You probably know Amsterdam: a typical medium-sized European city of around 720,000 inhabitants, in a region with population of 2 million. Its port is the fifth largest in Western Europe and its airport ranks fourth on the list. Its economy is very diversified and dynamic, and the population, after shrinking in the 1970s, has been growing strongly again since 1985.

Of course, my professional colleagues know Amsterdam mainly for the fact that, ever since the development of the canal rings, urban planning has actually always been a factor in city politics and as such, forms part of Amsterdam's cultural heritage.

I’m not sure if the term "compact city" is familiar to you but in my country it stands for a planning policy where the emphasis is on a painstaking economy in the use of resources; most of all space. In a country with the size of 10% of the surface of NSW and more than 16 million inhabitants in 2005 space is a precious good.

The land we have we recovered from the sea and from the rivers like Rhine, Maas and Schelde. We did so from the 12^th century on and still have to defend that achievement every single day. Like Barnouw wrote in his book "The making of modern Holland" : "The Dutch learned by bitter experience that their strength lay in organisation and co-operation" . In fact that formed the mental basis of our society. And our sense and love for planning. A planning that is described by another author as being: "tidy, well organised and from that emerging a superb sense for beauty". Authors like Lambert and Burke described "The making of the Dutch landscape" and "The making of Dutch towns" and they both used the verb "making" deliberately for - as they say - that country is fully man-made.

True or not, much in the Low Countries is created by men. And one is normally very careful with what you had and still continuously have to fight so hard for. And as we are a Calvinistic people, deep inside we still carry with us the sense that our presence is only a temporary stewardess and that we will be judged upon the state we left things behind.

Back to planning and the compact city. All good intentions could not prevent us Dutch planners from making a dramatic mistake in the 60ies. We had thought up such a wonderful paradigm for our urbanised country. After 15 years of post-war reconstruction we where on the threshold of a new phase; consolidation and economic prosperity would enable us to do what we had neglected so far: maintenance of what we had. In other words: urban renewal.

To enable the cities to concentrate fully on that task we would relieve them from the task to care for a growing population. The growth in population should be accommodated in new towns, surrounding these cities. Of course, Ebenhaezer Howard was on our minds and we dreamt the wonderful and very productive cultural and economic interaction between central city and surrounding garden cities would finally come true.

So, in the Netherlands, the sixties and seventies saw a policy of "combined deconcentration.

This policy was carried through with such verve, and such were the resources devoted to it, that the cities themselves threatened to fall into decline. The populations of Amsterdam and Rotterdam fell almost 15 % in those decades. This presented not only a quantitative problem but also a qualitative problem because those departing were mostly families in the middle social groups and in their most productive phase. The life of the city, and especially the demand and level of support for urban facilities, suffered greatly. This situation was all too painfully visible in every aspect of the city.

Moreover, those who had left the cities remained dependent on the urban agglomerations for their employment, giving rise to massive commuter flows. The open landscape between the agglomerations and their satellites was fragmented by ever-increasing transport infrastructure.

Between 1965 and 1980, the population of Amsterdam fell from 865,000 to 720,000, while incoming commuting rose from 80,000 to 145,000 between 1970 and 1985 and the quality of the supply of urban facilities declined to a distressingly low level. For these reasons, Amsterdam decided at the end of the 1970s to go against the national physical planning policy. It published a structure plan that was once again based on the self-serving city. Housing construction was again planned in and on the outskirts of the city, with a strong emphasis on concentration and intensified use of space.

'The "compact city" is a combined concept, which can be translated as a strong city in a concentrated metropolitan region, with the following goals:

This new compact urban policy was strongly promoted on two fronts: in the city's own urban planning policies and in negotiations with central government. The latter was necessary because the entire legislative and financial system was geared to building satellite towns, which represented a handicap in the realisation of urban goals.

This did not stop Amsterdam from putting the policy into practice. Urban renewal continued unabated, but at the same time, additional construction took place in and on the outskirts of the city. In the 1980s, 25,000 homes in the SV district were improved and 20,000 were demolished, for which 12,000 were rebuilt. In addition, 27,000 homes were built within the built-up area and 10,000 were completed in new suburbs.

At the national level, the definite turnaround occurred in 1994, when a new national policy plan for physical planning was adopted, in the Fourth Physical Planning Paper. The basic principles for the physical planning strategy were drawn directly from the compact urban policy, as follows:

'Policy for planning of urban districts is aimed at locating new residential, working and recreational areas and amenities in and as close as possible to large and medium-sized cities. The following local criteria should be applied, as an inter-related set:

Another special point that I should mention is that this document was published in combination with the first national environmental policy plan and the master plan for traffic and transport. This meant that national policy on physical planning, traffic and infrastructure, which until then had been fairly sharply segregated, were co-ordinated and, for the first time, a national environmental policy was formulated as the binding framework.

In both Amsterdam and Rotterdam expansion of scale and automation of harbour activities had, - like everywhere in the world - created a demand for new, extensive and modern harbours, while the existing inner-city facilities were increasingly impeded in their development by environmental demands.

The first area in Amsterdam to be considered was the so-called "Oostelijk" (or "Eastern") harbour area. This comprises a number of tongues of reclaimed land and was constructed only in the late nineteenth century, as part of the expansion of scale of the day. It was the homeport of a number of shipping lines, which provided connections with Indonesia, both for passengers and cargo. The last and most important of these lines, the KNSM, ceased operations in 1978. The last ships to use the harbour were those of the Hungarian fleet, Amsterdam having been the homeport of Budapest since the seventeenth century. However, in 1986 that also ceased to be the case.

The possibilities of converting this harbour area into a residential area had been studied since 1978. The problem was that, although the area is in the inner city and, as the crow flies, only a few kilometres from the centre itself, its accessibility is far from inviting. Added to this is the fact that the chronological order in which parts of the area became available did not lend itself to gradual development from the city centre outwards. It was the furthest peninsula, the KNSM Island, which became available first and it did not seem feasible to accommodate people there who would then have to gain access to their own house via a desolate and empty harbour area. Therefore no immediate start was made and the area remained empty. There was some doubt as to who had responsibility for it since the harbour authorities considered their responsibilities at and end and the development corporation found it too early to become active.

This was the time of the squatters' movement. The area was there, it was inviting, and it was not long before the squatters 'accepted' this invitation. For years, this was the second Christiana and the new residents' voice in the participation procedures accompanying the planning development was a major factor. This in itself was not a problem, since the early squatters were motivated by social considerations, including affordable accommodation for everyone. They even succeeded in gaining a government subsidy for making alternative plans, with the sole result that the planning process was delayed by a year to eighteen months in order to complete the discussions.

In the meantime, the City Council had also set its sights on the central area of the banks of the river IJ. This was another region which, given its central location within the historic inner-city, lent itself to restructuring. Inspiration for this could be drawn from examples in the United States and Canada, such as Baltimore, Toronto and Boston. Just as in these cities, the IJ bank project would act as a motor for economic and cultural regeneration.

Finally, from the early eighties onwards, the possibility of city expansion to the east was examined, to take the form of a new urban entity sited on what is currently water.

In 1988, my office published a strategic study, entitled "the Structure Sketch IJ-zone".

I quote:

All plans, which were currently in development for this area on the water, were thus interrelated. However, in terms of approach there were major differences, stemming from the Dutch tradition of social housing.

The administrative influence of government on the realisation of spatial planning policy was extremely strong in the Netherlands because the government was the largest financier and commissioning client. Housing was the driving force for spatial planning policy in the Netherlands: infrastructure policy followed as close second and only then was the influence of the private sector players to be felt.

This was certainly the case in the Oostelijk harbour zone, where 8,500 residential properties were to be built. It were the public bodies, municipality and government who took the initiative and the risk. In fact, government had to take the risk because there was considerable scepticism regarding the success of such a project. Compact, truly inner-city accommodation at a density of 100 dwellings per hectare, which is a fsi of 1.4, was seen as rather high-risk. It was especially the private developers who found the concept too risky, having been primarily active in suburban areas and believing as they did that the highest ideal towards which a human being can strive is to live in a semi-detached house with a front and a back garden!

Until that time, 85% of the 6000 residential properties realised annually comprised so-called social accommodation, that is to say, designed to be rented out at affordable prices. However, the desire to attract other social groups to the city led to the decision to build 50% free market sector dwellings in the Oostelijke harbour area. This would require the participation of risk-bearing market players and these were the very people who did not hold out much hope for such a venture.

The local authority was therefore faced with the task of giving the area an image, which would profile it as attractive in the minds of future residents. This was achieved by means of certain 'show projects', in particular the Entrepot West, built in the social sector but deliberately given a certain architectural allure.

This approach worked and the investors came forward, if somewhat gingerly to begin with. However, once the KNSM Island development with its extremely spectacular buildings by Kollhof and Albert, was semi-complete, the hesitation disappeared. The developers were practically queuing up to take part in the later phases, the Java Island and Borneo-Sporenburg. This enabled the City Council to place the highest possible quality demands on the development. The Java Island, for example, has an environment, which is unashamedly reminiscent of the canal-bounded historic city centre. Borneo-Sporenburg on the other hand is typified by the introduction of a completely new environment, that of low-rise buildings with an extremely high density of 100 per hectare. Remarkably inventive solutions have been found to provide very attractive use of space within the buildings as well as public areas around them.

It goes without saying perhaps that such density can only be achieved because of the presence of the water. The areas have no appreciable green parks or open spaces. The impression of space is given entirely by the expanse of water and for many people who wish to live here this is evidently a factor, which places the usual requirements in a different light.

This, then, is how the Oostelijke harbour area has been developed. It will be completed in 1998. The situation with regard to the central project is completely different. Here, residential property formed a very small part of the programme from the very outset. The zone is intended, after all, to be an extension of the existing city centre. It was designed as an area to which those activities which belong in the centre of a city, but which have outgrown the centre through their scale, can be (re)located. The programme's emphasis was thus on office space and urban provisions, for which the City Council was to a great degree reliant on private participation.

The Council prepared a plan for the area with which Dutch developers and investors were approached, the specific intention being to attract a number of market investors into entering public-private co-operation agreements.

After much negotiation, this was achieved. An agreement was formulated whereby banks, insurance companies and developers, (later merged into the ING Group) would jointly acquire 50% of shares in a development company, with the City owning the balance.

The City then found itself in a remarkable double role: both entrepreneur and guardian of the public interest. This was an untenable situation, not least because the development company strove towards a maximum building volume, concentrating on office development to the cost of facilities. Major construction developments with ever-higher buildings are subject to much resistance from the Amsterdam population and the process was put under increasing pressure.

Rem Koolhaas had come forward with a very clever, albeit extensive plan, to which the main objection - aside from the urban planning discussion - was that it must be realised in one fell swoop.

The private investors were not able to calculate their risk, especially owing to the resistance from the Amsterdam population, and backed out of the project. The City of Amsterdam was left with the legacy and in 1995 opted for a change of course: a much more "relaxed" programme with much less volume, more residential property and a much more gradual development tempo.

In the meantime, a covenant had been agreed with central government, which provided for the construction of new infrastructure for metro, train and car and which would provide a point of connection between the three on the Station Island. The construction of this infrastructure will take priority for a number of years and therefore major work on the project itself may not be expected before this infrastructure is in place. However, prior to this time the City is to go ahead with the construction of a Science Museum, (designed by Renzo Piano) a new centre of contemporary music and a passenger terminal. Discussions with the Amsterdam Stock Exchange are going on regarding a relocation from the city centre. The concept of a new media centre, geared to the information superhighway, is being discussed with Talcum, the Universities and the Public Library.

Residential housing plans have been developed for the Houthavens district and similar plans for the Westerdok Island are to be commenced.

Finally, let us turn our attention to the "IJburg" project.

IJburg is to be an island city on the southwestern edge of IJmeer, the stretch of water located to the east. To preserve the openness of IJmeer, IJburg has been designed as a group of islands rather than as a continuous stretch of land. Only six percent of IJmeer is to be converted into land. IJburg as a whole will occupy approximately 450 hectares. Water is never far away in IJburg. Living in IJburg will mean living at, on or near water.

The grandeur of IJmeer will remain visible or tangible throughout IJburg. For this and other reasons, the islands can be built on in relatively high densities without creating the feeling that the dwellings are too close together.

These islands, which together will comprise a new community to be known as IJburg, will, by the year 2010, be home to 18,000 dwellings providing accommodation for approximately 45,000 people. Apart from its residential buildings, IJburg will also have commercial and industrial premises, offices, schools, shops and other facilities.

The IJburg project has one major drawback: IJmeer, a special landscape feature which is very important from the point of view of both the environment and natural beauty, will undergo change at its border with Amsterdam. Any design for IJburg will therefore have to simultaneously create new landscape and ecological values, and pursue its objective with due regard for mobility, spatial planning and the environment.

Amsterdam has not made the task any easier. More building is unavoidable, but on the conditions, which I have just outlined: it must be close to the city, located somewhere that is readily accessible by high-grade public transport, with the least damage to nature in its immediate environment.

A great many factors have been taken into account in designing the islands. An important one is the original channel, an old fairway running through the IJmeer. The bed is very unstable, which means that no land can be created on the original channel.

The water surrounding the islands is the main public area in the plan. It can be compared with the squares and parks in a city: public space ever-changing in nature - as reflected in the name. This space, which will be surrounded on three sides by islands, is IJburg bay. This bay points towards the Buiten-IJ, where Durgerdam is also situated. The longitudinal dam, which currently interferes with the open prospect and with the flow of water around the islands, is largely being removed. The Buiten-IJ is connected to IJmeer by a spacious opening. Two wider lanes of water have been carved out on the eastern side of IJburg, between the islands, with one lane pointing towards Pampus and the other towards Muiden.

The land is distributed among four larger and two smaller islands, each with their own individual characters, ranging from urban and stony to rural and green. The methods used to create an island and the hydraulic engineering techniques involved help determine its character. Three islands are being created by sand embankments. These islands lie one metre above the water level. They are encircled by a slightly raised edge as a water defence against wave attack. The most easterly island lies in deeper water. This island is being partially raised and partially reclaimed and pumped dry behind a dyke with a surface level is approximately one metre below water level.

Each island points in its own particular direction. This is a deliberate departure from a structure where a geometrical street pattern determines the image and the water outside is treated as a purely residual form. Apart from the course of the navigation channel and the original channel, it is the numerous views across the water, which have determined the design. The main views look out to Schellingwouder Bridge, Durgerdam, Pampus and the opening alongside Lighthouse Island.

IJburg is not intended to be a group of freestanding islands, but a city unit in its own right. What contributes to this unity first and foremost is the infrastructure that connects the islands with the rest of Amsterdam and with the region. Secondly, IJburg is to have a "centre" of its own, complete with shops, restaurants and other public facilities. Finally, there are to be some special attractions in IJburg, intended to be enjoyed not only by the residents of IJburg but also by the residents of Amsterdam and the other inhabitants of the region: IJmeer beach, IJburg harbour and Diemer park.

IJburg is to be a district with its own facilities, offices and, of course, housing, but it is very heavily dependent on Amsterdam for employment, education and leisure facilities. This benefits IJburg as well as the rest of the city: IJburg keeps Amsterdam residents in Amsterdam, maintaining the social structure of the city, and ensuring that there is a sufficient level of support for cultural facilities, for example, or to sustain a flourishing club and community life. If IJburg were not built, 18,000 households (most of them with an average net income of 35,000 guilders per annum) would not be able to continue living in Amsterdam, although they would, generally speaking, remain working there. The city would obviously be impoverished thereby.

The islands are connected with Amsterdam (and each other) by a combination of two public transport services. A rapid tram service provides a link to the Central Station and to Amsterdam City Centre. In the direction of Diemen, IJburg will be connected to the eastern branch of the metro ring service.

The tramline runs at ground level in IJburg and intersects other traffic at level crossings. The longest distance for tram stop is approximately 400 metres. The metro line lies on a viaduct above ground level. Regional bus services supplement the rail system where necessary.

This combination model means that public transport is likely to account for forty-five percent of total peak-hour traffic, bicycles ten percent and cars fifty percent.

The IJtram can be expected to be fully operational with a full schedule around the year 2002, when 3,000 dwellings will be ready for occupation. The Eastern Ring line will be opened in 2007 at the earliest, when some 12,000 dwellings will be ready. Meanwhile, buses will be used. If it proves possible to accelerate the building process, as wishes the Amsterdam City Council, this will have a favourable impact on the uptake of public transport.

Compactness and urban nature are essential to the IJburg concept. The starting-point of the plan is an average density of sixty dwellings per hectare. That is 100 percent more than on most locations designated under the Supplement to the Fourth Policy Document on Physical Planning (VINEX).

Density involves more than just the number of dwellings per hectare, however. Districts with high densities only function well if there are compensating factors such as outlook, mix of functions and a public area which works smoothly and is attractive to look at.

IJburg will be like a part of a city, not a village.

The zones with the higher densities - sixty to eighty dwellings per hectare - are located mostly along public transport routes, at places where there is a heavy concentration of facilities, and along public banks offering some views of the water. The mix with other functions is also strongest in zones with higher densities.

The aim is to have a varied range of housing on each island, rather than a single financing category or housing type on each island. Each island is to be given its own distinctive character, be it maritime, green or urban, but the character will largely be determined by the way the public area is laid out, by the transitions between public and private and by the mix of functions and types of housing.

The creation of the islands for IJburg is not just a civil engineering matter but also an ecological project. It is linked to the integrated approach to land-use planning and to environmental issues for the whole of IJmeer. Another element is the "Nature Development Plan", where the aim is to curb, as far as possible, the negative consequences for nature of creating IJburg, to exploit the scope for natural development which IJburg affords, and to improve the eco-system in the area by establishing "wetlands" in IJmeer.

I mentioned these recent examples because I think that in the context of what we will try to achieve this weekend they might be useful. Sydney is - compared to Amsterdam - a very big but spread out city. Sydney is also a prominent global city, what means that it will certainly undergo a process of re-urbanisation.

The city offers many excellent opportunities to do so. Let’s try to work one of these out.