My city blossoms, takes care of its people, works together with its neighbours and accepts everyone, no matter where they are from or what their income level is.
My city takes care of its people, and the people take care of the city. It is a whole, an entity of different parts that work together to make the city what it is. Travelling to and from my city is easy, just like moving inside the city. My city works together with its neighbours and understands that it cannot afford shutting out anyone. No matter what their income level or nationality is, my city belongs to everyone.
I want to make Espoo that city, and I need your help to do that.
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Espoo, can you hear me?
Politics should not feel like far-fetched daydreaming. It could and should be more open and present at people’s lives. Which is why the decision making and other structures in Espoo should be unraveled. The residents should be able to influence their city by other means than just complaining and through elections. The metropol area’s undemocratic federation of municipalities has had its time and now it is time to move on.
Housing and transportation that match the needs of the city
In addition the its own strengths, the vitality of Espoo relies on the cooperation with the neighbouring cities. Only by putting effort into the uncomplicated, functional and reasonably priced public transport both within Espoo as well as the metropol area, can we truly cut down the unnecessary car pollution in our green metropol. Let’s promote the production of rental housing and plan more student houses near campuses.
The Silicon Valley of North Europe is innovative and international
Changing the world can begin here in Espoo, because we dare to dream and endeavour. The city should have excellent infrastructure to support the growth of entrepreneurship and innovation. To succeed, Espoo should be proudly international, multicultural and multilingual. Espoo should lead by example and encourage its residents to resist intolerance and narrow-mindness, and promote curiosity and open-mindness.
Espoo, can you hear me?
Politics should not feel like far-fetched daydreaming. It could and should be more open and present at people’s lives. Which is why the decision making and other structures in Espoo should be unraveled. The residents should be able to influence their city by other means than just complaining and through elections. The city councillors and officials don’t always have the best ideas and knowledge of all the development needs. The city’s information system shoud include effortless opportunities to present ideas and development suggestions relating to one’s own neighbourhood. The city should also come closer to the inhabitants. One way to achieve this would, for example, be a system where each city councillor would adopt an area of the city and the city would appoint coordinators for facilitating citizens’ activity.
The people under-represented in the decision-making, such as children, students, handicapped, immigrants and elderly, should have more direct hearing and influencing opportunities.
In addition to drawing from the local know-how, it is critical to also understand the big picture. Different options for the municipality structure of the metropolitan area should be investigated. There should be an elected, cross-the-municipality borders council, so that the whole metropolitan area could be developed as a whole sensibly and ecologically. The voice of the citizens should be heard there, where the decisions are made about our common metropolitan area.
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Housing and transportation that match the needs of the city
Espoo in its diversity is a real treasure chest. Our original regions from the forests of Nuuksio to the garden town of Tapiola, form a unique whole. In addition to Espoo’s own strengths, the vitality of the city is dependent on the cooperation with the neighbouring cities. The Metropolitan area the engine of Finland, competing with all the other metropolitan areas of the world.
Why such wonderful city as Espoo only has fast public transport to one way, to Helsinki? The connections to our capital should be in prime condition but we shouldn’t compromise on the public transportation within Espoo. One should be able to enjoy the diverse areas of Espoo also without owning a car. Only with dedication to straightforward, functioning and reasonably priced public transport, can we efficiently reduce the unnecessary car pollution in our green city.
The city should be wisely planned. Espoo needs a more densely planned city structure, where services are close, the public transport is easy and there is enough pedestrian roads. The surroundings of the underground metro network and the railroad should be put to better use by making them locus points of housing, services and connections for public transportation.
The city should determinedly fight the polarization of different regions. Every inhabitant and immigrant of Espoo should be guaranteed the right for good housing, despite their income level. The cities own rent housing production should be increased substantially and distributed all around Espoo. Student housing as well as other reasonably priced housing should be planned in Otaniemi, and its proximity and around good connections.
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The Silicon Valley of North Europe is innovative and international
Changing the world can begin here in Espoo, because we dare to dream and endeavour. The city should have excellent infrastructure to support the growth of entrepreneurship and innovation.
For a long time already, Espoo has been the cradle of Finnish technological know-how, located on Finland’s most attractive area. Aalto University moving to Espoo as well as the universities of applied sciences in the area will also in the future offer endless potential to develop Espoo into an inspirational city to the whole North Europe: into Europe’s own Silicon Valley where not only Finland’s but the whole world’s issues are solved through top notch technology and knowhow.
Espoo is becoming more international, which is great! We need immigrants to strengthen our know-how and innovativeness.
Not all internationality is white collar workers and cellphone engineers. The lifestories of foreign inhabitants include both success and losses. A vital city takes care of its inhabitants also, when they are down.
Espoo should lead by example and encourage its residents to resist intolerance and narrow-mindness, and promote curiosity and open-mindness. Immigrants should be offered targeted help to find jobs and settleing down. In the future Espoo should proudly be multicultural and multilingual.
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