Utrecht is a distinct hometown and destination all its own, despite being only a 25-minute train ride from Amsterdam. It’s home to an astounding 29 universities and colleges attended by 70,000 students from 125 countries. The biggest is Utrecht University, founded in 1636, which nurtures Europe’s seventh-most educated citizenry. Education and research account for most of the local economy and Utrecht ranks second in Europe for Labour Force Participation. The city’s medieval urban grid bursts with Dutch history that can only be possible in a place that for centuries was the cultural and religious heart of the nation. But city leaders are looking to the future. The Utrecht 2040 vision for Healthy Urban Living plans to maintain leads in transit (currently #18) and add green spaces (#20 for Nature & Parks). Creating new urban hubs and transportation links to ease crowding and congestion are key to the ambition of making Utrecht a 10-minute city. The pre-eminent example of the vision in action is Leidsche Rijn, the largest new development in the Netherlands, with 30,000 houses as well as office and industrial space. The full build-out, including a new hospital, schools, retail, places of worship and public transit to the city centre, should be ready by the end of the decade.