First My Espoo on the Map 2024 survey results available: see what kind of local nature appeals to Espoo residents and what kind of places make them feel safe

In autumn 2024, around 5,000 Espoo residents responded to the My Espoo on the Map survey. Well over a third of them were children and young people. The extensive data is a treasure trove of information for city planners, which will be useful for many years to come.

Residents marked on a map places that are important to them, places that should be developed and places that feel safe or unsafe. In total, more than 55,000 places were marked. There were markings in all of Espoo’s major districts.

Researcher Laura Malm-Grönroos from the Espoo City Planning Department explains how the massive survey data will help city planners in their work:

“The responses will tell us how residents use the city, how they move there and how they want to see it developed. At the same time, we will also gain a better understanding of both Espoo as a whole and of its different districts. When we see what people think is working and valuable, we can take the city’s development in the right direction.”

A similar survey was also conducted in 2020. By comparing the earlier results with the more recent ones, it will be possible to see how Espoo residents’ relationship with their city has changed in four years. This information will also be valuable for city planners.

In the survey, residents marked on a map where they run their daily errands, i.e. shop, use services as well as engage in hobbies and recreational activities. In the 2024 responses, all five of Espoo’s urban centres stand out clearly for the first time when looking at the hubs for shopping and services.

It strongly appears that Espoonlahti has become an important urban centre for people in four years, thanks to the new metro station and Lippulaiva. In the 2020 data, it did not yet stand out as clearly alongside Tapiola, Matinkylä, Leppävaara and Espoon keskus.

Based on the responses, the most popular everyday places in Espoo are places for shopping: 5,000 respondents marked a total of 8,000 shopping places on the map. The second most popular places were places for culture, hobbies and recreation.

For the first time in 2024, respondents were asked to mark on the map the places they considered safe and unsafe. The previous survey showed that safety is an important value for Espoo residents. It was therefore considered appropriate to take a closer look at which things, in different parts of Espoo, contribute to the safety of the urban space. This will help in the planning of a safer city in the future.

It was noteworthy that children marked a greater number of safe places on the map, while adults marked a greater number of unsafe places. Children’s number one choice for a safe place was their own home. They also identified many schools, libraries, youth centres, neighbourhoods and forests as safe places.

In general, respondents of all ages gained a sense of security from tidy and well-maintained surroundings, people getting along with each other and a refreshing and relaxing natural environment. The most common causes of insecurity were a dirty and filthy environment, disruptive behaviour and the threat of violence.

For the first time, the 2024 survey also explored what kind of local nature is most valued by Espoo residents. Based on the responses, good outdoor routes, forests used for recreation, lush greenery in residential areas and natural beaches are particularly important to Espoo residents.

Respondents were also asked what they would like to see developed in their city. The most popular suggestions were services and construction. Both children and adults wished to see more different types of sports facilities, such as a swimming pool, water park, sports stadium, artificial turf or a disc golf course.

Better services such as schools, day-care centres and grocery stores were requested for new neighbourhoods. As a counterbalance to basic services, residents envisioned more amenities that would make recreational areas more attractive, such as saunas along the Waterfront Walkway or an artificial lake and restaurant in the Central Park.

Respondents of all ages hoped that neighbourhoods in poor condition would be renovated or restored. They also wanted more space for housing development. In general, the wish was that construction should be restrained and that existing trees and nature should be preserved. 

The results reported in this article are only a superficial glimpse into the extensive data. Next, the Espoo City Planning Department will carry out more detailed analyses of the main themes, such as nature and transport, which will then be utilised in city planning.

The results of the survey will be used from slightly different angles in master planning and detailed planning. For master planners working at the city-wide level, it will be important to discern big pictures, clear themes and key changes to the 2020 data from the responses.

For detailed planners, on the other hand, it will be useful to look at what the survey responses tell them about a smaller area, such as a neighbourhood. They will review the My Espoo on the Map markings when compiling initial data for plans. New ways of using the survey results in the interaction of detailed planning will also be explored during spring 2025, for example in workshops for residents.

Both of the My Espoo on the Map surveys have been carried out in cooperation with Aalto University. The 2020 data was used to prepare theses at the university, the results of which were presented to city planners. A similar collaboration is being established again, and the first thesis on the 2024 data is already being prepared.

The Espoo City Planning Department hopes to repeat the survey every four years. Asking the same questions repeatedly will provide information on how the citizens perceive change in Espoo in the longer term.

The My Espoo on the Map survey results will benefit many employees in the city’s various departments. The 2024 response data will soon be available in the City of Espoo’s municipal information system as geographic information. They will be imported there as such for all Espoo employees to use. The 2020 responses are already available on the service.

In spring 2025, special attention will be paid to the dissemination of the responses of children and young people within the city. A summary of the results will be compiled for the schools that responded to the survey last autumn and for the steering group for promoting the well-being of children and young people.

The desire is also to publish the 2024 data on the HRI information service, which is open to all city residents. It is a joint open data service of the municipalities in the Metropolitan Area. The responses to the 2020 My Espoo on the Map survey were recently selected as the best open data in the service.

More information:

Follow the progress of the analysis and use of the survey results on the My Espoo on the Map website. We will publish more news on the results of the data at a later date.