Randstad Holland — IV

Abstract

The principal urban element of the Randstad’s eastern sector is the City of Utrecht, fourth largest in the Netherlands with over 261,000 inhabitants, situated at the geographical heart of Utrecht Province. This is the smallest of Dutch provinces, but, at 1,310 persons per square mile, the third most densely populated. Much of the western half of the Province is contained within the ‘ green heart ’ of the Randstad; it comprises low-lying, peaty, riverine soils, and includes several large lakes formed many years ago as a result of extensive and excessive peat-digging. The central part embraces the Heuvelrug, a chain of sandy, wooded hills running south-east from the Zuiderzee to the river Lek; it is a most valuable recreational asset not only for the Province but also for the Randstad. The eastern strip, again low-lying, is formed by the Eem valley at the north, with peaty soils and clay cover, and the Geldersche valley to the south, with moist sandy soils and patches of heath and woodland.