Introduction

Zop Van Zuid and Eramus

The Netherlands is a small, low lying and densely populated country (population 16.3 million). Rotterdam has a population of 600,000. Rotterdam along with nearby cities Amsterdam , Utrecht and The Hague compose the Randstad (' Ring City "). Collective their total population of 7.5 million people is nearly half the country's population.

Rotterdam, Netherlands wikipedia.com

Rotterdam is in the delta of the Rhine and the Maas (or Meuse ), the largest delta in Europe . Built mostly behind dikes, much of Rotterdam is below sea level requiring dams for protection against rising sea level as well as canals. It is this network of waterways that supported the Netherlands ' international shipping industry. Located at the halfway point of the shipping route linking Northern Europe (Baltic Sea) and Southern Europe (Mediterranean Sea), Rotterdam became the largest port in Europe.

Until the eighteenth century, Rotterdam was built behind the dikes; however, the crowded city conditions necessitated expansion of the city. Using harbor's dredging as the foundation, Rotterdam 's business and residential neighborhoods moved over the dike into the harbor. In addition to these expansions, pedestrian avenues were created along the city's canals, bringing people to the harbor on the Maas. As the international commerce grew, additional harbor space required the transshipment industry to relocate into the middle of the harbor, enabling shipments to be transferred without blocking harbor circulation. Eventually, the port industry relocated to the south side of the river, known today as Kop Van Zuid, "South Head".

Rotterdam was built behind the dikes; however, the crowded city conditions necessitated expansion of the city. Using harbor's dredging as the foundation, Rotterdam 's business and residential neighborhoods moved over the dike into the harbor. In addition to these expansions, pedestrian avenues were created along the city's canals, bringing people to the harbor on the Maas. As the international commerce grew, additional harbor space required the transshipment industry to relocate into the middle of the harbor, enabling shipments to be transferred without blocking harbor circulation. Eventually, the port industry relocated to the south side of the river, known today as Kop Van Zuid, "South Head".

After the May 10, 1940 bombings destroyed most of Rotterdam , the city took advantage of this opportunity to modernize the antiquated infrastructure while rebuilding the city and port. The subsequent modernization relocated the maritime industry west of Kop Van Zuid in the 1970s. Many people moved to the suburbs leaving Kop Van Zuid a derelict 500 acre parcel of land and isolated from surrounding neighborhoods by railway lines, city's center by the Maas and from the river by warehouses.

Kop Van Zuid Conceptual Plan

The area in which Kop Van Zuid is located, the Borough of Feyenoord, consists mainly of poor residential neighborhoods where the people who worked in the port and other riverside industries used to live. The city of Rotterdam needed additional housing as well as unemployed, transportation infrastructure and the disconnection of Kop Van Zuid. In a 1978 Master Plan which proposed 4000 homes and red light district was abandoned as a result of the objections of neighboring residential areas. As a result, Feijennoord-Noordereland residents association presented their own plan for residence and harbor development.

City Planning Director, Riek Bakker, commissioned a new master plan in 1978 for Kop van Zuid, marking the beginning for Rotterdam 's renaissance. Developed as a high-quality mixed-use area, with unique, post modern buildings, a lively waterfront and connected directly to Rotterdam 's center, Kop Van Zuid was to be the New York City of the Maas.

Future City CenterModel