Urban Traffic Plan - Rotterdam

The Rotterdam Urban Traffic Plan 2017 - 2030+ is a strategic planning document of the Municipality of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The Plan provides guidance on the long-term development of Rotterdam's urban mobility until 2030 and beyond to make Rotterdam a “smart, accessible, healthy, economically strong, and attractive city”. Three interconnected challenges were the starting point for the Plan: (1) Rotterdam's growth and urban densification, (1) the envisaged economic innovation in the city and the accompanying energy transition as well as (3) the urban mobility transition, from less car traffic to an increase in cycling and public transport use. While the instrument itself is not focusing on NBS explicitly, an increase of interconnected green areas is foreseen to achieve the overall goal of the plan. As such, the Plan aims to address ecological, social and economic targets, and pursues a holistic development of urban mobility that builds on green infrastructure as much as possible. The plan is the result of a comprehensive stakeholder consultation process which has helped to ensure a wide acceptance of its implementation.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Dedicated strategy, plan, or law

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Air quality
Noise
Social equity
Nature appropriation / stewardship
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The Plan provides a framework to develop an urban and regional infrastructure network that is flexible and adaptable enough to respond to future challenges.The Plan defines nine main target areas, some of which are related to enhancing NBS in the city: (1) Fewer car kilometers within the (inner city) Ring, (2) an interconnected regional and urban network, (3) regional and urban river crossings, (4) an appealing and vibrant city and center, (5) boosting new modes of transport, (6) eliminating transport poverty, (7) a healthy living environment, (8) smart mobility, (9) areas outside of the Ring. Each of these decisions specifies a set of actions. A major action is the further development of the Inner City as a City Lounge, with the focus on creating a space for pedestrians and cyclists. By increasing the amount of interconnected green areas attractive to cyclists, the plan has the potential to enhance both ecological interconnectivity as well as well-being benefits (due to less air and noise pollution resulting from reduced car traffic).

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Blue areas

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Sustainable in the long-term

Inclusivity

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Rotterdam City Council

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

After presenting the first version of the Plan prepared by the municipality, an extensive consultation was launched. More than 450 people from different stakeholder groups (residents, regional committees, organisations, businesses, experts and other municipalities, etc.) participated in more than a dozen dedicated meetings and discussions. In addition, citizens were contacted via post and email about the Urban Traffic Plan, which led to around 100 official suggestions. These suggestions, endorsements and visions were taken into account when refining the document.

Involvement of non-governmental actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private sector, corporate, business

Citizens or community groups / NGOs

Type of actor involvement:

Expert task force consultation

Civil society consultation through e.g. workshops, surveys

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The Plan foresees the close cooperation between the city council, municipal departments and all partners, institutions, citizens, entrepreneurs and stakeholders to realise the envisaged goals. The Municipality sets the parameters and encourages actions, such as for parking standards or in the context of residents' and market participants' initiatives. In the construction of cycling paths and green paths, on the other hand, the city has a more initiating role.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Unknown

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public national budget

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

Details about the financing of the Plan are not known. However, any financial investments arising from the Plan are to be examined in the context of the upcoming budget debates.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

A tangible result is the creation of a "City Lounge". The city center has been transformed; streets and squares have been created with more space for pedestrians and cyclists and the banks have been changed to allow for recreational activities. Sustainable materials were used wherever possible.

Success factors and lessons learned:

By aiming to address ecological, social and economic goals through increasing the number of cycling lanes and green areas, the Plan is a good practice example of a holistic framework for a sustainable urban mobility transition. Shortcomings are the lack of detail on the sources of financing that will be needed to realise the Plan's ambitious goals. The Plan also does not provide details on whether there is a monitoring and evaluation framework in place to assess the Plans progress towards achieving its goals. A close integration of the Plan's actions with relevant urban greening policies will be needed to realize multifunctional NBS.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Municipality of Rotterdam (2017). Smart accessibility for a healthy, economically strong and attractive Rotterdam. Rotterdam Urban Traffic Plan 2017 - 2030+. Available at: http://tda-mobility.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Rotterdam_Urban-Traffic_Plan.pdf (Accessed: 28 July 2022).

Photos

@ Flori & Almi Weit.Gereist en Unsplash