Reflections from the Academy of Urbanism’s Congress 2025 in Utrecht

Within 10 minutes of arriving, it was no surprise why the Academy of Urbanism had chosen the city of Utrecht to host their annual congress based around the theme of healthy urban living. The city so clearly embodies the principles of healthy placemaking – a compact urban core; lively streets; dedicated cycling infrastructure, canalside walking trails; and green infrastructure everywhere.

I was fortunate to attend the congress on behalf of Tibbalds, and get to meet a huge variety of people working across different sectors. The three day event brought together built environment professionals, academics and urban enthusiasts across a packed schedule of talks, workshops and most importantly, tours. As a live laboratory, a key theme of the programme was to get out and explore and experience the built examples of Utrecht’s approach to healthy placemaking. This included cycle tours to nearby urban extensions of Vathorst and Leidsche Rijn, and a visit to a more central development known as Cartesius,led by locals and professionals.

The Netherlands is a model polycentric country, which, when combined with a world class public transport system and active travel infrastructure, means that people can easily live, work and enjoy different cities as part of their daily lives. Utrecht is in the geographic heart of the country, and well located to benefit from this polycentricity. It is the fastest growing city in the Netherlands, and the municipality is planning to accommodate a population that is forecast to grow from 350,000 to 470,000 by 2040. There is a real challenge to accommodate this in a sustainable way that retains the essence of what people love about the city, and ensure it is affordable and accessible to all to benefit from.

Key themes and discussions

We visited the first completed phase of Cartesius, which is a new central district in the city, shaped around the Blue Zone Principles – that have been shown to lead to longevity and improved long term health, found in areas such as Okinawa, in Japan. Once completed, it will provide around 3,000 homes at a variety of tenures. It is based around a walkable and cyclable neighbourhood, designed for community interaction and access to food growing areas. A ‘green loop’ weave around the perimeter of the neighbourhood to encourage everyone to take 10,000 steps a day, and at least 30% of the development will be green space. The most remarkable element was that we weren’t shown around by the architect, developer, or applicant, but by two university researchers. This development forms Utrecht’s first ‘Heart of Health’ development, backed by a real-time scientific monitoring program led by UMC Utrecht, with WHO and local universities, aiming to test urban design as a public health intervention. This involves the researchers actively monitoring and supporting the establishment of budding community initiatives; measuring social cohesion, but also encouraging residents to play an active role in ensuring their neighbourhood is healthy, by e.g. attaching air quality monitors to their bikes.

Cartesius - a development of around 3,000 new homes at the city's periphery, based on the Blue Zone principles (left image).

It was incredible to see a series of landmark projects across the city, many of which were bold decisions taken by officials to prioritise quality of life for residents.

Restoring the canal:

The first is the remarkable transformation of the Catharijnesignel, re-opening the medieval canal encircling the old town. This was turned into a 12-lane motorway in the 1970s, the first instalment of what was supposed to be a larger road network across the city. Fortunately, starting in the early 2000s, the city began work to remove the road, reinstate the waterway, and transform the space into a green-blue corridor for people and wildlife.

Cycling infrastructure at scale:

In August 2019, the city completed the world’s largest bicycle parking garage under the main railway station in the city – a three level facility that holds in excess of 12,500 bikes (including spaces for cargo and tandem bikes). The garage is fully automated with digital signage, integrated rental and service points, and a gentle ramp to cycle directly in and out without dismounting.

The vertical forest:

A new landmark residential development Wonderwoods, in the city centre. This 104m tower has just opened earlier this year, and it is clear to see that urban greening has been the focus of the architectural vision. It is covered in approximately 1ha of vertical forest, including thousands of plants and trees which have an automated irrigation system, rainwater harvesting, and a dedicated team of abseiling landscapers to look after them. The planting will absorb CO2, reduce urban heat stress, and create new habitats for birds, bees and butterflies. Whilst visually impressive, the ongoing maintenance of this green infrastructure will be the key to its success.

Across the congress, the afternoons were reserved for talks, knowledge sharing and networking. I was struck by how core themes relating to healthy placemaking are implemented in similar and diverging ways, ultimately seeking to have a healthier population across people’s lifespans. A few notes from talks that stood out to me:

• Kevin McGeough from Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and the measures they are incorporating to help deliver a healthy new town through hardware (design to enable healthy lifestyles); software (instilling wellbeing); and ‘heartware’ (empowering residents).

• Marielle Beenackers, a researcher and lecturer at Erasmus MC summarised her research into the impacts of higher density living and health inequalities. As with most urban areas, there are variances in life expectancy and healthy life years across different geographic areas, and this research focussed on how to reduce inequality in pursuing healthy urban living. Collating research, post-occupancy analysis, and monitoring, they found a positive relationship with public infrastructure, transport, and economics with density, but a more negative relationship with the environmental impact, social impact and health impact of increased densities. Concluding that a healthy city for all protects residents (from pollution and climate risks); provides (access to affordable healthy food, and space for recreation); invites (people to use neighbourhoods and spaces); and includes (everyone, especially vulnerable groups). Generally the influence of ongoing monitoring and academic research throughout the process was really noticeable.
• Marcus Horning, the director of planning in Malmo, and their 3-30-300 policy; where every person should be able to see at least three trees from their home, school, or workplace building; each neighbourhood should have at least 30% tree canopy coverage; and every resident should live no more than 300 metres from a high quality public green space.
• Cedric Ryckaert, a teacher in Belgium, explained how he almost single handedly led the transformation of his school playground from typical hard ball courts with lines on the ground, into a biodiverse climate-adaptive playable landscape. The process was led by a landscape architect, but co-designed with the children and parents, and results in an environment for learning, where rainwater is harvested and re-used, lessons happen outdoors, food is grown, and as a result social cohesion and children’s wellbeing has improved considerably.
• Closer to home, Ben Wilson, Divisional director of development at Glasgow City Council, explained how a series of strategic landscape and SuDS interventions are being used to kickstart the regeneration and growth of some of Glasgow’s inner city neighbourhoods such as Sighthill and Dundashill. This green infrastructure approach solves several problems at once: helping to remediate contaminated land; create new cycle and pedestrian links; resolve local flood management issues with Europe’s first ever smart canal system; and providing residents with woodlands, wetlands, natural play, and allotments.

Delegates from all over Europe bring their findings from delivering healthy places.

Personal observations

A strong policy framework

Change across the city is underpinned by a really strong spatial strategy focussing on Utrecht as a compact, liveable 10-minute city that prioritises inclusivity in housing, public space, employment, and transport. This was referred back to several times in talks across the talks. The strategy coordinates walking, cycling, public transport and shared mobility systems at a regional level, meaning they interlink seamlessly with neighbouring areas. On housing, the strategy focusses densification in nine key areas of the city, which are well connected and in close proximity to services, including Leidsche Rijn and Cartesius that we visited. The ‘barcode’ approach uses a visual framework to map spatial needs such as housing, shops, community infrastructure etc. and layers these side by side in coloured stripes to work out how neighbourhoods need to optimise multifunctional uses by e,g. reducing hardstanding and increasing green infrastructure. A more radical policy includes transforming 1% of car parking spaces on residential streets per annum into spaces for people, greenery, and bike storage.

Vibrant street life

Helped no doubt by the university and its young demographic, the history and culture, but also long-term planning and integrated approach to urbanism - the city felt young, vibrant, and full of street life. The dense core creates a walkable environment, but it is so clear that they are planning for people, not cars. Pavements are wide, curbs low, and as much of the street is used for activity as possible. Cafes spill out into the public realm, and people are encouraged to dwell. Water is woven into the city, and people are allowed to get close to it, use it, and swim in it.

Everyday life encourages activity and socialising across the city.

Schools as community hubs

Something which felt entirely different to the UK was the approach to schools. Schools are seen as pillars of the community, open for a variety of activities throughout the week outside of teaching time. In design terms, creativity is encouraged, as seen in this example of the Dafne Schippers Bridge – a walking and cycling route – which passes directly past the playground and over the roof of a Montessori primary school. In many cases, playgrounds have minimal planted boundaries, and are open for use in the evenings and weekends. Many are designed to be climate-resilient as part of the Schoolpleinen van de Toekomst (“Schoolyards of the Future”) programme. This creative approach sees these essential pieces of infrastructure as community incubators, friendly and innovative spaces that take on several roles, to be used by everyone throughout the week.

The Dafne Schippers Bridge creates a playful continuous cycling route up and over a primary school.

Lessons for practice

Some headlines to take away, and inspiration for work back in the UK:

1. Think creatively – and demonstrate by doing. Visible interventions often speak louder than policy documents. In the case of Utrecht, they undertook this at a large motorway-removing scale, but installing temporary bike lanes and public spaces can be just as successful.
2. Tweak the small stuff. Simple regulatory changes — like removing barriers to outdoor seating, relaxing planting rules, or allowing flexible use of school grounds —can dramatically enhance street life, social cohesion, and public health.
3. Bridge research and practice. Utrecht excels at the integration of data, research and shared learning into live projects, enabling the industry to learn from the theory and vice versa. This should happen both in tandem with building and also post-occupancy.
4. Front load infrastructure. Schools, stations, and affordable housing are vital to creating a sense of place. Placemaking starts with early investment and delivery of these.
5. The success of integrated multi-level governance. Utrecht’s approach is strengthened by multi-level governance —city, province, and national entities working in sync. Aligning priorities across planning, transport, housing, and health enables joined-up, long-term urbanism.
6. The importance of public transport, and where possible, polycentricity. The experience of moving around without a car is seamless, and allows people to stay connected to the places and people that are important to them, without relying on private vehicles.
7. Make Stewardship a Long-Term Expectation. Developers and landowners have a role beyond the build phase. Utrecht illustrates how long-term stewardship of green space, housing, and public infrastructure helps create quality places.

Final thoughts

The Netherlands has a reputation for forward thinking urbanism, and it was fantastic to see this actioned through a real-life case study in Utrecht. Utrecht shows what’s possible when cities plan boldly and put people first. The challenge now is to take these insights home, adapt them to local context, and push for places that are not only functional, but joyful, inclusive, and resilient.