It is not only the proud people of Amsterdam who call their ring of canals unique. For centuries, the fame of these seventeenth-century canals has extended far beyond the Netherlands’ frontiers. This obviously comes from the area’s picturesque ambience, with its water and numerous bridges, its trees and canal-houses. But on a more technical level, the semi-circular design and the ideas underlying it, the water management system and the sheer size of this area, make the canal ring an urban