City+Land+Use

**City Land Use**

Most of Amsterdam is below sea level so the Dutch built dikes to keep water out and drained swamps because it consisted of very little land. With a limited amount of land, the Dutch were forced to use their land efficiently and don't let any square inch to waste. The Netherlands is today one of the world's most densely populated countries. Amsterdam is filled with narrow canals and few narrow streets. The city contains about 1,300 bridges, needed to cross over the canals. Amsterdam provides several forms of transportation, by rail-road, water, road, and air. Public transportation is favored to reduce automobile use, but bicycles are still used by one-fifth of the population as transportation. The docks are located at the coast of the IJ, its seaports is considered to be one of the most important on Europe. The Schiphol Airport is also one of the busiest in Europe and a major hub airport.