Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2017 | Page 40

Smart Moves

From the waterfront to high-rise construction and public transport , Tampere is taking bold steps into the future
Tampere is on a mission to “ grow smart together ”. Tampere Region , Finland ’ s second biggest city region , has hit a development groove that is quite impressive : the Region is investing € 6-10 billion by 2030 in order to build an internationally attractive Smart City . What this means is that digital solutions will amplify the quality of life for citizens as well as boost the local business ecosystem .
Photo : City of Tampere / COBE Aps ja Lunden Architecture Oy 2014
Tampere Travel and Service Centre

T ampere is set to launch several highprofile projects that aim for innovation , new business models and enhancing communities . The City of Tampere offers more and more open data for anyone to use , free of charge – and this includes traffic data , location data , built environment data , tourism information , as well as city budget and procurement information .

The City ’ s ‘ Smart Tampere ’ economic policy wants to make sure that the local investments are used to build a smarter city and to secure economic growth . The city itself has multiple roles in this new way of city development ; for instance , the city can act as a testing ground , bring the right parties to work together and / or find creative new solutions through city planning . ‘ Community driven ’, ‘ experimental ’ and ‘ sustainable ’ are the watch words that are heard more and more in the Region .
Smart 360 °
‘ Smart Tampere ’ lays down the roadmap for years 2017-2021 , bringing together business life , universities , organisations , citizens and the city government . The first seven themes of ‘ Smart Tampere ’ are Smart Health , Smart Education and Know-how , Smart Industry , Smart Building , Smart Infrastructure , Smart Mobility and Smart Government and Citizen .
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Anna-Kaisa Ikonen , Mayor of the City of Tampere , comments that the plan here is to open up the big challenges of the city and find innovative solutions to those challenges , by working together with companies . Collaboration is crucial since , according to estimates , the population of Tampere and the surrounding region will grow by tens of thousands over the next decades .
The local Master Plan , presently in its draft phase , prepares for a population growth of 60,000 new residents in the inner city and tens of thousands of new jobs . The growth will mainly focus on the built urban areas that are already covered by plans and will be realized by infill construcion .
Open for Traffic
Tampere is looking into the future with no small confidence , since the City ’ s latest major development just finished with a flair . The Rantaväylä tunnel was opened for traffic in November 2016 , offering a largely underdeveloped waterfront area ( Ranta- Tampella ) up for new construction . “ Now , as the Rantaväylä tunnel has taken car traffic underground , the Ranta-Tampella District will certainly reap the benefits from the logistical retooling ,” says Director Tero Tenhunen from the City .
“ Ranta-Tampella will be a showcase for quality waterfront construction , with more than 3,000 residents ,” Tenhunen says , adding that the location right next to downtown makes the area extremely attractive .
Get It Right the First Time
Still , Ranta-Tampella is not the only highprofile waterfront project in the making : for example , the City expects to see the same volume and even higher quality at Eteläpuisto area , just a bit south from the city centre . Then there is Hiedanranta , an old pulp factory area right on the shore of Lake Näsijärvi , that is already being hailed as “ Dubai of Finland ” by the local media . Hiedanranta area will offer housing for 20,000 – 25,000 residents and jobs for 10,000 people . The international city planning competition was solved in Janyary . Zoning for the area will begin in 2017 .
Tenhunen acknowledges that building these shorelines right is a big responsibility , but he is confident that the end-result will be something to see .
“ We have a concept in place to make sure that everything is being planned and prepared for from architecture and logistics to services and parks .”
Hit the Centre
The modern travel and service centre will