Editorial: Espoo is a growth story 

This article has originally been published in the Espoo Magazine 4/2021
Read other articles in the Espoo Magazine 4/2021

2022 will mark 50 years since Espoo was declared a city. Although Espoo is a young city, it has a long and impressive history. Espoo celebrated its 550th anniversary in 2008, and next year we will celebrate Espoo as a city.  

On the eve of this anniversary, we have begun implementing a new strategy, known as the Espoo Story, that was approved by the City Council in October. 

Espoo is a growth story, and it is our task to ensure that our city’s growth is sustainable, resident-centric and of high quality while maintaining Espoo’s competitiveness. During this council term, we must address the challenges posed by the coronavirus, implement the health and social services reform, and provide services for Espoo residents in an economically sustainable manner. So there are definitely enough challenges for us to tackle! 

Our local nature, safety, expertise, entrepreneurship, innovation, social and healthcare services, and participation are particularly important matters to Espoo residents. These elements also appear in the Espoo Story, starting from the city’s values. We have also included themes that are important to Espoo residents in our cross-administrative development programmes. These programmes serve as collaborative platforms for developing, testing and piloting new solutions for the benefit of Espoo residents. And we will also invite residents to get involved in this work. 

Espoo has changed enormously during its fifty years as a city. It is now time to celebrate and also to look to the future. Let’s write another successful growth story for Espoo’s next fifty years! 

Jukka Mäkelä, Mayor 

Published in the Espoo Magazine issue 4/2021