The Contemporary City as Backbone: Museum Rotterdam Meets the Challenge

Changes at Museum Rotterdam illustrate how history museums can rethink their relationship to history and community. Recognizing that its residents are increasingly transnational, without ties to the Rotterdam of the past, Museum Rotterdam is using the tools of urban anthropologists to involve residents in exploring contemporary heritage. Museum Rotterdam next plans to enhance its activities as a traveling museum that circulates around the city to enlarge the commitment of urban communities through local heritage programs based on new urban stories that help to bring people together.