How do you ensure that residents can find their way around their own neighborhood and that visitors become curious about a district they might normally never visit? On Wednesday, September 16, the very first Beverwaard Neighborhood Guide was officially launched, a guide with precisely that dual function.
The Beverwaard Neighborhood Guide brings together all facilities, organizations, entrepreneurs, activities, meeting places, resident initiatives, and special locations into one physical and digital guide. This creates a complete social map of the neighborhood. Thanks to an innovative system, the information always remains up to date, and the content of the guide can be read in more than 20 languages. This is practical and necessary for residents: how can you participate or ask for help if you don’t know where to go? In many neighborhoods, information is spread across countless websites, social media, and flyers. The Neighborhood Guide makes that clear and brings it closer to you.
Free to pick up in the neighborhood
To ensure the guide is accessible and available to everyone, the Neighborhood Guide is distributed free of charge at numerous central locations in Beverwaard. Residents can pick up the guide at places including the Neighborhood Hub (at the neighborhood team and 14010), the money square, JOZ, SOL, the House of the Neighborhood, all schools, meeting places such as House of Hope, the playground, and the library, as well as at housing corporations and local entrepreneurs.
Broader neighborhood infrastructure
The Neighborhood Guide does not stand alone. Like Je Wijk is building local neighborhood communities in eight Rotterdam neighborhoods, where online and offline information reinforce each other through Neighborhood Apps, Neighborhood Websites, Neighborhood Newspapers, and social media. Residents, professionals, and neighborhood workers from various organizations share their news, activities, and calls for help in the Neighborhood Community. Like Je Wijk ensures everything is well organized. Especially in neighborhoods where people sometimes face difficulties, Like Je Wijk wants to bring closer what is possible. After fourteen years, the first physical Neighborhood Guide now appears in Beverwaard, where Like Je Wijk originally started.
View the Neighborhood Guide online in more than 20 languages via www.likejewijk.nl/beverwaard/wijkgids
Discover Beverwaard as a visitor too
In addition to distribution within the neighborhood itself, the guide is explicitly given a function outside it. Through Rotterdam hotels, bike rental companies, and tourist information points, copies are made available free of charge to visitors. A concrete example is the art route through Beverwaard, which entices tourists and other Rotterdammers to diverge from the well-known city center and discover a surprising part of Rotterdam-South.
Insights and advice Erasmus University
Together with residents and neighborhood organizations, Erasmus University investigated the strengths and challenges of Beverwaard. “It is a green neighborhood with many local organizations, a wide range of activities, and a real ‘we know each other’ feeling,” said Britt on behalf of the university. Interviews and resident meetings highlighted the feeling of safety as an important theme. Better streamlined communication about and within the neighborhood helps residents feel at home and strengthens connectedness. According to Erasmus University, the Neighborhood Guide is a valuable tool to get to know the neighborhood better and find the way to activities, organizations, and active community connectors.
Launch on September 16
The official launch of the Beverwaard Neighborhood Guide took place on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at Neighborhood Hub Beverwaard. During this event, the guide was presented and it was explained how residents and neighborhood partners worked together on this foundation of the neighborhood community. During the festive afternoon, neighborhood walks were also made along locations, art, and initiatives that are visible in the Neighborhood Guide. The Beverwaard Neighborhood Guide is an initiative of Like Je Wijk in collaboration with Erasmus University, the Municipality of Rotterdam, and Beverwaard Shopping Center.
Photos: Arnoud Verhey / Joop Barneveld
