Reclamation of Land
J.A. Beijerinck was after the Zuidplas Polder and the Haarlemmermeer also responsible for the new layout of the Prins Alexander Polder. There were fifteen lakes with strips of land in-between and occasional construction in this "East of Rotterdam area". He merely allowed the Oud-Kralingen cemetery to remain. The Noordplas, the later Kralingse Plas, was the only lake not included in the poldering.

Gardening and residential area
The area was subdivided into parcels of land, working from the middle to the perimeter. In relation to the quantity of new land, few drainage ditches or watercourses were dug. Initially the land was mainly used for agriculture with a small part supporting market gardening. From the end of the nineteenth century on it primarily flourished as a market gardening area. The first residential area being built in the polder was Het Lage Land ("The Low Land") in the 1960s.

Parcels as guideline
The fifth and last residential area in the Prins Alexanderpolder was Prinsenland (1984-1998). In Prinsenland, urbanization and the development of the landscape went hand in hand, this marked an important change in thinking. The existing strip development was integrated, differences in elevation retained, and the original parcellation pattern can be seen in watercourses or roads that follow the route of ditches which have been filled in again. The land division structure of the polder was thus the guideline for the urban layout of the residential area.

Theme Urbanization