In praise of common sense. Planning the ordinary. A physical planning history of the new towns in the Ijsselmeerpolders.

Umschlag leicht defekt, sonst gutes Exemplar. - In the Netherlands, twenty-one new towns have been built on land ofwhich the oldest part, at the time of writing, hasbeenin existence for I ess than seventy years. The present population of those villages and cities lies between six hundred inhabitants in the smallest settlement, and more than one hundred thousand in the largest. Much has been written aboutthe reclamation and habitation of that land, not inthe least by the developing authorities, theDienst der Zuiderzeewerken (the Zuiderzee Project Department, orzPD) and the Directie Wieringermeer (the Wieringermeer Directorate), later known as Rijks-dienstvoorde Usselmeerpolders (the Usselmeerpolders Development Authority, or u DA). Much has also been published, albeit less, aboutthe conception and development of the new towns inthe polders. Very little has been published about their spatial form; particularly if viewed from the continuity which characterizes both the planning process and the spatial design. The two above-mentioned authorities, both part of the Ministerie van Verkeeren Waterstaat (Ministry of Trans port and Water Management), have been responsible for the whole development process, in terms of both time and 'scope'. Throughout this process, both authorities have always exhibited an am bit ion for excellence. Like many gene rat ions of intrepid polder-and dike-builders before them, they have also maintained a strong sense of purpose and self-respect. The fact that they sometimes maintained this attitude toward eachotherledon occasion to disagreeable situations. The designs of the town plans have been accom-plished within the dynamic force field between the vigor of the authorities and the ever-increasing influence of other government agencies and external interest groups. Although several facets of IJsseImeerpoldertown-planning have been described, particularly within the last ten years, the 'design of towns', i.e., how the town form came to be, has never been comprehensively published. This book intends to fill that void. The fact that the author worked for more than twenty years as a physical planner with the Usselmeerpolders Development Authority will, of course, be of influence on the contents of this book. ISBN 9789064503023