Huddinge is a modern city municipality with large areas of unspoilt countryside, commercial centres, colleges of further education and research. This is a short summary, partly from the different areas typical for Huddinge and partly about what Huddinge has to offer.

Strategic location
Proximity both to a capital city and to unspoilt country areas is an unbeatable combination for most people. This is what Huddinge can offer. There's plenty to do right here, but proximity to Stockholm City, only 15 minutes by commuter train, is certainly one attraction. Closeness to the countryside is also striking, regardless of whether you live in one of Huddinge's large single-dwelling residential areas or high-rise multi-dwelling areas.

A growing municipality
Before the railway reached the area in the 1860s, Huddinge was completely rural. Even as late as by the turn of the last century, only 2,000 people lived here. Now there are around 90,000 people living in Huddinge, the second largest municipality in the county of Stockholm and the 17th largest in Sweden.
Development is under way in three main areas: Flemingsberg, Länna and Kungens Kurva. The latter is the site of Stockholm's currently most expansive commercial centre.

Södertörn University aims to become a fully merited university and the Novum Research Park is expanding in Flemingsberg. The park covers a 100,000-150,000 square km site and is expected to become an internationally significant and forceful competitive centre for biotechnology.

The increase in population is being met by plans for the construction of more housing, primarily by increasing the density and supplementing existing residential areas. No new large residential areas in unspoilt countryside are planned any longer. Despite this cautious approach there is scope for 6,000-8,000 new homes during the coming 20 to 30 years.

Nature and environment
Much of the old rural features remain despite the size of the population and proximity to Stockholm City. Over half the area of the municipality consists of forests, mountains, lakes and arable land and the municipality’s overall plan provides the conditions for their conservation. There are seven nature reserves in the municipality: Björksättrahalvön, Gladöskogen, Gömmaren, Gömsta Äng, Orlången, Lännaskogen and Paradiset (the Paradise).

Communications
Huddinge is easy to get to whichever direction you approach from. By public transport you can take the commuter train, the metro, bus or overland train. The overland trains stop at Flemingsberg station and from there you can travel direct to and from Arlanda International Airport.

The planned roadway, Södertörnsleden, will be an important communications link between Haninge and eastern Huddinge towards the E4/E20 routes to the west. There are also extensive plans for trolley buses and a light-rail track which would link up certain parts of Huddinge as well as create even better communications with Stockholm.

Many visitors
5-10 million people come to Huddinge each year. From this perspective it is a good thing we are so accessible. What do all these millions of visitors do in Huddinge?

• Shop and experience (primarily at Kungens Kurva with the Heron City centre and the largest IKEA in the world)
  
• Study (at college and university level)
  
• Obtain health and medical care

Positive business environment
The companies, authorities and other organisations receiving all these visitors employ around 10,000 people (about one third of all those employed in the municipality).
This is generally referred to as the municipality’s collective visitor industry. By this we don't just mean tourism.

Our other commercial activities are rich and varied. We have companies active within most industries. Obvious profiles include Kungens Kurva which is the region's largest commercial centre, Flemingsberg with its research into primarily biotechnology and biomedicine, and the Länna Corporate Estate with factories, logistics and manufacturing activities. We also have around 1,500 small enterprises.

Knowledge-oriented municipality
The expansion of higher education and research has been a strategic development issue for the municipality for some time. In Flemingsberg we have Södertörn University, Huddinge University Hospital and the Novum Research Park with biomedical research and enterprise. Karolinska Institutet conducts around three quarters of its basic education programmes here and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) will also be establishing activities in the area shortly.

Plenty of cultural activities and other local associations
The range of leisure and recreation activities in Huddinge is rich and varied, along with a dearth of almost 500 societies and associations. Pleasant excursions and places of cultural interest were rated highly by Huddinge residents in a survey of municipalities (Kommunnyckeln 2000). Huddinge has a central library and five local district libraries. We also have plenty of sports and exercise facilities.

Multicultural community
Around 20 per cent of our population were born abroad. The municipality sees diversity as a resource for creativity and growth. Diversity is not only about ethnic origins but also about differences of gender, age, social position, lifestyle, experience, disability, religion, sexual preferences etc. and constitutes an extra value which the community can benefit from exploiting. The municipality strives to realise equal opportunities for all its inhabitants. Security in the residential environment, employment and knowledge of the language are essential for achieving good living conditions. Huddinge Municipality has a policy which states that a diversity perspective should permeate municipal organisations.

Commercial and shopping centres
In Huddinge Centrum people take precedence over cars. The example followed by the architects are the old town centres with winding streets and open spaces. Here you will find both large and small shops side by side. There are also commercial centres in Flemingsberg, Vårby Gård, Stuvsta, Segeltorp, Trångsund and Skogås.
Kungens Kurva is one of the largest commercial centres in the country with IKEA as its main attraction. In the 1990s, Hennes & Mauritz, Toys'R'Us, Toyota, OnOff and El-Giganten were among those choosing to open megastores here.
We have the only experience centre in Scandinavia, Heron City, with 18 cinema screens, a fitness centre, restaurants, bowling, shops and light and sound shows.

Old and new
The contrast between old and new is another feature characteristic of Huddinge. Within the municipality there are a number of residential areas from the post-war period such as Vårby Gård, Skogås and Flemingsberg. In contrast, Huddinge has its roots in the very old cultural landscape of Södertörn. The name Huddinge is believed to originate from "uddingarna", the first inhabitants of Huddinge who lived in Vårby on a headland, an "udde", on the shores of Lake Mälaren during the times of the Vikings.

During the Viking period Vårby was the most important village in the area. Many of the ancient relics in Huddinge can be found here, including the large grave site on the side of the hill called Vårbyberget. The Vårby Treasure (Vårbyskatten) was discovered here in 1871 - Sörmland's most significant find of silver. The treasure was probably buried during times of unrest during the 10th century. Today you can see the Vårby Treasure at the Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm.