So in recent years, a 1960s cinema and church had to make way for a huge new housing complex designed by Alsop Architects, and a residential tower by Wiel Arets was speedily attached to Marcel Breuer's department store, De Bijenkorf. The municipality would like to lure more inhabitants into the centre – but space for new residential buildings is scarce. After shop closing time, the shutters go down and the streets are deserted. Only five percent of the city's inhabitants live in the centre, which is almost entirely occupied by highstreet fashion chains, fast food restaurants, and offices. The post-war city centre of Rotterdam is ruled by commerce. This article originally appeared in uncube magazine as ' Saviour or Parasite? '
