Kalajärvi district plan creates conditions for cosy and community-oriented local centre
The district plan guiding the development of Kalajärvi has been completed. The goal is a lush and community-oriented urban village that has adequate services.
The district plan prepared for Kalajärvi specifies the master plan for the northern and central areas of Espoo (POKE) and the planning of local centres. The vision is to plan community-oriented, natural and small-scale construction.
The district plan will serve as a guide for detailed planning. The extensive detailed plan projects of Vaskitsamäki and Niipperinniitty were launched in the area in spring 2024.
“The district plan helps us plan the overall solution of the centre and ensure adequate local services, a recreation route network, the preservation of natural areas and other goals that go beyond individual detailed plans,” says Architect Jussi Partanen from Espoo City Planning Department.
In a lush and community-oriented urban village, services are nearby
In the daily life of an urban village, groceries, services and other important aspects of everyday life are available within a 15-minute walk, bike ride or public transport trip. In the future, the majority of Kalajärvi residents will live within 600 metres of the centre and public transport stops. Construction could bring approximately 5,000 new residents to Kalajärvi by 2060.
In the future, Kalajärvi will develop a dense centre around which diverse single-family house areas will be built. The goal is a human-scale, community-oriented and village-like urban area.
Kalajärvi will remain a lush and natural area where features such as a new neighbourhood sports site and new outdoor routes are being planned to complement the existing ones. As the number of inhabitants increases, Kalajärvi’s position as a local centre will be strengthened, and services will develop in current central Kalajärvi, north and south of Vihdintie.
Residents have been actively involved
The City Planning Department, in cooperation with the association Kalajärvi-Seura, held an information and discussion event on the Kalajärvi district plan at the Kalajärvi Service Centre on 20 April 2023. At the event, the district plan was presented to local residents and other interested parties. Attendees could also discuss the plan with the people working on it, using maps as a reference. The topics covered at the event included the preservation of nature areas and the natural aspect of the region, new residential areas and residential areas to be supplemented, development of services, traffic arrangements and how public transport and passenger cars will be taken into account. The City Planning Department also carried out an online survey, and the answers received through the survey have acted as part of the planning material.
“We received a lot of feedback on the draft, and we have used it in the preparation of the district plan,” says Partanen, thankful for the residents’ active contributions. The opening pages of the district plan report present a summary of the most common feedback elements and how they will be taken into account in the district plan.