Ghent, the capital of East Flanders in Belgium, offers an unusual mix of compact city intimacy and metropolitan openness. With over 257,500 residents and 74,000 students, Ghent is Flanders’ second-largest city and its largest student city. It is at once multifaceted, historical and contemporary. As the local government, the City of Ghent encourages as many initiatives as possible from its residents, in order to create an open, solidarity-based, sustainable, intelligent and child-friendly city. Together we will build on ‘ghent: so much city’, both at home and in the wider world.