Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2018 | Page 20

Helsinki Reigns Supreme
Helsinki is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe, with many of the continent’s biggest urban development
projects currently underway. The City has an ambitious “reclaim the shores” agenda which calls for the
redevelopment of former industrial areas along the shorelines – and the results, so far, are quite promising.
F
urthermore, the Helsinki Metropoli-
tan Region is known as a world-class
hub of the knowledge-based economy.
For example, Helsinki is a pioneer in ‘Smart
Government’, supporting the advancement
of Open Data and the local start-up scene
in a major way. In fact, Helsinki was one
of the first cities in the world to realise that
the default setting for all public information
should be: open.
This is highly relevant since the City
of Helsinki has 800+ information systems
which produce vast amounts of data on the
annual level. Local developers are readily
using that data to create services which have
the power to effect great change in society.
Stay Mobile
The business opportunities are considera-
ble, too, as Helsinki has witnessed an emer-
gence of a remarkable startup ecosystem in
the city. In addition to local data prowess,
the entrepreneurial community also benefits
from “we’re all in the same boat” mentality;
the Helsinki business scene speaks volumes
about the power of networks.
Studies agree that Helsinki is decid-
edly entrepreneurially-minded: the city
was ranked third (behind only New York
and London) in the global CITIE Index
2015 which studied governmental support
of entrepreneurs among cities. Helsinki has a reputation as the ”pocket-
sized metropolis”: not too big, not too small,
just right. Helsinki is all about human-scale.
Public transportation is world-class, and
receives a significant boost from digitali-
sation: for example, the tram stops feature
e-infoboards and the prize-winning route
app Reittiopas gets you connected in a flash.
A stunning majority of Helsinki citi-
zens (89%!) are very satisfied with the Hel-
sinki Metropolitan Area public transporta-
tion system. The city has also placed spec-
tacularly well in the international compari-
sons regarding public transportation. Other
20 Nordicum
Start Me Up