ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the various sub-regional manufacturing economies, the aim being to highlight the strong contrasts which exist. The provinces of North Holland and Utrecht, which are dominated by the northern Randstad wing, contain 23 per cent of the Dutch population and produce approximately a quarter of the country's Gross Domestic Product. The eastern sector includes a small section of North Holland, but lies chiefly in the province of Utrecht. Unlike both the western and central sectors, its urbanisation pattern is fragmented, and the sector is in fact composed of a loosely knit cluster of cities, towns and commuter settlements arranged around an attractive spine of sandy, wooded country, the Heuvelrug and the Gooi Hills. Mention must be made of Schiphol Airport south-west of Amsterdam, for aircraft noise and the land requirements of the airport render it a major element in the structure of the northern Randstad.
