Sustainable Rotterdam

- Founded in the mid 13th century after a dam had been constructed in the River Rotte
- From fishing village to international centre of trade, transport, industry and distribution
- At the beginning of Second World War, on 14 May 1940, virtually the entire city centre was devastated
- Currently, largest port in the world. Known as “Gateway to Europe”
- 1.000.000 inhabitants in the region (600.000 in the city)
- 160 nationalities
- 80% population speaks English as second language

Guerrilla Ethnography in action
Sustainability is active in Rotterdam and it reflects in a variety of ways, from exploratory projects to applied proposals. We are going to approach some of the most relevant activities and discover the city with the help of those that are making it happen.

The goal of this journey is to identify improvement options in the areas of mobility and urban development from a sustainable perspective (balancing the environment and social aspects). For this, we’ll apply guerrilla ethnography techniques which imply to be ready and get involved, move around, take abundant pictures, notes, when appropriate, ask questions and solicit answers. At the end of the day we’ll sit back and think about the larger picture based on the data and material collected. The outcome will become available in the form of a hard-cover report, internet site and video.