Rotterdam, the Next City

Interview with Frank van Oort, professor of Urban & Regional Economics at Erasmus School of Economics

By: Madeleine Kemna

Rotterdam is a dynamic city that has a proud history of reinventing itself. Nowadays, it is faced with a new set of challenges and opportunities. There is a need for a new economic set up: the ‘Next Economy’, which will have an increased focus on sustainability and new business models that involve globalization alongside localization of economic activities and integrated economic value chains, integrating new technologies in production and consumption opportunities, and sharing instead of owning.

This type of ‘Next City Economy’ attracts highly skilled labor, which can develop the potential in new niche markets. To make these new niches successful a lot of facilities are needed, such as flexible workplaces and 3D printing, but further development of the housing market and investments in the infrastructure are also important keys to success. Rotterdam is doing well in this respect, although there is always room for improvement. Van Oort: “The Rotterdam region has unrealized economic potential, which can result in more productivity and additional employment. However, you don’t create a regional economy from scratch; these new niches are not enough to unlock this potential. They need to be embedded in existing clusters and skilled production models.”

“Of all Dutch regions, Rotterdam has the best and the most ingredients to capitalize on opportunities such as renewable energy and the circular economy. No other area is as surrounded by growers of flowers and vegetables, which are all potential suppliers for biomass. The Port of Rotterdam can play an important role in the logistics. In order to make optimal use of this combination, we should work together with neighboring universities like Delft, with its focus on technology, and Leiden, which has a lot of expertise in biotechnology.”

Dealing with this type of ‘Next Economy’ challenges asks for special skills. An increasing amount of experienced professionals comes back to the university. The ‘Master City Developer’ caters to such needs. Van Oort: “These students, that often have decades of practical experience, regularly challenge us and I really enjoy that. Some of the younger students come up with intriguing points of view as well; learning should indeed be two-way traffic.”

The traditional saying ‘You make your money in Rotterdam, The Hague decides how much you can keep and you spend it in Amsterdam’ is definitely out of date. Rotterdam has become a consumption city with plenty of entertainment, restaurants and shops. Not only is it well on its way to shine in the ‘Next Economy’; a growing amount of people are considering to make Rotterdam their next home, making it literally the ‘Next City’.

From Scratch to Skyscrapers

Rotterdam is a city unlike others because it carries an atypical past. The 1940 bombardment and the fire that followed razed the inner city to the ground, while putting an end to the livelihoods of too many. Because of the bombardment Rotterdam had to be built from scratch again to what is now the Dutch capital of urban design and architecture.

Scattered across the city, one can find traces of pre-bombardment landmarks. However, the street view is mostly characterized by modern architecture.

The flattened inner city provided creative brains with enough space to experiment with. Over the years, Rotterdam grew and rose from its ashes into the metropole that it is now. The city is dominated by wide lanes, high-rise constructions and enough space to experiment still.

In memory of the bombing of Rotterdam, Gers!Magazine Rotterdam presented a short and powerful film portrait to commemorate (the dead), to honor (the reconstructors) and to celebrate (the city of Rotterdam).

The best international festivals

With about 175 different nationalities, Rotterdam is a true international city. This is supported by the many international festivals that are organized every year. We will give you a few highlights.

The festival season starts in January with the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where talented new filmmakers from all over the world showcase their work. Next up is the North Sea Jazz festival, hosted in Ahoy Rotterdam each July. Many Jazz legends have performed at this festival that was first organized in 1976 and is now known globally.

A few weeks later, about 1 million visitors enjoy the explosion of color, joy, music and creativity of the Summer Carnival. During the highlight of the festival, the street parade, over 2.500 dancers participate with one mission: to make you dance!

Of course, these 3 festivals are only a fraction of the many festivals that Rotterdam hosts each year. For an overview of all the festivals, click here