IntroductionThe sister City relationship between Baltimore (pop 600,000) and Rotterdam (pop 650,000) is brought to life by the Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister City Committee and by various activities of individuals and organizations that believe exchange is fruitful,
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| Rotterdam - City of Architecture (Photo: Philipsen) |
Through my past teaching and current mentoring role at Morgan State University I was invited to participate in a recent architecture trip to Rotterdam
Part 1 covered transportation.Urban DesignSurveying the nightly skyline of Rotterdam from my 16th floor hotel window, I realize that I could just as well look at a city in the US, Denver, for example. Blocky high rises all around, in between, in a big clash of scales, some familar brands glow on small two story shopping arcades: "Footlocker", Dunkin Donuts etc.
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In some ways Rotterdam is the most American of Dutch cities
(photo Philipsen) |
Upon closer inspection a few distinctions emerge, though: I can't find the telltale surface parking lots that are always present in US cities, and zooming in even further, though traffic is really sparse at this late hour, there are still some bicyclists pedaling through the night, but no-one is camping out on sidewalks. Rotterdam has been called the most American of Dutch cities, but it has taken a
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Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects