More services for the Waterfront Walkway and parks

Over 5,000 Espoo residents responded to the My Espoo on the Map survey, which was carried out for the second time last autumn. In their responses, residents highlighted the importance of safety and public transport connections and expressed their wishes for improved public spaces.

The My Espoo on the Map survey collected residents’ experiences and development ideas once again last autumn.

“The first survey was carried out in cooperation with Aalto University in 2020, and the aim was to create a repeatable resident survey. The objective was to collect basic data on the opinions of residents throughout Espoo,” says researcher Laura Malm-Grönroos from the City Planning Department. She is responsible for the My Espoo on the Map survey.

“The responses are available to everyone working in the city, not just us city planning employees, and the responses can serve as a voice for residents in various projects. This data can be supplemented with the projects’ own resident interactions,” says Malm-Grönroos.

She mentions one of the new survey questions which addressed the perceived safety of the city environment. The results surprised her.

“Children and young people, most of whom were of lower secondary school age, named more safe than unsafe places in their everyday environment. Adults named more unsafe than safe places. This is interesting,” she says.

Another interesting observation was that children and young people felt that nature – forests and outdoor areas – was less safe than adults did. Children are afraid of ticks, wild animals, getting injured from falling, and getting lost.

Malm-Grönroos says that the areas that are perceived as safe and unsafe have now been marked on the map, so that related factors can be examined in city planning.

“By identifying safety-related factors that can be addressed through city planning, we will be better equipped to improve safety in the future.”

According to the survey, Espoo residents want more diverse environments and opportunities for different activities. For example, residents would like playgrounds to include activities that are suitable for teenagers, as well as cafés, toilets and litter bins next to the most popular trails, the Waterfront Walkway and parks.

“In general, people want to develop public spaces for all Espoo residents and age groups,” says Malm-Grönroos, adding that there were no completely outlandish suggestions.

Many people particularly wished for walkways next to ski tracks. In other words, people did not like that certain trails were only available to skiers in winter.

“In addition, people wished for direct public transport connections to urban centres and Helsinki as well as north-south cross-traffic connections.”

When the respondents marked the places they use most in everyday life, shopping locations ended up as the most popular choice. A total of 5,000 respondents marked 8,000 shopping spots on the map.

The second most popular places were those offering culture, hobbies and other opportunities for rest and relaxation.

All responses to the survey were saved and can be used in city planning and other projects in the city.

“It’s possible that the suggestions will be taken into account in ongoing or planned projects, but there is, naturally, no guarantee of that,” says Malm-Grönroos.

More detailed survey results and analyses will be published on the City of Espoo’s website in the coming years.

More information about /node/5094My Espoo on the Map.

Text: Salla Vuori.

This article was originally published in the Espoo-lehti magazine 1/2025. Read other articles in the Espoo-lehti.