Changing public space

The square was constructed in 1995 after a design by West 8 (Aarts, 1995). It is currently being
redeveloped again as a result of a large covered market hall on the southwest side of the square,
which is constructed by the local authorities in co-operation with developer Provast. The plan
will be completed in 2010.
The third objective of the 1993 adaptation of the Basisplan focused on public space as a
condition to create a city centre that expresses the ambition of Rotterdam as international centre
with a good investment climate and location possibilities (dS+V et al., 1993). Public spaces in
Rotterdam needed to become clean, safe, and of high quality. This required an increase in the
budget for both design and maintenance of public space (dS+V, 1994; Goossens et al., 1995). Data
from the so-called city centre monitor suggest that the city has been successful in achieving this
objective. The average scores of the level of ‘cleanliness’ and ‘wholeness’ in the city centre were
respectively 3,7 and 3,8 (on a scale of 1 to 5) in 2004 (Van Rhee et al., 2005). Nevertheless, there
are still multiple locations that require investment according to the city centre inhabitants, such
as the Binnenrotte (according to 34% of the monitor’s respondents) and the retail areas in the
city centre (34%). Surprisingly, the Schouwburgplein is also mentioned often (26%), despite the
1997 redevelopment.
The urban (re)development of Rotterdam is far from complete. Although big projects such as
the Schouwburgplein and the Beurstraverse have been completed, other parts of the city are still
excavated building-sites. The train station and square are currently under major reconstruction
in order to facilitate a new high-speed rail and the RandstadRail. The old train station was not
equipped for the expected increase of travellers and needs to be completely rebuilt. The project
is expected to be finished in 2010. Another redevelopment project is the Museumpark, which
is currently being reconstructed due to the construction of an underground parking garage.
The redevelopment of the park is expected to be finished in 2009. As described above, the
Binnenrotte is another major redevelopment site in the city centre of Rotterdam. There are also
plans to develop a second retail underpass similar to the Beurstraverse, starting in 2012 (Section
6.2.3). Besides physical improvements in public space, Rotterdam also works hard on its image
as event city. A number of festivals (e.g., the International Film Festival, the summer carnival,
and the North Sea Jazz Festival) and other events are organised in the city; some indoor and
others freely accessible in public space. As a consequence, Rotterdam has been selected as City of
Events in 2005 and 2006. The city has promoted itself as City of Architecture in 2007, including
a large-scale manifestation regarding the exceptional buildings and public spaces. Rotterdam
appears successful in promoting itself: visitors graded the city as leisure product with a 7,1 in
2003 (Van Rhee et al., 2005).
In the future, Rotterdam aims to create a strong economy and become an attractive
residential city. The two aims are connected; to live in a city job opportunities and housing
facilities are necessary. The plans are outlined in the Stadsvisie Rotterdam 2030 (Gemeente
Rotterdam, 2007a). Thirteen projects are distinguished, including improvements in public space
at the Lijnbaan, Coolsingel, and the train station area. In addition, the municipality set up an
investment programme for public space outside the city centre (Gemeente Rotterdam, 2006).
The aim is to invest in public spaces in the neighbourhoods to improve Rotterdam’s image as
residential city. But the quality of public spaces in the city centre also remains top priority. The
local government recently presented its draft policy named Connected City (Verbonden Stad),
which is part of the next city centre plan that will be presented in the spring of 2008. The draft
104