The Randstad is a conurbation in the Netherlands. It consists of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht), and the surrounding areas. With its 7.5 million inhabitants (almost half of the population of the Netherlands; when other conurbations connected to this area are also taken into consideration, it would have a population a little over 10 million, almost 2/3 of the entire Dutch population) it is one of the largest conurbations in Europe. Its main cities are Amersfoort, Almere, Amsterdam, Delft, Dordrecht, Gouda, Haarlem, Hilversum, Leiden, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, and Zoetermeer. Other centres include Alphen aan den Rijn, Amstelveen, Capelle aan den IJssel, Hoofddorp, Katwijk, Leidschendam, Maassluis, Nieuwegein, Houten, Purmerend, Rijswijk, Schiedam, Spijkenisse, Vlaardingen, Voorburg, Zeist and Zaanstad.
The cities of the Randstad more or less form a crescent or chain. This shape has given the Randstad its name (rand means rim or edge and stad means city or town). The area that is enclosed by the larger cities is called the Green Heart (Groene Hart). |
