Four lessons on Randstad-Holland

Abstract

The Dutch delta, at the confluence of the courses of the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt rivers, is the paradigmatic territory of networks from the earliest stages of the human settlement. In an unsteady landscape, made up of a mosaic of marshes, bogs and sand dunes; irrigated by a maze with rivers, streams and canals; transportation network is the element that strengthens and unites the urban structure for centuries. This article discusses the integration of the Dutch transport network and the urban network from four noted episodes in the history of mobility in the Netherlands: the Trekvaarten [towpaths], the Oude Lijn [Old railway line], the Halsketting [nodal corridor], and finally, the intermodal center Zuidas-Amsterdam. The aim of this article is to show how the development of the Dutch urban network is conditioned by structural changes in the transportation network, and how the evolution of the urban mobility system determines simultaneously both: regional and local spheres. Ultimately, four lessons in mobility and urbanity in the Randstad-Holland that take the case of study further and are a model in the development of an integrated metropolitan system.