Study trip to Rotterdam : resilience at the heart of the port city

The 2025 learning expedition for the Urban and Regional Strategies (STU) master's degree  took place in Rotterdam, the second largest city in the Netherlands, and the ‘maritime capital of Europe’. Taking advantage of an exceptional location on the Rhine delta, up to the mouth of the Nieuwe Maas, the city has an inseparable historical and economic link with its port. 

Largely destroyed by German bombing in 1940 in order to force the country to capitulate, Rotterdam was rebuilt according to a resolutely modern vision, breaking with the traditional image of Dutch cities. Today, it stands out as a laboratory of contemporary architecture. Over the decades, port activity has shifted downstream, giving rise to major land reclamation projects (more than 40 km² in total for the Maasvlakte I and II projects). This development has encouraged the restructuring of the old port areasupstream close to the city centre (Kop van Zuid, Nieuw-Mathenesse, etc.), where residential and tertiary functions are now developing. In addition, industrial port activity has had a profou

nd impact on migratory dynamics, contributing significantly to the emergence of Rotterdam as the most multicultural city in the Netherlands.

Today, the relationship between the city and its port is being tested by new challenges that we need to address. In the country's most densely populated region, land and environmental pressures have increased tenfold, exacerbating an unprecedented housing crisis. The risks associated with the proximity of the sea, long managed by massive technical containment measures, are generating new uncertainties due to rising sea levels and soil salinisation. The city is tackling these issues head on and aims to become a model of a resilient city. 

The aim of the trip was to analyse the issues and challenges of managing this port city in the face of contemporary upheavals. Meetings with key players in the region will enable us to understand how different sectors - urban planning, transport, housing - were organised around this objective of urban resilience. It was also a question of observing the methods of collaboration and the latent points of friction between the various stakeholders in the urban fabric and governance.

We express our gratitude to David Dodman for generously welcoming us at HIS, Eveline Bronsdijk for her guidance and Cassandre Rey-Thibault, who has helped us put together this programme with Pauline Emile-Geay.