The city split in half by a river
Rotterdam, the second biggest city in the Netherlands is a city of big differences. The old and the new, the north and the south, the wealthy and the poor. In this essay I will discuss the differences between to north and the south of Rotterdam. To clarify, in this instance the north means the part of the city north of the river Nieuwe Maas and the south means south of the river. For decades and decades, a lot of stereotypes have been put on both parts of the city, but the south in particular. There is this notion that people in the north of the city look down on the south. Why is this? What are the differences? I will focus on historical differences and differences in both economic and cultural capital.
To start off with, let’s take a look at the history of the city. In the early days, the city was really only situated north of the river Nieuwe Maas. In 1658 the city purchased the island Feye Noort (now known as the neighbourhood called Feijenoord) south of the river. In the beginning it was mostly used for things the city actually didn’t really want to have in the centre, like a house where people who got the black plague were banned to. Or a field where people were hanged after they got the death sentence. So it is safe to say that the south really did not feel like it was part of the city. Then, at the end of the 19th century, mostly farmers and dockworkers started living in the south. They dockworkers and seamen were one of the biggest reasons why Katendrecht turned into a neighbourhood full of gambling and prostitution. People living in the north of the city, for a long time, did not consider the people in the south as real ‘Rotterdammers’. So from the get go, there was a certain elitism surrounding living in the north of Rotterdam, compared to living in the south.
Next, we’re going to focus on the difference in economic capital. Economic capital basically means the financial means you have. It turns out that most high incomes are earned by people living in neighbourhoods in the north. Lower incomes, although also found in the north, are mostly found in the south. There is a very clear separation. The average income per year, per neighbourhood is as follows:
North side of the city: Centrum (highest) €31.972,- Delfshaven €20.600,- Noord €25.500,- Kralingen-Crooswijk €26.100,- .
South side of the city: Feijenoord €20.100,- IJsselmonde €21.100,- Charlois (lowest) €19.200,- .
The overall average in Rotterdam is €24.100,- , so all of the 3 chosen neighbourhoods in the south are way below this. Furthermore, except for 1, the chosen neighbourhoods in the north are way above this average. Of course these are just averages and there will be more poor and more wealthy people living on each side of the city, but I do think this really says something. But why is this? One simple explanation I could think of is the history of the city. Because of the way the south of the city was occupied in the beginning, the lower paying jobs were on this side of the river. Dock workers for example. So through generations, this might have somewhat stayed. Another explanation could be that a lot of the buildings in the south are less well-kept than in the north. This makes them cheaper to live in and those prices attract people of lower incomes. The city centre is simply too expensive.
And lastly, we will take a look at the difference in cultural capital, particularly the education level. The following number are from October of 2019. They show the percentage of higher educated people within each neighbourhood of Rotterdam. I picked some to keep some focus. On the north side of the Nieuwe Maas the numbers were: Centrum 51%, Delfshaven 30% and Noord 45%, Kralingen-Crooswijk 41%. The south side of the Nieuwe Maas was: Feijenoord 22%, IJsselmonde 17%, Charlois 18%. If you takes the numbers of these parts of the city combined it means in the north 39,92% of people we higher educated and in the south 19,22% of people. That is more than double the amount in the north, compared to south. This could be caused by different factors. People in the south probably have less opportunity to go to higher education because of the money it costs. Besides this, there are more jobs in this part of the city, for example the ports, that need less higher education. People might start working there at a lower age. Lastly, the higher education institutes are all in the northern part of the city. People who move to Rotterdam for their study, want to move close to those schools and they end up living in the north. Most higher educated people will therefore end up in the north. Rotterdam is trying to change this. Hogeschool Rotterdam, Erasmus University, Codarts, and the city have plans to build a Cultuurcampus in the south of Rotterdam. This way they are trying to get more students to the south but also provide more opportunity for people of the south to have the desire to go to university. The campus will also host readings and concerts, so it will have multiple functions and this way create new jobs.
In conclusion, some of the stereotypes are based on real differences, like most stereotypes are. However, it is, in my opinion, not okay to say one is above another. In any situation. People who do now know anything about the south of Rotterdam should not judge it either. It is a good thing that the city is trying to bring change to certain parts of the city, but this can also be tricky. Gentrification can also push away the less wealthy people and turn into something nasty really quick. I am looking forward to seeing this city keep evolving.
Word count (without title): 991
Sources used below
Works cited
Author unknown. “Informatie gemeente Rotterdam.” AlleCijfers.nl, https://allecijfers.nl/gemeente/rotterdam/
Author unknown. “Katendrecht.” Wikipedia, Last updated 11 October 2020.
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katendrecht#Geschiedenis
Author unknown. “Start Cultuurcampus Rotterdam in 2022.” Erasmus University Rotterdam, 9 July 2020. https://www.eur.nl/nieuws/start-cultuurcampus-rotterdam-2022
Custers, Gijs; Engbersen, Godfried. “Rotterdam: van tweedeling naar meerdeling.” Nidi.nl, 27 September 2019. https://nidi.nl/demos/rotterdam-van-tweedeling-naar-meerdeling/
“Onderzoek010.” Gemeente Rotterdam, 28 September 2020. https://onderzoek010.nl/documents/Onderwijs
“Onderzoek010.” Gemeente Rotterdam, 17 August 2020. https://onderzoek010.nl/documents/Werk-en-inkomen
Van der Gaag, Salwa. “Historisch! Erasmus Universiteit naar Zuid
voor gelijke kansen én als toeristentrekker.” Ad.nl, 9 July 2020. https://www.ad.nl/rotterdam/historisch-erasmus-universiteit-naar-zuid-br-voor-gelijke-kansen-en-als-toeristentrekker~ac5ceb5b/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Vocke, Wouter. “Waarom zeggen we in Rotterdam eigenlijk ‘in Noord’ en ‘op Zuid’?.” In de buurt Rotterdam, 1 February 2020. https://indebuurt.nl/rotterdam/genieten-van/mysteries/waarom-zeggen-we-hier-op-zuid~46760/
Read as extra research before writing
https://www.vn.nl/gentrificatie-nu-is-rotterdam-aan-de-beurt/
https://www.eur.nl/onderwijs/alumni/content-voor-alumni/erasmus-alumni-magazine/gentrification-rotterdam
https://rotterdam.bij1.org/articles/gentrificatie-zorgt-niet-voor-betere-leefbaarheid
https://www.oneworld.nl/lezen/discriminatie/sociaal-onrecht/gentrificatie-gaat-niet-over-hipsters-maar-over-onrecht/
https://www.eur.nl/essb/nieuws/gevolgen-gentrification-rotterdam
https://www.vandaagenmorgen.nl/nieuws/video-nos-gentrificatie
https://idemrotterdam.nl/niemand-vraagt-ooit-hoe-het-is-op-zuid-de-ervaringen-van-jongeren-in-verhippend-feijenoord/
https://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/134902/Mensen-van-Rotterdam-Noord-kennen-Zuid-niet