Strategic economic plan for the city center of Rotterdam

Assignment

BCI has been asked to develop a new strategy for the economic activities in the city center of Rotterdam, as part of an integrated spatial economic masterplan.

Project summary

The municipality of Rotterdam sees the city center as the cornerstone for economic development of the city. Therefore, the economy is the prime driver for the integrated spatial-economic plan for the city center. The main building blocks for the strategy for economic development of the city center of Rotterdam are:

• An economic photograph: what is the current economic perspective of the city center?
• What are the strongest opportunities and threats for the enforcement of the economic function of the city center?
• What actions are needed to take full advantage of the economic opportunities and to mitigate or reduce the economic threats?

The starting points for the strategic plan for economic activities are a clear insight in the economic characteristics of the central district of Rotterdam as well as in the impact of the main economic, technological and labor market trends. These insights are the base for the actions to enforce the economic strengths of the city center.

Our approach

• Development of the economic photo of space utilization per function type, mix of economic functions and dynamics of economic activities and real estate
• Analyses of most relevant trends and developments and their impact
• SWOT-analysis (Strengths - Weaknesses - Opportunities - Threats) for all economic clusters
• Finetuning and assessment of the findings from the analyses above via various workshop sessions

Result

A strategy for the development of the city center of Rotterdam as an engine for economic vitality for the city, based on (spatial-economic) analyses, in-depth research at a highly detailed level and alignment of all stakeholders.