CLC Lecture Series
Rotterdam: Strategies for a Liveable City
URA Function Hall, Singapore
22 March 2012
Liveability is affected by the unique circumstances of each city. For the low-lying Dutch port
city of Rotterdam, water is one of the biggest issues.
On 22 March 2012, the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) had the honour of hosting Rotterdam’s Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, who gave a talk titled “The Rotterdam Approach: Connecting Water and Opportunities for a Liveable City” as part of the CLC Lecture Series. This was
particularly fitting as 22 March was World Water Day.
Mr Aboutaleb shared insights into how Rotterdam is affected by the water-related consequences of climate change and how climate-adaptation is making Rotterdam not only more
resilient, but also more liveable. He structured his talk around the five components of CLC’s
Liveability Framework: high quality of life, competitive economy, sustainable environment,
integrated master planning, and dynamic urban governance.
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Floating bright ideas for a high quality of life
Water surrounds Rotterdam on all sides – a significant issue for a city where some areas lie
5–6 metres below sea level. As a result, the quality of life offered in the city is closely tied
to effective water management. The city government thus collaborates closely with both
public-sector and private-sector organisations to build knowledge and develop innovative
strategies for climate adaptation and water management.
For example, Mr Aboutaleb cited research conducted by the Dutch National Knowledge for
Climate Research Programme, which examined the consequences of extreme high-water
situations for the Rotterdam region. The research found that the areas outside the network
of levies and dykes protecting the city are actually far safer than previously assumed.
As a result, the research has opened up new possibilities for living and working safely in the
area outside these levies. Mr Aboutaleb explained that this “offers opportunities for sustainable adaptive building on a serious scale – 1,600 hectares all located near or even in the
water in this area promises to become a new attractive and challenging environment for living, working and recreation, for instance by developing floating communities.”
Keeping the economy at high tide
Rotterdam is one of the world’s busiest ports and a key
transportation gateway for Europe. “This region accounts
for half of the gross domestic product in the Netherlands,
so that shows how important it is to take measures to tackle
the consequences of climate change and to deal with water
so as not to hinder the economic activities. … One important task for us is to ensure that it [the region] remains safe
and economically strong in times of climate change”, said
Mr Aboutaleb.
Given the importance of water management to the city
and the region, it is no surprise that Rotterdam has built
up world-class expertise in this field. In addition to helping
protect the region’s economic viability, this expertise is also
a valuable economic commodity in its own right.
“Water and delta technology is regarded as one of the most important segments of our national export. … The annual Dutch water management sector’s exports are approximately
US$8 billion”, said Mr Aboutaleb.
Flooding the city with environmentally sustainable tactics
Environmental sustainability is a key factor in turning Rotterdam into a green, healthy and
lively metropolis in which the port and city are connected. To bring about change, the city
has set some ambitious long-term goals: a 50 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions and full
climate-change resilience, both by 2025. The mayor identified several strategies for meeting
these targets, including saving energy, boosting the use of renewable energy, and increasing CO2 capture, reuse and storage.
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Mr Aboutaleb cited a plan to use residual heat from the city’s industry as an example. Heat
produced by industrial processes will be captured and piped around Rotterdam to heat
50,000 houses in the years ahead, as well as being used for agricultural purposes such as
heating greenhouses.
As environmental sustainability is a large-scale and interconnected challenge, Mr Aboutaleb
noted that it is crucial to get all stakeholders involved in developing solutions. The Rotterdam Climate Initiative is thus a partnership consisting of many different stakeholders, such
as public and semi-public authorities, private companies and multinationals, knowledge institutions and housing associations, and, of course, the city’s residents.
Holding the water at bay through master planning
“We are deeply committed to ensuring that Rotterdam is and will remain a safe, liveable, attractive and economically strong city. This is the long-term perspective, which in my view can
be reached only by integrated master planning”, said Mr Aboutaleb.
In Rotterdam, water management factors significantly into city planning, and vice versa. The
city must contend with water coming at it from four directions: from the sea, from the river,
from the sky and from the ground. Dealing with this multi-dimensional challenge involves
balancing myriad needs, such as ensuring high-quality drinking water sources, maintaining
the accessibility of water networks for transportation purposes, and managing water in a way
that enhances the city’s attractiveness and liveability.
Rotterdam’s integrated approach to planning has seen it champion various urban features
that serve multiple purposes. For example, it has developed floating communities for housing and offices to add more value to the city’s waterfront. The city also supports the implementation of green roofs to reduce the amount of storm water flowing into the sewer system
and has introduced water plazas – open spaces that can store water during extreme rainfall,
but also add to the city’s urban landscape.
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Sailing smoothly with dynamic urban governance
In 2007, the Dutch Cabinet formed a committee to study a variety of water-related issues,
including how the Netherlands can improve its water safety and protect its fresh water supplies while taking into account climate change and social development. Crucially, the committee adopted a long-term focus on the century ahead, rather than limiting its views to the
immediate future.
The committee’s recommendations led to robust new legislation known as the Delta Act,
which was approved by the Dutch Government in 2011. The Delta Act constitutes the legal
basis for a coordinated approach to water-management issues, such as rules on funding
for major delta works and the appointment of a Delta Commissioner with responsibility for
managing a comprehensive delta programme.
Interestingly, Mr Aboutaleb
noted that cities – rather than
countries – are increasingly
taking the lead in driving climate adaptation, particularly
when it comes to climateproofing delta cities. For example, in 2008, Rotterdam initiated the Connecting Delta Cities (CDC) network, which aims
to share knowledge and best
practices that can help delta
cities around the world develop and implement climateadaptation strategies.
Navigating a long-term voyage
While Mr Aboutaleb has high hopes for his city, he acknowledges that bringing about meaningful change is a challenging task that requires bold ideas, well-considered plans, decisive
action, and lots of cooperation and consensus.
“One thing is for sure, it’s impossible to solve any of these tasks of this great magnitude
I mentioned within a brief period of time. … Adaptation to the consequences of climate
change is required in order to monitor and maintain the safety of delta cities, but it does take
a long-term commitment”, he said. “Rotterdam wants to be an attractive city that offers highquality living, working and mobility. This is the dream that we are working on and will keep
working on.”
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About the Speaker
Ahmed Aboutaleb was born in Beni Sidel, Morocco, in 1961. After graduating in telecommunications in 1987, Mr Aboutaleb worked as a presenter for an educational television station (RVU); as a programme maker at Radio Stad Amsterdam and Radio Noord-Holland; and
as a reporter for Veronica Radio, NOS Radio and RTL4 news. From 1991 to 1994, he was a
press officer at the Ministry of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs. Up to 1997 Mr Aboutaleb
was head of information at the Social and Economic Council (SER) and until 1998 manager
of the Communications and Publications Sector at Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
Mr Aboutaleb became director of the FORUM Institute for Multicultural Development in 1998
and of the Social, Economic and Cultural Development Sector of the municipality of Amsterdam in 2002. In 2004, he was appointed to Amsterdam’s municipal executive as alderman
for Work and Income, Education, Youth, Diversity and Urban Policy. Mr Aboutaleb was also
a member of the Supervisory Board of the Mondriaan Education Group in The Hague, and of
the Education Council. He helped to set up the Dutch Coalition for Peace in the Middle East
and has been a member of the urban policy review committee; he has also been a member
of the board of Babylon, a centre for multicultural studies at the University of Tilburg. On 22
February 2007, Mr Aboutaleb was appointed State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment in the fourth Balkenende government. He became Mayor of Rotterdam on 5 January
2009.
© 2012 Centre for Liveable Cities
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