Municipality of Rotterdam ยท CIO Office ยท 2025โ€“2027

RotterdamCitiverse

The future of Rotterdam is neither purely digital, purely physical, nor purely social, but a fluid interweaving of all three dimensions. The Citiverse is tomorrow's shared urban space: built on openness, trust, and the citizen at the centre.

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Physical Digital Citizen
Definition

What is the
Citiverse?

The Citiverse is the rapidly evolving, digitally, socially and physically interwoven environment in which cities and communities live, express themselves and function, where physical, digital and social realities flow seamlessly into each other.

Rotterdam is developing a vision and strategy for tomorrow's city: a city that does not merely react to digital change, but actively shapes it, on the basis of public values, citizen participation, and open digital infrastructure.

Explore the building blocks
โœฆ Citiverse
Metaverse
Public & citizen-centred
vs
Private & tech-driven
Rooted in the physical city
vs
Virtual parallel world
Open standards & interoperability
vs
Closed platforms
Citizens own their data
vs
Corporate data ownership
Democratically governed
vs
Commercially driven

"Citi" โ€” from citizen, not city. People first.

Core Values

Built on six
principles

Sustainability
Digital choices have consequences for tomorrow's world. Sustainability is a prerequisite, not an afterthought.
Inclusion
The digital city must be accessible to all Rotterdammers, regardless of background, age, or digital skill level.
Participation
Residents, businesses and organisations jointly shape the digital city. Co-creation is the default approach.
Open Standards
Interoperability and open standards prevent lock-in and ensure a level playing field for all participants.
Resilience
A resilient digital city withstands disruptions and adapts quickly to changing circumstances.
Digital Sovereignty
Rotterdam sets the rules for its own digital infrastructure, not Big Tech.
Thematic Agenda

Twelve building blocks

The Citiverse is developed along twelve thematic building blocks: the challenges Rotterdam faces, translated into opportunities for the digital city.

01
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Circular Economy
Data-driven approach to resource flows and waste reduction
02
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Adaptive Infrastructure
Climate-resilient and robust vital infrastructure
03
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Port Economy
Maritime innovation and digital collaboration in Europe's largest port
04
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Future of Work
Digital learning environments that bridge the skills gap
05
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Youth-Led Innovation
Young people as co-creators of tomorrow's city
06
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Digital Identity
Self-sovereign identity and personal data vaults for every citizen
07
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Cyber Security
AI-driven detection and security by design
08
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Social Entrepreneurship
Digital platforms for social impact and new business models
09
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Preventative Healthcare
Digital twins and apps for early health detection
10
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Citizen-Centric Services
Co-designed, personalised public services
11
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Public Spaces
Inclusive and livable public space through AR/VR co-design
12
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Sustainable Urban Development
Data-guided simulation for climate-neutral urban growth
Experiments & Research

Five innovation labs

Labs are the Citiverse's experimentation environments: places where ideas are tested, knowledge is built, and prototypes are developed.

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Digital Humans & AI
Experiments at the intersection of AI and ethics, including 'digital human' Digiderius (based on Desiderius Erasmus).
Active
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x-CITE
EU project with Tampere, Flanders and Rotterdam: XR and AI for citizen participation and the school of the future.
Active ยท EU-funded
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Web3.0 / Data Vault
Giving citizens maximum control over their own data through a reliable personal data vault for municipal services.
Prototype in development
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Application Ecosystem
App store on top of the Open Urban Platform: applications that communicate with each other and reuse data.
Active ยท PoC complete
๐ŸŽจ
Digital Visualisation
Research into AR/VR and 3D visualisations as tools for comprehensible co-creation with residents and businesses.
Starting up
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New labs
Space for new initiatives in 2026 and 2027 โ€” seed funding available for promising experiments.
2026โ€“2027
Four perspectives

Through which lenses
does the Citiverse look?

Every building block is examined from four angles that together provide an integrated view of the digital city.

01
Digital Infrastructure, Governance & Compliance
The foundation: open standards, data exchange, privacy, security, and the governance structures that build trust.
02
Digital Economy
New business models, innovation opportunities for companies, and Rotterdam as an attractive location for the digital economy.
03
Digital Inclusion & Equality
No one left behind. Digital transformation must not widen the gap, it must close it.
04
Public Services
Better, faster, and more human-centred municipal services as the concrete result of digital transformation.
Planning 2025โ€“2027

Programme
roadmap

2025 โ€” Build
Laying the foundation
  • Identify and prioritise building blocks
  • Future Society Lab knowledge network operational
  • x-CITE international launch in Tampere
  • Web3.0 data vault prototype in development
  • OUP app store first PoC presented
  • First Digiderius experiments
2026 โ€” Deepen
Experiment & learn
  • Develop building blocks with ecosystem partners
  • x-CITE experiments in full swing
  • Web3.0 second prototype and evaluation
  • App store expanded across multiple domains
  • Rotterdam Hackathon (mid 2026)
  • Launch new innovation labs
2027 โ€” Deliver
Vision & strategy 2.0
  • Final Rotterdam Citiverse vision delivered
  • Strategy endorsed by the Rotterdam ecosystem
  • x-CITE project completed
  • Shaping EU Citiverse definition
  • Replicable innovation process for municipalities

Publications & media

Rotterdam Citiverse in (inter)national press, podcasts and research platforms.

Article ยท 19 Dec 2025
RSM / Erasmus University
Reimagining the digital city: Rotterdam's digital twin is a human-centred future
Roland van der Heijden explains how Rotterdam is building an ecosystem where applications communicate with each other and data is shared across services.
Read article โ†’
Pilot ยท 2025
x-CITE ยท EU Project
Citizen Engagement in Urban Planning โ€” Rotterdam Pilot
Rotterdam is developing an interactive 3D tool allowing citizens to visualise urban projects, provide feedback, and access city services.
View pilot โ†’
Factpage ยท 2025
European Commission
Citiverse โ€” European Commission Digital Strategy
The European Commission published a factpage on the Citiverse as part of its digital strategy for smart, inclusive cities.
View factpage โ†’
Podcast ยท 20 Oct 2025
Centre for BOLD Cities ยท Binnenlands Bestuur
BOLDCast S2E1: The Civil Servant โ€” Roland van der Heijden
"Digitalisation is still an opportunity now, but wait too long and it becomes a threat." Roland van der Heijden on politics, digitalisation and the Citiverse.
Listen to podcast โ†’
Podcast ยท 2025
Spotify
Rotterdam Citiverse on Spotify
Listen to the episode about Rotterdam Citiverse on Spotify and discover how the city is building a human-centred digital future.
Listen on Spotify โ†’
Blog ยท 13 Apr 2025
Koneksa Mondo ยท Marco Derksen
From smart city to Citiverse: how Rotterdam is reinventing itself digitally
Marco Derksen analyses Van der Heijden's vision: digitalisation is 25% technology and 75% organisational culture, mindset and leadership.
Read blog โ†’
Article ยท 2025
BABLE Smart Cities
Imagine the Citiverse: Rotterdam & Genova
BABLE Smart Cities highlights how Rotterdam and Genova are collaborating to shape the Citiverse concept in a European context.
Read article โ†’
Network & Collaboration

Rotterdam does not
work alone

The Citiverse is an ecosystem of partners: local, national and international.

Erasmus University Rotterdam
Hogeschool Rotterdam
TU Delft
Future Insight
Veldacademie
Zadkine
Woonstad Rotterdam
Safety Region Rotterdam
Future Society Lab
OASC
EDIC-NLDT
City of Tampere (FI)
Flanders (BE)
Urban Innovators Global
Metaverse Institute London
Eurocities Digital Forum
UN/ITU Citiverse
Get Involved

Rotterdam isn't building the digital city alone

Are you a business, knowledge institution, social organisation, or engaged Rotterdammer? Join the Citiverse: as a partner, researcher, or experiment participant.