Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2019 | Page 13

“I
n addition to big businesses and
startups, I believe that it is the cit-
ies that are changing the world.”
In Vapaavuori’s view, cities are more
dexterous than nation states in creating and
readjusting their policies and can act swiftly
when need be. For instance, cities have been
in the forefront in the fight against Climate
Change for a long time now.
“The challenges related to Climate
Change – if they’re going to be resolved
at all – will be resolved by the cities,” says
Vapaavuori.
The outspoken Mayor of the pocket-
sized metropolis is known for his straight-
shooting style, frequently going in for the
practical solutions instead of engaging in
endless debate. Also the Urban20 M
­ ayors’
Summit, held on 29 October in Buenos
Aires, got a little taste of his no-nonsense
approach, as Vapaavuori was among the
leaders of the “globally interesting cities”
that were invited to join the Mayors of G20
countries.
Looking back at the event, Vapaavuori
acknowledges that the inclusion to the U20
summit was a great honor for Helsinki – and
also proof that Helsinki has advanced to the
league of the internationally most respected
cities.
Urban Platform Emerging
Vapaavuori recognizes the rise of the cities
as actors in international politics as one sig-
nificant takeaway from the Summit. More
and more, cities are now actively seeking
partnerships – in the same way that nation
states did in earlier days.
“Working together, cities are forming
the platforms for future development. It is
important for the whole country that Hel-
sinki is ambitiously involved in this devel-
opment from the start.”
Making the rounds at the three-day
summit, Mayor Vapaavuori gave presenta-
tions, for instance, about transparent admin-
istration and the city inhabitants’ participa-
tion, about the future of work and about the
prevention of Climate Change. Wherever
he went, he noticed that the summit par-
ticipants were keen to learn what it is that
Helsinki is doing – and what they want to
accomplish next.
“In the present global crisis facing
democracy, people look to the Nordic coun-
tries – as sort of technology-driven democ-
racies – to show the way,” Vapaavuori says.
Make It Work
The international attention – and even
hype – is not unwarranted, given the fact
that Helsinki is a genuine trailblazer in var-
ious fields. Declaring in its City Strategy
its desire to be the “most functional city in
the world,” Helsinki is already the world’s
2nd safest city (Mercer 2017); most attrac-
tive for investment in the EU (FDI Attrac-
tiveness Scoreboard 2016); and boasting the
best public transportation system in Europe
(BEST 2015). But how about Vapaavuori’s
own list? What are the Unique Selling Points
of Helsinki in the mind of the Mayor?
Vapaavuori starts off by saying that
Helsinki is clean, safe and functional, and
very much in tune with the present hi-tech
revolution; Helsinki is a pioneer, for exam-
ple, in the arena of Open Data as well allow-
ing – even inviting! – companies to make
use of the City’s information vaults to cre-
ate new services for the citizens.
“As we are witnessing the greatest
technological change ever, it is important
that the City really lives up to its role as an
enabler,” Vapaavuori says, adding that Hel-
sinki has always been in the ranks of the
early adopters and this mindset is not likely
to change in the future, either.
Helsinki has also invested in “districts
of the future” where technology is used to
empower the citizens – the best example of
this approach being Kalasatama, located on
the eastern shores of the Helsinki core area.
The former industrial port is well on its way
to showing the entire world the blueprint
for good, quality living in 2020’s – and
beyond.
“Kalasatama is really one of a kind in
the way that technology is deployed to help
people live their everyday lives. We’ve also
succeeded in nurturing a real sense of com-
munity participation,” he says, adding that
1/3 of the locals have been involved in one
community program or the other.
Going 360
According to Vapaavuori, another thing that
is of crucial importance for Helsinki is the
“total design” that goes into the making and
running of a community. It is important to
see the entire picture, instead of being dis-
tracted by random snapshots. Starting from
land use and zoning, various elements rang-
ing from infrastructure to transportation
come to play here, and you have to be mind-
ful of the “end product,” say, a new city dis-
trict, at all times – even if that end product
will certainly continue to evolve.
“In Helsinki, we concentrate on the
big picture.”
And, of course, Helsinki has plenty of
character and all sorts of lovable quirks that
distinguish the city from its bigger brethren.
“I think that Helsinki is unique and orig-
inal. Weird – but in a good way,” Vapaa-
vuori says.
“Weird” may well be the winning for-
mula, as Helsinki stays very much on the
growth path in the future, too. The city is
expected to reach 700,000 residents by 2025,
with such seaside neighborhoods as Kala-
satama, Jätkäsaari and Kruunuvuorenranta,
along with the reinvented superhub Pasila,
serving as the spearheads for growth.
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