From Drowning to Swimming: A resilient and liveable city in Prins Alexander polder

The city of Rotterdam has a long and interesting history. It began as a small settlement on the River Rotte, at the place where the river met with the Nieuwe Maas. In 1270, the long dam was built in an attempt to reclaim the swampy land for development. In another word, since its origins, Rotterdam had to adapt to the natural circumstances of the delta, the threat of the rivers and sea waters. Now, according to NASA (2017), there is scientific consensus about the fact climate change trends over the past century are very likely a consequence of human activities. And one of the major consequences of global climate change is more extreme weather events. For example, global warming and accompanying sea-level rise are threatening many of the world’s lowland areas which have the Dutch nervous about the future of their country. Moreover, predictions indicate that there will be more extreme weather conditions, such as heavier rainstorms, longer periods of drought. Within the dikes, the inner-dike city of Rotterdam is mostly well below sea level (The Rotterdam Climate Initiative 2013) which means it is vulnerable to sea-level rise and some related issues like flood and salinization. Moreover, the current defenses are adequate up to 2050 and only allowed it to deal with around 40 centimeters of sea-level rise. Especially in Prins Alexander polder, with the lowest point being as much as 6.67 meters below NAP (the National Amsterdam Level, is an agreed ordnance measurement that is almost equal to mean sea level), the pumping stations are regulating the water levels and keep the polder dry. The project will explore the possibility of the existing polder system to face extreme rainfall, flood, and salinization in an urban area for a better living environment and enhance biodiversity. The result of the design assignment can be described as follows. - Based on the current system to come out with a set of typologies of small-scale design interventions which can generate interrelation between the informal settlement, the dynamic of the landscape, and water. Analysis- - Illustrate the timeline of climate change events from the current situation to the future with section/ typologies. - Map the threats to find out the most vulnerable area. - calculate the adequate amount of daily use water and purification area to build a circular water system. Design- - An ecological masterplan to show the relationship between the site and the surroundings. - Specific site design of a chosen area with more elaborate detail design of materialization and flows. - Come out with the principles that can be applied for the other places facing the climate change effect in the urban area.Urban ecology and eco-citiesArchitecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Landscape Architectur