Randstad [1] ( Dutch: Randstad “ring city”; also Randstad Holland ) is a polycentric urban agglomeration ( conurbation ) in the west of the Netherlands , which includes four of the country's largest cities - Amsterdam , Rotterdam , The Hague and Utrecht . Within its borders are the most important cities of the Netherlands: Amsterdam - the capital; The Hague - the seat of parliament, government and international legal bodies; Rotterdam - the largest international port; Leiden is the oldest university city.
Located in the provinces of South and North Holland , Utrecht and Flevoland .
Content
- 1 Geography
- 1.1 Inhabited areas and the Green Heart
- 1.2 “Wings”
- 2 Transport
- 3 List of cities
- 4 notes
Geography
Populated Areas and the Green Heart
The name is due to the fact that the agglomeration in the plan is a circle (60 km in diameter) with urbanized areas along the edges and less built up territory in the center. The agricultural district in the center (with an area of 1800 km²) is called the "green core" (or "green heart" - Dutch. Groene Hart ) of Holland. With the decreasing importance of agriculture, the territory is preserved as having recreational significance. Between the towns and agglomerations of Randstad, buffer green zones are preserved.
The population of Randstad is about 7 million people (almost half the population of the Netherlands). Of these, about 4 million live directly in urban areas.
Wings
In the conurbation, the southwestern and northeastern wings are easily distinguished:
- "Northern Wing" ( Dutch Noordvleugel ) - agglomerations of Amsterdam and Utrecht, Almere, Haarlem; These are the territories of the provinces of North Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland;
- "South Wing" ( niderl. Zuidvleugel ) - agglomerations of Rotterdam and The Hague, Leiden, Delft and other cities of South Holland.
Transport
Light Rail RandstadRail , operating since 2006, despite the name, operates only in a small area in the southwestern part of the conurbation, between Rotterdam and The Hague.
List of cities
- Rotterdam
- Hague
- Leiden
- Delft
- Gouda
- Zoetermeer
- Dordrecht
- Harlem
- Amsterdam
- Alkmaar
- Hilversum
- Almere
- Lelystad
- Utrecht
- Amersfoort
Notes
- ↑ Geographic Encyclopedic Dictionary: Geographic Names / Ed. A.F. Treshnikov . - 2nd ed., Ext. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia , 1989. - S. 391. - 210 000 copies. - ISBN 5-85270-057-6 .