Rotterdam has implemented some striking sustainable urban projects which include a region-wide heat-sharing infrastructure and a widely adopted green roof program. 

Perhaps greatest of all is the acceptance of water and flooding that has threatened Rotterdam for centuries.

They have introduced a principle of the ‘Sponge City”, so that instead of fighting water the city lets it in.  The best example of this is when you are next ambling around the Benthemplein plaza and it’s dry, then think what will happen when its pouring with rain and the drains can’t cope. A very clever series of sunken basins and gulley runoffs will absorb some 1.7million litres of water.  Have a look at this rather good video explanation to learn more:

If the water actually wins – as it might in the new world order of climate change, then construction of things like Rotterdam’s floating farms might become more common. It’s a  2.5 million project that will house 40 dairy cows.

80 percent of the cow’s feed comes from the city. It is a mix of beer broth, potato peelings, grass from local football pitches and golf courses and bran from the Schiedam windmills.