Going from grey to green, the Rotterdam way
Densification doesn't have to come at the cost of green space, writes Mark Wessel.
Density Done Well is a mantra Vancouver-based urbanist Brent Todarian frequently uses when talking about the right way to approach urban development, in contrast to some of the city planning mistakes we've made in the past.
Reflecting on this mindset, I can't think of a better way to describe what's happening with the seven new projects the city of Rotterdam unveiled in a recent webinar I sat in on — projects tied to the collective goal, as their spokespersons put it, “of transforming paved and heavily trafficked hot spots into green oases.”
Rotterdam, not unlike other cities around the world, is faced with the conflicting challenges of densifying their downtown core to accommodate more residents while avoiding urban sprawl; and at the same time finding ways to revive parts of the city devoid of green space and where many residents lack balconies, let alone a yard. Hence the motivation for this collection of park projects designed to serve as a virtual lung for some of the city's less affluent neighbourhoods, helping to reduce air pollution, noise and the heat sink effect, while providing citizens with places to meet, exercise and relax.
Arguably the most innovative and unique of these initiatives is Hofbogen Park, a public meeting space to be built on an abandoned rail viaduct which, once complete, will be the longest rooftop park in the Netherlands (measuring two kilometres long and eight metres wide). Inspired by New York's High Line Park (which, interestingly enough, used a landscape architect from the Netherlands), Hofbogen Park, in true Dutch fashion, is designed to make the best possible use of a small footprint.
Here in Canada, we're no stranger to converting abandoned rail lines into trails for pedestrians and cyclists. But as with the High Line Park, Rotterdam's Hofbogen Park takes things to a new level by creating not just a trail but a nature inclusive park that is home to native plantings and ponds, a carefully planned habitat for bees and butterflies, toads, bats, birds and hedgehogs which, as Derk van Peijpe (director of De Urbanisten, the consulting firm behind this park) puts it, “is designed
not only for people, but also for our animal friends.”
The latter consideration is particularly relevant for city dwellers who have grown up surrounded by concrete and asphalt and, for some, where nature is more often something you read about or see on television rather than experience.
So in addition to providing a place to relax or go for a walk, the park will help reconnect residents with nature, serving not just as a platform to play, but for the more inquisitive, a place to better appreciate how ecosystems work — albeit on a small scale. van Peijpe describes the park as an ecological corridor for the city that showcases local vegetation and provides both food and shelter for the species that reside
there. Flora and fauna will be kept healthy by harvesting and reusing the on-site rainwater that is captured, stored and then pumped back to the top as needed.
There's another element in the planning of Hofbogen Park that takes the greening of the city to a whole new level — which arguably surpasses even what they've accomplished with New York's High Line. And that's the vision of using Hofbogen Park as the starting point to create not just a linear park, but a network park, whereby the former viaduct will serve as a “green lifeline” that accelerates the beautification of adjacent streets and, as this network unfolds, yield even more positive outcomes for the area.
If you're wondering what the relevance of Hofbogen Park is for
cities here in Canada or urban centres anywhere, for that matter, it's this: there's a very good chance there are neighbourhoods in your own town where a shortage of green space or places to recreate negatively affect the quality of living for residents.
To address this shortcoming, not every project has to be massive in scale — such as the Rail Deck Park in Toronto, which was first proposed in 2016 and has yet to be approved, no doubt in part due to the anticipated cost which some estimate could exceed $3.5 billion. With the much smaller, but equally vital Hofbogen Park, it's going to cost an estimated 46 million euros (about Cdn$68 million) to complete the project, with initial sections opening just two years from now. So, it's an initiative on a more manageable budget, tied to community enhancement that will benefit thousands of locals in a timely fashion rather than years down the road.
And in the case of Hofbogen Park, it's an investment that will pay multiple dividends: helping to re-green the city; contributing to a more climate-resilient neighbourhood that's cooler, quieter and less prone to water run-off; and serving as a catalyst for local investment in nearby shops and restaurants which in the end, could very well pay for the initial investment several times over.
Now that's density done well.