Wikipedia
Image:Randstad_with_scale.png|400px|thumb|right|Schematic map of the Randstad circle 528 380 26 Schiphol rect 426 356 498 436 Haarlemmermeer rect 399 166 479 245 Velsen circle 250 716 32 Delft circle 220 642 60 The Hague circle 456 569 27 Alphen aan den Rijn circle 555 201 52 Zaanstad circle 999 168 42 Lelystad circle 798 474 29 Hilversum circle 492 692 34 Gouda circle 347 654 31 Zoetermeer circle 944 532 40 Amersfoort circle 521 24 33 Alkmaar circle 442 294 44 Haarlem circle 466 943 36 Dordrecht circle 334 537 30 Leiden circle 840 314 50 Almere rect 245 738 400 869 Rotterdam rect 13 725 81 789 Port of Rotterdam rect 82 749 116 788 Port of Rotterdam rect 117 778 148 803 Port of Rotterdam rect 120 804 209 835 Port of Rotterdam rect 158 826 247 857 Port of Rotterdam circle 742 617 53 Utrecht (city) circle 615 324 88 Amsterdam
The Randstad is a megalopolis in the central-western Netherlands consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities ( Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) and their surrounding areas. Among other things, it contains the Port of Rotterdam (the largest seaport in Europe, and until 2004 also the world's busiest seaport), and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (one of the largest European airports). With a population of 7,100,000 it is one of the largest metropolitan regions in Europe, comparable in size to Milan or the San Francisco Bay Area, and covers an area of approximately 8,287 km². It's also one of the most important and densely populated economic areas in northwestern Europe.
The Randstad's main cities are Almere, Amersfoort, Amsterdam, Delft, Dordrecht, Gouda, Haarlem, Leiden, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, and Zoetermeer. Other centres include Alphen aan den Rijn, Amstelveen, Barendrecht, Capelle aan den IJssel, Hilversum, Hoofddorp, Hoek van Holland, Houten, Katwijk, Leidschendam, Maarssen, Maassluis, Nieuwegein, Oostzaan, Purmerend, Rijswijk, Schiedam, Spijkenisse, Vlaardingen, Voorburg, Zeist and Zaanstad.
Although the name Randstad is often translated into English as "edge city" or "border city", a more accurate translation would be "rim city". The Dutch name was coined in 1938 by KLM founder Albert Plesman who, while flying over the region, used it to describe a strip of cities at the rim of a large green agricultural area (the Green Heart). While technically more of a crescent (the southeastern edge of the rim is significantly less populated), the ring shape formed by connecting the four major cities of the region led to the use of the name "Ring City".