Traffic routes have had an impact on Espoo's cultural environment

The supply of post had to be ensured, even when the sea route could not be used during adverse weather conditions. This meant that there needed to be a road between Turku Castle and Vyborg Castle. Vyborg Castle was founded in 1293 and the construction of the road began at the turn of the 14th century. The founding of Raseborg Castle in the 1370s further increased the importance of the road. The road is called the Great Coast Road or the King's Road. The road alignment is almost completely preserved under the current road network, and the section closest to its original condition is the section running through the Träskända park. 

Another significant road that has cut through Espoo for centuries is Meritie (“Sea Road”) which branches off towards north at Espoonkartano. It ran between Häme Castle, Raseborg and the coast. Meritie is considered to be a medieval route; it was marked on the maps in the 16th century.

The construction of the Helsinki–Turku shortcut road (Turuntie, main road 1) was started as state relief work in 1932, in the middle of the worst of the depression. Despite the depression, the road was made to a high standard. As a novelty of the time, the Pitäjänmäki–Leppävaara section of the road was paved with concrete.

Turuntie, or main road 1, was built from the 1930s until 1951 and it partly follows the Great Coast Road. The part of the road running from Munkkiniemi in Helsinki to Gumbö in Espoo was the first motorway in Finland. It was completed in 1962. Turuntie cut through Espoo and especially the village landscapes of Muurala and Karvasmäki. Lake Kirkkojärvi was drained to make way for the road. 

Vihdintie is part of the former main road 2 between Helsinki and Pori. Its construction began in 1942, but it was not completed until 1957 between Helsinki and Karkkila. The road became known as “Tannerin tie” (“Tanner’s road”) because politician and minister Väinö Tanner had a farm in northern Espoo, which is said to have influenced the alignment of the road.

The Helsinki bypass, or Ring III, reflects the growth of Helsinki's population and traffic in the 1950s and 1960s. The construction of Ring III began in 1962 and it changed the landscape of Espoo forever. Its alignment pierced the field-filled landscape at Espoonkartano and in Muurala. Due to Ring III and migration, the construction of housing accelerated, and the supermarket Maxi-market was opened in Leppävaara in 1971 and the Jorvi Hospital in 1976.

Ring II, or Kilonväylä or regional road 102, was designed in the 1960s, but the alignment was finalised in 1996. Ring II extends from Länsiväylä to Turuntie, serving south–north traffic in southern and central Espoo. However, as an important transverse connection, the road has been named Ring II.   

Ring I circles the cape of Helsinki, running from Itäväylä (Itäkeskus, Helsinki) to Länsiväylä (Keilaniemi, Espoo). Its construction began in the 1960s and was fully completed in 1980. The western end of Ring I in Espoo was partly built on the gun transportation roads of the Helsinki land fortification. The roads ran between Keilaniemi and Mestarintunneli during the First World War. The road has changed the cityscape, especially in Laajalahti where it separates the residential area from the shore of the Laajalahti bay.

The predecessor of Länsiväylä was Jorvaksentie, a two-lane road from Helsinki to Jorvas, built in the 1930s. As the population of southern Espoo grew, it became insufficient, which is why a motorway was built to replace it. The road impacted, among other things, the construction of the Westend and Haukilahti areas. The section of the motorway that runs from western Lauttasaari to Kivenlahti was built according to the original road alignment, but the rest of it is new.  Länsiväylä was completed between Kivelahti and Kirkkonummi in 2013. 

Länsiväylä is the busiest motorway in Finland. The motorway is also important in terms of the cityscape. The office area and its towers and evening lights that are reflected on the waters of Keilaniemi is an impressive sight that can be seen on Länsiväylä and it is a distinctive feature of Espoo. On the south side of the Länsiväylä road, the view highlights the beautiful old villa of Karhusaari. 

Regular steamship services from Helsinki to the western archipelago began in the 1870s. Goods traffic improved and the transport connections influenced the construction of summer villas. The first summer residents of Espoo were wealthy Helsinki residents who rented their cabins from fishermen or farmers. However, summer villas built by city residents quickly became more common and by the start of the 20th century, the archipelago and coast of Espoo had dozens of new villas that at first imitated manors but soon tried to capture a sense of lightness and playfulness with glassed-in verandas, tower motifs, balconies and woodcarvings. A villa complex typically also included a lush garden, gazebo, boathouse and bath house.  Villa life was at its height in the 1930s. Steamship traffic between Helsinki and Espoo continued until the Second World War.

The completion of the Pasila–Karjaa railway running through Espoo in 1903 had an impact on the development of the cultural landscape in the areas located by the tracks. As a result of the train service, commuting to Helsinki daily became possible. The first population centres in Espoo were created along the railway. For example, the plots parcelled out near the railway stop in Kilo were spacious and the villas built on them were of a high architectural standard. Several of the villas located by Kilontie have survived, the most handsome of which is probably the Jugendstil-inspired Villa Tallbo from 1911.  

The plots created in Leppävaara were much smaller than in Kilo and the buildings were modest compared to Kilo's villas. They were also often self-built. On the northern side of the railway was formed the so-called Harakka area, nowadays Lintuvaara, where more than 200 plots had been sold by the 1920s.  

In addition to other building work, the construction of rail transport has significantly changed the city in the early decades of the 21st century. The effects of this concern both the movement of people and the cultural environment. For example, the construction of the metro had a direct impact on Karhusaari, where, in addition to the metro tunnel shaft, a refrigeration plant was built, which further changed the area of Karhusaari. The construction of metro stations has indirectly led to things such as the closure and demolition of old shopping centres and the building of new ones or the expansion of existing shopping centres. Similarly, the alignments and stops of the Jokeri Light Rail and the infrastructure required by it impact the construction and services of residential areas. However, the effects and their extent can only be seen in the future. 

Jokeri Light Rail: The first plans for a high-speed tram line from Itäkeskus in Helsinki to Leppävaara in Espoo were published in 1990. However, the construction did not begin; instead, the bus route 550 between Westend in Espoo and Itäkeskus in Helsinki started in 2003. The construction of the Jokeri Light Rail began in 2019, and it will start operating at the beginning of 2024 at the latest.

West Metro: A plan resembling the West Metro was first presented in connection with the plans for the Helsinki Metro in 1968. However, the West Metro, which continues the Helsinki Metro line, was only built in 2007–2019.  The first part of the West Metro was completed in 2018, and the second part from Matinkylä to Kivenlahti started operations on 3 December 2022.