“The Cuse,” is the economic hub of the central New York region. But after two centuries of industry, Syracuse is reinventing itself as—appropriately—The Green Apple. A decade after the founding of The Clean Tech Center, a clean energy business incubator program and one of the first of its kind in the country, the incubator today boasts 30 businesses—and growing. The commitment to cleaner industry and livability extends to daring city planning, with the city set to remove a 1.4-mile stretch of Interstate 81 that has sliced through its downtown since the 1950s. Replacing it will be a “community grid” focused on reconnecting neighborhoods, easier mobility, and placemaking. It’s all going to entice the thousands of University of Syracuse students (attending the #7-ranked University in the nation among midsize cities), as well as the legions of others attending the area’s college and professional schools to put down roots. The city’s 150 parks, two hospitals and two large summer jazz festivals that give the city a #19 ranking in our Culture subcategory, will only help the retention cause.