EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Helsinki Finland

Helsinki Finland - Bristol case study

Introduction

From the mid 1990s the Greater Helsinki Region has experienced an exponential growth both in its GDP and population, driven largely by the growth in the ICT sector and the rise of the knowledge economy. In order to deal with this growth, the region began to construct major urban and residential areas that contain well-designed workplaces and are well-served by infrastructure.

Problem

After a period of deep recession, Finland had to deal with a fast growing economy and population, a housing shortage and energy conservation.

Description

These new urban areas are providing places for people to live in an ecologically friendly way. They provide a quality and natural environment whilst maintaining a flourishing and diverse local economy. This is exemplified by the district of Viikki, situated close to Helsinki. The area comprises the Science Park, a fast growing campus of the University of Helsinki, office blocks and residential units.

This case study was highlighted during the British presidency of the EU. It was specifically mentioned during the EU informal ministerial meeting at Bristol.

Approach

Overall, the Finnish planning system emphasises spatial and physical planning. The integration with regional development, economic and innovation policies is not an easy challenge. The Land Use and Building Act (1999) tries to address this co-ordination challenge. It attaches strong importance to ecological concerns and strongly encourages implementation of international environmental conventions regarding climate change, biodiversity and protection of cultural environment.

Results

A good example of the creation of an urban and residential area which has been planned as a response to the growth of population and the knowledge economy in the Helsinki region is the Viikki district:

abstract terms like innovation and the knowledge economy can be a fruitful basis for developing attractive places where people want to live and work;
the key principles for building in the area are ecological criteria relating emissions, natural resources and health factors;
residents identified that communal saunas, allotments and gardens gave a sense of community and encourage interaction between residents;
good environmental practices were introduced.

Contact info

Urban Policy Support Team of the ODPM
Mr. B. Kayada, tel. +44 2 07 944 8363

Project start date

01/01/1991

Report of the EU ministerial informal on sustainable communities (PDF, Eng, 1.4 MB)

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Urban environment > Environmental sustainability

Keywords

Energy efficiency