shopping is nowadays more about the experience.
With these three factors we can see how value-shifts have influenced our landscapes. These values have been implemented the environment where we find ourselves: it must be comfortable and inspiring, we must be able to connect and socialize with those we love and we want to experience and explore new things.
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