City Council approved new Espoo Story: Espoo is the capital of children and youth
A key priority in the new Espoo Story, in other words the city’s strategy, is supporting the opportunities and everyday lives of children and young people. For example, promoting literacy creates a foundation for many other things. Another aim is to ensure that the city grows in a controlled and economically sustainable manner so that all neighbourhoods remain safe and pleasant. During this council term, the city will pay particular attention to increasing the supply of owner-occupied homes and detached houses.
The Espoo Story for 2025–2029 has been prepared in close cooperation between Espoo residents, staff and elected officials since autumn 2024. The City Council approved the Espoo Story on 20 October 2025.
“We all want to make sure that Espoo is a safe and pleasant hometown close to nature, now and in the future. At the same time, the implementation of the whole Espoo Story is based on sustainable finances. The City of Espoo’s financial situation is more difficult than it has been in decades. This requires commitment from all of us, courage to make difficult decisions and, above all, the ability to work together,” says Mayor Kai Mykkänen.
Mervi Katainen, Chairperson of the City Board, highlights the importance of Espoo’s controlled growth. “Our city has to grow in an economically, environmentally, socially and culturally sustainable manner. This means that we have to manage our finances carefully and systematically, promote our carbon neutrality goal, protect biodiversity, prevent segregation, promote employment and entrepreneurship, support integration, ensure the quality of education services, and take many other measures to ensure that Espoo will continue to be a pleasant hometown offering good services for residents of all ages.”
Roadmap steers operations during the council term
The Espoo Story and the goals for the council term 2025–2029, which will serve as a roadmap for the implementation of the strategy, will steer the city’s development in the coming years.
“Among Finnish cities, Espoo has the highest proportion of children in its population and will continue to have one of the highest birth rates in the future. This is a wonderful thing, but it comes with a great responsibility to ensure the conditions for a good life for children and young people in Espoo, and therefore also for the future of Finland as a whole. The title of the strategy, ‘Espoo is the capital of children and youth’, is not just a slogan but a foundation for our operations and decisions, which must become a reality in the daily activities of day care centres, schools and students. From the perspective of children and young people, it is also important that Espoo strengthens its commitment to environmental and climate issues,” says Saara Hyrkkö, Chairperson of the City Council.
The roadmap is divided into seven goals. They will steer the city’s operations, decision-making and development in the coming years.
- In Espoo, all children and young people can succeed and fulfil their potential
- Espoo grows in a controlled manner and all neighbourhoods are pleasant and safe
- Espoo moves towards carbon neutrality and improves the natural environment
- Espoo is the best place for innovation, business and employment
- Espoo succeeds in the opportunities and challenges of internationalisation
- Staff thrive and make use of partnerships
- Espoo’s finances are on a sustainable footing
Residents’ voices are heard in the Espoo Story
Residents had a chance to contribute to the preparation of the Espoo Story by responding to two My Espoo surveys. In addition, the city organised several workshops for resident and minority groups.
The key themes highlighted by residents included local nature, safety and pleasant environments. Survey respondents also wanted the city to take better account of nature and green spaces in construction, make areas more pleasant, and improve the sense of community. These aspects are also visible in the Espoo Story.
“Next, we will start working towards the ambitious goals. We will agree on resources and the exact indicators in the budget, which is currently under preparation. As always, we will also look for solutions to the challenges presented in the Espoo Story through our cross-administrative development programmes,” Mayor Mykkänen says.
During the current council term, the cross-administrative development programmes are Entrepreneurial Espoo, Sustainable and Nature-friendly Espoo, Community Spirit in Espoo, and Event City Espoo. The programmes will continue experimental development activities and piloting of new solutions across city sectors.