Reclamation of Land
The Northeast Polder (Noordoostpolder) was the second IJsselmeer polder. In planning the layout, the attention was once again focused on the development of a productive agricultural landscape with villages. However, this time there was greater consideration in researching future population issues, the role of traffic and the positioning of the urban hubs. The Dienst der Zuiderzeewerken (Zuiderzee Works Department) was once again responsible for the land parcellation plan, which primarily focused on hydraulic aspects of the poldering and an optimum parcellation. The urban planner P. Verhagen acted as aesthetic advisor. He streamlined the roads and the positioning of the urban cores.

Pattern of villages
The urban development structure of the Northeast Polder is concentric and based on a rectangular coordinate system. Emmeloord, the most important core and center, stands at the intersection of the two main roads. Initially a ring of five villages was planned around Emmeloord, but in 1946 it was decided to increase the number of villages to ten.

Open heart
In 1942, Staatsbosbeheer (the National Foresty Service) made a landscape plan. This provided for an accentuation of the coordinate system with dense planting along the canals and the two main roads. Production forests were planted at the ends of the axes and recreational woodlands near the settlements. "Chambers" with meadows were set on the edges of the polder; the heart of the polder had a more open character with arable farming. In the Northeast Polder, the parcellation plan, the concentric structure of the road system and the pattern of villages fitted well in the articulation of the polder.

Theme The Big Challenge

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