In praise of Common Sense, the doctoral thesis by the physical planner Coen Van Der Wal, describes the design history from 192O onwards of all new settlements in the polders surrounding the current IJsselmeer. This land reclaimed from the IJsselmeer, the former Zuiderzee, now constitutes the areas known as the Wieringermeer, the Noordoostpolder, Eastern and Southern Flevoland. The most substantial part of the book consists of a description of the physical planning process of the four polders and the more than twenty villages and towns in these polders, from Slootdorp in the Wieringermeer to Zeewolde in Southern Flevoland. Extensive planning histories of Lelystad and Almere are included. The book begins with a discussion of the place occupied by the physical planner in the process of planning and realizing these new settlements. Subsequently, the backgroundinformation for a better comprehension of the historical description of the settlements is presented. This part deals with the devel