De Urbanisten and the wondrous water square

This is the story of a smart idea: the water square. It is a story about the city and about rain. Worldwide, the frequency and severity of rainfall is becoming more extreme. This is a problem for many cities, especially delta cities such as Rotterdam, which lies on the River Maas and also below sea level. Capacity must be created in Rotterdam to receive 600 million litres of extra rainwater annually. Radical but clever measures are urgently needed. To meet this problem, De Urbanisten devised the water square: a plaza that functions as a play area, a floating grass field, a theatre, and a place that can accommodate the water that would otherwise flood the streets and inundate basements.