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From Urban Green Structure to Tidal River in Rotterdam: Testing Grounds for Urban Ecology

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Nature Driven Urbanism

Part of the book series: Contemporary Urban Design Thinking ((CUDT))

Abstract

The Rotterdam approach to nature-based urbanism is presented in this chapter. The urban green structure, the water vision 2035 and the tidal river park strategy, all part of the Rotterdam policies are the first testing grounds and form also the starting point for an urban ecology research agenda at Delft University of Technology (TUD). These examples show perfectly how urban ecology and Landscape Architecture and urbanism can go hand in hand. In fact, nature based urbanism also holds both of these aspects of ecology (natural) and design and planning (cultural).

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the city of Rotterdam for its cooperation, in particular Pieter de Greef who took a leading role in this. Also, from Bird Life Netherlands, Jip Louwe Kooijmans and Robert Kwak, for making the urban ecology research fellowship possible and exploring new grounds between urban ecology landscape architecture and urbanism. Last but not least the Landscape Architecture students at TU Delft for their input, drawings photos and many original design ideas in the waterscapes, tidal river park studio 2018–2019, in particular Emma Kannekens and Matthijs Hollanders.

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Correspondence to Nico Tillie .

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Tillie, N. (2020). From Urban Green Structure to Tidal River in Rotterdam: Testing Grounds for Urban Ecology. In: Roggema, R. (eds) Nature Driven Urbanism. Contemporary Urban Design Thinking. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26717-9_6

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