The selfmade land: culture and evolution of urban and regional planning in the Netherlands - Softcover

The Netherlands is a river delta where 16.7 million people live on just 41.000 km^2, for the greater part selfmade land. Urban and regional planning runs in the blood of this country and its culture. For centuries development planning and land use control have been adopted to reclaim large areas, as well as to keep the country safe and dry. Hardly a square metre of the Mondrian-like polders and the carefully planned cities has escaped the planners' hands. Even nature is thoroughly managed and sometimes created. In the 20th century, the Dutch planning system became one of the most sophisticated in the world. As a result, planning, occupation and urbanisation in the Netherlands mirror its social, economic and cultural life. The Selfmade Land is a complete remake of the well-known Dutch textbook Van Grachtengordel tot Vinexwijk, which has had four reprints and sold over 10,000 copies since 2003. It describes the evolution of urban and regional planning in the Netherlands since the 16th century, unfolding a history of not only master pieces like the Amsterdam Canal Belt and spectacular public works like the reclamation of the Zuyderzee and the Delta Works, but also numerous smaller planning projects in cities, villages and the countryside. It tells the continuing story of the birth and rebirth of planning concepts on different time scales, the intriguing debates regarding a sustainable environment in the melting pot of Dutch society, and the final outcomes in terms of quality of space.

Nederland is één van de meest dichtbevolkte landen ter wereld. Dan moet je verstandig omgaan met de beschikbare ruimte. Waar gaan we werken, waar wonen en waar vakantie houden? Wat bebouwen en wat blijft ongerept? Nergens ter wereld wordt daar zo grondig over nagedacht als in Nederland. Internationaal geldt Nederland als gidsland op het gebied van de ruimtelijke ordening. Vanwege deze positie, en om aan de vraag vanuit het Engelstalige onderwijs te voorzien, verschijnt nu deze geheel herziene, Engelstalige editie van het standaardwerk Ruimtelijke ordening.