ABOUT
On the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the New Waterway (Nieuwe Waterweg), the LDE PortCityFutures Center organizes an International Symposium to explore the past, present and future of this channel that links Rotterdam to the North Sea and of comparable channels worldwide.
Ship channels like the New Waterway have supported maritime traffic and port development for many decades. Today, these ship channels and the landscapes that host them require radical reconsideration, to meet the need for an energy transition, to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The future of these channels is a key in creating a new balance between economic development and related infrastructures on the one hand, and a sustainable and resilient environment on the other hand. Future strategies need to be based on broad public debate and support.
The symposium brings together a diverse group of international and local academics and professionals to discuss initiatives and possibilities for shipping channels and port cities, the challenges and implications for water management, spatial planning and design, and public participation. It sets the stage for much-needed interventions in water-related planning and management worldwide.
SCHEDULE OF THE EVENT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13
09:00 – 09:30
Morning Coffee
COFFEE
09:30 – 10:30
OPENING
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Paul van de Laar (Erasmus University, board member chair of LDE PortCityFutures Center) - Welcome on behalf of the LDE PortCityFutures Center
Alderman Robert Simons - Welcome on behalf of the City of Rotterdam
Peter Glas, Delta Commissioner - Welcome and Introduction to the Dutch Delta
Opening Pitch: Han Meyer (TU Delft) - Port cities in regional context: the New Waterway as part of a larger economic, ecological system
Moderator: Carola Hein (TU Delft and chair of LDE PortCityFutures Center)
10:30 – 10:50
COFFEE
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Coffee break
10:50 – 13:30
150 YEARS NIEUWE WATERWEG – 150 YEARS PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
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First Part:
Hilde Sennema (PhD cand., Erasmus University) - Setting the stage: Caland and dredging. The Pride of Rotterdam
Jana Cox (PhD cand., Utrecht University) - Is Rotterdam digging its own extinction?
Esther Blom (ARK Natuurontwikkeling) - The river mouth as an essential part of a worldwide ecosystem
Discussion Chair: Paul van de Laar (Erasmus University)
Second Part:
Frank van Oort (Erasmus University) - The economic perspective of the New Waterway
Pim Neefjes (Rijkswaterstaat) - Sea Level Rise – consequences for the port of Rotterdam and the greater Rotterdam area
Carline Borest (Port of Rotterdam) - Scenarios of the Port of Rotterdam for the Future
Discussion Chair: Fransje Hooimeijer (TU Delft)
Third Part:
Nanco Dolman (RoyalHaskoningDHV Engineers) - Redesigning the Delta: A new perspective for the Rotterdam region
Peter Veenstra (LoLa Landscape Architects; IABR curator) - Reflections
Discussion Chair: Fransje Hooimeijer (TU Delft)
13:30 – 14:30
LUNCH
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Lunch Time
14:30 – 15:30
SHIP CHANNELS: CONSEQUENCES FOR SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT: THE CASE OF HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL
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Paul Hudson (Leiden University) - Floodplain management on the Gulf Coast, New Orleans, (Louisiana, Mississippi) Mobile, Houston Ship Channel
Dominic Boyer (Rice University, US) - The Houston Ship Channel: An Energo-environmental History
Baukje Kothuis (Netherlands Business Support Office Houston) - Compare and contrast: Houston/Rotterdam
Bas Jonkman (TU Delft) - Reflections
Discussion Chair: Maurice Jansen (UPT, Erasmus)
15:30 – 16:00
COFFEE
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Coffee Break
16:00 – 17:00
PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF SHIPPING CHANNELS
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Cornelia Redeker (Umeå University) - The Suez Canal: Global powers, local consequence
Ashley Carse (Vanderbilt University) - The Big Ditch: Social and ecological implications of the Panama Canal
Vittore Negretto (Università Iuav di Venezia) - History and future of Venice and its lagoon
Joshua Lewis (Tulane University) and Henrik Ernstson (KTH, Royal Institute of Technology) - Navigating the Death and Afterlife of a Shipping Channel: The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet
Discussion Chair: Arjan Conijn (Witteveen+Bos)
17:00
DRINKS
DRINKS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14
09:00 – 09:30
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Morning Coffee
COFFEE
9:30 – 10:30
IMPLICATIONS FOR PLANNING AND DESIGN
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Steffen Nijhuis (TU Delft), SUN Yimin (South China University of Technology) - Pearl River Delta: How to make a mega port city sustainable
Stephen Ramos (University of Georgia) - Engineering with Nature: Prosthetic Systems and the Savannah River Harbor
Derek Hoeferlin (Washington University in St. Louis) - Way Beyond Bigness: The Need for a Watershed Architecture across the Mekong, Mississippi and Rhine River Basins
Paul Gerretsen (Delta Metropolis) - Next generation logistics and the New Waterway
Discussion Chair: Sabine Luning (Leiden University)
10:30 – 11:00
COFFEE
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Coffee Break
11:00 – 12:30
A NEW BALANCE OF ECONOMY AND ECOLOGY
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Sabine Luning (Leiden University) - Verticalizing the Anthropology of Infrastructures
Andrew Littlejohn (Leiden University) - Climate Citizenship: Infrastructures, Environments, and Democracy in the Era of Climate Change.
Patrick Meire (University of Antwerp) - Towards a sustainable balance of ecology and port economy in the Western Scheldt Estuary
Maud van den Beuken - One to one (Mississippi river)
René Kolman (International Association of Dredging Companies) - Why Sustainability Assessment of Port Projects Matters
Discussion Chair: Francesca Savoldi (TU Delft)
12:30 – 13:30
LUNCH
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Lunch Time
13:30 – 15:00
MAKING PORT CITIES OF THE FUTURE
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Renée Rotmans (Port of Rotterdam) - Changing port landscapes and the human factor
Dirk Schubert (Hafen Universität) - Endless Dredging? A case study of port city conflicts and the River Elbe
Harry den Hartog (Tongji University) - Shanghai: Bringing the sea to the port or bringing the port to the sea?
Mark van Koningsveld (Program Director Innovation Van Oord) - The role of Marine Contractor in the Making of the Delta of the Future
Paul van de Laar (Erasmus University) - Shifting the Narrative
Discussion Chair: Carola Hein (TU Delft)
15:00 – 15:15
COFFEE
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Coffee Break
15:15 – 16:15
ROUNDTABLE: IMPLICATIONS FOR PORT ECONOMICS AND ENERGY TRANSITIONS
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Closing: Wouter Veldhuis (National Advisor on the Physical Environment), Mark van Koningsveld (Program Director Innovation Van Oord), Ties Rijcken (TU Delft), Jeffrey King (US Army Corps of Engineers).
Moderation: Han Meyer (TU Delft)
16:15
CONCLUSION
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Concluding remarks by Carola Hein (TU Delft and Chair of LDE PortCityFutures Center)
16:30
DRINKS
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DRINKS
SATURDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 15
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Tour of the port and the city of Rotterdam. More details soon.
FIELD TRIP
SATURDAY AFTERNOON, OCTOBER 15
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Final closing session of the Symposium.
CLOSING EVENT ‘150 YEARS NEW WATERWAY’
SIDE EVENTS
Related to the symposium, two side events will be organized:
1. Presentations and discussions related to the call for papers by the Journal of Urban Planning: Global Shipping Channels (proposal to be launched September 2022) on October 12 (https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/pages/view/nextissues#ShippingCanals),
2. A seminar by PBL, CAUPD and TNC on River Basins and Deltas, on October 11 & 12 (https://www.pbl.nl/en/calendar/seminar-river-basins-and-deltas-water-systems-and-port-economies-in-times-of-climate-change-rhine-yangtze-and)
ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE
To thank all the people who helped us organize this event
CAROLA HEIN (TU DELFT), SABINE LUNING (LEIDEN UNIVERSITY), PAUL VAN DE LAAR (ERASMUS), HAN MEYER (TU DELFT), GÉRARD STEENBERGEN, DIDEM YERLI (LEIDEN UNIVERSITY), STEPHAN HAUSER (TU DELFT).
CONTACT
For more information on the Symposium, feel free to contact us at s.j.hauser@tudelft.nl