METRO O1O. Unlikely but true. A graphic novel about a metropolis on the Maas.
METRO O1O is a graphic novel about important historical events that impacted how Rotterdam developed and made it what it is today. The story starts back in 1270, when the city was no more than a fishing village, and ends in 2050, with visions of what the future might bring. Rotterdam was not created in a single moment, by a single person, but was made over the centuries, by many. METRO O1O is an invitation for young people to get to know and explore the city. Again and again, day in, day out.
Local
Netherlands
Municipality of Rotterdam
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): De Zwarte Hond, office for architecture, urbanism and strategy / Ken Je Stad, Maak Je Stad (Meet Your City, Make Your City) Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: Ellen Last name of representative: Schindler Gender: Female Nationality: Germany Function: CEO / Partner Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Westblaak 37 Town: Rotterdam Postal code: 3012 KD Country: Netherlands Direct Tel:+31 6 23508940 E-mail:schindler@dezwartehond.nl Website:https://dezwartehond.nl/en/projects/metro-010/
METRO O1O is made by Rotterdammers for Rotterdammers. A team of approximately 40 Rotterdam-based illustrators, cartoonists, authors, historians, photographers, city poets, editors, urban planners, curators, archivists and graphic designers collaborated on this richly illustrated graphic novel. In it, we follow the past trajectory of the city towards what it is today, embodying that idea that it wasn’t built at one time or by one person, but was created throughout history by many. After all, city making is not something you do alone, but together as a community.
The graphic novel is not just a highly immersive urbanist account of the city’s story, but also a call to action for its readers. With its historical perspective, it tackles several important contemporary topics including citizenship, diversity & inclusion, equality and the climate. It emphasises the importance of reading and interactive learning, with inspiration on how you yourself can work to influence the development of your own street, neighbourhood or even the whole city.
Spatial issues in Rotterdam, much like other cities, are increasingly complex. There is an urgent need to transform city centres and topics like mobility, living, working, and green development are gaining prominence. Due to these complex issues, the speed at which today’s world moves, and the increased pressures on citizens, we must actively maintain the connection between a city and its inhabitants. METRO O1O is a great tool for getting younger generations involved with these issues.
Following the sold out first trade-edition in late-2022, the school-edition will soon be distributed for free to over 9000 school children in Rotterdam and accompanied by additional materials to combine with existing educational tools and integrate in the curriculum. The METRO O1O novel invites students to develop their dialogical skills and find new ways to talk about their city in an inclusive, understandable and visually attractive fashion.
Collective narrative
Cultural education
Citizenship
Engagement
Participation
The main sustainability-related objective of METRO O1O concerns its educational aspect, since the book aims to foster the active citizenship of Rotterdam inhabitants so they can communally tackle the socio-economic, spatial and also importantly environmental challenges of the city. The knowledge and skills developed through the book provide its readers with an interdisciplinary and comprehensive understanding of these challenges and are thereby better equipped to tackle them. The future scenarios as addressed in the last chapter ‘Rotterdam 2050’ give an opening to discuss the consequences of our actions of today.
The main characters in the book, two teenagers, travelled through time. In each era they entered in the book they played an active role in an event that shaped the city. They are city-makers! In the last chapter they realize that a city is not made by one person at one time, but by a community. And that they took part. So, does this also mean that they can be part of actively shaping their own future?
The book is a wake-up call to the young reader to be aware that they themselves are in control of the future of the planet. Our actions have consequences, we should be aware of that and act accordingly. Ultimately, this will lead to cities having better future-perspectives and undergoing positive developments and transformations.
METRO O1O is a graphic novel created by an array of different artists representing their own personal style. This makes the book an inherently aesthetic product.
The team of nearly forty Rotterdammers has been working for more than a year on an exceptionally richly illustrated graphic novel, METRO O1O: 18 illustrators/cartoonists, 3 writers, 2 (architectural) historians, 2 photographers, 4 city poets, 2 editors, 2 urban planners, several curators and archivists and 3 designers.
Each chapter begins with an introduction which explains the importance of this given era in the development of the city of Rotterdam. The text is accompanied with collection pieces of museums in Rotterdam such as Boijmans van Beuningen and the Maritime Museum, as well as the city archives. Following to the introduction a comic will tell the story of the two main characters who are having different adventures in each era. Each chapter is illustrated by a different illustrator, drawing in his/her own style, but by using the same visual characteristics of the two youngsters one can immediately recognize the main characters. The last image of each chapter relates to the first image of the next one. By this the storytelling continues throughout the entire book.
Every single chapter tells its own story, yet together they all form a cohesive product, which is exciting to look at and engage with. Additionally, the book also makes use of photography and poems to teach and encourage its readers to imagine their city and its future not only through words but also by way of different kind of disciplines. Ultimately, these imaginations will serve as inspiration for readers to undertake real action and invest in the positive transformation of their city. The objectives of the project are therefore aesthetic in three ways, namely as visual inspiration, as concrete imagination, and as a tool for active citizenship aimed at bettering the lived environment.
METRO O1O as a tool for engagement - METRO O1O went on sale in November 2022 and sold out in four weeks! In March 2023, It will be distributed free of charge to approx. 9000 seventh graders (age 11/12) in Rotterdam, right when they enter high school, right as they spread their wings and start exploring their city. But how well do they actually know the city? Do they know about its history? Do they feel a part of it? And do they feel they can make a difference?
METRO O1O will be distributed to all seventh graders, regardless of the neighbourhood they live in, the school they attend or their parents’ financial situation.
From a historical context, the book offers a direct connection to important urban themes such as citizenship, inclusion, equality of opportunity and climate. It is accompanied by teaching materials that can be used plug & play in schools, in various subjects within the school curriculum. Never has it been on such a scale that schools pay attention to urban processes and the voice that citizens have in this.
METRO O1O as a tool for inclusion - Inclusion is a central objective in the METRO O1O project in its most basic form, as the book not only aims to better connect its readers to their city, but also their fellow citizens. Additionally, the different artistic styles represented in the graphic novel also reflect the different socio-cultural groups which exist in Rotterdam. Exposure to these therefore also fosters a better understanding of different cultures and different artforms, fostering a more inclusive creative field. Finally, in order to maximize the impact of the project, the book will be freely distributed to schools and students. The project will run for five years, which means that in five years’ time around 45.000 children will be connected by a collective narrative.
Initially, citizens were involved in the creation process of the book, as they provided most of the book’s content and were therefore imperative in the shaping of its story. Following its release, the book met its true target audience, the citizens themselves, who have become involved in the project by reading and learning from the book and engaging in conversations about it as well as about the city of Rotterdam. Finally, the students to which the book will be distributed will bring the educational potential of Metro 010 to life. It will hopefully serve to enrich their educational trajectory, as well as provoke them to think differently about their city and share their ideas and visions, more broadly enriching their lives.
METRO O1O as a tool of involvement - METRO O1O can be seen as part of a turning point in the urban transformation process. Spatial issues, in Rotterdam and in other (inter)national cities, are becoming increasingly complex. The urgency of cities transformation is increasing with topics as mobility, housing shortage, work-live balance, green and healthy city. Everything must be done faster than before, the pressure on residents of the city is rising. Urban Development is often experienced as complex and does not have the highest priority for many people. There is therefore a risk that there is no longer any connection with the inhabitants of a city.
METRO O1O makes a valuable contribution to the conversation about city identity and cuts across topics with which everyone can identify. An opportunity to connect in a new way, to start a conversation about the city and thus get residents more involved in their city. METRO O1O offers a collective narrative, to get to know and understand the city better.
Aside from the local contributors mentioned above, who wrote, drew and designed for the book, METRO O1O works to foster better connections between different local institutions and citizens in Rotterdam. Through its interdisciplinary approach, the book aims to better combine the work of cultural institutions (such as museums, theatres, city archives and more), educational institutions (from schools which offer special needs education to pre-university education), and the Rotterdam municipality (more specifically the departments of Culture, Education and Events, as well as the department of Climate, Building & Housing). This, in combination with the cultural education of young people to foster active citizenship, as well as the provision of assignments for Rotterdam creatives, citizens are given a place to participate in important conversations about the future of their city. Finally, METRO O1O also provides a great opportunity for expats, refugees and other internationals who have found their way to Rotterdam, to learn about and become more engaged with the city.
On a national level, other cities in the Netherlands have already shown interest in replicating the project for themselves. The municipality of Groningen, for example, has invited the project team to present METRO O1O to them in the coming months. Additionally, the project team has also been in contact with the Dutch consulates in Rabat, Morocco and Düsseldorf, Germany, which both expressed an interest in working with the project.
Looking at the European level of impact of the project, the book was presented at the congress on Baukultur education which took place in Gelsenkirchen on 22 November 2022. There, the creator of the book Ellen Schindler presented its potential as an educational tool to discuss the built environment for school children. This was positively received by the attending audience, and therefore may be the first step towards expanding the scope of the project beyond the city of
METRO O1O represents the union of a variety of different disciplines centred around the development of active or engaged citizenship. This educational goal is approached firstly through the field of urban development, as the book provides knowledge about the past and future spatial and demographic developments of Rotterdam and engages its readers to think along with these developments. Secondly, the book being a graphic novel shows its creators’ unique perspective on education through interdisciplinary formats. This combination of text and imagery ultimately fosters dialogical skills within its readers by enriching their imaginary powers and providing them with a common language through which to share their thoughts and ideas.
METRO O1O, particularly through its introduction in the classroom, is the first publication of its kind to use this kind of interdisciplinary approach, which spans across multiple subjects in school curriculums (geography, history, philosophy, social sciences, Dutch language classes etc.) and can be combined with existing educational tools. Ultimately the goal of the project is not to help students pass a class, but it aims toward a broader education of its readers as engaged citizens. This is not achieved through a highly complex, academic product but reaches out to its readers using engaging and familiar aesthetics.
Below an impression how the book is received in a few quotes:
“I am impressed by how you manage to involve the entire city in the project: from makers to institutions and from education to publishers.”
(Alderman Education, Culture and Events of the City of Rotterdam, Mr. S. Kasmi)
“What is very interesting about this project is twofold. On the one hand, it is a completely new way of highlighting complex matters: a graphic novel about urban developments intertwined with the city. This allows you to address new target groups and show people other than the usual professionals how important and influential such a thing as urban development is, and that it is much more than just the physical, that it is also the social, cultural and environmental.
And on the other hand, it shows that you can interweave such a subject with many other institutions and disciplines, such as education, museums, places in the city, as a completely new form of information transfer, far beyond the traditional newspapers, lectures and conferences.
This works - at least in my head - as a completely different way of sharing information. Our chair can learn a lot from that. As chairman of area development, we want to help the field further. Then it is very good to look (far) beyond one's own borders and get to work.”
(Mr. I. Janse – TU Delft, Chair of Area Development)
Both the production process and the book itself are easily replicable in different (international) places and for different audiences/target groups. The concept of the book itself revolves around learning about the city of Rotterdam, and thereby learning to love and take care of it, thus fostering active citizenship. Furthermore, the book is created as a graphic novel, which is both visually stimulating and highly accessible even to those in places with lower literacy rates. The concept of METRO O1O could therefore easily be replicated for any city or region interested in fostering an increased sense of belonging and connectedness within their population. Collaborations with local artists and experts would ensure the uniqueness of each recreation and give an economic boost to the local creative industry, whilst maintaining the engaging and educational materials that lie at the core of the concept.
First the architectural historian (Michelle Provoost) defined the 12 chapters in which the book will be divided. Following this, the author (Abdelkader Benali) developed the storyline of the book. Meanwhile, we continued ongoing research to match an illustrator to each chapter, and to find the poets and photographers to complete the book. We also asked two well-known Rotterdam urban planners (Riek Bakker and Jeroen de Willigen) to provide input on the impact of the book for the discipline of urban planning and the city in general.
The book contains the following ingredients (which will be summarized in a Project Plan, and made available to other cities to purchase and implement in an easy, well-documented and plug-and-play manner):
- 12 chapters about different eras of the past.
- 5 future scenarios.
- An introduction text for each chapter, explaining the relevancy of the era.
- Collection pieces from cultural institutions in the city, which accompany each chapter.
- A comic, illustrated by a different illustrator for each chapter.
- Accompanying text below the illustrations, providing an in-depth background of the visual material
- A ‘did you know…?’ tag, containing a short fun-fact to go with one of the illustrations on any given page.
- Recognizable main characters, each drawn in a specific style.
- Narrative connections from one chapter to another using images, where the last image of one chapter is the starting point of the first image of the next chapter.
- Photographs which are spread throughout the book and included to help the viewer to look at the city in a different way, beyond the usual, well-known icons of the city.
- An accompanying city map on the book cover of the school-edition, showing the cultural institutions in the city as they are connected to content in the book. The back cover will contain questions, which can help teachers and/or parents to use the book in an easy way as an educational material and/or conversation piece.
METRO O1O aims to foster active citizenship for the inhabitants of Rotterdam by employing an array of dialogical and interdisciplinary learning methods to teach about the history of the city, thereby learning to conceptualize its future as well. Active citizenship and engagement are values which ought to be fostered in communities all around the world to ensure that citizens remain engaged with and interested in their living environments. As such, our societies will become better equipped to deal with the ever-increasing array spatial, socio-economic, environmental and other challenges we all face.
The book METRO O1O was successfully published and launched on November 22, 2022, after which it was immediately made available for purchase in multiple stores and online. In the following four weeks, the first batch of books (2500 copies) sold out.
In March 2023, the book will be distributed to over 9000 school children all over Rotterdam, launching the educational phase of the project. The distribution to the schools is scheduled for an additional four years. This means that in 2027 around 45.000 children will have received this book and will share a collective narrative of their city.
At this moment we are about to start the production of a second edition, as well as the production of an English version of the book. The translation has already been made. Ultimately, the goal is to distribute the book to as many people as possible through collaborations with schools and cultural institutions around the city.
For the completion of the project and its goals, METRO O1O received funding from the following parties:
- Municipality of Rotterdam - € 100.000 (see pdf attachment)
- Municipality of Rotterdam - € 100.000 (see pdf attachment)
- Foundation Verre Bergen - € 40.000 (for the use of printing the 9000 schoolbooks)
- Clemens Hodes Fonds - € 15.000
- Dura Vermeer (construction company) - € 10.000
- Change= (developer) - € 5.000
METRO O1O is a great tool for the development of dialogical skills by fostering the imagination of students and citizens of the city of Rotterdam. Through these skills, citizens of all ages are better able to think about and discuss the socio-environmental challenges they face, ultimately allowing populations to better and more inclusively tackle such issues.
At this moment the topic of ‘Citizenship’ is a mandatory topic which has to be addressed by schools as well as cultural institutions in their educational program. Often however this topic is either problematized or it is unclear how to incorporate it in a program. But ‘citizenship’ is also a topic that can be fun, engaging, uplifting and inviting. The book METRO O1O is a way to maybe help cultural institutions and schools to address this topic in a more positive way.
Ultimately, one could summarize the book in one all-encompassing sentence:
‘If you get to know a city, you will start to love it,
and that what you love, you will take care off.”
