Discussion on new Espoo master plan begins
Espoo Master Plan 2060 compiles, for the first time in this century, the guidelines for all land use development in Espoo on the same plan map. The draft master plan will be the starting point for a discussion on how the city will develop in the coming decades. The discussion will start at the meeting of the Urban Planning Committee on 28 February 2024. The City Board will decide on making the draft plan available for public review.
The master plan is a general plan for the land use of the entire city, aiming for 2060. Espoo has grown significantly in recent decades and this is expected to continue. In addition to population growth, the city is also altered by climate change, changing transport and digitalisation. The master plan is a tool with which the city will anticipate and prepare for coming changes so that growth can be managed in a controlled and systematic manner.
The foundation of the master plan solution is based on the five current urban centres and the current and new rail connections between them. The draft plan outlines the city’s key areas of land use development as well as the rail network that connects the areas to the rest of the city and the region. The connection of Espoon keskus to the rest of the city has been identified as one of the key issues to be resolved in the master plan work. Recreation and biodiversity form the framework for the city’s development.
The draft master plan is based on the Espoo Story and the goals approved by the City Board in March 2023 as well as extensive studies and land use reviews.
City Board decides on public review
The processing of the draft master plan starts at the City Planning Committee, after which the draft plan will be processed by the City Board. The City Board will decide on making the draft available for public review. During the review period, residents and other interested parties will have the opportunity to give their opinion on the draft plan. Several residents’ events will be organised in connection with the public review.
“Both the City Board and the City Planning Committee have the capacity to carry out the processing of the draft plan so that the draft plan can be made available for public review in the spring. Members of the City Board and the City Planning Committee have been kept up to date on the preparation status of the master plan,” says Mervi Katainen, Chair of the City Board.
After the processing of the draft plan, the preparation of the plan proposal will begin. The master plan proposal will be completed in 2025–2026. The city’s aim is to have the final master plan accepted in 2027.
Espoo Master Plan 2060 website
City Planning Committee agenda 28 February 2024/Case no. 3(external link, opens in a new window)