VALUE – Valuation and strengthening of urban green spaces in landscape planning in cities

The primary goal of the project VALUE – Valuation and strengthening of urban green spaces in landscape planning in cities was to strengthen green structures in densely built cities. This helps promote the ability of cities to prepare for and adapt to climate change.

During the project, a regional green factor was developed as a tool for planning land use. The tool is intended for assessing the quantity and quality of both ecosystem services and biodiversity. The tool helps to better consider the preservation and development of green structure in land use planning.

The tool from the VALUE project was developed for land use planning in areas larger than individual blocks. The regional green factor was piloted in three areas in Espoo: in Vaskitsanmäki, Nupurinkallio, and central Leppävaara.

Espoo also uses a block-specific green factor that guides the more detailed planning of yards.

In Espoo, the VALUE project is connected to the Nature-wise Espoo project, which supports us in safeguarding and increasing biodiversity even further. We want to care for the nature of our city as the urban area grows. In order for nature and Espoo residents to continue to feel well in the future, we need residents, communities and companies to join in.

The goals and development measures for Espoo in the Nature-wise Espoo project have been compiled into a roadmap(external link, opens in a new window). We will continue to collect more data, specify plans, and develop operating methods until 2035.

The project VALUE was a joint project between the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa and Espoo, as well as Aalto University and Green Building Council Finland. The implementation period for the project was from 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2025.

The project also included Jyväskylä, Järvenpää, Lahti, Oulu, Porvoo, Tampere and Turku. The project received funding from the European Regional Development Fund.

Read more about the project VALUE(external link, opens in a new window), the current state of the green structure, and the piloting and introduction of the tool.