Spijkenisse did not become a town in gradual stages; it was created over a short time span. After the Second World War, the village of barely 2,700 inhabitants experienced a rapid growth as a result of the expansion of Rotterdam's port into Spijkenisse's 'backyard'. Thousands of people who found work in the new dock areas were housed on the spacious new estates around the original village.

By the mid-1970s, Spijkenisse already housed around 30,000 inhabitants. But the development had not yet come to an end. To cope with the migration from the large cities into the rural areas, the government designated a number of centres of urban growth. One of these centres was Spijkenisse. Between 1978 and 1990 the town has build nearly 15,000 dwellings. Next to this, Spijkenisse has also created a wide range of facilities.