Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Baltimore, Maryland have a sister city relationship since 1985. Both cities have many similarities, like their proximity to the coast, a large port, and the need to make the city climate-proof. As flood resiliency is a problem that cannot be tackled at the city level alone, planning in both Baltimore and Rotterdam is intertwined with regional resiliency strategies in Maryland and the Netherlands respectively.
A delegation of researchers, government officials, and businesses from the Netherlands, led by the city of Rotterdam, visits Baltimore in late March 2019. The Netherlands and the Maryland region will exchange best practices and challenges with regards to the role of flood resilience in adapting their cities to climate change. Additional focus is on how technology can contribute to making cities more resilient.
On March 29, there is a one-day invitation-only workshop on board of the historic Dutch clipper ship “Stad Amsterdam” in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor where Dutch and American flood management experts from the public and private sectors will meet to discuss challenges and solutions.
- Specific focus will be on initiatives regarding the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore city & port, and Annapolis. A number of Dutch experts will highlight present day resilience strategies in the Netherlands. Building on efforts already undertaken by various government agencies and parties in Maryland, the workshop will discuss a number of regional cases in Maryland. Workshop participants will be split up into 4 teams to discuss those cases.
- The event provides the opportunity to gather with leaders of the regional water resilience community, and share knowledge, ideas and best practices with local and international experts, e.g. on multiple benefit solutions, risk-benefit considerations and nature based approaches. As smart city applications are a subtheme of the program, the use of IT in flood resilience will be touched upon as well.
- Maryland Secretary of Environment Ben Grumbles and Ambassador of the Netherlands to the USA H. J. Schuwer will provide opening remarks.
- Rob Schmidt, Rotterdam’s Program Manager for Smart City and Digital Economy, and Ethan Cohen, Senior Project Coordinator, Strategic Alliances, Office of Mayor Catherine Pugh will welcome the workshop participants.
ATTENDEES
Local participants are expected to include reps from: Maryland Department of Environment, Maryland Department of National Resources, Maryland Port Administration, Maryland Department of Commerce, Maryland Emergency Management Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore Office of the Mayor, Baltimore Department of Public Works, Baltimore Office of Sustainability, Annapolis Office of Emergency Management, Annapolis Public Works, U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, local universities, relevant NGOs, and local businesses.
Dutch participants are expected to include reps from: Rijkswaterstaat (Delta Program – Rotterdam region), Rotterdam city government, Rotterdam Partners, Deltares (applied research institute for water and subsurface), Netherlands Embassy (reps from Ministry for Infrastructure and Water Management), Arcadis, IMG Rebel, Metropolder, One Architecture & Urbanism, Sempergreen/MoeringUSA, Strateq, and West 8.
ABOUT THE DELEGATION
The Baltimore event is part of a 4-city Smart Cities Dutch Clipper Tour in March & April 2019. More info: bit.ly/2SrrB1 & en.rotterdampartners.nl/trade-mission-united-states
These events are a lead-up to the Smart Cities summit in New York City on May 13-15, 2019.
BACKGROUND
The city of Rotterdam and the Netherlands are world leaders in water management and flood resiliency. For more information about the Netherlands water expertise:
- Overview on NLintheUSA website
- New York Times: The Dutch Have Solutions to Rising Seas
- CBS “60 Minutes” TV segment: Lessons from Holland on fighting rising sea levels
Rotterdam is a member of 100RC (100 Resilient Cities) network and home of the Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation, and the Global Commission on Adaptation. Rotterdam’s resiliency strategy: www.resilientrotterdam.nl/en/download
EVENT ORGANIZERS
IN COOPERATION WITH
ABOUT THE SHIP
The “Stad Amsterdam” is a superb replica of a 19th century Dutch clipper ship. Although the ship is not open to the public, the public is welcome to walk by to view the ship when it is moored in the Baltimore Inner Harbor from approx March 28 to April 3.
More about the ship: stadamsterdam.com
