5.1. Rotterdam in the Contexts of its Identity
5.1.1. Location, Demographics and Economy Overview
After Amsterdam, Rotterdam is the second largest city of the Netherlands,193 the largest port in Europe, and the third busiest port in the world.194 The city is located in the western part of the country (image 5.1), in the province of South Holland (Zuid-Holland), and is part of the so-called ‘Randstad’ area, known as the economic centre of the Netherlands. The city officially covers 319,35 m2, 205,90m2 of which is land and 113,45 m2 are water areas.195
The commercial and strategic importance of Rotterdam is mostly based on its convenient location, which provides a vital connection with the North Sea through the New Meuse River (Nieuwe Maas). The waterway in delta, formed by the rivers Rhine and Meuse (Maas), divides the city in two equal halves: northern and southern, which are connected by several bridges and railway tunnels. The city centre is historically located on the northern riverbank, but along with the recent urban development trends, its further extension to the south has already commenced. Due to the mentioned strategic location, good connections within the region and the proximity to the heart of industrial Europe through a massive rail, road, air and inland waterway distribution system, Rotterdam is nowadays considered as one of the major
193 Source: The City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Self-Evaluation Report (2009): 15.
194 The data is according to the category “total cargo volume” of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) for 2009 (http://appa-ports.org/).
195 Sources: Centre for Research and Statistics (COS), Rotterdam Facts & Figures (2009): 11; The City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Self-Evaluation Report (2009): 15.
196
international port and commercial centres, operating for many years as the ‘gateway to Europe’.196
Image 5.1.
Rotterdam location within the Netherlands (left) and within South Holland province (right)
© 2014 TerraMetrics & © 2014 GeoBasis-DE/BKG (© 2009), Google Source: https://maps.google.de, 2012-11-13, with author’s additions
According to the official statistical data for 2012, there were 617,347 people living in the city,197 and over 1,1 million inhabitants within the Rotterdam region (Rijnmond;198 image 5.2).
The entire population of South Holland province is expected to continue its rising trends, with forecasts of reaching approximately 660,000 inhabitants in 2030 in Rotterdam only.199 Around 47% of the urban population has an immigration background, with the total of up to more than 170 nationalities living in the city nowadays.200 Many non-western immigrants principally originate from the former Dutch colonies Suriname and the Antilles, as well as from the Cape Verde Islands and Turkey (Van Ulzen, 2007: 25), while most African immigrants have Moroccan origins.201 However, the education levels of the migrant labour force, as well as theirs household earnings, are still generally lower than those of the native citizens. In addition, southern areas of
196 The Netherlands: Gateway to Europe, Time Magazine US, Friday, Jun. 21, 1963 (http://www.time.com/)
197 Source: COS Bevolkingsmonitor (2012), http://www.rotterdam.nl/onderzoek
198 Rijnmond literally means Rhine Mouth or Rhine Estuary, and is also known as Stadsregio Rotterdam (the Rotterdam Urban Region or Greater Rotterdam Area).
199 Source: Bevolkingsprognose Rotterdam 2013-2030 (2012): 5.
200 Source: Rotterdam Facts & Figures (2009): 7.
201 Source: The City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Self-Evaluation Report (2009): 19.
Rotterdam are significantly falling behind in general, lacking in working places and burdened by social problems (R3: Blok, 01:01:09) that created an evident gap in average household income, compared to the higher national level. The unemployment rate in 2007 reached 7,4%, which is also surpassing the Dutch average of 4,5%.202
Image 5.2.
Greater Rotterdam area (Stadsregio Rotterdam; Rijnmond), showing the city and the port in red (left), and Rotterdam Municipality borders without the port area (right)
Left: http://commons.wikimedia.org 2014-04-02. Right: © 2014 TerraMetrics & © 2014 Google Source: https://maps.google.com 2012-11-14, with author’s additions
The major factors of the city’s economy are its business services and trade,203 being that the service sector showed the highest growth rates during the recent period. The most important economic driver of Rotterdam is certainly its strategically located port of international significance, which is currently Europe’s largest, and one of the top 5 most important ports in the world – after Shanghai, Zhoushan/Ningbo and Singapore.204 Development of the port-industrial complex of such proportions initiated establishment of the traditionally port-related activities, such as transport and communication that even nowadays hold a large share in the city’s sectorial structure. Besides the significant dominance of the port and related activities, other important development assets are the city’s location within the Randstad region, its proximity and access to highly educated labour force and its diverse economic structure. Such an atmosphere continues to attract international services and companies to the city, which are in particular further expanding the port itself, thus still being very important for the city’s competitive potential.
202 Source: The City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Self-Evaluation Report (2009): 19.
203 Source: The City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Self-Evaluation Report (2009): 22.
204 Source: Rotterdam Facts & Figures (2009): 7; 18.
198
Between 1998 and 2003, Rotterdam was positioned relatively well on national and international rankings. It has also already won the titles of European Capital of Culture (2001), European Capital of Sports (2005), City of Architecture (2007) and European Youth capital (2009).205 However, there is a significant decline in its national economic performance lately, evident in its drop from 20th to 53rd position in 2007.206 In addition, in terms of international business connections, the Randstad area ranked 5th on the global level, but Rotterdam itself placed 29th within European networks.207 By the Loughborough University group's 2008 inventory, Rotterdam is nowadays listed as a gamma world city.208 It is also classified as a
‘specialized pole’ city due to its ‘gateway’ functions, placed in between the international hub and regional pole category. However, it is still a ranking level below the country’s capital and its prime rival Amsterdam, which is listed as an international and knowledge hub,209 as well as an alpha world city.
5.1.2. Historical and Spatial Development Analysis
Rotterdam has a rich history of urban planning and development, dating long before the 2nd World War, although the post-war plans and interventions left the most visible effects today, as a consequence of severe war destructions.
The city owes its formation to the commodities of the place, where the small river Rotte used to flow into the Nieuwe Maas waterway. The first protective dikes and dams were built in the region due to the frequent floods in the mid 13th century. The wooden dam in the area of today’s Rotterdam itself was constructed around 1270, on the place where Hoogstraat and Binnenrotte streets nowadays meet (Van de Laar, 2007). Small fishing port thus continued to develop, especially after the Old Port was constructed in around 1328.210 However, despite definitive town privileges,211 and regardless of population growth that at that time already reached about 2,000 inhabitants,212 many older, richer and more influential towns and cities of the region for a long time after continued to overshadow medieval Rotterdam (Van de Laar, 2007).
205 Rotterdam Facts & Figures (2009): 27.
206 Source: The City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Self-Evaluation Report (2009): 16.
207 Source: The City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Self-Evaluation Report (2009): 16.
208 GaWC - The World According to GaWC 2008 (source: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/ 2012-11-09)
209 Source: The City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Self-Evaluation Report (2009): 16.
210 Key Figures Rotterdam 2006, http://www.rotterdam.nl/ 2012-11-09
211 The definitive town privileges were granted on June 7th 1340, by count William IV of Holland (Van de Laar, 2007)
212 http://www.portofrotterdam.com/