One of the things I like the most when I'm visiting a city is to go to hidden places where is very possible to find interesting things. In Rotterdam there are many places that are "hidden" and can surprise you. The Station Hofplein is one of them. An old railway crossing the center, has been recovered and transformed into a beautiful urban garden: the Luchtpark Hofbogen. Entering from the #luchtsingel (the yellow bridge), you can find the old structure of the station and a huge public space that have been recovered and adapted to host different activities and events. It is also the place to find statues of sheeps that give a touch of cuteness, plus makes you feel in a very special atmosphere, since you can see building towers in the surroundings, the trains passing by and the green explanade with harvest plants.
During the Rottedam Rooftop festival, I also found other great uses for roofs: they are big open areas that can host different activities such as dancing, games, gardens, cafes...in fact, the sky is the limit! Rooftops have an immense potencial to extend the square meters of the city. In many cities around the world, roofs are lost, gray areas that have no use because they are unaccessible. However, with a bit of effort, they can become strategic elements that can: increase ecological hotspots in the city (places where, like parks, insects and birds can pass by while they are migrating); reduce the urban hot island effect (by covering with green and natural surfaces); storage or manage rainfall and provide areas for production of food inside the cities (urban gardening and agriculture), among others.
So I invite you to tell me if in your city there are roofs that are accessible to people and share some experiences that you had in them!
Comments