Settlements in the new polders of the Netherlands

The Netherlands

Most densely populated area in Western hemisphere

Much of the country is below high tide level

For 100s of years the Dutch have built Dykes called Polders to create new land below sea level

The Zuyder Zee project

Zuyder Zee was a shallow inlet in the Western part of the Netherlands

Disastrous storms and loss of life led the Dutch to build a dam and enclose this area

They were able to turn this into land for farming and

create a lake for domestic use

Formation of a Polder

Formation of a Polder

Formation of a Polder

Formation of a Polder

Settlement patterns in the North-East Polder

Settlement patterns in the North-East Polder

Farmers live on family run farms where the fields are laid out in a chessboard fashion

Locations of nucleated settlements were chosen carefully

Emmelourd is the main urban centre and provides the important services for the entire polder

Villages built in radial pattern around Emmelourd

Settlement in Eastern and Southern Flevoland

Settlement in Eastern and Southern Flevoland

The new polders of Eastern and Southern Flevoland are very near the Ranstad , a ring of over crowded cities

The Dutch decided that the Flevoland would be used to relieve some of the population pressure in the Netherland

Lelystad and Almere are now large urban centres with Almere having a population of 183, 000