How a rain garden is helping Rotterdam beat flooding

Jul 25, 2019

Sibylle, biotechnology engineering student, collects Orgeval yellow courgettes from the vegetable kitchen garden installed on the roof of La Mutualite building in Paris July 23, 2013. This rooftop urban vegetable patch is managed by Sibylle for the French Chef Eric Castandet to supply fresh seasonal produce to the restaurant 'Terroir Parisien' on the ground floor of the building. Currently emerging in French cities, green spaces have sprouted on the flat roofs of towns all over the world as part of the growing trend for urban agriculture in line with increased concern about the origins of our food. Picture taken July 23, 2013. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer (FRANCE - Tags: ENVIRONMENT) - PM1E97N17P101

Rotterdam has devised a system to reduce flooding in the area with the aim of keeping communities safe. Image: REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

Megan Rowling

Journalist, Thomson Reuters Foundation

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Rain collects in the main water basin of the Benthemplein public Image: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Megan Rowling

Urban rooftop farmer Emile van Rinsum explains how a high-tech watering system works at the DakAkker urban farm on top of an office building in central Rotterdam Image: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Megan Rowling

Edible flowers and trees grow on the DakAkker urban farm on top of an office building in central Rotterdam Image: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Megan Rowling

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