Today, we had two tours of Rotterdam, one focused on the sustainability efforts made in communities around the city and one led by our guide Brian focused on exploring some highlights of Rotterdam that might otherwise go unnoticed. As I have spent more time in the Netherlands, I have really cherished being able to uncover parts of the cities we visit that are off the beaten path, and today was certainly no different.
To start the day, we were guided on a sustainability focused tour through Rotterdam, in particular the area near the Dakakker Urban Farm. I had actually already walked around this area a good amount with my friends, so I felt that the tour wouldn’t have a lot to offer me in terms of new content. Luckily, I was proven wrong, as we were taken to parts of the city I otherwise never would have seen. One of the things that stuck out to me on the tour was how multi-purposed everything in Rotterdam seemed to be, in particular near the basketball court/playgrounds that also functioned as a basin to collect rainwater. The ability to retool pieces of infrastructure to fulfill several purposes, in this case one of them sustainability focused, is key to reducing the use of land on multiple different individual uses (thus freeing land and reducing the impact of construction on the environment.) I was surprised by how much rainwater it would take to fill one of these basins, but our guide clarified that it only really happens a few times a year, so I suppose this adds a bit more perspective. If more measures like these were implemented, I could see this method of rainwater collection becoming very popular, as it provides a much needed resource in a way that doesn’t really impact the populace. I also really found the way water was collected in the ZOHO statue a cool way to make the functional, socially aware art that I have seen so many times here in the Netherlands. The neighborhood we walked through with the community garden was actually one of the first places I explored in Rotterdam with my friends, and even then I noticed how many signs of renewable energy there were. There were plenty of roof gardens and solar panels on each of the buildings, and the high-density housing is conducive to people reducing the impact of their carbon footprint. The measures in these neighborhoods really do not seem very invasive into people’s lives, but they could make such an impact if implemented more comprehensively.
As we continued on our tour, we went on a railroad track that had now been reused as a community performance center and garden, growing several different types of fruit and hosting performances and events from across the spectrum of acts. I found it really interesting how the community had recouped an area that previously provided a service to the community to once again provide benefits to all the people living in the area, and I feel this is the essential message of sustainability. Throughout the course of this trip, we have encountered so many things, from the revamping of the Netherlands traffic to better accommodate bikes, to the construction of dams and dykes to prevent flooding, to this, that have all shown how a community can revamp and redefine something when it no longer fits its needs or goals. So often change from the norms of modern life is portrayed as either unthinkable or unnecessary, yet here change has been made and positively benefited the affected communities. Surely, parts of American culture that no longer are tenable to our longtime sustainability goals, such as our wanton use of fossil fuels despite alternatives being available, can also be changed and made to better suit our modern needs, no matter what those who benefit from the current situation may say.
We finished our tour on a rooftop, where we saw how composting and the production of homemade fertilizer has allowed the Dakakker Urban Farm to flourish, producing dozens of different types of plant life around the area and working as an educational tool for those visiting. The reuse and retooling of waste through composting is extremely sustainable, and the scale at which it was implemented here seemed to indicate its larger scale viability. I was thoroughly impressed by just how many sustainable topics we were able to cover over the course of the short tour, and I feel like I peeled back the curtains on an area of the town I otherwise might just walk past.
Next, Brian took us on a tour of the city, starting at the town city hall that was one of only four buildings not affected by German bombings during WWII. I have repeatedly commented on how much more modern this city feels than the other Dutch cities we have explored, and the rebuilding of the city after the devastation of the blitz helps explain this. We explored several cultural centers, from an American inspired shopping center, to an archive of thousands of pieces of art within a giant metallic bowl, to an interesting statue by a modern artist. Dutch culture seems to have taken on the qualities of several others, and that can be seen in how this area felt almost like a city center in America while still maintaining a definitively Dutch feel. We ended the tour at the “Dutch White House”, a 10-story building that was once the tallest in Western Europe. Despite the building probably being smaller than the Cathedral of Learning, it still was an impressive site to behold. Overall, today gave me a chance to see the sights of Rotterdam and further explore concepts I have seen firsthand in the city, and I hope to close out my final day on this trip tomorrow on a good note!
