Rotterdam unveils €5.1bn coalition plan focused on housing, mobility and growth

Under the coalition agreement ‘Vaart maken’, five parties, PRO, D66, VVD, CDA and Volt, have set out their plans for governing Rotterdam over the next four years. Their priorities include “A home for everyone, the strongest and greenest economy in Europe, and the best city to grow up in.”

To bring the €5.1 billion budget into balance, the city will reduce spending on its own organisation by tens of millions of euros. At the same time, tourist tax and parking charges will rise, and paid parking will be expanded to more areas across the city.

At least 15,000 new homes are to be built by 2030, of which 10,000 will be social housing or mid-market rental properties, with an additional 4,500 homes planned annually thereafter. A key focus will be “optopping,” adding new floors on top of existing buildings. Rotterdam has over 18 square kilometres of flat rooftops, and newly introduced rules are aimed at speeding up and simplifying this form of housing development.

Rotterdam aims to make its city centre largely car-free by 2040, according to the new coalition agreement. By 2030, at least five streets are set to be fully car-free, including the Meent, Witte de Withstraat and Aert van Nesstraat, while others such as Oppert and Schiedamse Vest are being considered.

The plan also includes improved public transport links from peripheral parking areas into the city centre, alongside a major push to replace paved surfaces with green spaces.

The new city executive in Rotterdam is set to continue the previous approach to tackling nuisance traffic, including policies backed by D66 and VVD. The measures include deploying noise-detection cameras, enforcing stricter action against illegal double parking, and temporarily closing streets when needed. The city will also support The Hague in quickly introducing a helmet requirement for fat bike riders.

Rotterdam is currently providing accommodation for 500 asylum seekers and 2,000 status holders, a situation that will continue for the next four years. Authorities are working on finding onshore housing for residents currently staying on the asylum vessel Silja. The ship has faced criticism over its living conditions, which have been described as below standard.

The parties argue that raising children well is not just the responsibility of parents and families, but a shared task. Schools will therefore be given more room to build community networks with active parental involvement. “Without that engagement, we can add more teaching hours, but real progress only comes when parents, schools, children and the neighbourhood all take shared responsibility,” they said.