Schiedam

Schiedam is situated near Rotterdam in the most dense urban area of the Netherlands, the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague (MRDH). Schiedam is well-known for its jenever (gin), historic city centre with canals and the world’s largest windmills.  The city has 78.000 inhabitants. The population is diverse with a multicultural character: more than 150 different nationalities can be found in Schiedam.

Since 1500 Schiedam has a Jenever (gin) industry. From the 19th century the ship building drove the local industry. Nowadays Schiedam has a more diverse industry, with a high tech maritime industry and businesses in trade, transport and commercial services. The city offers employment to more than 31.000 people in 5.000 companies, also in the health care and education sector. Schiedam aims to improve upward social mobility for its citizens by improving its housing stock and facilities, in an integrated and sustainable way. In 2017 Schiedam was awarded the URBACT Good Practice City label for the smart use of land, creating sport facilities on the roof of a highway and building more than 600 highly energy efficient houses.

Schiedam is supporting the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

A beautiful, vital and sustainable city is our goal, where everyone feels at home, citizens and visitors. Among our key challenges: creating a more attractive city centre, support entrepreneurship, support citizens to use their assets as long as possible, developing the tourism industry, upgrading industrial & business parks and promoting active citizenship.