Rotterdam launches new app targeting climate risks and actions
29 July 2013
by Richard Forster
The City of Rotterdam in The Netherlands, has launched the Delta City Rotterdam App, providing its community members and visitors with an innovative tool to explore the city and learn about the actions it has taken to protect itself against flooding.
“The Rotterdam Delta City App captures the city’s relationship with water,” said Arnoud Molenaar, Manager, Rotterdam Climate Proof. “The mobile app shows Rotterdam’s history, innovative solutions for water safety and measures that are and will be taken to become climate proof by 2025. As a delta city we know how to combine water with opportunities and we want to share that with this app. Hopefully other cities will join.”
Due to its location next to the River Meuse and close to the North Sea, the city, port and region of Rotterdam need to be protected by a network of water barriers. The Delta City Rotterdam App is a further way to explore Rotterdam and at the same time to discover the measures the city takes to protect itself against the ever present water dangers: sea, river, rain and ground water.
Unique hotspots on the app allows the users discover the broad network of innovative solutions that the city has implemented, such as multifunctional dykes, water plazas and the Maeslant Barrier. At each point, the app offers insight into the actions taken by the city to make itself more resilient, how and why these measures work and how they are part of an integrated strategy for the entire city. Smart spatial design and multifunctional solutions contribute to a more attractive and economically strong city.
A founding member of the C40 Connecting Delta Cities (CDC) network, Rotterdam has long been a global leader in addressing climate change, and particularly, the unique set of challenges delta cities face, by taking local action and sharing and exchanging knowledge with other cities around the world. Together cities in the CDC network such as London, Tokyo and Ho Chi Minh City support each other in the development and implementation of climate adaptation strategies.
Last month, Rotterdam hosted a C40 workshop that convened the CDC network as well as a complementary new Climate Adaptation Risk Assessment network, announced as part of a new C40 commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative, to help cities prioritise investment in climate change action.
