Make Space! Thriving Temporary Use
The Make Space! project, run by the City of Espoo and Aalto University, promotes new ways to make empty or underutilised spaces more readily available for temporary use. These spaces will be developed as venues for experiments, innovation and urban life.
Like the other cities in the capital region, Espoo has many empty or underutilised spaces, including empty buildings and commercial premises, underutilised squares and fields, and temporary plots in developing areas. At the same time, cities need spaces and more unconventional environments for experimentation and development. Flexible spaces are needed to enable new solutions in a sustainable city that supports people’s wellbeing.
Make Space! Thriving Temporary Use is a joint project of the City of Espoo and Aalto University. Its aim is to establish more flexible and diverse uses of urban spaces and increase knowledge and expertise related to temporary use. The project focuses, in particular, on spaces that have been overlooked in the development of sustainable urban environments that promote wellbeing.
The project will examine the potential for temporary use in various urban spaces. Based on the examinations, several pilot projects will be carried out in Espoo, increasing our knowledge about the processes, roles, challenges and benefits related to temporary use. Throughout the project, the spaces will be used to organise various events, opportunities for experimentation and challenge-based programmes.
In Espoo, the project is part of the Event City Espoo development programme.
Contact us
Do you have an idea or proposal related to the temporary use of spaces? You can find our contact details at the bottom of the page.
Are you looking for spaces in Espoo that are already available for temporary activities? You can find the city’s facilities and their terms of use on the Book a facility page. The Short-term land lease and land use permits page offers information on permits for short-term events and activities. You can also explore the mental health association EMY ry’s map(external link, opens in a new window) of low-threshold meeting places across Espoo.
Yhteystiedot
The Make Space! Thriving Temporary Use project is carried out by the City of Espoo and Aalto University. The project receives funding from the European Regional Development Fund. The project runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 December 2028. The project is part of the HEVi project portfolio(external link, opens in a new window), i.e. the innovation programme of the cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa