Today we were Brian (our chaperone)’s guinea pigs, as he gave us our first ever (for him) tour of Rotterdam, the “Phoenix of Europe.” I don’t know if he was referring to Arizona or the bird, but I don’t think Brian has gone to Arizona so that narrows it down.

We started off the tour with Rob, who does tours at Dakakker, which is a historic building that is now used for many modern businesses and ideas. First, he took us to experience the urban incorporation of rainwater collection across areas of Rotterdam. To visually see this, we walked around the area by our hotel near the main intersection, looking at small parks and structures that had rain water collection functions to reduce flooding chances through heavy rainfall. One of the interesting structures that you wouldn’t realize is meant for water storage was a basketball court and two surrounding crevices that could function as rain water depots during heavy rainfall. There was also a small statue of letters made from wood that said “SOHO”, where each letter had tanks inside that could store water. These structures and design choices help to provide a safe and sustainable way of preventing flooding through either being visually appealing and (or) also having multiple purposes.

After this tour, we moved to see the green roof on the Dakakker, which encompassed multiple herbs, flowers, plants and bees (honey). This roof serves as a urban farm which grows delicacies that many people cannot access inside of the city. They sell these produce to both customers and also to a restaurant located on the farm. This idea was both very visually appealing and a good way to use urban space for purposes that don’t damage the environment. This idea for urban farming could be implemented into dense and industrial/modern cities such as New York where lots of small roof space and other areas are available for use.

After this experience, Brian took us on his first history tour of Rotterdam! It was a fun and interesting experience that showcased the structural differences of Rotterdam to other cities through the historic reasons along with economical reasons. He showcased the interesting design choices, carbon-free construction companies, and many modern and cutting edge green office spaces. He also highlighted the rivalry between Amsterdam and Rotterdam due to the fact that most of Rotterdam was bombed during WW2 whereas Amsterdam was barely touched. We ended this experience at the Markthal and ate a good lunch. Overall, today was a very good experience that showcased ways for sustainable and innovative urban planning.