Draft Espoo Master Plan 2026 to become available for public review and residents’ events to begin on 3 June 2024
The City Board decided in its meeting on 13 May 2024 to make the draft Espoo Master Plan 2060 available for public review. The master plan is a way to prepare for the controlled growth of the city which will be directed to the areas around the rail network. Areas dominated by detached houses will continue to be characterised by detached houses. The draft plan will be made available for public review on 3 June 2024 and the review will continue until 3 September 2024. Several residents’ events will be organised in different parts of the city during the public review.
A master plan is a strategic area provision plan. It shows the broad strokes of land use and general area reservations that guide detailed planning. The master plan is used to prepare for the growth of the city in a controlled manner. Espoo’s population is estimated to exceed 500,000 by 2060.
The starting point of Espoo Master Plan 2060 is the balanced development of the city so that all of its five urban centres are accessible and attractive. The City Board and the committee clarified the draft plan so that the characteristics important to Espoo residents, such as detached house areas and recreation areas, are preserved. Public transport connections support the development and increasingly dense structure of residential areas along the rail network. In rail traffic, extending the metro from Kivenlahti to Kauklahti is being examined, and different metro and light rail options between Espoon keskus and Matinkylä are being investigated.
“With the master plan, we ensure that Espoo remains an attractive and vibrant city that offers a well-functioning daily life to its residents. Nature and opportunities for recreation will be safeguarded even while the city grows. Espoo has a significant amount of detached houses, and the decision-makers here are keen to have people living in detached houses as widely as possible. A growing city also needs a denser city structure, especially around city centres, services and good public transport connections such as railways. Now is the time to come together and discuss growth and change so that Espoo residents can be happy with their city,” says Master Plan Manager Essi Leino.
At the same meeting, the City Board decided to propose to the City Council that the Carbon-neutral Espoo 2030 roadmap be approved. Climate goals will also be taken into account in master planning. The master plan set for 2060 continues the path paved by the Carbon-neutral Espoo 2030 roadmap.
Residents to be included in discussion and commenting on draft plan
The draft plan will be available for public review for an unusually long time, from 3 June to 3 September 2024. This means that there will be plenty of time to review the draft plan and give your opinion on it.
The City Planning Department will organise several residents’ events in different parts of Espoo. This series of events will begin on 3 June 2024 with a remote information session about the draft plan as a whole so that residents can have all the information they need to give their opinions on the plan. There will be seven region-specific events where the draft plan will be presented from the perspective of each major district. In addition, the City Planning Department will organise events in Swedish and English. In August, the City Planning Department will invite residents’ associations to discuss the plan, and on Espoo Day on 31 August, residents will have the opportunity to meet city employees working on the plan at the event at Exhibition Centre WeeGee.
After the public review, the preparation of a plan proposal will begin. At this stage, the feedback received on the draft proposal will be taken into account. The master plan proposal will be completed in 2025–2026. The city’s aim is to have the final master plan accepted in 2027.
Before the public review, information about the master plan and residents’ events and tips for reviewing the plan and commenting on it will be compiled on the website for the master plan.