Utrecht (agglomeration)


The city of Utrecht and the surrounding cities, villages, and townships form an agglomeration in the middle of The Netherlands. It is located entirely in the province of Utrecht, and is the eastern part of so-called North Wing the larger Randstad urban area.
The agglomeration has a population of about 690.000 people. The following towns are commonly recognized as part of the agglomeration:
TownPopulation
Utrecht 321,583
Nieuwegein60,878
Zeist51,071
Houten48,408
Stichtse Vecht62,518
IJsselstein34,217
Bilthoven42,058
Driebergen-Rijsenburg18,490
Vianen19,658
Bunnik14,553

This interpretation of what is to be acknowledged the greater Utrecht area, is the most common one. The physically joint urban area houses around half a million people. The other 100-200.000 inhabitants making up the entire agglomeration population mostly live in slightly more distant towns such as Zeist, Bunnik, Houten, Breukelen etc. These suburban towns and villages are situated, averagely about four of five miles from the outer districts of Utrecht city.
The larger economic, cultural and educational area of which the city of Utrecht is the main centre is equal to the province of Utrecht excluding the small agglomeration of Amersfoort and the town of Veenendaal. It provides shopping facilities, employment, some large hospitals, cinemas, recreation and other facilities for around 800.000 people. If Woerden, Breukelen and Culemborg are to by included in the greater Utrecht area the population would be around 750.000.
In the 1970s and 1980s, large residential areas were built in Maarssen and Zeist, as well as in the new town Nieuwegein. In the 1990s, construction of new houses was concentrated in the new town Houten and in the Leidsche Rijn neighbourhood.

Footnotes