Future of Espoo discussed at master plan event at Sello

To support sustainable growth, a decision has been made to draw up a master plan for Espoo that looks to the year 2060. Now that the preparation of the master plan is underway, the city is being examined as a whole, meaning that the planning will involve decisions on matters such as the locations of urban centres and main routes. A ‘master plan’ is a general land use and transport plan that anticipates the development of the city in the coming decades.

The preparation of the plan starts with setting the objectives. The event at Sello was one of the two master plan events held in the autumn, at which residents are able to share their views and discuss the objectives of the master plan with the city planners. The event gathered 60 participants at Sello Library, and the one-hour livestream of the event(external link, opens in a new window) attracted 23 viewers. The children’s art workshop was busy when over 70 children drew their visions of a future Espoo.

An event with the same content was held at Iso Omena Library on 27 October 2022. Read the news about the event.

The results of the previous My Espoo on the Map survey and the Our Espoo 20X0 discussion series were displayed at one of the themed stands. Participants were also able to write their own wishes for a future Espoo on a timeline. They expressed wishes of sites designated for urban agriculture and community facilities and involving young people in the planning and activities.

The opinions of Espoo residents are also being collected through an ongoing survey, the results of which will be used in the work on the master plan. The survey is available on the Innoduel app where users select which one they prefer out of the two options presented. Over 150 responses were collected during the event, and the event also included a peek into the over 1,200 responses received so far. The top three responses seemed very focused on nature: forest and urban nature close to home, protecting biodiversity and pleasant recreational routes around Espoo.

The objectives of the master plan will be fully prepared in early 2023. The draft of the plan will be finished in 2024, and based on the feedback it receives, the revised plan proposal will be available for public review in 2025–2026. After this, the master plan will proceed to the approval phase in 2027. In each stage, residents are involved in the preparation of the master plan.

The audience of the event did indeed have many questions and comments on the plan objectives. The city planners were asked about the tunnel to Tallinn, high-rise buildings by the railway and the preservation of low-rise construction amid construction pressure, among other topics. The characteristics of Espoo as a city were also discussed: is it a metropolis or a city close to nature?

Residents also wish that the opportunity of boating and winter storage of boats at Suomenranta Marina would remain in seaside Espoo. In general, residents wished that each area’s special characteristics would be preserved even as the city grows and develops.

For the city’s growth, the development of the public transport network is also essential. This is also related to Espoo’s target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. So how will Espoo residents move about in the future? To promote sustainable growth, public transport is worth investing in.

In the long term, the public transport network could be complemented with better cross-city connections, walking and cycling should be promoted, and attention should also be paid to car traffic. We will likely also see automated traffic in the future. Changes to transport do not happen overnight, and they stir up much debate. Everyone can make a difference by looking at their own modes of transport.

Where will services and jobs be located in the future Espoo? The current situation will be examined as the basis for the planning. The master plan is a general land use plan, which is why it does not involve individual office buildings being placed in an area, but rather broader industrial areas and office clusters.

Services depend on the number and structure of the population, and good planning can help ensure that new areas have room for the required services, such as daycare centres. The audience also wished for a more mixed city structure, meaning services, housing and jobs being closer together, perhaps even in the same buildings.

The master plan pays attention to housing, for example by reserving space for new areas, turning other existing areas into residential areas and allowing for infill construction for housing. The plan symbols in the master plan guide the detailed planning.

It is difficult to predict housing trends even in the short term, which is why the master plan should allow for diverse construction and service selection. The master plan can help ensure that the services are easily accessible from residential areas, transport-wise. Competitive options are also important to control energy costs. Around residential areas, space should also be reserved for nature, which Espoo residents hold in high regard.

The price and forms of energy inspired a question from the audience regarding nuclear microreactors and whether they are coming to Espoo. The Espoo Story, the City of Espoo’s strategy, mentions nuclear microreactors, the potential of which is currently being investigated.

At the level of the master plan, biodiversity and closeness to nature will be taken into consideration by reserving a sufficient number of green areas for recreation, conserving valuable natural environments and planning central green routes. As climate change progresses, green areas become increasingly important as they mitigate climate change, in addition to providing health benefits. Another important element are small parks created through detailed planning where trees would shade houses and protect them from the heat.

The valuable cultural environment and upholding it are popular topics in the public events. Valuable cultural environments are sites that are particularly high-quality or well-preserved, or examples of special locations of their era. Such locations include prehistoric sites, the villas in the archipelago and the Tapiola garden city. When such areas are identified, they can be preserved through city planning.

Nature conservation was brought up by the audience: the audience member who posed the question wished that natural areas would be preserved, especially among construction. Nature should be protected even in areas other than nature reserves. If rocks and forests are lost to construction, the former, for example, cannot be restored later.

At the themed stand for nature, recreation and the cultural environment, visitors asked questions about urban agriculture, the preservation of cultural environments and how close to motorways houses can be built.

The work on the master plan is ongoing. You can receive information on the plan and other planning projects directly in your inbox by subscribing to the Vaikuta Nyt (‘Make A Difference Now’) newsletter (only in Finnish)(external link, opens in a new window).