Client: Milieudefensie

Year: 2010-2011

In the end of the year 2010 Balancia was asked by Milieudefensie to undertake a research to explore a mobility scenario that ensures economic sustainability (Profit), social sustainability (People) and ecological sustainability (Planet) for the future of the Rotterdam region.

The research started with collecting policy documents with regard to the (transport) development in the Rotterdam region and analyzing the prognoses of related variables for the year 2020. The analysis results led to a conclusion that the reliability of the forecast model in the “Masterplan Rotterdam Vooruit” (Rotterdam Forward) is questionable. The model does not include the recent important trends and developments which have significant impact on transport development. These among others are the rise of telecommuting and the energy crisis. Therefore, the output of the model must be examined from a critical point of view. An essential question that can be raised is “Does car traffic really increase?”.

In the phase of composing the research results, a workshop took place. In this workshop Balancia presented the concept of a sustainable development scenario for the Rotterdam Region in the year 2020. This workshop was attended by experts from different expertise and interests (politicians, researchers and NGO). Input and feedback from those experts enriched the “ingredients” of the scenario.

The sustainable scenario consists of five themes (walking, cycling, public transport, car and coherence of all themes) with several projects for each theme. Some of these projects are an improvement of the “walkability” of city centres, a bicycle highway to connect the main cities, modernization of the tram system, construction of a car highway away from inhabited area and promoting a sustainable life style.