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