10 New Cities: Is This the Wild Solution to the Housing Crisis?

If you live in the Netherlands, you know the drill. You start your day with a coffee in one hand and your phone in the other, furiously refreshing your favorite housing app. You spot a decent apartment, get excited, and rush to a viewing—only to find yourself standing in a line that stretches around the block, surrounded by thirty other desperate souls who all want the same 50-square-meter box.

Or maybe you’ve just accepted your fate, resigning yourself to living with three roommates well into your thirties. It’s become the default conversation starter at birthday parties, networking events, and even awkward elevator rides: the housing crisis.

It’s frustrating, it’s exhausting, and quite frankly, it feels endless. But recently, a massive, almost sci-fi solution has been thrown onto the political table. Rob Jetten (D66) has pitched a plan that sounds like something out of a video game: building ten entirely new cities.

Yes, you read that right. Not new suburbs, not a few apartment blocks—entire cities.

So, grab another coffee (you’ll need it), and let’s dive into whether this is the brilliant fix we’ve been waiting for or just a beautiful pipe dream. We’ve gathered some points from tldr news, breaking down this most Dutch of conundrums.

The Reality Check: Why Your Wallet Hurts

Before we get to the islands-in-the-water part, let’s look at why things are so tough right now. The Netherlands is currently short about 390,000 homes. That number is so massive it’s hard to even picture, but you can see the side effects everywhere. We’ve heard horror stories of university students sleeping in tents because there aren’t any rooms available.

Buying a home used to be a standard adult milestone, like getting your driver’s license or figuring out how taxes work. Now, it feels like a distant luxury reserved for the privileged few.

Here is some math that might make you wince. Since 2015, the average disposable income in the Netherlands has gone up by about 25%. That sounds pretty good, right? Until you realize that house prices have skyrocketed by roughly 63% in that same period.

Today, the average home costs more than 10 times the modal income. If you’re trying to get your foot on the property ladder, the math simply isn’t mathing anymore.

How Did We End Up Here?

It’s easy to shake your fist at “the market,” but the truth is a bit more specific. We got here through a series of choices made over the last few decades.

The “good old days” of building

After World War II, the Netherlands was in full rebuilding mode. The government poured money into housing associations, and by the 1970s, the national housing supply had nearly doubled. It was a golden era for bricklaying.

But then the vibes shifted. In the 80s and 90s, support shifted away from direct social housing aid toward promoting home ownership through tax breaks.

The financial squeeze

Fast forward to the 2008 financial crisis. Mortgage debt had already risen sharply, and when the crash hit, the state responded by imposing new taxes on housing associations.

This forced those associations—the very people supposed to be building affordable homes—to sell off their stock just to pay the bills. Effectively, we dismantled the engine that built affordable housing right when we needed it most.

Why Can’t We Just Start Building?

You might be thinking, “Okay, we need homes. We have bricks. Why don’t we just start building?”

If only it were that simple.

The nitrogen headache

You’ve probably heard about the nitrogen crisis (stikstofcrisis). It’s the uninvited guest at every construction party. Strict environmental regulations mean you can’t build if the emissions from your construction site are going to harm nearby nature reserves. This has stalled or straight-up canceled countless projects.

The battle for space

Let’s be real, the Netherlands is small. We’re packed in tight, and vast parts of the country are already built on, farmed, or simply underwater. So whenever there’s talk of building something new, it becomes a constant juggling act between protecting nature, keeping agriculture going, and making room for cities to grow. Every square meter comes with an argument.

Political parties have thrown plenty of band-aids at the problem—from limiting refugee housing to freezing rents. But critics argue these are just short-term fixes that don’t solve the actual shortage of bricks and mortar.

The Bold Proposal: IJstad and the 10 Cities

This is where things get interesting. D66 isn’t talking about tweaking taxes or converting old office buildings. They want to revive the classic Dutch tradition: fighting the water and winning.

Their plan involves building 10 entirely new cities. The star of the show? A proposed city provisionally called “IJstad.”

What on earth is IJstad?

Imagine an artificial island in the Markermeer, sitting right between Amsterdam and Almere. This wouldn’t just be a few floating houses; we are talking about a serious metropolis.

Here are the specs:

• Size: About 2,500 hectares of new land.
• Capacity: Roughly 60,000 homes for more than 120,000 residents.
• Connectivity: It would be linked up with new rail and road connections to the mainland.

It’s a nation-shaping project designed to take the pressure off the Randstad without eating up existing farmland. It’s bold, it’s massive, and it’s very, very Dutch.

Read Also: The Dutch Housing Paradox

Can We Actually Pull This Off?

It sounds cool, but is it actually going to happen? Or is this just a nice drawing on a map to make us feel better?

The price tag

The estimated cost for IJstad and the transport links is around 20 billion euros. That sounds like a staggering amount of money—because it is. But here is the surprise: we can actually afford it.

The current public deficit is relatively low compared to EU standards. The fiscal space is there if the government decides this is a priority. Basically, we have the savings in the bank; we need to decide whether to spend them on this specific renovation.

Politics vs. Engineering

Engineering isn’t really the issue here. If there is one thing the Dutch are famous for, it’s managing water and creating land where there was none. We’re the world champions of sand and dikes.

The real hurdle is politics. Building a city takes decades—far longer than a typical election cycle. It requires long-term vision and commitment, something that isn’t always in high supply in modern politics. While some parties love the idea of building new land, others prefer densifying existing cities (building up rather than out).

So, What Now?

If this plan goes ahead, it could fundamentally change the map of the Netherlands and finally provide some breathing room in the housing market. Imagine not having to fight 50 other people for a rental!

But for now, it remains a proposal.

If you are hoping to buy a home soon, keep a close eye on these developments. While 10 new cities won’t appear tomorrow morning, the fact that politicians are finally proposing massive, structural solutions is a good sign. The political pressure is finally matching the urgency you feel every time you open that housing app.

Until then, keep saving, keep looking, and maybe keep your fingers crossed for IJstad.