I amsterdam - IJburg

The demand for housing in Amsterdam has always been high, and remains so. Because of a lack of large, new locations for residential property available within the city boundaries, the Amsterdam City Council voted in 1996 to build on a series of eight artificial islands in the IJmeer. Two of these, Haveneiland and Steigereiland, are now occupied. Construction of all 18,000 homes in this new district, IJburg, will be completed around 2015. IJburg will then be home to a total of about 45,000 people and be will bring 12,000 jobs to the area. IJburg has been planned as a self-contained district with its own shops, offices and schools. The housing in IJburg is very varied, including low-rise blocks of flats and terraced and detached houses. All sectors are catered for - from social rentals to mid-priced housing the higher-priced, owner-occupied dwellings. Since Spring 2005, IJburg and the Zeeburgereiland district have a high-speed tram link to the city centre. This so-called 'IJ Tram' (tram 26) runs to Centraal Station and take about 18 minutes. The service operates every five minutes in peak hours and every 10-15 minutes at other times. See www.ijburg.nl  for more information.