Research: Weelde Rotterdam

In summer 2020, I conducted a case study on the value of Weelde Rotterdam for, in particular, the residents of the surrounding neighbourhoods (Oud Mathenesse and Het Witte Dorp) and the city of Rotterdam as a whole. Creating support for the site among residents was also included in this study.

The events organised at Weelde Rotterdam create more value than just the enjoyment of the visitors. It is very important that this can be communicated concretely to stakeholders. Therefore, we chose to apply Elke den Oude's (2011) Value Framework to Weelde Rotterdam. Here, after conducting qualitative research, a number of strong value additions for society emerged. For instance, on the four different levels - the economic, psychological, ecological and sociological levels - the site adds value to the surrounding neighbourhood and the city of Rotterdam (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Value Framework (Den Oude, 2011), applied to Weelde Rotterdam

When looking at the economic aspect more jobs have been freed up with the arrival of the site in the form of both permanent staff and staff from cooperation partners. These are very diverse jobs, suitable for workers from all walks of life. At the psychological plane, Weelde Rotterdam adds value to society by enhancing the liveability of the area. It is a place to build social bonds, something that is very valuable for the development of the city's residents. Forming a community ensures the development of a social safety net. It also increases the sense of happiness of visitors when they visit the area. From the sociological perspective, Weelde Rotterdam adds value through its cooperation with, among others, the Food Garden. In doing so, the company is committed to alleviating social problems and contributing to the well-being of Rotterdam's residents. Retrieved from ecological flat Weelde Rotterdam is committed to sustainability by choosing the right cooperation partners, in addition to operating sustainably itself. The cooperation partners actively work against food waste, among other things, and inspire visitors to do the same.

Through the above-mentioned value additions, Weelde Rotterdam fits well with the City of Rotterdam's environmental vision (City of Rotterdam, 2018), which consists of the following five perspectives: Circular city, Compact city, Healthy city, Inclusive city and Productive city. In which ''Inclusive city: Rotterdam offers space for meeting and participating'' (Municipality of Rotterdam, 2018), and ''Circular city: Rotterdam offers space for sustainable energy and recycling'' (Municipality of Rotterdam, 2018), emerge most prominently. The interviewed residents from the Oud Mathenesse and Het Witte Dorp neighbourhoods reacted very positively to Weelde Rotterdam after being informed about what the organisation does. Their reaction was mostly gratitude that a place like this exists, even though they did not visit the place frequently yet. This shows that there is a need from the area for a site like this. Weelde Rotterdam also gives enthusiastic residents the chance to co-create, by offering the opportunity to submit applications. In this way, Weelde Rotterdam and the residents can together create programmes that contribute to the happiness and well-being of the residents of Rotterdam. 

More success would be achieved if these kinds of sites were no longer mostly used on a temporary basis, as a way of placemaking with little security for the entrepreneur. When nightlife and event sites become more prevalent, they can be used for more than entertainment, here as best practice also look at the German site Odonien (Koeln.de, s.d.) in Cologne (Nrw-tourism, 2018) or the Hall of Fame in Tilburg (Cultuurfabriek, 2020). Besides entertainment, this involves programming with educational purposes; such as workshops for children to learn how to build moving robots, community; the accompanying social safety net and increasing the liveability of an area. The night and events are places where people get to know their passions, where they find a place of acceptance within society, where creativity is allowed to flow uninhibited and where you get to know yourself. The hidden value of nightlife and event venues is more than entertainment. It could be the city of ''no words but deeds'', which the slogan Make It Happen breathes and that appeals to the Rotterdam mentality, adore taking the plunge and doing more with it.

This is a summary of Mieke Meulstee's undergraduate thesis

Written by Mieke Meulstee (October 2020)

Sources
Culture Factory. (2020). Welcome to the Hall of Fame. Consulted from https://hall-fame.nl/

Den Ouden, E. (2011). Innovation Design (2012th edition). New York, USA: Springer Publishing.

Municipality of Rotterdam. (2018). Exploratory Environmental Vision Rotterdam. Consulted from https://rotterdam.notubiz.nl/document/7429255/1/19bb438

Koeln.de. (s.d.). Odonien. Consulted from https://www.koeln.de/koeln/was_ist_los/veranstaltungsorte/odonien_16742.html

Nrw-tourism. (2018, 19 December). Odonien Cologne - sound of #urbanana. YourNRW. Consulted from https://www.nrw-tourism.com/odonien#odonien