ABSTRACT
During the second half of the 19th century, urban activities became ever more independent from the urban area and became dispersed over a large, traditionally rural area surrounding the city. The acceleration in the development of the residential elements of this process is usually attributed to factors such as a poor quality of life in the cities, rising affluence and substantially improved transportation connections. In Amsterdam, the affluent were the first group in a position to leave the city and did so in rising numbers that were disconcerting to municipal authorities. City council member and President of the Amsterdamsche Bank, F.S. van Nierop, for example, calculated that the taxable income of the taxpayers that moved away between 1885 and 1891 exceeded 12.5 million guilders, while that of newcomers amounted to a mere 7.5 million. “The city’s loss of 5 million in taxable income over the past six years is an ominous sign,” remarked Van Nierop (1893, 209).
