Sit­u­at­ed in the Rhine delta, Rot­ter­dam is often called the “delta metropolis”—a name that reflects both its loca­tion and the chal­lenges it faces.

In a city that lies most­ly below sea lev­el, man­ag­ing water from all direc­tions – sea, riv­er, ground­wa­ter, and rain – is a con­stant con­cern. So, how does Rot­ter­dam han­dle the increas­ing precipitation?

One solu­tion is “meer­voudig ruimtege­bruik,” or the mul­ti-pur­pose use of pub­lic spaces. The idea is to com­bine essen­tial water reten­tion areas with valu­able urban assets.

A prime exam­ple is the Zomer­hofk­warti­er, a for­mer­ly neglect­ed office dis­trict now serv­ing as a test site for rain­wa­ter reten­tion projects, focus­ing on de-seal­ing pub­lic areas.

Addi­tion­al­ly, Rot­ter­dam is revi­tal­iz­ing its unused har­bor basins, inte­grat­ing homes, hotels, and offices into these large water­front spaces.