There’s never a dull moment when you’re walking the streets of Rotterdam – immense skyscrapers, new boutiques, attractive cafes and restaurants – and the Municipal Executive is intent on increasing the city's appeal for pedestrians even further. Rotterdam is proud to be hosting the Walk21 international conference, which is an excellent start. The Municipal Executive will benefit from the organisation of this event, which will make Rotterdam even more pedestrian-friendly in years to come.
Approach to pedestrians
In the context of its new approach to pedestrians, Rotterdam will, among other things, be looking to create a traffic system that stimulates active mobility and communication. This will make the city a more attractive and healthier place. The aim is to achieve a better balance between cars, cyclists, pedestrians and public transport to ensure the sustainable growth of the city.
Alderwoman Judith Bokhove (Mobility): 'We want to make walking in the city both safer and more attractive. Walking is related to many aspects of the city and urban development; it's about the lay-out of public spaces and mobility, but also about people's health, economic vitality and the city's liveability'. View this video on Walk21, also featuring mayor Aboutaleb.
Inspiring examples
Rotterdam already features several impressive examples of sites where pedestrians are key: think of the crossing on
Westblaak or the rainbow zebra crossing at the Coolsingel / Westblaak junction. Rotterdam also features a number of safe and inspiring walking routes such as the
'Tour of Rotterdam' and
these green routes in and around Rotterdam.
What is Walk21?
Walk21 is an international foundation that focuses on securing and strengthening a pedestrian-friendly living environment in cities.
Walk21 Rotterdam 2019 will take place from 7 to 11 October 2019. Rotterdam collaborates with other cities in this context, and benchmark projects from other cities will also be featured during the conference. This means that the Netherlands and Rotterdam will become a role model for liveable and attractive urban development.
Seven Walk21 cities – Vienna, Melbourne, Calgary, Sidney, Vancouver, Copenhagen and Toronto – are in the top 10 of the Economist magazine’s global ranking of the most liveable environments; a ranking that will soon also include Rotterdam.
