Rotterdam citizens think public order and safety are particularly important in their city. The city council must, according to the residents, pay particular attention to cleanliness and vandalism, safety on public transport, problems caused by drug addicts and youths, and job opportunities.

Safety
The Rotterdam Police figures over 2003 showed an increase in violent crime (particularly as a result of increased attention for 'violence behind closed doors') but also a large percentage decrease in pick pocketing (30 percent), mugging (15 percent), car theft (23 percent) and burglary (11 percent).

Cleanliness and vandalism
The municipality and boroughs work together to try to achieve an attractive, clean and unvandalised city in which to live and stay. Inspectors monitor the physical condition of the districts. This is done at a number of fixed measuring points in the district, where figures between 1 and 5 are given. In the Staat van Rotterdam, it was reported that 20 percent of the measuring points in Kralingse Veer scored less than 3 in 2003.

Job opportunities
Statistics concerning the economy and port showed that job opportunities at small and medium-sized companies shrank during 2002. According to entrepreneurs, the Municipality of Rotterdam is handling the local entrepreneurial climate and the development and restructuring of commercial locations well when compared with other large cities.

Other themes
As far as districts and outdoor areas are concerned, an increasing percentage of residents appear to think that their own neighbourhood is reasonably clean. Rotterdamers are less happy about street furniture, but their level of satisfaction increased slightly in 2004. In addition, there was a break in the trend with respect to appreciation for public transport: Rotterdam citizens were more appreciative, while there was dwindling appreciation in the last study.

15/06/2004

Roode, A.L., Rhee, M.

research

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Urban economy

Competitiveness