This is my Inaugural Lecture about the Blue Revolution. It shows that we need to ralize urban expansions on the water and combine this with floating food production and floating algae biofuel production to deal with the challenges of the 21st century. Much of the work was developed with my colleagues at DeltaSync. We want to collaborate with people all over the world to develop pilot projects and expand on the water in a sustainable way. it goes much further than being self-sufficient. The purpose is to create a symbiosis between cities on land and water. Floating cities could use the waste CO2 and nutrients of land based cities in a productive way, providing at the same time affordable flood proof housing for the people. Most of the building blocks are there. We need to bring it together to make the next step. Because only a small part of the ocean is needed, the rest can become a nature reserve giving marine ecosystems a long term perspective on survival. A perspective that is currently lacking. We look forward to receive comments and ideas. Best regards, Rutger de Graaf

1. a perspective for human development in the 21st century
Inaugural lecture, Rutger de Graaf, Tuesday 6th November 2012

2. Contents| Lecture outline
– Introduction
• Before we start
• A family moment
• Thinking about the future
– Problem overview
– Adaptive urban development on water
• Key characteristics
• Research agenda
– Implementation
– Conclusion

3. Introduction| RDM in the 1960’s

4. Introduction| A family moment

5. Introduction| A family moment

6. PROBLEM
OVERVIEW
“You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to
you.” - Heraclitus

7. Global city light image
NASA

8. Manila, Philippines
Earthzine, 2010

9. Natural weather catastrophes
Munich Re

10. Sandy, New York City
Photo: Charles Sykes, AP

11. Population exposed to flooding in 2007 and 2070
Source: OECD, 2007

12. Effects of land subsidence, Jakarta, Indonesia
Source: Piet Dircke, 2012

13. Land shortage | Business as usual
Land shortage
≈ 22 mn km²
Source: DeltaSync, 2012

14. Land shortage | Business as usual

15. Land shortage | Best case scenario
Land shortage:
≈ 12 mn km²
Source: DeltaSync, 2012

16. Where to go?
Desert? : water resources are lacking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barnard's_Ga
laxy.jpg
Space?? : still too expensive
http://www.mega-tapety.info/krajobrazy-
polaipustynie-1414.html

17. The Ocean !
http://www.philipp-
winterberg.com/galerie/mexico_wallpaper.php

18. ADAPTIVE
URBAN
DEVELOPMENT
ON WATER
“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it
is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came.”
- John F. Kennedy

19. Floating Cities| l’Ile a Helice (Jules Vernes, 1895)

20. Floating Cities| Triton City (Richard Buckminster Fuller, 1966)

21. Floating Cities| Sea City of the Future (Walt Disney, 1984)
Walt Disney, 1984

22. Floating Cities| GREEN FLOAT (Shimizu Corporation, 2010)

23. Enough space
 On water 50 times more efficient
 Less than 0,2 % of the oceans
needed
 One third of the current
agricultural area
will become available
Source: DeltaSync, 2012

24. DeltaSync, 2012

25. Concept | Closing the cycle
Conventional city Conventional + Floating city
‘Linear metabolism’ ‘Cyclical metabolism’
Source: DeltaSync, 2012

26. Concept | Closing the cycle
Source: DeltaSync, 2012

27. Concept | Case study
Source: DeltaSync, 2012

28. Concept | Producing food and fuel from algae
Source: DeltaSync, 2012

29. Global potential
 44% of the world food demand can be met by using the
available (waste) nutrients and CO2 from current cities
 A total floating area of the size of Madagascar (585.000
km2) would be enough .
 In the optimal ratio, 13% of the population would live in
the floating cities.
Source: DeltaSync, 2012

30. DeltaSync, 2012

31. Building blocks| Floating platforms

32. Building blocks| Floating buildings

33. Building blocks| Floating biofuel production

34. Building blocks| Floating food production
Source: Aquaponics.blog

35. Building blocks| Wave protection
Source: Nederland in Beeld

36. Building blocks| Wave protection
Source: FDN Engineering

37. Building blocks| Artificial reefs
Source: Reefballs.org

38. Building blocks| Floating wetlands
Source: Floating Islands International

39. Building blocks| Utility units and infrastructure
Source: DeltaSync, 2008

40. RESEARCH AGENDA
Project Knowledge Gaps
Integrating technologies and up scaling from
Floating structures and utilities house to neighbourhood and city level.
Integrating floating aquaculture innovations in
floating structures.
Urban design instruments specifically
Urban design of floating cities accustomed to floating cities, including public
space, separation, identities, mobility and
possible ways of living in floating cities
Development of new economic models, new
Realizing floating urbanization methods of collaboration between research,
government, companies and SME’s, starting
pilot projects
Data and understanding about water quality
Impacts on water quality and and ecological impacts, establishing design
ecology guidelines based on this understanding.
Role of showcases in the development and
Rotterdam as entrepreneurial transition process of water cities
water en adaptation showcase

41. IMPLEMENTATION
If at first an idea isn't absurd, there's no hope for it.”
-Albert Einstein-

42. Implementation| From vision to mission
DeltaSync, 2006

43. Implementation| Defining a short term step
DeltaSync and Public Domain Architecten, 2009

44. Implementation| Building Process

45. Implementation| The Result

46. Implementation| Succes factors
1. Political importance
2. Collaboration
3. Window of opportunity: WE Shanghai 2010
4. Time pressure
5. Process approach vs blue print
6. Network of change agents
7. Ambition
8. Temporary functions

47. Implementation| Citizens as project developers

48. Implementation| Building process
Floating Houses Harnaschpolder

49. Implementation| Ambitions for Rotterdam
Source: Municipality of Rotterdam

50. Implementation| Municipal policy
Source: Gemeente Rotterdam

51. Implementation| Developing the building blocks
Stichting Rijnhavenpark, Stad op het Water & DeltaSync,
2011/2012

52. Stichting Rijnhavenpark, Stad op het Water &
DeltaSync, 2011/2012

53. Source: RDM Campus, 2010

54. Source:RDM Campus, 2010

55. Conclusions
 A fundamental new approach to urban development is
needed for the challenges of the 21st century
 Cities on land should be transformed into flood proof
ecocities
 Floating city expansions combined with food production can
accommodate future urbanization without sacrificing land
 At the same time this strategy provides global food security
and reuses waste of conventional cities
 Much research is still needed but, at the same time, also
fast implementation

57. “Because the people who are crazy enough to think they
can change the world, are the ones who do.”
- Steve Jobs