Master plan information event at Iso Omena: information and discussion about the future of Espoo

Espoo is growing and the city needs to develop along with it. To support sustainable and controlled growth, a decision has been made to draw up a master plan for Espoo that looks to the year 2060. At the event, residents were provided with information about the master plan via info lectures held every hour, on the hour: what the master plan is, why it is being prepared and how. In addition to the info lectures, the event featured themed stands with maps, etc. on display, and master planning experts were in attendance throughout the evening to answer questions and engage in discussion with participants.

The master plan is a general land use and transport plan that anticipates the development of the city in the coming decades. While Espoo currently has several component master plans, it does not have a master plan covering the entire city. In the preparation of the master plan now underway, the city is being examined as a whole, meaning that the planning will involve making decisions on matters such as the locations of centres and main routes.

The groundwork for the master plan has included the organisation of Espoo 20X0 events and the collection of residents’ views via the My Espoo on the Map survey. The collected materials are now being utilised in the preparation of the objectives of the master plan, which will be completed in early 2023. The master plan draft will be completed in 2023–2024 and the plan proposal will be completed in 2025–2026. After this, the master plan will proceed to the approval phase in 2027.

The work is being carried out in cooperation with residents. In addition to participating in informal events such as the Iso Omena event, residents will be able to influence the master plan later during the official public display of the draft plan and plan proposal by submitting opinions and proposals on the draft plan and proposal, respectively. In the coming years, the City will also be organising several more events where residents will have the opportunity to participate, express their opinions and comment on the master plan at different stages of its preparation.

Espoo aims to become carbon neutral by 2030. In order to mitigate climate change, the master plan must therefore anticipate and promote sustainable modes of transport, such as walking and cycling.

Public transport based on rail transport is the future of Espoo. Focusing new construction along existing good transport connections and supplementing existing areas is a climate-wise approach.

At the information event, people expressed interest in the role of buses and even proposed electric buses. However, the fact is that the throughput of rail transport is better than that of buses. Furthermore, developments such as the light rail line raise interest in other land use besides housing as well, facilitating the building of diverse urban environments, including shops.

One of the issues highlighted in the questions asked by participants was the mobility of older people. Transport solutions should be planned in a way that ensures unobstructed access to services such as health care and shops via public transport. The master plan looks to 2060 – perhaps by then mobility will also be facilitated by automated cars and robot taxis.

The master plan will also influence the placement of workplaces. The locations of industrial areas and offices must be planned with transport solutions in mind. A growing city needs more services and new workplaces as well. Espoo must also have services available for new residents moving into the city.

It is difficult to assess housing preferences even in the short term, let alone in the long term. However, they are likely to vary according to age and life situation. Therefore one of the aims of the master plan is to create the preconditions for diverse housing. In practice, this means e.g. that different areas will emphasise different types of housing, such as apartment buildings or single-family houses. In other words, plan markings will ensure that different areas are built in different parts of the city. The exact distribution of residential buildings and single-family houses will be determined later though local detailed planning.

The planning map will detail which areas are to undergo complementary building, which will be converted into residential areas and where new residential areas will be established. The plan will also take into account the space needs of energy solutions in order to make energy consumption as efficient and climate-wise as possible.

Placing recreational areas important to residents close to homes and ensuring easy access to nature also contribute to the pleasantness of the city. This is one of the goals that the master plan will aim to achieve by coordinating different perspectives.

The master plan will safeguard green areas and biodiversity by designating a sufficient number of areas for forming a coherent and continuous network of green spaces. From the perspective of nature, it is particularly important for this network to be continuous so that there are access corridors for Siberian flying squirrels, for example.

When it comes to mitigating climate change, it is important for the city to have not only green spaces and large natural areas, but urban greenery as well. All of these provide health benefits and help the city to adapt better to heat waves, for example. Another important part of climate change mitigation is placing housing along good transport connections.

At the information event, participants expressed concerns about the preservation of Espoo's cultural landscapes; people want history to be passed on to future generations as well. The cultural environment of Espoo includes both ancient relics, such as old fields in Northern Espoo, and more recent strata, such as the Tapiola Garden City. One of the aims of master planning as regards the cultural environment is to identify not only old areas but new areas as well, so that they can be inventoried in the future.

At the information event, residents were given the opportunity to present their wishes to the drafters of the master plan. Residents’ wishes were also collected on post-it notes, which ended up being accumulated in large numbers. Residents’ views and wishes are also being collected through a quick survey, which will remain open until 20 November. The survey is easy to respond on a mobile phone as well.

You can access the survey here(external link, opens in a new window)

Children were also given the opportunity to participate in envisioning the future Espoo. The children’s drawing workshop held during the information event resulted in a gorgeous drawing depicting the future of Espoo on a giant roll of paper. The ideas expressed in the drawing will also be recorded to support planning.

Another information event about the master plan will be held at Sello Library on 16 November from 15.00 to 19.00. The final hour of the event will also be live-streamed 

​​​​​​​https://www.mediaserver.fi/live/yleiskaava2060(external link, opens in a new window)

A recording of the event will be made available later on the City of Espoo’s YouTube channel.