POP CITIES

City guides for community builders

We are a collective of urbanists

passionate about making cities better.

With input from experts, we cover best-practice examples of sustainable urbanism. This includes housing, commercial districts, mixed-use communities, green space, community space, mobility and more.

We focus on a wide range of themes, like urban renewal, adaptive reuse, brownfield redevelopment, equity, heritage preservation, healthy cities, housing affordability, active transportation, community-building, low carbon cities, architectural excellence, and much more.

We share our findings through city guides. In our city guides you'll discover the highlights, links to more information, and ways to connect with urbanists in-person during your travels.

Pop Cities was founded in 2017.

TEAM & CONTRIBUTORS

Sarah Marchionda, MCIP

Founder

Sarah is an urban planner and business professional with over 10 years of experience working in the field of sustainable urban development. She founded Pop Cities with the goal of spreading knowledge about urban development projects aimed at making cities more livable.

We work with urbanism experts around the world. Our list of contributors is coming soon.

ROTTERDAM CENTRAL STATION

CITY CENTRE / ROTTERDAM CENTRUM

Welcome to Rotterdam Central Station. This iconic, breezy and steel-clad station opened in 2012, replacing an old and undersized station from the 1950s.

The opening of Rotterdam Central has sent an important message to Rotterdam residents and visitors: the city is truly committed to creating safe and inviting public spaces that connect people to the heart of Rotterdam.

Read more below...

STATIONSPLEIN

CITY CENTRE / ROTTERDAM CENTRUM

As you exit Rotterdam Central, you will step out into Stationsplein - the public square fronting the station. Here you will find the entrance to a 5,000 stall bike parking garage, and a pedestrian-oriented public space that acts as a gateway to the business district and city centre. The square opened in 2014.

As a former street and drop-off point, has been completely reimagined in a way that favours pedestrians and cyclists.

COOLSINGEL

CITY CENTRE / ROTTERDAM CENTRUM

Coolsingel is an urban boulevard running through the heart of Rotterdam. Coolsingel is undergoing a major redevelopment. Between 2018-2020, over 58 million euro will be invested to redesign the street in support of the city’s objectives related to public space and cycling.

Read more below...

CITY HALL / STADHUIS

CITY CENTRE / ROTTERDAM CENTRUM

As you walk east up the Lijnbaan you will see the City Hall and the old post office. These are some of the only buildings that survived the WWII bombardment.

Read more below...

show more photos

AMSTERDAM CITY GUIDE

AMSTERDAM CITY GUIDE

CITY HALL / STADHUIS

CITY CENTRE / ROTTERDAM CENTRUM As you walk east up the Lijnbaan you will see the City Hall and the old post office. These are some of the only buildings that survived the WWII bombardment. Read more below...