Other Dutch cities use ancient canals and dijks (the dutch word for "dykes", which are long walls built to prevent flooding) to manage the water. Rotterdam uses more advanced, modern techniques so it has fewer canals lining the streets. Rotterdam looks more like a modern American city than it looks like many of the other the beautiful, medieval-looking cities of Europe.
Rotterdam uses the environment to help create jobs. It is located along a river delta, so the city became a massive port. Ships come from all over the world to deliver their cargo in Rotterdam. Rotterdam has the biggest port in all of Europe. The cargo that arrives from the boats supplies food, clothes and lots of other goods to the people who live here.
Because Rotterdam is so modern compared to the other cities in the Netherlands, it is both a major port city and an industrial hub.
There are three major challenges that the Dutch government has faced in city planning. First, the country is below sea-level and the Dutch need to control the water so the cities don't become flooded. Second, the country is very densely populated so the government must carefully plan how to use the land so there is enough housing and farmland available. Third, the Dutch really care about the environment so the government must implement "green" policies which protect the environment.
