Transforming railway station areas

How do you turn a joyless place into a lively part of the city? Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant asks this question today in an article about the transformation of railway station areas.

Our urban planner/partner Daan Zandbelt describes the current situation in Rotterdam Alexander: “80% of the ground is paved. There is no contact between the street and the surrounding buildings. And after 5pm, you don’t see anyone on the street.”

In our vision, we show that things can be done differently. Through a better functional mix of residential, office and neighbourhood facilities, we add liveliness with places like schools, sports fields and a theatre. A functional traffic junction is transformed into the beating heart of the Rotterdam-Oost area.

This integrated approach is something we want to make even more explicit in our projects. We call it our ‘olympic ambition‘: working more coherently on the major transitions. Proximity is a key concept, and station areas – such as Rotterdam Alexander – are ideal places to work on sustainable and attractive living environments.

See the full article (in Dutch only) in De Volkskrant here.