Rotterdam has removed almost 50,000 tiles and replaced them with more porous surfaces and greenery.
Photographer: Fleur Beerthuis
One Way to Green a City: Knock Out the Tiles
Removing the Netherlands’ ubiquitous tiles from front gardens is part of a broader initiative to expand green space in several cities.
Walk down a block in any neighborhood of Rotterdam and chances are it will look greener than just a few months ago. Tiles that once lined the front gardens of many apartment buildings, homes and offices have been ripped out and replaced with plants, bushes and trees.
It’s a small but notable shift to the streetscape in a country with an affinity for tiled gardens. And it’s no coincidence this change came en masse. It was part of a green initiative that channeled an age-old rivalry between two Dutch cities.