2018 Reports

Adaptation in Rotterdam’s Stadshavens: Mainstreaming
Housing and Education

Daamen, Tom A.; Keenan, Jesse M.

The Stadshavens redevelopment in Rotterdam integrates climate change adaptation into urban redevelopment through a process of policy mainstreaming across housing, education, and economic development. Located in a flood-prone port area outside the city’s dike system, the project implements multi-level flood protection measures including small dikes, elevated infrastructure, and flood-resilient building designs. The redevelopment of the RDM shipyard into a research, design, and manufacturing campus links technical education with climate innovation and local economic development. By combining physical flood defenses with social and institutional capacity-building, Rotterdam demonstrates an integrated approach to urban resilience in vulnerable coastal areas.