Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2015 | Page 59

“Parking solutions such as P-Hämppi
also support retail in a very effective way,”
adds Tenhunen.

Walk This Way
Safety and service orientation are very much
the watchwords that are driving the change
in downtown also in a larger context. With
cars diving underground, the urban environment is transformed, leaving more room for
pedestrians and bicyclists. Tenhunen talks
about “Slow City” ideology that is taking
root in the city centre:
“We want to make sure that the downtown area works from the perspective of the
pedestrians. We do welcome cars in the city
centre but they have to yield to pedestrian
demands here.”
And there’s more, too: a light rail
transportation system is also being planned
for the city centre. Conceivably, tram traffic
between Hervanta and Pyynikintori could
kick-off in 2019 – with complementary
construction and real estate development

to take place in the vicinity of these tracks,
as well.
Light rail systems outside Helsinki are
rare, but Tenhunen is optimistic that the project will go on: “We believe that the tram
would be a good fit for Tampere and there is
also political will behind the plans.”

360° Reach
According to Tenhunen, the City must
rethink its urban ways, since the city is on the
growth path and will remain so for decades,
apparently. During the next 25 years, there
will be 115,000 new residents in the Tampere Region – and, proportionally speaking,
the increase is bigger than that predicted for
the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Tampere –
as the biggest inland city in Nordic countries
– also has a catchment area that is different
from, say, certain Nordic capitals, since the
Tampere catchment area forms a full circle.
In addition, in recent years Tampere
has clearly been among the winners when
it comes to attracting people, companies

and investments. Businesses – both big and
small – have flocked to the neighbourhood,
drawn by Tampere’s great location, traffic
connections and versatile commercial services. Furthermore, the two local universities make sure that there is sufficient brain
power for the companies establishing operations here.

Play It Smart
As per City strategy, Tampere has been working hard to make the city a better place for
people and business. The central idea of the
“Tampere Model” is to establish smart infrastructure that is sturdy enough to enable, for
example, digital services and administration.
Wide-spanning collaboration is also
important to the city. With the launch of
the new HHT Corridor (Helsinki-Hämeenlinna-Tampere), attention turns to the rails
connecting the three cities – and the possibilities therein.
“There is a strong axis in the making
and we want be a part of it.”
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