Reclamation of Land
Southern Flevoland was the last of the IJsselmeer polders, although a fifth polder, the Markerwaard, was kept in mind for a long time during the formulation of the plans. As a whole, the IJsselmeer polders reveal a significant development, in which the focus shifts from exclusively agricultural land with villages to an overflow area for the Randstad.

Four enclaves
In 1958 it was already clear that Lelystad and other urban cores in the polders would have to absorb future population growth in the Randstad. With the Second Policy Document on Town and Country Planning in the Netherlands (1966) this scenario was definitively set. Four enclaves were indicated in Southern Flevoland: a centrally situated agricultural area of eight by ten kilometres, a wooded area in the Southeast, an urban area in the Southwest and an urban recreational industrial area in the Northern section of the polder as a transitional zone towards the Markerwaard. Almere was to become the most important urban core and would have 125,000 to 250,000 inhabitants.

Increase in scale
In response to the modernization of agriculture, the size of parcels of land increased considerably. The building plots and road profiles were generously dimensioned and at the edges of the area there was provision for large enclaves with non-agricultural functions, such as a deciduous forest and a marshland. Thanks to its spacious layout, it is likely that Southern Flevoland can successfully accommodate the massive increase in scale in agriculture and increasing urbanization.

Theme The Big Challenge