Rijswijk is unique. It is the only city in the Netherlands where the contours of the built-up area coincide completely with the municipal boundaries. Only the A4 motorway that cuts through the city should not be formally included.
As a result, no less than 97% of Rijswijk is a built-up area. Together with Capelle aan de IJssel, the city leads the ranking of fullest cities in the Netherlands.
All the more striking that Rijswijk is a fast grower in the Randstad. More than 10,000 new homes are on the docket, an increase of no less than 33%. Much more than other cities. To this end, it is not the estate zones or parks that are affected, but rather the existing urban area is densified. In fact, spaces are created within the existing city; parks, squares, passages, etc. to add value to new construction.
The city centre has been given a new green Bogaardplein, the open Kesslerveld will be built next to the station and in the Havenkwartier each developer will hand in a fifth of his land to ‘give back to society’. This will allow street profiles to be widened, public quays to be constructed and so-called pocket spaces to be realised; Collective spaces for everyone in the midst of a densely populated city.
We have been working with our office in Rijswijk for almost ten years now. First at the Havenkwartier and later also at the Kesslerpark, transformation areas that together account for 5,000+ homes. It was a discovery to see how the municipality of Rijswijk, sandwiched between The Hague, Delft, Westland and Voorburg, can symbolize the future of the Randstad. Where the limits are reached, urban densification is not an exercise in filling gaps, but new construction is a confirmation of landscape structures and a means of adding value to the city.
Making space especially when it is scarce.
Henk Hartzema, LinkedIn February 14, 2026
Image: Rijswijk in a nutshell. Studio Hartzema, 2022
