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THE WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IS BUILT IN EVERYDAY LIFE The majority of children and young people in Espoo are satisfied with their lives and feel that they are in good health. At the same time, well-being is polarised and many people are struggling with challenges. In autumn 2019, almost one-fourth of Espoo’s 8th-graders said that they experienced mild, moderate or severe depression. Espoo wants to ensure that the city’s services promote the well-being of children, young people and families as well as possible. Increasing the well-being requires the strengthening of basic services and cross￾sectoral cooperation. The service offering must be understandable and predictable. Preventive services are sometimes not enough, in which case child- or family-specific support is needed. EARLY SUPPORT RESULTS IN HEALTHY MINDS The number of referrals and patients in child and adolescent psychiatry has grown in recent years. The waiting time for care has also increased. For this reason, Espoo has enhanced the support for the mental well-being of children and young people and developed the service chains in child and adolescent psychiatry. In order to solve the problems, the aim is to provide support at an early stage. Promotion of mental well-being is included in the basic services for children and young people, such as education and leisure services. Pupil and student welfare services at schools lay a foundation for good learning and well-being. In communal pupil and student welfare services, the entire school community sets out to promote learning, well-being and health. Schools also offer early support on an individual basis to those who need it. Espoo’s secondary schools have achieved good results through interpersonal counselling (IPC). This is a method of mental health intervention for mild and moderate depression. It involves discussion with the young person about their relationships and symptoms and examining the connections between these. Support and help is provided at the person’s own school, so a referral to specialised health care is not necessarily needed. The family of each child and young person has a great significance for their health, growth and coping later in life. Espoo has been involved in developing the ´Strongest Families´ operating model, which is used for the early identification of behavioural problems of children under school age. The model makes use of digital tools and parental guidance by telephone. Possible later problems are prevented by early intervention. Service chains to support the mental health of children and young people have been developed by standardising processes and picking up the slack. Thanks to the development work, clients in need of special support can be reached better than before. Multidisciplinary support for children and young people works better when cooperative practices and the roles of various parties have been agreed. For example, instructions for staggered care have been prepared to improve the cooperation between child psychiatry and basic-level services. It has been agreed, for instance, what the school psychologist does before the child is referred to the child psychiatry unit. The instructions are piloted in spring 2020. As a rule mental health support for children and young people must be organised in an equal, correctly dimensioned, timely and coordinated manner. JOINT EFFORTS TO REDUCE POVERTY AMONG FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN Poverty among families with children has increased by one-fifth in Espoo in a couple of years. The median income is at a good level, but the share of people with low income has grown in recent years. Long-term financial problems in families are directly reflected on the well-being of children and young people. Espoo is fighting family poverty with a three-year action plan. The goal is to provide every child and young person with equal rights, opportunities and resources to be involved in society. The action plan against poverty among families with children includes goals and actions to reduce and prevent poverty. The risks associated with poverty are addressed by measures relating to education, employment and homelessness, among other things. Parents are supported by means such as income support, targeted services and cooperation between school and home. The programme sets out to make the phenomenon of family poverty visible and increase awareness and understanding of its effects. Pupils’ and teachers’ understanding of the causes and effects of poverty has been increased by, for example, highlighting poverty as a theme in equality plans. Basic education reaches almost all the children in each age group, so school is a key place for the city to influence children’s involvement and well-being. The services of school social workers and psychologists are primarily targeted at those who have the greatest need for them, such as children in a socio-economically challenging position. Another objective is to reduce the differences between the learning results of children with an immigrant background and children of the native population and to strengthen the language skills of children and young people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The limited means of families show as more limited opportunities in the everyday life of the children. The goal is to provide every child and young person with meaningful leisure opportunities. This begins in zoning and facilities planning by ensuring that there are suitable facilities for hobbies in residential areas. Children, young people and families are offered a wide variety of free sport and cultural activities, and targeted communications are applied to increase the involvement of those belonging to risk groups. Thanks to the development work, clients in need of special support can be reached better than before. Espoo has been involved in developing the ´Strongest Families´ operating model, which is used for the early identification of behavioural problems of children under school age. 26 27

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH FOR STARTUPS AND THE WHOLE OF ESPOO Espoo is known worldwide as an innovation environment for science, art and the economy, the key actors of which include Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Within the innovation ecosystem of Espoo, there are approximately 20,000 jobs, 15,000 students, 5,000 researchers and more than 30 research institutes. Espoo is also a significant growth company incubator. For example, all Finnish unicorns, i.e. technology startups valued by financiers at over a billion dollars, have emerged in Espoo. These include MySQL and the game companies Supercell and Rovio. GROWTH COMPANIES AS THE NEW ENGINE OF THE FINNISH ECONOMY The role of innovative growth companies in the economic growth in Finland and the commercialisation of new technologies has increased considerably in the past decade. In addition to economic growth and jobs, growth companies create new technological solutions that have significant positive effects in supporting the development goals, such as streamlining the circular economy. However, the development of new high tech solutions often requires years of work and major capital investments. With Espoo Marketing’s Innovation Services, large companies can find the most suitable startups and innovation partners from the ecosystem. The service includes the following themes: • Technology and partner search • Introduction of corporations and investors to startups • Online and physical collaboration activities Introductions to large companies are carried out online or at events and visits. Digital tools are used in searching for suitable partners. SUSTAINABLE GROWTH LOCALLY The partner network of Espoo Marketing consists of local and international investors, large companies, business incubators and accelerators, research centres and other innovation actors. In accordance with the Espoo story, Growth Services will support the achievement of vitality, competitiveness and employment in Espoo. Due to investments, companies have the opportunity to promote product development, grow their business and hire more employees. INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR MATCHMAKING The traditional ways of matchmaking have been challenged due to the coronavirus epidemic. In May 2020, Espoo Marketing created a new digital matchmaking activity called Corporate-Startup Online Weeks to help local companies to find customers, partners, and investors. The activity brought Espoo-based and Finnish startups and scaleups together with 15 international corporations during pre￾selected, one-on-one online meetings. WE HAVE A MATCH FOR YOU! LAUNCHPAD CONNECTS YOU TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES Launchpad is a digital platform implemented and owned by Espoo Marketing, offering the chance to actively create connections between startups, investors and large companies. Espoo Marketing also uses the platform as a tool in its daily activities. The Launchpad platform combines physical and digital work so that the customer gets the maximum benefit from the Innovation Services provided by the company. After creating a company profile on the platform, the user receives information from Espoo Marketing on other actors and cooperation opportunities. The service also enables direct contact between the actors. In addition, the users receive targeted information on other useful opportunities, such as events, meetings, innovation competitions and internationalisation trips. The service is free of charge, and it encourages companies to keep their profile information up to date. Success stories created in 2019 through Launchpad include Vim AI’s participation and second place in the APP Challenge innovation competition of the Singaporean Airlines and eChargie’s selection as one of the finalists in Bosch Venture Forum in Germany. Both companies learned about the innovation competitions through targeted messages on the Launchpad platform. KEY FACTS • 21 collaboration projects launched with international large companies since 2018 • 163 corporate-startup introductions in 2019 • Corporate-Startup Online Weeks in May and June 2020 • 15 international corporations connected with 100+ local startups 102 103

CO-CREATION IN THE HEART OF ESPOO Urban Mill started as a public-people-private partnership in 2013. The main partners of the program are the City of Espoo, Aalto University and Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK. A private company is responsible for developing the Urban Mill concept, operating the space and arranging the services. URBAN MILL IS A GLOBAL FOCAL POINT FOR URBAN INNOVATION CO-CREATION Urban Mill brings urban developers together with residents and other users of the urban environment. Public and private sector institutions, researchers, new entrepreneurs and students have a place to share ideas with the users of the built environment. Urban Mill is a venue for events and a smart co-working space for entrepreneurs and developers. Our partners exhibit results both physically and virtually. Simultaneously, Urban Mill is an innovation accelerator that is connected to other spaces needed by our community. SERVICES, PARTNERSHIPS AND MEMBERSHIPS • Action and event spaces: Diverse self-service spaces for our community to share. Our space is also available to organizations outside our network who want to showcase, develop and prototype their own urban innovations. • Ecosystem services: A wide spectrum of services supporting innovation, development, testing and business, including co￾location services to establish business in the area. Urban Mill is a great entry into the opportunities, networks and resources available in the Espoo Innovation Garden, the biggest innovation hub in Nordics • Partnership: Several alternatives for organisations and institutional actors to join the program and become part of the community. • Membership: Alternatives answering the needs of different sized organisations in different development phases- from micro entrepreneurs to big enterprises. Urban Mill is a space, a community and a service situated at Aalto University campus in the heart of Espoo Innovation Garden, Finland. Urban Mill brings together important actors to help solve wicked problems of urban life. It shows how the built environment can be planned and designed based on actual use. It is an innovation hub with the theme of Creative Sustainable City and its activities include e.g. developing new digitally-enabled service concepts. Urban Mill builds long-term collaboration through new solutions that are tested rapidly and flexibly. Memberships and programs include the use of shared spaces, discounts on event spaces, the possibility to use the 3D cave and technology provided together with Aalto Built Environment Laboratory, Smart Screens, thematic networks and access to Urban Mill’s service network. KEY FACTS 104 105

A ONE-STOP-SHOP FOR CUSTOMER￾ORIENTED BUSINESS SERVICES The Business Espoo network started operations at the beginning of 2018, and the shared service channels were opened in September 2019. The network involves organisations from both the city and the Corporate Group of Espoo, regional and national members as well as company representatives. The service providers listen to the needs and wishes of the entrepreneurs and companies, systematically examine the changing needs of companies during different stages of their life cycle, and constantly test and produce innovative solutions to these challenges. It all began when Espoo’s business services recognised three challenges that had weakened the effects of the services – which had received good feedback in themselves – on the vitality of Espoo and local companies: 1. service provision scattered across several organisations 2. poor awareness of the services 3. the distance of service development from the customer. As responsible pioneers in line with the Espoo Story, a new customer￾oriented cooperation model implementing City-as-a-Service thinking to respond to the challenges of business services was created. Business Espoo network serves entrepreneurs and companies also in the surrounding municipalities. New kind of service guidance aims to serve customers on the one-stop-shop principle, compiling hundreds of different business services into practical packages that the customer can utilise instead of being bounced from one organisation to another. Business Espoo’s professionals can determine the situation of corporate customers and direct them to the right services in the network. This has required providing the personnel with training in the entire service offering as well as strong network management and internal communications in order to reach the shared goals. In addition to the shared service offering and service channels, the network has shared communications and marketing, shared events and shared operations management and development processes. The customers take part in developing the services through service design processes and hackathons, for instance. AIMING FOR HIGH QUALITY SERVICES ACROSS ORGANISATIONS The services of the business service network are divided into six service areas: starting a business, growth, internationalisation, recruitment, competence development and change situations. The network involves over 100 designated Business Espoo specialists, who provide entrepreneurs and companies with support and guidance on starting and developing a business, finding competent workers and international recruitment, strengthen the expertise of companies through training and help companies and investors find the right contacts. Companies and entrepreneurs are also offered networking opportunities at various training and other events. The most recent addition to the network is Bertta, a chatbot that answers questions asked by entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs on the Business Espoo website regarding, for example, internationalisation, training and employment. Business Espoo has become more of a state of mind than a physical service point, even though it does also serve customers face-to-face with an appointment. The organisations in the network share the workspace and everything that can be shared – from workstations to coffee makers. Business Espoo strives to act as a single team in every way, transcending organisational boundaries. This also benefits the customer, since the main thing is not the name of the organisation providing the service but the quality and timeliness of the service provided. The business service network is an excellent opportunity for operations development and increasing vitality in a sustainable manner. The strong network cooperation can result in improved customer orientation, service quality and cost-effectiveness. Espoo supports local business operations, thereby increasing the area’s vitality and number of jobs. Business Espoo, a network of seven organisations provides entrepreneurs and companies in Espoo and the surrounding municipalities customer-oriented, cost-effective and high￾quality services from a single address. Main thing is not the name of the organisation providing the service but the quality and timeliness of the service provided. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED KEY FACTS • Clarifying the provision of customer-oriented business service and the service offering. • The network is based on continuous development: it critically analyses its own work and carries out bold experiments, not intending to do everything as it has always been done. • Supporting new entrepreneurs and companies before and after starting the business. • In a network consisting of seven different organisations, there is still plenty of room for development in the cooperation processes. 108 109

MAYOR’S INNOVATION CONTEST There are two competition categories: Innovations, and Innovation ideas. An external panel will evaluate all the applications submitted for the contest, after which an evaluation team comprising the city’s own experts will assess all the innovations that have made it through to the next round. An innovation or idea may be small or large, but it is essential that it has improved or will improve a service to be produced or the internal functionality of an organisation. Innovation may have already produced a great many results, or it may be a fresh idea, which will only produce a harvest later. Particular attention will be paid to reforms where customers and city residents are given priority, either as recipients of better service or as partners. The contest finalists will present their innovations in a management forum, which will include not only the mayor but also leaders of the various sectors, unit managers and leading experts. This phase is also important in terms of communications, as knowledge about innovations and the importance of innovation is widely communicated to staff. Espoo’s applications are also automatically entered into Excellence Finland’s Quality Innovation Award. Espoo’s innovations have been awarded both in national and international categories. The Mayor’s Innovation Contest encourages the improvement and development of city services and the work done in the City of Espoo. It has been organised since 2012 to support the goal of a more resident and customer-oriented Espoo. The competition is open to all city employees, work communities, networks and groups. Attention will be paid to reforms where customers and city residents are given priority. 110 111

NGOS ACTING AS WINGS TO EMPOWER CITIZENS A strong democracy is realised not only by voting in elections, but also by residents actively participating and making an impact in everyday life. Non-governmental organisations and associations play a key role in building a sustainable city. In NGOs, citizens have the opportunity to participate, become part of the community and be empowered – NGOs allow you to experience, engage in activities and experiment. The NGO sector also offers volunteering options coordinated in a high-quality manner. The opportunity to make an impact and do good for others creates well-being for the individual. NGOs also possess a considerable amount of expertise. Through open dialogue, NGOs provide the city with information from the perspective of residents and on possible shortcomings in services. In this way, resident-based NGO activities also provide assistance to those who are at risk of being marginalised in the public service system. In Finland, NGOs have played an important role in building social peace and stability. Espoo becomes a good home for NGOs when the city, NGOs and other actors, such as educational institutions and religious communities, work together for the good of residents. When the collaboration succeeds, NGOs gain even stronger capacities to act for the empowerment of citizens. NGOS BUILD ESPOO FOR EVERYONE New and old residents, no matter where they come from in the world, have one thing in common: their current home region. In the “Kaikilla on oikeus kotiseutuun” (Everyone is entitled to local heritage) project, the Finnish Local Heritage Federation, together with the city and other partners, creates encounters between local heritage associations and immigrant associations in Espoo. Active citizenship arises from doing things together, getting to know local history and the cultures of the participants, a sense of community and inclusion. The project will create a resident-based operating model for integration that can be implemented by the 750 member communities of the Finnish Local Heritage Federation across Finland. The goal is for everyone to belong to a place and community. Espoo is also involved in a two-year joint project of six European cities, the Active NGOs project, to learn about Latvia’s Riga NGO House model and adapt it to the local context. The main focus is on NGO work to support integration. The aim is to develop a platform for cooperation between NGOs and the city, support and train NGOs, highlight current local issues and promote the participation of residents in the development of the city. The project includes joint international workshops and local events, workshops and materials for a wider audience. Representatives of the city and NGOs participate in the activities. The project is being implemented with funding from the European Territorial Cooperation programme URBACT III. CULTURE TO RESIDENTIAL AREAS, SUPPORT FOR PURSUING ART The City of Espoo provides grants to hundreds of communities each year. The grant process is based on rules and mechanisms grounded in the city’s objectives and safeguarding the autonomy of associations in relation to public authority. In addition to grants, cultural actors, including unregistered groups, have the opportunity to apply for project support for events, projects or co-development, for example. Associations are supported by providing public spaces for them to use, and the city organises regular partnership meetings and training sessions. Cultural associations also make it possible to make and experience art. They represent a diverse range of art forms, such as music, performing arts, theatre and circus, visual arts and literature. Cultural associations provide meaningful hobby opportunities and programmes for Espoo residents of different ages. TOGETHER TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE SPORTS Espoo is the first city to participate in the Finnish Olympic Committee’s Star Club programme. The programme audits the operations of sports clubs, such as their management, sports activities and resources. Those that have passed the audit are granted the Star Sign, which signals that the club meets the common content requirements and quality factors. The Star Sign is also a promise of quality to current and new members, as well as to their immediate circle and supporters. Espoo’s goal is to promote equality for children and young people in sports. The auditing ensures that mutually agreed rules are implemented at Espoo-based clubs, and that everyone can play sports and exercise at their own level and towards their own goals with ever greater background support. The clubs that have been granted the sign operate as part of a national network where clubs receive support for their activities and share good practices with others. The programme has been created by the Finnish Olympic Committee, sports federations and regional organisations. The joint activities of Espoo’s sports clubs and the city are also strengthened by the “Espoo Liikkuu” (Espoo Moves) brand. Clubs publish information about their matches or, for example, interviews with star athletes on the Espoo Liikkuu community website. Espoo residents visit the community’s website frequently. Espoo Liikkuu logos can be seen at the city’s sports venues and events, as well as in the marketing products of clubs. Through joint activities, clubs have found each other and organised functions together. The joint activities have a common goal: to get the people of Espoo moving. 42 43

CUSTOMER-ORIENTED SERVICES One way to implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is by developing city service management. In Espoo, services were first productised a few years ago, when the perspective was to increase the knowledge and cost awareness needed for management. Once services have been productised, their use and cost can be better monitored using data. The productisation of services means that services are named, classified and described appropriately. In the development of service management, productisation work has continued in a customer-oriented fashion. Customer segmentation was used to identify and analyse customer service needs in the current state and, in a proactive manner, in the future. The development assessed how the current city service portfolio meets the customers’ and residents’ identified needs. Service product data can be used to improve service efficiency, to track costs, and for forecasting. Scarce resources can be allocated to those customer groups most in need of services, and lighter services and service channels can be allocated to customers who can make do with lighter services, self-services or services in digital channels. DIGITALISATION WILL ADD EFFICIENCY Covid-19 pandemia has catalysed the use and development of digital service channels globally. In Espoo these were improved already earlier with focus on availability of services, and the productisation of services. Goal is to better identify the opportunities offered by digitalisation. Face-to-face customer encounters are still needed, even though the degree of the digitalisation of services is increasing. The productisation of services in the future will enable services to be available efficiently and to respond effectively to customer needs through different service channels. This will require closer and more systematic cooperation within and between the city sectors and units. All the city’s units, numbering over 20, are developing their service portfolios and customer relationship management. The aim is to eliminate overlaps and streamline operations by directing customers to the right services. Services are also examined across sector boundaries, finding service integration opportunities with significant impact factors, when the customer’s situation can be managed through as light measures as possible and guiding the customer, where necessary, smoothly from one service to another. The customer’s service path should be made as smooth as possible. It is important that city-level development work has generated good discussions in and between the city’s services, and leaders and developers have identified common customers and learned from each other. More than 100 high-level officeholders and employees have participated in the productisation of services. Espoo is committed to ensuring that all services respond to the needs of city residents increasingly better. The goal is that customers should receive the right service at the right time and in the right way. The productiosation of services enables the correct services to be targeted at the right customer, in a timely manner, in the right channel and in the right way. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED KEY FACTS • Service products provide additional information to managers and improve the monitoring and forecasting of service operations and costs. • The potential to digitalise services will be better identified. • The productisation of services has generated good discussions within and between the units and people have learned from each other. • Resources are better available for those who need services a lot, if the services of those who do well in everyday life can be taken care of flexibly, for example by means of digitalisation. • It is not sensible to have an identical service portfolio available to all customers. • Coupling the quality of services with indicators is challenging and requires work. 112 113

PROCUREMENT UNIT IMPLEMENTS THE CITY’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT The procurement impact tool is an analytical method derived from the goals of the Espoo Story for identifying which strategic objectives procurement can affect and how this can be done. The tool is used to examine economic, social, ecological and cultural sustainability, leadership, customer and resident orientation, business impact and employment impact. When using this tool, we report how procurement has effectively supported these strategic themes. Since the tool was introduced, for example, the amount of social employment through contracts was increased by 30% in 2019 from the previous year. SELECTING THE MOST SUSTAINABLE SUPPLIERS IS A WIN-WIN The focus of procurement processes is strongly on exploiting the expertise of the supplier market through discussion. This dialogue explores how potential suppliers have taken into account their goals common with Espoo in their products and services. In particular, in terms of environmental sustainability, leadership, and customer and resident orientation, new innovations and practices from suppliers provide excellent new opportunities to produce services and products more sustainably. When the best practices in the market are taken into account in procurement, the best suppliers can be selected for the contract period through procurement. In preparation for each procurement, we review the strategic objectives that can be taken into account. In the preparation, these objectives are included in the requirements for both procurement and suppliers. The impact tool plays a key role here. Clear contract management processes, working methods and responsibilities enable the achievement of agreed goals and reporting of results in the context of procurement. This ongoing work will enable contract suppliers to be guided and track the results with the same principles as guiding the city’s own activities. In the future, it will be important to develop Espoo’s goals and also the impact tool so that the goals can be defined in an increasingly precise and unambiguous way. The aim is to better identify the individual means by which, for example, the SDGs can be supported in different procurements. Espoo purchases goods and services for EUR 1.2 billion a year. Contract suppliers provide a wide range of services to the city, ranging from Frozen-themed dresses for day-care centres to sheltered housing for elderly residents, asphalt work or management fishing of lakes. Products needed for service production are also purchased in very diverse categories. The products needed range from snow plough markers for road maintenance to arts and crafts supplies for schools and everything in between. Because the objects of the procurement are very diverse, the procurement unit has developed working methods to find the right ways to take account of the Espoo Story and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the system level. Since the tool was introduced, for example, the amount of social employment through contracts was increased by 30% in 2019 from the previous year. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED KEY FACTS • The goals are examined procurement-specifically. • The processes and common working methods allow the goals to be taken into account in all centralised procurement. • The system supports reporting and tracking of the goals considered in procurement. • Ensuring the achievement of the goals during the contract period • How to measure the achievement of goals? • In what concrete ways can different goals be taken into account in very different services and products? 114 115

UN INNOVATION LABS UNTIL ACCELERATING DIGITAL INNOVATIONS TO BENEFIT THE WORLD UNTIL´s vision is a world where the benefits of digital innovation are harnessed for sustainable development, to empower people and societies, and accessible to all. The mission of UNTIL is to use digital innovation to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). UNTIL and the City of Espoo, home base for UNTIL Finland, are supporting each other’s mission and goals through joint activities, events, sharing information and tapping each other’s’ networks. UNTIL Labs are designed to leverage emerging technology and innovation in support of the achievement of the SDGs. UNTIL works to support and harness innovation and emerging technologies to create impact on our most pressing development challenges. UNTIL works to support the UN system, Member States and partners in addressing these challenges, to reach more people in need, to test and innovate, and to help ensure we leave no one behind. The Lab in Espoo, has 12 staff focussing on four thematic areas: Health, Education, Circular Economy, Peace & Security (SDGs 3, 4, 12 and 16). These sectors represent the best of Finland in terms of their potential to make a big development impact for people in the global south. Challenges which UNTIL aims to address through technology include access to healthcare, education, plastic pollution, conflict and post-conflict reconstruction. In addition to the above SDGs, UNTIL also works on Climate Change (SDG 13), Gender Equality (SDG 5) and Human Rights. Through UNTIL’s projects, the UN aims to promote the agenda of these 3 areas. CITY OF ESPOO A NATURAL HABITAT FOR UNTIL Espoo was an obvious choice for UNTIL. At Aalto University campus, AGRID, the building where UNTIL is located, houses approximately 160 start-up companies. Within a 10km radius of AGRID, there are thousands of start-ups and innovation companies. Espoo has a strong research pedigree through organisations such as VTT and is the home to large tech companies like Nokia, Kone, Rovio, Microsoft, Fortum. All of these represent potential tech solutions which will help people in the global south to improve their lives. UNTIL’s challenge is to find the best tech, to make the biggest and quickest developmental impact. Furthermore, in 2018, Espoo joined the United Nations leadership programme for sustainable development where the City of Espoo is one of 25 cities committed to reach the SDGs by 2025. FUTURE CHALLENGES NEED TO BE SOLVED TOGETHER Equality, good governance, inclusion, diversity, reducing biases are all critical elements of sustainability. Since the first Earth Summit in 1992 in Rio, sustainability came to be defined as economic, social and environmental. But increasing inequality, climate change, poor digital governance, using tech for bad, are all huge risks which threaten sustainability. Cooperation with Espoo and government also has to ensure a policy framework, norms, standards and incentives to support the achievement of the SDGs. 118 119

SMART CITY WITH AUTONOMOUS FIRST AND LAST MILE SENSIBLE 4 There are over one billion cars in the world, and every year over 70 million new ones are manufactured. Mobility and transportation produce a significant portion of pollution and greenhouse gases globally. In order to change this unsustainable direction, we need to change the way people use transportation. Our vision is clear. We believe in a world that is not based on the current model of private car ownership. The future of transportation as we see it, is shared, electric and driverless, with fewer cars on the roads and more space for people. THE STORY OF GACHA How can this vision become a reality? Sensible 4 has developed GACHA, a shared driverless shuttle bus for last-mile usage, capable of driving in all weather conditions. By integrating autonomous shuttles into the already existing public transport system, GACHA can contribute to society by offering transport solutions to areas outside the public transport network and thereby reduce the use of privately￾owned cars. Our self-driving shuttle bus navigates smoothly in urban environments and offers sustainable on-demand transportation all year round. Self-driving serves all kinds of areas from business parks and campuses to recreational venues. No matter where, a smart self￾driving transport system sustainably frees up space for people, nature and active urban life. On top of that, our self-driving solution consumes very little energy and requires only a minimal amount of resources. There is still a lot of work that has to be done before self-driving cars become the norm. One of the biggest challenges autonomous vehicles face is changing weather conditions. Most of the self-driving vehicles are only able to drive in ideal weather conditions. Another challenge is posed by human drivers who break traffic laws. When a car driven by a human breaks the law, the robot does not know what to do. Since self-driving cars are robots and robots act according to what they are told, this can lead to dangerous situations. To achieve a safer and more sustainable city, awareness has to be raised about these issues. FUTURE PLANS To make our vision become a reality, we are planning our next step to bring GACHA to different locations within the European Union, Asia and the Middle East. During 2020, we are also going to continue the pilot programme with the City of Espoo in order to establish a permanent self-driving route in the city by 2022. ABOUT SENSIBLE 4 Sensible 4 is a Finnish self-driving technology company developing full-stack software for autonomous vehicles. Their unique technology combines information from multiple sensors (sensor fusion), allowing their self-driving cars to operate even in the most challenging of weather conditions. Sensible 4 recently raised $7 Million from Japanese tech investors in their Series A round. Their technology was awarded Best Startup at the prestigious Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Cars in October 2019, and their autonomous shuttle bus GACHA has collected multiple design awards. Autumn 2019, the cooperation between the City of Espoo and Sensible 4 brought self-driving public transport to reality when a self-driving pilot with the autonomous shuttle bus GACHA was organised in the Espoo Kera area. The key point of the pilot was to offer the employees working in the Kera area the possibility to use GACHA for last-mile transportation, for example between the railway station and an office building. The pilot supported the goal of providing people with access to safe, affordable and sustainable transportation. FACTS ABOUT GACHA: Type: Autonomous shuttle bus Autonomous level: SAE level 4 Developed by: Sensible 4 Designer: MUJI Maximum capacity: 10+6 persons (seated and standing) Maximum speed autonomously: 40km/h Demo drives on public road: 34 Bad weather has been the biggest obstacle for driverless vehicles up to this point. Sensible 4’s software allows vehicles to operate in all weather conditions and environments. “ KEY FACTS • One of the biggest challenges autonomous cars face is changing weather conditions. Most self-driving cars are only able to drive in ideal weather conditions. • When a car driven by a human breaks the law, the robot does not know what to do. Since self-driving cars are robots and robots act according to what they are told, this can lead to dangerous situations. • To achieve a safer and more sustainable city, awareness has to be raised about these issues. 120 121

ZERO EMISSION ENERGY FROM DEEP BEDROCK Launched in 2015, the globally unique research and development project in Otaniemi, Espoo, has progressed according to planned stages, although it has required more time and investment than expected. The pilot project aims to test and develop technically sound and economically viable solutions for all work stages of the geothermal business concept in order to commercialise geothermal heat production on an industrial scale after the pilot. Renewable geothermal heat increases the flexibility of heat production and reduces emissions in Espoo. The geothermal heat plant is estimated to produce up to 40 MW of heat at its best and to cover up to 10% of the district heat demand in Espoo. Geothermal district heating is ideal for densely populated city centres. According to the City of Espoo’s strategy, the city is a pioneer in the fight against climate change and aims to reduce the carbon footprint of its residents. The goal is to produce and exploit renewable energy with zero emissions in the city. REVOLUTIONISING FINLAND’S DISTRICT HEATING St1 is piloting geothermal heat production for the first time with Fortum, an internationally recognised Espoo-based energy company, which will buy the thermal energy produced by the completed plant for the district heating network in Espoo. The geothermal heat project, which is piloting a completely new form of energy production in Finland. Successfully launched, it could revolutionise district heat production both here and in many other countries. The project in The production of geothermal heat using the natural heat of the bedrock is a promising and emission-free way of producing heat on a global scale. Finnish energy company St1 is piloting geothermal heat production on an industrial scale in Espoo for the first time. The project drills to a depth of over 6 kilometres in hard granite bedrock under challenging conditions in Finland. Otaniemi is one of the most significant renewable energy projects in Finland, the success of which is of considerable importance for Finland’s energy self-sufficiency and the reduction of emissions: district heating is the most common form of heating in Finland, and 2.7 million Finns live in buildings heated by district heating. If the geothermal heat production concept can be commercialised, we will be heading towards a future in which heat can be produced completely without emissions, burning nothing. Challenges have arisen along the way, but they have been resolved. Progress with the project has required, for example, the development of drilling technology and, consequently, the first ever successful drilling of a hole over 6 kilometres deep in Finland’s hard bedrock. The project has increased Finnish geoenergy expertise to world class levels in drilling, stimulation and flow analysis. The challenging stimulation phase of the project, i.e. the testing the water flow in the bedrock fractures, was also completed year 2019. Learning from previous foreign projects, the pumping of water to produce the necessary microearthquakes in the bedrock was done in a very controlled manner to minimise the environmental damage to momentary noise nuisance. The water flow in the bedrock was carefully monitored with geophones installed in the deep boreholes in cooperation with the Institute of Seismology at the University of Helsinki. After the above ground piping and installation work is completed, the target schedule for the start of commissioning of the plant is in the fall. The commissioning of the plant is expected to start in Fall 2020. It will be the world’s deepest geothermal heat plant, which produces heat completely free of emissions. KEY FACTS • When the project is completed, it will enable the production of heat practically without fuel, completely emission-free – it will revolutionise the production of district heat. • The project has attracted international attention and increased Finnish expertise in the field to world class levels in drilling, stimulation and flow analysis. • Geothermal heat can help the City of Espoo reduce its climate emissions. On a larger scale, the success of the project is of great importance for reducing emissions and energy self-sufficiency both in Finland and more widely in the Nordic countries. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? • The project is a unique research and development project – the first of its kind in the world – so there is bound to be plenty of challenges and uncertainties until enough experience has been gained in the production of the pilot plant. • The commercial success of future projects will require the use of the lessons learned from the pilot project in order to optimise the timetable and cost-effectiveness. • Comprehensive planning and project management for the different phases will also be developed to speed up the follow-up projects. 122 123

Young people with disabilities are at higher risk of experiencing exclusion in society. Espoo wants to enable meaningful leisure activities for young people with disabilities and bring them equal opportunities for involvement by lowering the threshold to participate in the city’s youth activities. In cooperation with associations for the disabled, new activities have been organised and youth services personnel have been provided with training. As a result of the cooperation, young people with disabilities have been reached better and they have participated in music events, cooking sessions and various excursions. Some of them have gained the courage to visit youth facilities independently. Both the young people and their parents have appreciated the new opportunities for involvement. According to feedback, doing things together and hanging out informally has provided the young people with experiences of freedom and time of their own. Personnel have learned to better observe varying needs for support in order to enable the involvement of young people with disabilities. However, there is still more development work to be done. In future, young people must be told more openly how youth activities open to everyone are promoted in practice or how any obstacles are actively reduced. Including physical accessibility information in the descriptions of youth facilities is a good start. In future, the types of facilities offered for hanging out and spending leisure time must be reviewed more critically. For example, the lack of a lift or inconvenient location of an accessible toilet are not only physical but also mental obstacles to participation. More attention must be paid to proving that the services are also accessible socially and in terms of attitudes. MEANINGFUL LEISURE ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES According to feedback, doing things together and hanging out informally has provided the young people with experiences of freedom and time of their own. 28 29

CIRCULAR ECONOMY IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR REDUCING TRAFFIC EMISSIONS Biogas is a smart and versatile form of energy. The biogas produced by energy company Gasum is produced in Finland from biodegradable waste from households, agriculture and businesses, among others – it is 100% renewable. The use of biogas for transport can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated during the life-cycle of fuel by up to 85%. The use of biogas also reduces emissions from city traffic, such as nitrous oxides and particulate matter, which significantly improve air quality in cities. Gasum owns 13 biogas plants in Finland and Sweden, and the company also buys biogas from three partner plants in Finland. Gasum also has two new biogas plants being built at the moment. The current volume of biogas produced in produced in Metropolitan area (including Espoo) corresponds to the annual fuel demand of approximately 1,000 buses or 30,000 passenger cars. ESPOO BASED COMPANIES PIONEERING IN LOW CARBON MOBILITY More than 80 companies in Espoo have already managed to reduce their emissions through the use of biogas for transport. The choice of biogas has been influenced not only by Finland’s emissions targets, but also by the increased environmental awareness of consumers and the values of companies themselves. For example, a national wholesaler, an environmental service specialist and the grocery chain Lidl have switched to using biogas for their logistics. Gasum and IKEA Finland started cooperation in 2017, resulting in the production of renewable and low-emission biogas from biowaste from the restaurants of IKEA stores. At the same time, gas filling stations were built next to IKEA stores. The first station was opened at the store in Espoo, and later ones also in Vantaa and Raisio. The filling stations are available to both IKEA customers and other users of gas vehicles. Circular economy is the word of the day. The City of Espoo is at the heart of circular economy: renewable biogas is produced in the area, and local companies have switched to gas-powered vehicles. Energy company Gasum and IKEA Finland use biowaste generated in IKEA stores as raw material for biogas production. KEY FACTS • Biogas is a renewable and low-emission form of energy suitable for both transport fuel and industrial energy. • Biogas is produced in Finland from, for example, biowaste from households, food waste from grocery stores and sewage sludge, at several Gasum biogas plants. • In biogas production, the nutrients in biowaste and side streams can also be recycled in different applications by means of recycled fertiliser products. • Several Espoo-based companies have managed to reduce their emissions through the use of biogas for transport. The choice of biogas has been influenced not only by Finland’s emissions targets, but also by the increased environmental awareness of consumers and the values of companies themselves. • Biogas would be ideal for both public transport in Espoo and for fuel in the city’s own transport equipment to reduce its carbon footprint. Few products or services combine both cost-effectiveness and low-emission performance in the same way as biogas. “ 124 125

WORKING TOGETHER TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS The City of Espoo’s goal is to be completely carbon neutral by 2030. An important step in reaching this goal was the adoption of Neste MY Renewable Diesel made from waste and residue in cooperation with the city´s public works department in 2018. Compared to fossil diesel, Neste MY Renewable Diesel offers up to 90% lower greenhouse gas emissions during the life cycle of the fuel. The City of Espoo’s goal is to be completely carbon neutral by 2030. An important step in reaching this goal was the adoption of Neste MY Renewable Diesel made from waste and residue in cooperation with the city´s public works department in 2018. Compared to fossil diesel, Neste MY Renewable Diesel offers up to 90% lower greenhouse gas emissions during the life cycle of the fuel. After adopting Neste MY Renewable Diesel, the City of Espoo has been able to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 1,500 tons, which has a significant effect on the city’s environmental impact. Renewable fuels also help to clean the air in Espoo for the benefit of machine operators and commercial vehicle drivers, as well as everyone in the city. As shown by research carried out at the Tampere University of Technology, local emissions can drop by tens of percent after switching to Neste MY Renewable Diesel. In addition to Neste, numerous experts from local companies have participated in the climate work of the City of Espoo. The project has shown the importance of cooperation in reducing emissions and making concrete use of cleaner solutions. Engaging employees to use renewable fuels in city vehicles has also been successful through communication and active involvement. In the future, it will be increasingly important to use all available means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. COOPERATION CONTINUES WITH THE SMART AND CLEAN KERA PROJECT The partnership between Neste and the City of Espoo expands in the near future with the joint Smart and Clean Kera project. The main objective of the joint project is to promote regional planning and construction with circular economy principles. The goal of future urban planning is to create environments that enable a circular economy lifestyle. In the project, the City of Espoo and Neste are jointly exploring ways to use cleaner energy and create new service concepts in the transport sector. Neste MY Renewable Diesel could have a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions of the project already in the building phase. There has also been some discussion about switching to a cleaner energy source for the machinery on the building site. Neste has also invested financially in the project by supporting the important work done in the Smart and Clean Kera project to build a more sustainable city district. We also want to develop digital solutions together with our partners. For example, the Neste app already makes it easier to refuel with a mobile payment, and at the same time users can see the reduction in their emissions compared to using fossil diesel. In 2019, Neste together with the City of Espoo and other companies received recognition in the Energy Globe World Award for the development of geothermal energy for district heating of Espoo. KEY FACTS • Espoo is making the air cleaner for users of machinery and commercial vehicles as well as for everyone in Espoo. • As a result of the cooperation, Neste MY Renewable Diesel is now available at several Neste service stations Espoo. • Each company played a significant role in enabling the City of Espoo to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. • In the future, it will be increasingly important to use all available means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 126 127

ESPOO CLEAN HEAT – CARBON NEUTRAL DISTRICT HEAT IN ESPOO IN THE 2020S The City of Espoo and Fortum are completing one of the city’s largest climate action with the Espoo Clean Heat project: district heating in Espoo will be carbon neutral in the 2020s. Already in 2016, the City of Espoo and the Espoo-based energy company Fortum committed to making the district heating system in Espoo, Kauniainen and Kirkkonummi fully carbon neutral. As a member city of the UN’s sustainable development leadership programme, Espoo has committed to developing solutions that support carbon-neutral urban life. Carbon-neutral district heating is a major climate action for the city, as the majority of the emissions of Espoo are generated from heating. Espoo’s and Fortum’s development work was accelerated in autumn 2019 by setting a new interim target to discontinue the use of coal in 2025. The 2020s carbon neutrality project is known as Espoo Clean Heat. With the project, Fortum will close one of its two coal units in Espoo for good in early summer 2020. A new biomass heat plant is already operational to compensate this. Its fuel will be wood material that would not be used by other industries. New solutions will be sought to replace the remaining coal use, for example in utilising the excess heat from data centres, wastewater and industry, electrical heat pumps, geothermal heat, smart solutions for flexible consumption and bioenergy. The aim is primarily to find fuel-free heating solutions. An example of future solutions is the use excess heat from data centers. If a large data centre could be attracted to a location near the Espoo district heating network, excess heat could be used efficiently for district heating. This way, the cooling air would not be wasted and instead could be conveyed to heat homes. Data centres use clean electricity as a rule, so the impact could even be carbon￾negative. 128 129

Output of the thermal power plant can be increased from the current 40 MW to 60 MW. HEAT RECOVERY FROM TREATED WASTEWATER The sustainable and ecological energy system is being constructed in Espoo as a joint effort between various organisations. Fortum has been recovering heat from wastewater since 2014. With the new agreement between the regional environmental services, partly owned by Espoo, and Fortum, the output of the thermal power plant can be increased from the current 40 MW to 60 MW. The new heat pump unit will use waste heat from treated wastewater coming from HSY’s Blominmäki wastewater treatment plant, which will be completed in 2022. In addition, the plan is to use warm seawater as a heat source in the summer. The new heat pump unit will increase the carbon-neutral share of district heat production in Espoo to over 50%. With the commissioning of the new wastewater treatment plant, treated wastewater will be led through an underground sewer tunnel to an underground pump station, from where it will be conveyed to heat pump plant. After waste heat recovery at the plant, the water will be led to the sea discharge tunnel, which takes the treated water to the open sea 8 kilometres from the coast – just like before. The new wastewater treatment plant will reduce the current per￾capita nutrient load on the Baltic Sea, removing over 96% of the phosphorus and organic matter contained in the wastewater as well as over 90% of the nitrogen. The treatment plant will produce the majority of the energy it needs from biogas, which is produced from sludge and other sources. Utilising waste heat is an excellent option in terms of urban development. Heating comprises about half of climate emissions in Espoo. Making district heating in Espoo carbon-neutral in the 2020s is a major climate action. Fortum’s new heat pump unit in Espoo will be a significant step towards carbon-neutral district heating, since it will replace some of the fossil fuel heat production. Treated wastewater contains lots of thermal energy, which can be utilised most efficiently using centralised heat pump technology. 130 131

URBAN ACADEMY SUPPORTING THE DISCOVERY OF FUTURE CITY´S DNA The Urban Academy supports the discovery of multidisciplinary perspectives in the sustainable urban development. The Urban Academy`s goal is to identify critical urban problems and relevant research topics from the city perspective – and to inspire research￾ers and students to work with these topics. Urban Academy’s tasks are to search for opportunities for cooperation, organize occasions and events for interaction and to assist in the preparation of joint research or development projects. Between 2018 and 2023, the cities of Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa are funding postdoctoral research positions at the Aalto University and the University of Helsinki. The aim of the project is to stimulate inter￾action between the cities and universities and to increase the use of research findings in urban development and planning. The research themes for these collaborative projects are selected directly from the strategy programmes of the cities eg. combatting social inequality in cities, increasing competitiveness of urban areas, transformation towards a carbon-neutral city, and how digitalisation changes urban life. The main research partners of the Urban Academy are Institute of Urban and Regional Studies/ University of Helsinki and Aalto Uni￾versity’s Living+ platform. The Urban Academy is managed by a steering group with represent￾atives of the cities and university professors. The strategic priorities and objectives of the Urban Academy are defined by a strategic board composed of the university rectors and the city leaders. The Urban Academy has two employees, a project manager and a planner, who work in all the partner organisations. In the 2019–2023 contract period, the activities are financed by the partner organisations. Since 2019, Espoo has been involved in the Urban Academy collaboration, a collaborative platform of Aalto University, the University of Helsinki, and the cities of Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa for research-based urban development. Urban Academy supports collaboration and exchange of academic and practical knowledge between the cities and universities. 134 135

CITY AND UNIVERSITY COOPERATE TO ADDRESS GRAND CHALLENGES Aalto University is a multidisciplinary scientific community where science and art meet technology and business. The university aims to develop solutions to solving grand societal challenges challenges of the world in key fields and at their interfaces by building a strong, creative community to support new thinking. As the first university in Finland, Aalto University signed universities’ international Sustainable Development Goals accord. In 2019, about one tenth of all the university’s theses, including doctoral dissertations, and a total of nine of the Master programmes, focused on the thematics of sustainable development. WORLD-CLASS INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY CLUSTER The City of Espoo and Aalto University are jointly developing the Otaniemi campus area as a world-class innovation and creative community. In expanding the sustainable campus area, it has been vital that the city’s land use planning decisions have allowed the proper mixing of laboratories, university facilities and student housing. This has enabled the building of vibrant innovation environments that will generate cooperation and new solutions. In addition to high-quality research and teaching, the campus has growth-focused, high skilled companies and startups. The technology cluster interacts with the university, the city, and other key players in the region and attract foreign companies to the region. A dense competence cluster attracts participation. The common goal of the cityplanning is also to develop intelligent public transport in Otaniemi campus. The campus now has a metro station, and a tram line will also be built in the coming years. Walking and cycling are encouraged. BROAD-BASED LEARNING CREATES DRIVERS OF CHANGE Aalto University and Espoo wish to build an innovative society and educate game changers, and they therefore work in an open￾minded, and they therefore work in an open-minded way to promote wide-ranging learning together. The new generation, its creative entrepreneurial spirit and knowledge are important for society as a whole. Espoo participates in Aalto innovation activities by financially supporting the professorship of Urban Economics, the Master’s Programme in Urban Studies, the joint Urban Academy of the cities and universities in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and by supporting summer camps run by students for entrepreneurship, by giving challenges the city faces to students to solve, or by testing products developed by students. The Aalto Junior activities offer students and teachers in schools and general upper secondary schools opportunities to learn and discuss solutions for improving the environment through science, the arts and finance. Co-operation has also been carried out in entrepreneurship education and it is also possible for students in Espoo’s general upper secondary schools to attend university courses. In the “School as a Service” concept, universities and schools have combined their resources and forces to promote wide-ranging learning. General upper secondary schools that work in close cooperation with the university, are sharing exercise and laboratory facilities and other resources, have been located in the campus area. The concept sees school as a versatile service and not just as a physical space, as in the traditional model. Cooperation creates opportunities to develop new pedagogical skills in learning and to develop the school’s operating culture. The City of Espoo and Aalto University work closely together, with room for courage and experimentation. The common goal is to build a sustainable future. A developing city is seen as a living lab that can be developed together to be more functional and sustainable. This cooperation is comprehensive, including cooperation in education and research, regional development, the promotion of the international competitiveness of the Helsinki metropolitan area and Finland, and the bold search for new solutions. The new generation, its creative entrepreneurial spirit and knowledge are important for society as a whole. 136 137

SUSTAINABLE KERA – EVERYTHING STARTS WITH A LOCAL DETAILED PLAN URBAN AND GREEN KERA Kera is planned to be dense and urban. There will be a wide range of public and private services. Walking and cycling will be made easy and attractive in the area, so that the residents do not necessarily need a car to move around. The Kera station will have access to park￾and-ride facilities for bicycles and cars. A green park offering opportunities for many different activities is being built on both sides of the centre of Kera, and will be an important part of Kera’s pedestrian and cycling network. Residential buildings will be located in such a way that all of them have easy access to green areas. The energy options considered for the area include local district heating and geoenergy. Kera can serve as a pilot area for sustainable energy solutions. SAFE AND COMFORTABLE KERA Social and cultural together with ecological sustainability are the starting points for Kera’s detailed local plan: planning creates a healthy and safe living environment. It is hoped that the current and new residents and those working in Kera will create a diverse and lively community in the area. The interesting history of the area supports the creation of a strong local identity. The art programme brings art to the city space for everyone to enjoy. The residents of the surrounding area are being consulted in the planning of Kera. Everyone has an interest in improving the services, recreational opportunities and transport links. At the same time, the rapid transformation of the residential area into a new city centre also raises concerns. Cooperation with the residents is therefore important in the area’s planning. The purpose of town planning is to design an urban environment that promotes the well-being and carbon-neutral lives of Espoo people while the population of the city is growing. The local detailed plan is a step toward achieving the sustainable development goals in Kera. Town planning addresses concrete issues related to the urban environment, such as the location of housing and jobs, mobility, green spaces and services. Reducing inequality is one of the objectives of social sustainability. Affordable housing will be built in the area so that people from many walks of life can move there. 140 141

FINLAND’S FIRST GEOTHERMAL LOCAL HEATING NETWORK PLANNED IN FINNOO The network for the Finnoo area is planned to be built first in two project portfolios that are underway, one of which includes around 6,000 square meters of permitted building area for non-subsidised housing. The second portfolio consists of state-subsidised rental and right-of-occupancy housing and includes 11,400 square meters of permitted building area. Geothermal capacity will be planned to provide geothermal energy as well to daycare building 2100 m2 in the area. ESPOO LEADS THE PRODUCTION OF ZERO EMISSION HEAT The implementation of a geoenergy network in Finnoo would support Espoo’s carbon neutrality objectives. An additional objective is to develop Finnoo into a model area of sustainable development, where innovative energy solutions can be tested. The deep well technology developed by QHeat Oy enables the heating and cooling of properties to be produced in a fully carbon neutral manner. The new technology reduces emissions by up to 95% in the energy consumption of buildings. A similar mid-deep deep well and a regional energy solution built around it have not been implemented in Finland before. FINNOO MADE OF THE BEST PIECES The construction of Finnoo is guided by the energy efficiency criteria set by the city, to which the operators selected for the area are required to commit. In the design and implementation of residential buildings, provision must also be made for real-time energy use monitoring of buildings. Finnoo is a new neighbourhood built around the sea, the metro and nature, where 17,000 Espoo residents will be living in the future. In addition to the metro site, the construction of streets and municipal infrastructure is currently underway in the area, and construction has also started on the first residential buildings. The majority of Finnoo will be completed in the 2030s. In Espoo’s Finnoo district in the future, heat may be sought at a depth of two kilometers. The first geothermal local heating network in Finland is planned in this new district, which would enable the creation of an emission-free residential area in terms of heating and cooling energy. The new technology reduces emissions by up to 95% in the energy consumption of buildings. 142 143

TAKING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES INTO ACCOUNT IN ESPOO’S DECISION-MAKING Taking into account the perspective of people with disabilities involves hearing the people themselves and their families. The goal is to make the reduction of inequality, increase of social justice, healthy and safe life, equal training, reduction of poverty, improvement of employment and implementation of ecological practices in services a part of the lives of Espoo residents with disabilities and those important to them. The Disability Council in charge of disability issues acts under the authority of the municipal council, as prescribed by the Local Government Act. The council influences the planning, preparation and monitoring of the activities of the municipality’s various divisions in matters that are significant in terms of the well-being, health, involvement, living environment, housing, mobility or daily functions and services of people with disabilities. Improving the employment rate of people with disabilities is a significant means of preventing their poverty and increasing their involvement and well-being. Council initiatives have been made in Espoo to promote the employment of people with disabilities and, on the basis of these, new methods are being sought for finding paid employment for people with disabilities. In 2020, subsidised employment will be offered to 15 people with disabilities. In addition, five people with intellectual disabilities will be provided with subsidised employment at laundries in various areas. As regards to cooperation with companies, preparations are being made for common training. Various methods and models are also being studied for increasing the share of people with disabilities in the city’s personnel. The City of Espoo received an honourable mention (2014) and first prize (2015) in the national competition for the development of summer jobs for young people with disabilities. The city also has a quota of practical training positions for students in vocational special needs education. What is essential is developing everyone’s personal understanding and attitudes so that they understand and accept disability. This is promoted by inclusion, one of the principles of sustainable development. Inclusion emphasises the right of all people with disabilities to belong to ordinary communities instead of being placed in their own, separate service systems. Achieving the goals of socially sustainable development also enhances the involvement and well-being of people with disabilities. KEY FACTS • The Disability Council has a permanent secretary, active members of bodies and good contacts with the city’s decision-makers. • There are still functions where no attention is paid to the perspective of people with disabilities or accessibility. • Decision-makers are not making sufficient use of the knowledge of the members of the advocacy bodies. • Challenges in cross-administrative development. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED What is necessary for all people is equally necessary for people with disabilities. For example, hobbies, promoting well-being and spending time outdoors. “ 30 31

The project is part of a major challenge related to enabling changes in mobility and energy use, and fostering more sustainable lifestyles. In energy solutions, the analysis focuses on district level instead of building level solutions. Further improvement goals include electric mobility, functionality of transport hubs and carbon neutrality. Sustainable Energy Positive & Zero Carbon Communities (SPARCS) is a five-year project of the EU’s Horizon2020 programme, which is looking for new, innovative solutions to develop energy-positive areas in two Lighthouse cities: Leipzig, Germany, and Espoo. Development targets in Espoo include three built areas, in addition to which the new solutions will be expanded to other areas in Espoo as well as five European follower cities involved in the project. The project involves 31 partners all around Europe. The goal is to generate globally significant imprints for the city – new innovations. In practice, companies in Espoo develop and experiment with new solutions first at the local level and then export the best solutions globally. A key objective of the project is energy-positivity, which means increasing local surplus energy production by means of renewable energy production and energy efficiency. In addition, the project seeks prosumer and commercial solutions that add to the choices available to energy consumers. A prosumer is a person who produces and consumes a product. The project’s most important global goal related to sustainable development is the objective of using affordable and clean energy. In Espoo, new solutions are developed jointly by the city and companies: Adven, Citycon, Kone, Plug-it Finland, Siemens and institutions such as the Finnish Association of Civil Engineers RIL and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The project creates new and develops existing operating models for business, collaboration and internal processes of the city. Energy-related solutions and policies steer the energy behaviour of residents and communities and are a key part of reaching the city’s goal of carbon neutrality. So far, various decentralised forms of energy production, such as solar energy, have not been widely taken into account in regional planning. The city’s internal operating models and cooperation between the city, residents, companies and other actors should be further developed support the change. In terms of energy solutions, we are moving from property-specific analysis towards area-level analysis and strive for energy positivity. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED KEY FACTS • The project tackles the challenge of energy and mobility change, with the goal of future energy-positive areas. • Possibilities to develop new, globally interesting solutions in cooperation with industry-leading companies and European cities. • Better development of the city’s internal operating models and partnerships to take into account sustainability and climate, and developing existing and new areas • So far, various decentralised forms of energy production, such as solar energy, have not been widely taken into account in regional planning. A EUROPEAN JOINT PROJECT AIMS TO CREATE ENERGY￾POSITIVE AREAS Espoo is looking for new, innovative solutions to develop Positive Energy Districts as part of a European joint project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 864242 Topic: LC-SC3-SCC-1-2018-2019-2020: Smart Cities and Communities 144 145

Key development themes in Espoo include sharing economy services, the utilisation of material, nutrient and energy flows as well as urban food production. SUSTAINABLE GROWTH THROUGH CIRCULAR ECONOMY Transformation to circular economy requires system changes on all levels: how we use, re-use and dispose of materials and resources. Future challenges related to sustainable development include increasing the provision of products and services in accordance with the principles of circular economy as well as changes in our current consumption patterns. In Espoo, circular economy is developed in cooperation with different stakeholders to create new sustainable solutions for city environment. The nation-wide, EU-funded project KIEPPI, short for ´Partnership model for sustainable neighbourhoods´, develops districts based on circular economy in three cities in Finland: Espoo, Tampere and Turku. The partnership model specifies the collaborative methods of the city, its residents, companies and educational and research organisations in order to implement the principles of circular economy in the planning and construction of districts. In Espoo, the project supports business-driven circular and sharing economy solutions. New products and services are being developed and piloted in the urban environment, particularly in the changing Kera district, which is one of the main future smart boroughs in Espoo. Key development themes in Espoo include sharing economy services, the utilisation of material, nutrient and energy flows as well as urban food production. The project is part of the Sustainable Espoo development programme, which carries through the Espoo Story and aims to promote a carbon-neutral lifestyle in the city. Circular economy particularly affects ecological sustainability in Espoo, but it also supports financial and social aspects of sustainability. Development of circular economy supports local business activity and employment, as well as sense of community and improvement of the services in the area. Culturally, circular economy and sharing economy are only gradually becoming more common, which highlights the importance of pioneering solutions. Changing consumption habits and sustainable growth are necessary in shaping the future lifestyle in cities. Then again, digitalisation and new technological breakthroughs enable better cycles of materials and resources in the future, in a way we have not even predicted/seen yet. Pioneering solutions are being developed now. Espoo is developing new operating models for circular economy to promote the development of circular economy business activity, sustainable growth of the city and a sustainable way of life for the residents. The shift to circular economy reduces the environmental load, improves the efficient use of materials and promotes self-sufficiency and competitiveness. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED KEY FACTS • New business-driven solutions for circular economy are being developed in Espoo • The partnership model created in the project helps develop cooperation • Understanding and implementing the principles of circular economy in the city organisation needs further development • Coherent circular economy products and services to better serve citizens and change consumption culture Business-driven circular economy solutions in Espoo enable residents in particular to lead a sustainable lifestyle. 146 147

ENGAGING A CULTURALLY DIVERSE POPULATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY LANGUAGE PROJECT TO MEET THE NEEDS OF INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTS The English as a Service Language project implements Espoo’s goal of serving its residents also in English. In particular electronic services are developed. The city’s services will be described in an easy-to-understand form, taking better into consideration the linguistic and cultural background of the customer, and ensuring uninterrupted service paths. Since the start of the ongoing project, the amount of application forms, webpages and social media activity in English has increased. For example, a new webpage for new residents, Hello Espoo, and a trilingual chat service for residents with children in early education have been launched. The project was created using user-driven and inclusive methods of service design. About 600 foreign-language residents of Espoo took part in the preliminary analysis project by responding to surveys or participating in workshops. One of the key challenges identified was the accessibility of services for a resident who is not familiar with the services provided by the city, or with Finnish society. The project has highlighted the needs of a large group of residents and put them on the city’s agenda in a coordinated way. It has produced a lot of valuable information on the service development of the city and insights into the design of services. Investing in accessibility of services and establishing a customer perspective have been good means for understanding the need for development. Providing improved services in English aims at smoothing the first steps of the integration process for newcomers, before they have had the chance to learn Finnish. For some, for instance guest-workers, the access to functioning services in English might be a decisive factor when contemplating moving to a new country. Since English is not a helpful language for everyone, the city lowers the linguistic barriers of newcomers also in multiple other ways. Key materials regarding school might be translated into 10 languages or more, and the law ensures the right to translation services in certain situations. ATTRACTING GLOBAL TALENT Everyone is competing for global talent. Almost half of the value of the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange comes from companies located in Espoo. 40 per cent of the academic staff at Espoo-based Aalto University comes from outside Finland. To ensure the economic sustainability of the city, it is crucial that residents moving to Espoo from all over the world find their place in Finnish society, can access work that corresponds to their competence and use public services. The English as a Service Language project tests a new participatory method to better include non-Finnish-speaking residents in the development of the city. At Town Hall meetings, residents and city officials map and work together on development targets, in English. Social sustainability is enhanced when no section of the population feels isolated from the city’s services and its development. It is important that, regardless of language, everyone can find interesting recreational activities and communities to brighten their daily life and to grow roots in their neighbourhood. Espoo wants to be an attractive and functional city for international companies and investments. The city develops its services to the benefit of all residents and employees. Espoo is an open city and home to 150 different nationalities. The population of Espoo is growing strongly and, according to the population projection, in 2030, 30 per cent of the working-age population of Espoo will have another mother tongue than Finnish or Swedish. Espoo Story, the city´s strategy, recognizes the importance of international connections. Espoo is home to 150 nationalities. Openness and connections to the world are our recipe for success. 46 47

To promote sustainable development and climate work, Mayor of Espoo Jukka Mäkelä signed the European Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in February 2018. The wide approval of the mutually set sustainable development and climate goals is clear from the City Board’s unanimous support for joining the covenant. Joining the covenant required the preparation of a Sustainable Energy & Climate Action Plan (SECAP). The action plan was prepared by the Espoo-based consulting firm Benviroc Oy in close cooperation with representatives of the city. The work was directed by Mayor Jukka Mäkelä, who owns the city’s carbon neutrality objective, supported by the sustainable development division of Corporate Group Administration, Technical and Environmental Services and the climate work steering group, which represents all sectors of the city. The SECAP meets the objectives of ecological sustainability in particular. On the other hand, building sustainable infrastructures and cooperation with companies developing solutions supporting the mitigation of climate change promote economic sustainability in the long run. The dimension of social sustainability is also strongly present in the SECAP. Ensuring smooth transport for all customer groups promotes equal opportunities. Preparation for the risks of climate change, such as hot spells and downpours, and the city’s ability to function in exceptional situations supports all residents but particularly residents in a vulnerable situation, such as children, elderly people and people with long-term illnesses. Espoo’s focus areas in sustainable development also include SDG 9, i.e. the building of resilient infrastructure and promotion of sustainable industry and innovations. The goal is also strongly connected to the carbon neutrality objective, for the achievement of which the city implements sustainable solutions together with partners and residents. The partnership with energy company Fortum is crucial for the quick introduction of innovative and emission-free energy solutions (SDG 7); without it, it would be almost impossible to achieve the carbon neutrality goal. The production of renewable energy in Espoo will be increased in the coming years, for example, with the new energy production plant to be built in Ämmässuo, the new bioboiler at the Kivenlahti biothermal plant and the new heat pump unit at the Suomenoja power plant. Finland’s first industrial￾scale heating plant running on geothermal energy is also under construction in Espoo. The geothermal plant to be built in Otaniemi is supposed to cover as much as 12–15% of the need for district heating in Espoo. If the project is successful, it will act as a significant pilot project for the introduction of similar technology elsewhere. This way, the handprint of the City of Espoo will be visible in the climate work of cities in Finland and around the world. Organising smooth transport in a city comprising five urban centres is a key factor in building a sustainable city (SDG 11) and also one of the major challenges to be solved. With sustainable infrastructure solutions and the development of rail traffic, among other things, Espoo will also impact the carbon footprint of transport and the transport habits of Espoo residents in the long term. The development of public transport and emission-free traffic are among the key themes of Espoo’s climate work. The city has directed a significant amount of resources to the development of rail traffic in particular. The major investments for the coming years include the second phase of the West Metro, Jokeri Light Rail and the City Railway. The sustainable development goals cannot be achieved without cooperation between the public and private sectors and civil society (SDG 17). Espoo’s partnership with Fortum is an internationally￾awarded example of this. Partnership with smaller companies is also important, and a robot bus has been piloted in Espoo as part of the Sustainable Espoo development programme. In the development of a carbon-neutral transport system, cooperation with partners, such as Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) and other municipalities in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, is of utmost importance. In addition to mitigating the effects of climate change, Espoo has, as part of SECAP work, identified the greatest risks caused by climate change. These include, in particular, the effects of floods and downpours in densely built-up areas and hot spells, which affect children, elderly people and people with long-term illnesses. To respond to the risks, the city has a work group for the adaptation to climate change, which also participated actively in SECAP work. The adaptation to climate change is already taken into account in many fields, such as city planning, but adaptation measures must continuously be assessed and strengthened. The extensive mapping of the risks and effects of climate change for the social and health sector and the sector’s actions to improve tolerance were identified as clear development targets for the city. As is characteristic for the operating principles of the City of Espoo and the Espoo Story, the adaptation to climate change strongly relies on partnerships and cooperation with, for example, Aalto University, Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. From the point of view of sustainable development, climate work and the achievement of goals, it is also important to measure and monitor the actions taken. The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and SECAP work provide an excellent framework for monitoring the effects of climate actions. Current actions and their impact must be reviewed regularly in order to enhance the actions and adapt them to the changing operating environment as necessary. Implementing the approximately 60 climate actions in the SECAP report will reduce emissions considerably, but more new, innovative actions are still needed. Espoo’s model of five urban centres provides multiple opportunities for the design, piloting and implementation of mitigation actions. As the city grows, regional spearhead projects include the development projects of the Finnoo, Kera and Kiviruukki districts, the design of which utilises renewable energy and develops innovative energy systems and functional public transport. Partnerships, information, research and bold, open-minded pilot projects can continue to be used as the foundation for climate and sustainable development work. WHAT IS GOOD: 1. All sectors of the city are committed to the carbon neu￾trality objective owned by the mayor, and each sector also participated in the preparation of the SECAP operating plan. 2. The extensive and smooth collaboration with residents and partners, such as Fortum, enables the achievement of ambitious goals. 3. Belonging to the Covenant of Mayors network of more than 10,000 cities provides collaboration possibilities, visibility and the opportunity to act as a global trendsetter. WHAT CAN BE LEARNED/DEVELOPED: 1. Achieving carbon neutrality requires contribution from all of us. It still requires a lot of work to make the mitigation of climate change a part of the daily activities of all of us. 2. The assessment of the effect of sustainable development and climate work must be invested in so that the city can enhance and redirect the operations as necessary. 3. More information is needed about the risks of climate change. The preparedness of the social and health sector in particular to respond to climate risks must be improved. 4. In the coming years, a sufficient amount of personal and economical resources must be directed to fighting and mitigating climate change. KEY FACTS SECAP – ROAD MAP TO CARBON NEUTRALITY As a pioneering city in the UN’s sustainable development agenda, Espoo is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2025. At the initial stage of the pioneering work, the city’s focus areas in sustainable development include climate action (SDG 13). In accordance with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 13, Espoo acts urgently to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects. The carbon neutrality objective for 2030 recorded in the Espoo Story is very ambitious, and progress towards it is made purposefully with residents, communities and companies. 152 153

The City of Espoo’s Premises Department, which are responsible for the City’s properties, administer over 400 properties directly owned by the City, the electricity of which has become carbon neutral at the beginning of April 2020. The origin of the electricity is verified with a guarantee of origin certificate, which ensures that a specific proportion of electrical energy is generated using renewable energy sources. In practice, the guarantee of origin of electricity is ensured through a scheme in which a proportion of future energy supply generated using bioenergy is reserved for the City of Espoo’s use. This electricity is generated utilising energy from forestry industry by￾products and primarily domestic wood-based fuels. THE AIM IS TO SUPPLY ALL PROPERTIES WITH CARBON NEUTRAL ELECTRICITY The amount of carbon neutral electricity purchased for directly￾owned properties by the City for the current year is approximately 70,000 MWh. In the future, the aim is to also bring limited liability property companies under the carbon neutral electricity contract. This would mean that nearly all of the properties owned by the City would be supplied with carbon neutral electricity. “Finland’s and the City of Espoo’s carbon neutrality objectives are ambitious. It is excellent for all of us if we can utilise opportunities to speed up the achievement of these objectives through our decisions,” says Head of Premises Mauri Laurila. THE ELECTRICITY OF THE CITY OF ESPOO’S PROPERTIES BECOMES CARBON NEUTRAL The electricity consumed by properties directly owned by the City of Espoo will become almost completely carbon neutral as the guarantee of origin of electricity agreement enters into effect. 154 155

Espoo has participated in the development of the ‘Low Carbon District (LCD)’ planning tool, which supports the realization of climate and sustainable development objectives in urban planning. The tool is available online for free use by City of Espoo planners or anyone interested. The planning tool features more than 70 concrete actions to develop the urban surroundings of railway and metro stations, for example to promote walking and cycling, the energy efficiency of the urban structure and the circular economy. The Low Carbon District -planning tool brings together a wide range of expertise. Dozens of experts have been involved in its development, both regionally and internationally. Urban surroundings of railway and metro stations are developed through planning complementary land use that balances services, housing, jobs, green areas and public space. In addition, streamlining services for sustainable mobility, supporting the energy efficiency of housing and the building stock, bringing everyday services close to the population and developing the responsibility of industries also support integrated urban development, taking social sustainability into consideration too. In addition to the mitigation of global warming, the measures will provide concrete input to the promotion of new circular economy solutions and the measures to be taken to adapt to climate change. The untapped potential of stations and the urban surroundings of railway and metro stations should be fully mobilised to develop people’s lifestyles and sustainable mobility. WHAT IS GOOD • the development of the urban surroundings of railway and metro stations strengthens the urban structure based on sustainable mobility and makes rail transport more attractive • the development of the urban surroundings of railway and metro stations adds value to travel chains • the development of the urban surroundings of railway and metro stations reduces insecurity and improves comfort in urban environments WHAT CAN BE LEARNED/DEVELOPED • the urban surroundings of railway and metro stations are multi-functional environments and their development requires the commitment of actors to common development goals • stations are often somewhat separated from the rest of the urban structure • the infrastructure and properties of the urban surroundings of railway and metro stations should be developed in a user-driven manner KEY FACTS A SAFE AND LOW-CARBON URBAN LIFE IN THE URBAN SURROUNDINGS OF RAILWAY AND METRO STATIONS The Helsinki metropolitan area aims to create regional and urban structures based on rail transport. The urban surroundings of railway and metro stations are at the heart of urban development as areas where housing, services and jobs are concentrated for their good accessibility. In addition, these urban surroundings, as nodes of low-carbon transportation, are also a natural starting point for carbon neutral and sustainable urban development. 156 157

TOWARDS EMISSION-FREE CONSTRUCTION SITES The Carbon neutral and resource-wise industrial areas (HNRY) project is an EU-funded project aimed at bringing together cities and research institutes that have a shared interest in creating carbon neutral industrial areas. Companies that have already made strides in lowering their carbon emissions are urged towards carbon neutrality, and other companies are coached on how to initiate relevant measures. In the project, together with two other large Finnish cities, Espoo will: • perform situation mapping of companies operating and located in the areas and identify their essential emission reduction needs and opportunities • enhance landmass management at intermediate storage facilities and at a designated landfill • increases digitalisation, impact fuel choices and enhance logistics at work sites • work on action plans together with companies in order to strive for carbon neutrality • develop and test environmental criteria for equipment purchases with the aim of being emission-free and low-carbon. Espoo’s objective is to create a concept of an emission-free and resource-wise construction site and pilot an emission-free infrastructure work site. The project started in 2019 and will continue until 2021. WITH PILOTS TOWARDS EMISSION REDUCTIONS The concept of the emission-free construction site has been developed by the City of Oslo in Norway. In the concept, construction sites gradually move away from fossil fuels, resulting in a calculated state of no emissions in the long run. Espoo will use the lessons learned from Oslo to carry out a pilot in accordance with the concept of the emission-free construction site in spring 2020. The first phase of the concept is about learning wise ways to use resources and new, better practices at the work site aiming at carbon neutrality. The idea is to calculate the amount of emissions created and especially the amount not created to ensure the desired effectiveness before taking the concept to other sites. The pilot of the emission-free construction site concept is part of the city’s development work on the way to a “new normal” at all construction sites. In the first phase, the concept of the emission-free construction site aims to ensure that the site does not produce calculated greenhouse gas emissions and the machinery does not pollute. Power may be derived from green electricity or nitrogen and heating from district heating produced by renewable energy sources. The concept also focuses on the reduction of noise and, in the next stage, dust. COOPERATING WITH COMPANIES It is important to cooperate with contactors of construction sites. If the criteria are too strict or unrealistic, not a single tender will be received for competitive tendering in the worst case. Earth movers in particular are expensive investments with long service lives, so the desired quick changes are expensive for the contractor. Contractors must be given confidence that an operating method that takes the environment into account will be the “new normal” in all construction. Their competitive advantages for getting contracts will be active cooperation and the achievement of emission reductions at construction sites. It is therefore worthwhile to invest in low-emission machinery and, for example, transform diesel lorries into electric or biogas-powered ones. Training in the smarter use of machinery provides another option for emission savings, which eventually benefits everyone involved. The transition may be facilitated in different ways. The project will investigate whether the city, for example, could purchase an electric machine and rent it to the contractor and whether the Government could provide a subsidy for that. Contractors must be given confidence that an operating method that takes the environment into account will be the “new normal” in all construction. 158 159

The aim is that at the same time, dependence on private cars decreases and the number of kilometers driven alone falls. This will also reduce congestion and traffic emissions. Espoo wants to prioritise sustainable modes of transport: For example, people should be able to get closer to the metro platform with a bicycle than with a car. The growth in sustainable modes of transport is promoted in Espoo, in particular by developing key transport hubs and service clusters. PUBLIC TRANSPORT – THE BACKBONE A prerequisite for the success of mobility services is an urban environment that supports walking and cycling, the backbone of which is well-functioning public transport. The role of the city is central to increasing the proportion of sustainable means of transport, to implementing a smart infrastructure supporting services and to opening up information to service developers. Espoo encourages companies providing mobility services to use electronic vehicles more and more by extending the public charging network. Companies developing mobility services offer their customers joint￾use cars, on-demand rides and shared rides. In addition, city bikes, electric bikes and scooters as well as luggage bikes are available. There are also applications on the market that enable journeys featuring various modes of transport to be managed easily in the same service. This is possible because, among other things, the sale of public transport tickets and the city bike season in the Helsinki metropolitan area has been opened to an open interface. In this way, companies that provide mobility services can build their own service portfolio around public transport. In the area of mobility services, key stakeholders for Espoo are public transport operators, companies providing different mobility services and interfaces and, of course, all employers in Espoo. As commuting represents a significant share of the total transport emissions, employers play an important role in driving new mobility services forward. Espoo also encourages co-operation. Examples of pilot projects include a robot bus and an on-demand ride service as part of Espoo’s connecting and cross traffic. CITY BIKES CURRENTLY THE MOST POPULAR MOBILITY SERVICE City bikes are currently the most popular mobility service in Espoo; in 2019, people made more than 570,000 journeys on city bikes in Espoo. City bikes are used especially in the first and last kilometre of the journey and as part of the rail travel chain. Park & Ride is also an important part of mobility services. In Espoo, Park & Ride has become an attractive option for those who have no other suitable connection with rail transport than the car. The attractiveness has been enhanced by clear signs, real-time information on free parking places and the development of mobile payment. Mobile payment also allows Park & Ride to be integrated into the service portfolios of companies offering mobility services. To make joint use cars more popular, Espoo provides parking spaces for them in key areas. SERVITISATION OF TRAFFIC AFFECTING THE WAY WE MOVE Reducing emissions from transport plays an important role in Espoo’s aim to achieve carbon neutrality. Practical solutions are provided by various mobility services, the increased use of which also increases the proportion of sustainable means of transport in all movement. 160 161

JOKERI LIGHT RAIL LINE BRINGS RESPONSIBLE MOBILITY ALREADY IN THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE The forecast is that the Helsinki Metropolitan Area will have about two million inhabitants and more than one million jobs in 2050. Effort is being made to direct the increase in mobility resulting from the population growth into sustainable mobility: public transport, walking and cycling. The Jokeri Light Rail line is the first quick rail line in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and is scheduled to start operating in 2024. SUSTAINABLE HOUSING AND MOBILITY The municipalities of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area have committed themselves to increasing housing construction, and the goal is a dense regional structure based on sustainable forms of transport. The rail line will replace the busiest bus line in the metropolitan area. Its capacity is insufficient for the increasing passenger numbers. The length of the rail line is about 25 km, some 9 km of which is within Espoo. In Espoo, new housing and office construction is planned along Jokeri Light Rail line in several areas. Building homes and ser￾vices along the Jokeri Light Rail route is profitable and sustainable. The area already has a street network, municipal infrastructure and services. The proximity of services and the high speed rail line will reduce the need for residents to use their own car. The Jokeri Light Rail implements the City of Espoo’s targets to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. The development and expansion of rail transport is one of the most effective ways of reducing emis￾sions from transport. The electricity is produced by renewable energy sources; wind and hydroelectric power, whose production does not generate direct CO2 emissions. The future tram is energy efficient and ecological. Its braking energy is recovered and used for air condi￾tioning and, during winter, for heating. The Jokeri Light Rail Line will increase the use of public transport and reduce private car traffic, reducing CO2 emissions and air pollution from car transport. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN FOCUS ALSO DURING CONSTRUCTION The aim is also to minimise the environmental impact of construction. The effects of construction and mitigation measures were extensively analysed during the project’s design phase. The track passes by the Laajalahti Natura 2000 nature conservation area, a sea bay with internationally significant birdlife. In addition, the rail line passes by a valuable old forest, the core area and important pathways of the flying squirrel. The above-mentioned nature values are among those that have been taken into account in both the design and construc￾tion of Jokeri Light Rail line. The project employees are actively familiarised with consideration of environmental aspects on the site. Any invasive species are removed from the site, the trees to be preserved are protected, concrete aggregates and other recovered materials are used in construction, recycled substrates are used and follow-up research on the impact of construction noise on birds is carried out. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED KEY FACTS • The construction of a new environmentally friendly public transport mode in Espoo and the associated dense urban structure contribute to sustainable development. • Using the alliance approach enables better collaboration between planners, builders and clients. • There is motivation to carry out the project in a high￾quality, innovative and industry-improving manner. • A tight budget imposes constraints on making environmentally responsible choices. • Because of the compact city structure, the work sites are narrow in some places, which poses challenges for the prevention of noise and dust on the work sites. • The consideration of nature values requires coordination both in design and construction. 162 163

TRANSPORT HUBS CREATE A CIRCLE OF GOOD Cities consist of centres that operate as transport hubs, or mobility hubs. Easily accessible by foot or bike, a transport hub provides smooth trip connections thanks to high-frequency transit lines and new, practical mobility services. MOBILITY AT THE FOREFRONT OF A LOW￾CARBON FUTURE Accessibility is a key metric for successful urban development. Transport and mobility have a major role in people’s everyday life: Espoo residents spend well over an hour moving about every day. Transport also has an enormous impact on our environment in many ways. On a large scale, traffic emissions contribute to climate change. On a small scale, the same emissions affect the quality of the air we breathe. In cities, one of the most significant environmental effects of transport is the space it requires – taking away from other construction projects and recreational areas. Roads and railways also divide areas through their barrier effect. The project Low-carbon transport in mobility hubs, funded by six major Finnish cities and the EU, aims to improve the preconditions for sustainable modes of transport in urban areas. A particular objective is to generate transport hubs that bring together people and various modes of transport. Easily accessible by foot or bike, a transport hub provides smooth trip connections thanks to high￾frequency transit lines and new, practical mobility services. Easy￾to-use, reliable and safe mobility services that provide quick and frequent connections reduce the attractiveness of cars in relation to more sustainable modes of transport, therefore reducing transport emissions. In order for Espoo to reach its goal of becoming a carbon-neutral city in 2030, it must reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by more than 80 per cent from the figures of 2018. At that point, approximately 31 per cent of Espoo’s carbon dioxide equivalent emissions were caused by transport. Cars generate 59 per cent of the overall transport emissions. Reaching the goal of carbon neutrality requires new and functional ways to offset overall emissions caused by cars. SUSTAINABLE MODES OF TRANSPORT ENABLING THE BENEFITS The growing share of sustainable modes of transport enables multiplier effects when homes, jobs, shops and services are closer to one another in a denser urban structure, and when walking, cycling, transit and other sustainable modes of transport become more attractive. This is not simply a question of ecological sustainability. For example, new business generated in the sustainable mobility services sector promotes financial sustainability. A transport system based on public mobility services available to as many groups of people as possible will also enhance equality and non-discrimination when the key modes of transport no longer require a certain age, income, wealth, physical fitness or lack of disabilities. Less passenger car traffic in the city enables alternative uses for the space reserved for such traffic. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED KEY FACTS • Smooth trip connections make sustainable modes of transport more attractive. • Digital services enable carefree and flexible movement. • Reducing the share of car traffic is ecologically, financially and socioculturally sustainable. • Above all, a sustainable transport system is a question of land use. • The electrification of transport does not remove all its externality costs. • Benefits of the transport system changes may be distributed unevenly across districts. 164 165

PREVENTION OF HOMELESSNESS IN ESPOO – EVERYTHING STARTS WITH A HOME A safe and comfortable home must not be just a right for people on good incomes. Because of the high cost of living, working does not always guarantee sufficient income. Depending on the definition, 6–12 per cent of Finns are poor. Espoo’s goal is to be a city that belongs to everyone and where no one will be left without support if they run out of strength. In addition, the goal for Espoo and Finland as a whole is a more socio-culturally sustainable, fair and equal society. HOUSING FOR THOSE IN NEED Espoon Asunnot, which is part of the Espoo Group owned by the city, has nearly 16,000 homes, the construction of which has been supported by the state. Priority is given to those applicants who are most urgently in need of housing, with the most limited means and the lowest income. The City of Espoo also sets Espoon Asunnot an annual target for the number of homeless people who must be provided with homes. Homeless applicants are among the group whose applications are the first to be processed. More than a thousand applicants in urgent need of housing also received a home from Espoon Asunnot in 2019. They included people for whose income the rents on the open market are too high. The rents of homes of Espoon Asunnot are over 25 per cent lower than the average rent level in Espoo, which means that residents will have money left over for other things in life after paying the rent. EARLY INTERVENTION IN RENTAL PAYMENT PROBLEMS Espoon Asunnot is part of a national ASTA project, which began in 2018, which develops ways to prevent the financial problems of tenants. Over-indebtedness and the increase in the number of non-payment records is a growing problem in Finland, which is also reflected in the amount of rent arrears. Various unexpected life situations can quickly lead to changes in people’s everyday life and financial situation. Sometimes people use their rental money to pay other debts. In those cases, there is also the risk of losing their home. The earlier we address rent arrears and problems with paying rent, the more resources are available for fixing things. Home is the most important thing that belongs to everyone. Finland is the only EU country where the number of homeless people is falling for the seventh consecutive year. The number of homeless people in Espoo fell by 16 per cent from 2018 to 2019. This has been influenced by the housing first principle. Other life management problems are easier to solve in a place where you feel safe, that is, at home. The quantitative objective of the finance advisory project of Espoon Asunnot is to reduce the amount of rent arrears that lead to eviction proceedings and recurring rent arrears. In order to achieve this, preventive rental supervision and housing counselling work and cooperation have been developed. Often, the rental supervisor is the customer’s first contact when the rent has not been paid. Rental supervisors have been given training to make approaching issues, listening, and service guidance even smoother. This way, the customer can be referred to housing counselling and other services in time. COUNSELLING AND SERVICE GUIDANCE Housing advisors provide short-term guidance and advice to our residents in various housing problems. The contact may come from the client or, for example, the property manager. Networks are used to find solutions to problems. For example, with Espoo adult social work, a model has been developed in which the situation of rent arrears can be resolved through cooperation between the client, their social worker and a housing advisor. The aim is to ensure the continuation of housing wherever possible. In 2019, the housing counselling activities managed to prevent nearly 500 evictions. The result is excellent, especially for those people who can continue to come home at the end of the day. KEY FACTS • We offer affordable homes for homeless people and people on low incomes. This way, the homeless can get a new lease on life and people on low incomes have money left for other things in life after paying the rent. • In 2019, 885 people received housing counselling and service guidance. • In 2019, 487 evictions were prevented by the help of housing counselling, which allowed people to remain in their homes. • There are more and more elderly people living alone, and they cannot always manage without support. For example, we need cooperation between housing counselling and services for the elderly so that the elderly can get access to the right services in time. • Reducing the amount of recurring rent arrears. • At a social level, people’s financial management skills need improvement. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED 32 33

METRO CREATING SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND VITALITY IN ESPOO Three of the five city centres in Espoo are located on the metro line, either currently or in the future. Smooth everyday life, functional travel chains and ease of movement are key factors in building the metro. Espoo grows and develops by investing in smooth rail links. The West Metro is by far the city’s largest investment project. It will help renew city structure and turn the metro’s growth and development corridor into an attractive, high quality working and residential area where the surroundings of each metro station within a radius of a few kilometres have their own unique characteristics. A completely new residential area with up to 17,000 inhabitants is being developed along the metro line, notable in terms of new and ecological construction in Finland. The metro is built because it brings vitality and enables new homes and jobs to be created in an ecological way. Metro is sustainable public transport at its best. The West Metro implements and lives the Espoo story. Länsimetro Oy, the company building the West Metro, has set itself the objective of bringing everyday convenience to residents and users of the metro. The metro runs underground throughout the line, so that the city and the services of city residents can be developed overground. All stations and entrances to the stations are accessible. The lighting and architecture of the West Metro has received many international awards. The aim is also to bring value for money. The metro is an investment that produces multiple returns on the funds invested in it. The metro investment attracts up to ten times more investments around it. During construction, taking nature into consideration plays an important role. For example, the routes of the flying squirrel have been recognized, and no disturbing work will be carried out in nearby natural areas during the nesting period of birds. Especially, cycling and walking have also been taken into account. The West Metro is one of the largest construction projects in the history of Finland. With the completion of the second phase, more than 20,000 construction workers have participated in the construction project. The project aims to introduce new innovations into construction and project management and to share information with others. The West Metro is one of the safest in the world in terms of its systems and solutions. Passenger safety in exceptional situations is taken into account by 52 different systems. The metro is the fastest means of transport in the Helsinki metropolitan area, with the largest number of departures daily. Metro traffic is carried out by electricity from hydro- and wind power. The City of Espoo grows to rail traffic hubs in an ecologically and sustainable way. Traffic already in the first stage; eight new stations and 14 kilometres of rail line. Five new stations and seven kilometres of rail line opened up to traffic by 2023. The biggest investment in Espoo’s history Smooth public transport enables sustainable urban development The environment taken into account during construction. 166 167

THE WALKABLE CITY IS THE FUTURE The increasingly urban centres offer jobs, diverse services and a comfortable, walkable environment. A walkable city means a city where local services are within walking and cycling distance. The physical environment has a proven impact on people’s mobility choices. A functional, comfortable, green and safe urban environment attracts sustainable mobility, without hindering the use of cars. The residents can choose the mode of transport that best suits the situation. GOOD LIFE FOR ESPOO RESIDENTS Everyone benefits from a walkable city. When people walk and bike, they promote their health. People who travel by car or bus also walk a part of their journey. As car traffic decreases, it reduces congestion and makes everyday mobility easier – even for motorists. The carbon footprint of walking and cycling is the smallest of all modes of transport, no matter how intelligent advanced vehicle technology may become. The city centres of Espoo will grow, change and become more densely built as migration to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and Espoo continues. The development of the centres is being planned as a whole. The aim is that each of the five city centres in Espoo will develop in a unique way, based on their own strengths. Diverse centres attract skilled people who strengthen Espoo’s vitality. In an urban environment, it is easy to meet people. Diverse centres attract skilled people who strengthen Espoo’s vitality. Walkers often use local services, and the euros saved from motoring can thus benefit local businesses. A physical environment that creates activity and human connections is the basis of good life. WORK ON CENTRES MEANS WORKING TOGETHER A significant share of daily journeys takes place between home and work. Smooth connections improve people’s daily lives and enable sustainable mobility. All city centres in Espoo are being developed as diverse environments for work, housing and leisure. The result of the work on the centres is an outline of the centres in Espoo and the principles guiding the development of each centre. Improving walkability requires working together. The work on the centres provides us with information on how to better integrate walkability into urban planning and transport planning. When this succeeds, we will all get to enjoy a sustainable, more urban and more livable Espoo. 168 169

BICYCLE PARKING ENCOURAGES CYCLING Espoo is being built around five city centres and good rail connections. A network city works when it is fast and effortless to move around in. Traveling in the urban area often involves changing between several means of transport. Making it easy to combine public transport and cycling increases the popularity of these modes of transport. Espoo is committed to promoting cycling: the goal is to double the share of cycling in modes of transport and reach 15% in 2024. This target is based on the Brussels Declaration, which has been signed by the City Board. CITY PLANNING CONTROLS BICYCLE PARKING The City Planning Department has been implementing a programme to promote cycling since 2013. High-quality bicycle parking is one of the tools of the programme. Bicycle parking requires space, an appro￾priate location and good traffic links. It should therefore be taken into account in planning at an early stage. Town planning sets the minimum number of bicycle parking spaces near housing, shops, jobs and public services. Cycling is taken into account in connecting traffic to the train and metro stations in Espoo. The city bike system is also used for connecting traffic. Stations close to metro stations are among the most popular stations. There are also qualitative requirements for bicycle parking spaces: the characteristics, requirements and criteria of high-quality bicycle parking has been defined for them. Areas where bicycle parking is provided must be attractive, comfortable and safe. For safety, it is important to have sufficient parking spaces and to park bicycles in the designated spaces. THE RIGHT NUMBER OF SPACES IN THE RIGHT PLACES In Finland, cycling is seasonal and the need for parking spaces varies by season and weather. It is therefore challenging to scale parking areas: there must be enough spaces, but unnecessary spaces take up space for nothing. Traffic forecasts and traffic calculations help find the right solutions. A total of 650 bicycle parking spaces have been planned in connec￾tion with the metro at six stations in Espoo, some of which are cov￾ered and weather resistant. When the metro extension is completed, five new stations will be opened, by which time Espoo will need a total of 5,600 bicycle parking spaces. The Espoo train stations currently have park-and-ride facilities for around 1,200 bicycles, of which more than half are located at Lep￾pävaara Station. In the future, the use of park-and-ride facilities will increase, most significantly in Kera, as the area grows and trans￾forms. Bicycle park-and-ride facilities are an important part of a smooth travel chain. As Espoo is changing, it is also necessary to keep devel￾oping park-and-ride facilities continuously. 170 171

SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY WITH ELECTRIC BUSES The first fully electric buses started operating in August 2019. 30 buses were used, of which twenty run on the Espoo lines. Electric buses will take a big leap forward in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in autumn 2021. A major experiment began at the beginning of 2016, when HSL, the Helsinki Region Transport authority, acquired 12 electric buses manufactured by the Finnish company Linkker Oy for transport in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The Linkkers were the first fast-charging electric buses in Finland, which could be charged at the terminal stop while passengers board the bus. In the future, the Helsinki region may see both fast￾charging buses and buses charged at the depot, depending on the development of battery technology. HSL can influence the number of electric transport equipment by making winning routes in its competitive bidding conditional on the use of electric buses. HSL will shortly start to invite companies to bid on a number of heavily used bus lines and will require them to use Passengers in Espoo have been able to make their acquaintance with electric buses while they have been operating in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Before autumn 2019, all electric buses came to the metropolitan area via various experiments, in which Espoo was involved. The 30 electric buses introduced in autumn 2019 will prevent about 5 million kilos of CO2 emissions year. only electric buses on the routes. The aim is that a third of the bus fleet in the metropolitan area should be electric in 2025 and, in the future, all buses in the region should be electrically powered. BUSES RUN ON RENEWABLE POWER The electricity on which buses in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area run is now, and in the future, produced with Nordic wind and hydroelectric power. An electric bus consumes only a quarter of the energy compared to diesel cars and does not produce any local emissions, such as nitrous oxides, so electronic equipment is an important step toward more ecological urban transport. HSL aims to reduce transport emissions by 90% by 2025 compared to 2010 levels. HSL believes that the emissions target is realistic. 172 173

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROVIDES COMFORT AND ENERGY SAVINGS Housing is the largest single cause of carbon dioxide emissions in Finland. Approximately 30,000 people live in Espoon Asunnot homes, which is more than 10% of the inhabitants of Espoo and more than 0.5% of Finns. Due to old-fashioned heating control systems, heating energy is wasted; this not only heats the building but also contributes to global warming. Utilising Espoo-based energy company Fortum’s smart heating control and flexible consumption helps reduce energy consumption, costs and the carbon footprint. BUILDINGS AS MOMENTARY HEAT STORES SmartLiving, a smart heating control system installed in buildings with flexible consumption of heat energy, is linked to the optimisation of district heating production. In addition, the information provided by the system enables even better planning and allocation of building maintenance activities. Artificial intelligence continuously collects information and learns about the consumer behaviour of the occupants, which determines the exact heat demand for each moment. Buildings can be used as temporary heat stores by optimising district heat production and by allocating heat proactively, so that when heat demand increases, heating capacity does not immediately need to be put full on. Shifting consumption to times of lower demand and price, i.e. flexible consumption, is an excellent way of offsetting consumption peaks. The SmartLiving service project was the largest in the Nordic countries and piloted starting from 2015. Espoon Asunnot has been involved in the development of the service and introduced it in almost all of its homes since the end of 2018. Since the introduction of the system, the number of fault reports related to the temperatures in the homes has decreased, and heat consumption has also decreased by about 7.5%. It has been possible to cut the peak power of district heat consumption by an average of 17%, and there have also been related savings in the standing charge dependent on it. In Espoon Asunnot homes, artificial intelligence automatically controls the heating in the building based on the interior temperature of the homes, building properties and weather forecasts. Occupants can easily monitor the temperature and humidity in their home with a smartphone or computer, and quickly report any deviations they have detected. The aim of this all is to provide occupants with quality housing conditions. WHAT HAS WORKED WELL WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? KEY FACTS • Heat consumption in buildings has decreased by about 7.5% since the introduction of the SmartLiving service. • Artificial intelligence learns from the consumption behaviour of occupants and collects information to optimise the use of energy in homes and buildings as needed. • In addition, the information on conditions provided by the system enables even better planning and allocation of building maintenance activities. • Inadequate equipment labelling and instructions for installed equipment have resulted in unnecessary maintenance visits. • The training of maintenance, hosting and experts should be focused on making the most of the system. • There is room for improvement in alarm data management to allow for a faster response to future failures. 174 175

ESPOO IMPLEMENTING AN INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE PROGRAMME Espoo is improving energy efficiency and phasing out fossil energy as part of the energy conservation programme for the municipal sector and the Finnish State. The measures will support the achievement of the city’s carbon neutrality objective in an economically efficient way. The Energy Efficiency Agreement for Municipal Sector (KETS) is an agreement for public entities, companies and energy producers to ensure the implementation of Finland’s climate targets. The current agreement has been concluded for 2017–2025 between the City of Espoo and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The agreement sets a target of at least 4% energy conservation for 2020 and a final target of 7.5% conservation. According to the targets, the total conservation target for Espoo by 2025 is approximately 19,600 MWh. Measures are targeted at residents, staff and investments. Residents and city staff are activated through communications to act responsibly and ecologically. Four cost-effective measures targeted at the entire property portfolio have been selected as energy conservation investments. These include the transition to LED lamp technology for outdoor and indoor lighting, emission-free district heating, target-oriented consumption management using remote monitoring technologies and more efficient use of space by abandoning empty spaces. Other actions include increasing the proportion of eco-labelled electricity, training of job-specific eco￾supporters, recycling of building materials, promoting zero-energy and wood construction as well as targeted measures to reduce commuting, business kilometres and food loss. The objective of the energy conservation programme is to contribute both to the achievement of climate targets and to the rebalancing of the municipal economy. The city’s energy-efficiency measures will reduce the energy consumption of electricity and district heat by 14% between 2016 and 2030. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED KEY FACTS • The project plays an important role in achieving climate targets and balancing the municipal economy. • The measures include concrete investments as well as advice and communications to residents and staff. • The development of cross-sectoral cooperation • Changing everyone’s outlook on energy and climate matters 176 177

MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMISATION – CONSTRUCTING CARBON NEUTRALITY In 2018, Espoo’s Premises Department began to look for ways to optimise investments and design solutions in terms of emissions reductions and investment costs. A construction project will always have to be designed in terms of technical solutions for the building. The selected solutions for construction and building technology systems have a major impact on the life-cycle carbon footprint of the construction project. In general, a structure or system of higher technical quality is more costly in terms of investment costs, but less costly in terms of life-cycle costs. OPTIMISATION SAVING MONEY AND THE ENVIRONMENT The implementation of the method has challenged the conventional way of working in the design process and has received a positive reception. Technical and Environment Services in City of Espoo has tested multi-objective optimisation in four construction projects. The results were very positive. In a swimming hall project, the saving in investment costs compared to the basic solution was about EUR 1 million, and the reduction of –364 tonnes of CO2 emissions was also achieved. In a school centre project cost savings were EUR 1.3 million compared to the basic solution, and the carbon footprint could be reduced by a total of –292 tons of CO2 emissions. The method will be used for all major sites in the future. The most significant share of the costs and emissions during the entire life cycle of the construction project is generated during the use of the building. For example, the carbon footprint is mainly made up of energy consumption during use. Only about a quarter of the carbon footprint of the life cycle is generated during construction. The variety of technical solutions for construction projects, especially in building technology, and the growing need to produce renewable energy in buildings have increased the number of options. It is almost impossible to define the most optimal overall design solution from thousands of combinations without the help of software. LIFE-CYCLE BENEFITS AND ADDED CREDIBILITY In multi-objective optimisation, an accurate 3D indoor climate and energy simulation model is created for the building. The results of the calculation are based on dynamic simulation, which produces hourly data on the conditions in the building over the whole calendar year. The most significant benefit arises when the calculation enables the selection of the most efficient combination of life-cycle energy use and carbon footprint, taking into account the investment and life￾cycle costs. The combination of construction and system solutions from individual components and solutions will best support the overall goal in an optimal way. The overall solution chosen can be justified in a transparent and clear manner. The client’s credibility increases when planning is based on clear and verifiable calculation through multi-objective optimisation. The City of Espoo’s construction projects make a significant contribution to achieving the carbon neutrality objective by optimising the life-cycle energy use, carbon footprint and costs of buildings. The result is savings in investment costs and life-cycle emissions. The share of carbon footprint during construction is about a quarter of the carbon footprint of the entire building’s life cycle, which is mainly energy consumption. The client’s credibility increases when planning is based on clear and verifiable calculation through multi￾objective optimisation. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED KEY FACTS • The calculation enables the selection of the most efficient combination of life-cycle energy use and carbon footprint, taking into account the investment and life-cycle costs. • There is a clear need and place for multi-objective optimisation. • Planning is based on clear and justified calculations through multi-objective optimisation. • Establishing it for all major projects • Adaptation to the project process of construction projects requires development, particularly as regards the working methods and the impact of the timetables of the parties. • Advice and guidance for new partners 178 179

In construction, the focus is on housing construction, as about 65% of the Finnish building stock is residential buildings. DEVELOPING WOOD CONSTRUCTION AS PART OF ESPOO’S CLIMATE TARGETS Nearly 110 million cubic meter of stem wood grow annually in Finnish forests. In recent years, around 60–65% of this amount has been utilized. The use of wood can be increased by 10–20%, for example as a source of bioenergy and in construction, wood products and various bioproducts. When assessing wood construction, the entire life cycle of wood must be taken into account, from the manufacture of material to construction, use and recycling. The carbon bound in wood is maintained in the structures and furniture of buildings for a long time, thus contributing to the environmental impact of the whole construction sector. The biggest growth potential of wood construction in Espoo is in larger construction, such as residential buildings, school and daycare buildings, sports facilities, bridges, yard and environmental construction, as well as energy renovation of façades of residential buildings, building additional storeys to existing buildings and infill development. In December 2017, the mayors of the six largest cities in Finland took the initiative to strengthen the growth of cities through wood construction. The aim is also to develop incentives for low-carbon construction. Espoo has a program for the promotion of wood construction for the period 2014–2020, which has been followed in the implementation of the construction projects under the city’s investment plan. How, then, is the promotion of wood construction in practice visible in urban construction projects? All the modular portable / demountable school and daycare center buildings built by the city have wooden frame and façade. Modularity and industrial prefabrication of space elements allowed a short construction time – for example a 3000 sqm school was in use in approx. 6 months from the start of the building works on the site. Duplicability and increased industrial production are therefore important objectives in the development programs for wood construction. Wood construction plays an important role in the building stock carried out by the city. The successes of wood construction in Espoo in recent years have included schools and day-care centres in particular. Around 1,000 pupils in three different schools and hundreds of children in six different day-care centres are comfortable in their wood-based learning facilities. The use of wood in the city’s construction is also promoted by the use of wood in additional structures, such as roof structures, façades and building interiors. The use of wood must always take into account the appropriateness of the wood. In general, the life-cycle maintenance needs for wood construction are higher than for many competing building materials. Wood construction contributes to bioeconomy and effectively reduces the carbon footprint of the construction process. Wood construction has been identified in Espoo as one way of promoting environmentally conscious construction. It is an effective means of reducing the carbon footprint of the City of Espoo and achieving the goal of being a carbon-neutral city by 2025. The use of wood in construction projects effectively reduces the carbon footprint of the construction process. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED KEY FACTS • The use of wood in construction projects supports the goal of carbon neutrality. • There is national support for wood construction and a wide range of stakeholders from which information is available on the promotion of wood construction. • Sites combining wood structures with industrial production can be completed more quickly than traditional construction projects. • Carrying out large projects with a completely wooden structure is technically challenging and expensive. • The importance of site supervision in the construction project is emphasised if the frame structures are made of wood. • Particular attention should be paid to the maintenance and care of wooden structures. In addition, project management and supervision of construction work play an important role in wood construction, because wood is more sensitive to damage due moisture than many other materials. In general, this means that a wooden building must be built protected from the weather. It is more demanding to implement large-scale projects fully with wood than other materials, and large-scale construction projects involve special technical solutions. In this way, wood construction is often more expensive in large buildings than the construction of a similar building made of, for example, concrete products. 180 181

From the perspective of sustainable development, it is important to focus on sustainable construction in the long term. TODAY’S SHOPPING CENTRE MAY BE A FUTURE SCHOOL The building’s adaptability enables new purposes of use for the building or parts of it while the world around us changes. This is long￾term planning and promotes financial, ecological and sociocultural development – with the example of large shopping centres, which may be put to better use as schools in the future. We do not know what the future will bring, but we can prepare for it. At the same time, the functionality of buildings and yard areas and a good cityscape increase general comfort and well-being. A HEALTHY AND SAFE BUILDING AS THE BASIS FOR SUPERVISION Key steering targets related to a healthy building include, for example, energy efficiency, retention of structures and materials, thermal comfort experienced by users, acoustics and moisture management. Functionality is inspected both in renovation and new building projects. Particular attention is paid to rainwater management and prevention of moisture and mould damage both during permit processing and construction work. Key steering targets related to safe buildings include the service life of structural elements used in the building and the possibilities for their maintenance and upkeep. Ensuring that the new structures of the building and building-related technology can be maintained and repaired reduces the unnecessary growth of the building’s carbon footprint during maintenance and the building repair and modification work. MODERNISATION ENHANCES SUSTAINABILITY A key steering target of renovation and changing the purpose of use is reducing the carbon footprints of buildings. Steering methods include the use of local energy production and general improvements in energy efficiency. Skills and expertise related to renovation and energy matters are improved through training, distribution of work and specialisation. Construction supervision units actively help to develop the sector and create joint practises in close cooperation with planners, the construction industry and the rest of the sector and works with construction supervision units of the largest cities and the Ministry of the Environment. The goal is to promote creation of a functional, safe, healthy and comfortable living environments and monitor construction based on public interest. According to the strategy, the goal is to achieve a flexible and interactive work culture where cooperative skills, expertise and ability to reform are valued. Construction steering work in Finnish cities is enforced by law and is based on regulations. The focus of construction steering in Espoo is on sustainable construction in the long term. Details are inspected and steered depending on the goal, with consideration for regulations. The key steering targets related to the goal include: safe and healthy buildings, possibilities for their adaptation, maintenance and upkeep, the functionality of the building and yard areas and a good cityscape. 184 185

SKILLS CENTRE ACTIVITY FOR IMMIGRANTS IN ESPOO In comparison to other Finnish cities, Espoo has on average a well-to-do and highly educated population. This is but one side of the coin. Urbanisation and growth also create challenges, such as loneliness, social exclusion and many kinds of social problems. Cities must work together to find solutions to these issues. In early 2019, together with the Joint Authority of Education Omnia and the public employment office - TE, Espoo established a skills centre for immigrants to solve challenges related to engagement, education and integration of immigrants. Its goal is to support its customers’ access to vocational education and improve their employment opportunities. Besides active customer work, operations in the first year have been characterised by continuous change and development. The goal is to create a service that genuinely responds to the customer’s needs and only does things that will benefit them. Integration of immigrants is a major challenge in Espoo. The strategic significance of the integration and employment of immigrants continues to grow in Espoo each year as immigration alters the city’s population structure strongly and rapidly. Currently, more than 18 per cent of the residents speak a language other than Finnish or Swedish as their native language. By 2035, foreign-language population of working age will comprise more than one-third of the population in Espoo. The percentage of foreign-language population of working age and under 45 years of age is projected to rise to 37.4% in 2035. The situation is particularly challenging because the unemployment rate of immigrants exceeds that of the resident population. So far, the unemployment rate of immigrants has exceeded the general unemployment rate by approximately 2.5 times. Due to the demographic change, it is necessary to reduce the unemployment rate of immigrants in order to secure factors such as the well-being of residents and the financial basis of public services and to combat inequality and polarisation between population groups. The responsibility for supporting immigrant integration is shared between various actors in public administration. Besides municipalities, key actors include employment administration responsible for integration training focusing on Finnish language teaching and educational administration responsible for developing professional skills. For many immigrants, successful integration into the Finnish job market requires developing their language skills and professional competence. SKILLS CENTRE ACTIVITY FOR IMMIGRANTS SUPPORTS TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT In the skills centre, following an initial analysis period of 1–2 weeks, approximately 600 unemployed Espoo-based immigrants annually receive services related to skills development and job search support that are suitable for their needs. The services are provided by a multidisciplinary and cross-administrative team. A joint customer process has been created to meet customer needs based on elements of services such as vocational education, language training, social guidance and employment services, which used to operate separately. Annually, approximately 150–200 customers can be expected to find employment. A significant number of customers also start attending qualification-oriented education after 1–12 months of the skills centre services. It has been proven that this improves their status in the job market. Active engagement and good results in the skills centre improve their language skills, working life skills and adaptation to the culture around them. All these factors support employment or participation in vocational education and, thereby, working life. Rehabilitation offered by the skills centre and the social relationships it brings are useful to customers also at these points of their life. In the best case, employment creates a circle of well-being where employment promotes mental and physical health while supporting the individual’s status in the job market and their future well-being. Improvements in health and well-being generated by employment may also reduce the service and resource needs of the social and health services. The well-being of an individual affects the well-being of the entire family, meaning that the impact can be considered to have positive repercussions on the entire family. Furthermore, peer examples of the well-being of persons in working life enhance the motivation of other customers of the skills centre. The skills centre serves customers in matters related to three sectors of the city: education, employment and social and health services. Once immigrants gain employment and find success in their work, they will gradually also face less discrimination and racism on the job market. This makes it easier for all immigrants to find employment. Successful employment may also lead to career development and increasing income. Access to working life often supports the rise of new innovations and companies, which could, in the long term, employ other people across the society. Inspired by the promising start of skills centre activity, Espoo is building a skills centre for highly educated people together with the region’s higher education institutions, relying on their continuing education offering and the service products of Metropolia, which is the university of applied sciences responsible for SIMHE (Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education). The well-being of an individual affects the well-being of the entire family, meaning that the impact can be considered to have positive repercussions on the entire family. “ Unfortunately, division of responsibilities for service organisation between different administrative sectors does not always serve the needs of the target group in terms of providing appropriate, customer-oriented services. Employment administration acquires integration training services from the market in a competition-neutral manner, and educational administration offers state subsidies for institutions covered by the authorisation to provide education. Differing intervention logic in administrative sectors often makes it virtually impossible to build cost-efficient training entities consisting of various elements. Skills centre activity for immigrants is also a means of finding solutions for crossing service boundaries. Approximately 31 per cent of unemployed jobseekers with a foreign mother tongue in Espoo have a university degree. 34 35

PARTICIPATION IMPROVES FUNCTIONAL DEMOCRACY Functional democracy requires actors who want to influence society. If we want to engage residents, companies and communities to solve shared challenges, they must have experiences of equal encounters and they need to know that their participation had an impact. This can only be achieved if decision-makers, employees and residents are capable of dialogue. They must be able to talk to each other constructively and be willing to learn from each other. The current, largely adversarial atmosphere does not support the efficient resolution of shared problems and can, at its worst, lead to an even greater divide. The involvement of residents and its development are highlighted in many ways in the Espoo Story. The first value in the story is resident and customer orientation. The aim for this value is to make daily life as smooth as possible. Residents, communities and companies are the best resources of Espoo. The active involvement of residents in the development of services and the co-operation with partners is a way to ensure successful service production meeting the needs of residents. Increased understanding created in dialogue and shared learning, on the other hand, create trust and strengthen attachment to the community. In 2018–2019, the city trained 22 dialogue facilitators from among its personnel for this purpose. They facilitated about a dozen public meetings in 2019. In addition, dialogue evenings were introduced in libraries, including discussions about climate change, among other things. Despite the strategic significance of civic participation, the city had not offered training to its personnel or residents. The Participatory Espoo programme (2017–2021) developed a training entity for this need in 2019 to ensure the spreading of dialogue-based interaction methods to become city-level operations. The entity consists of modules that can be implemented on their own or incorporated into existing training. It suits work units that are thinking of involvement work as well as work units that have progressed further, in any organisation of the city. The different parts of the training were piloted with city employees and residents. Particularly the events bringing residents and employees together received plenty of positive feedback. These events increased understanding and trust on both sides. Resident and customer orientation will become more evident in everyday life when the attitudinal and operating culture changes so that employees identify interaction skills as part of their basic work instead of perceiving it as a task of some “involvement specialist”. Although training increases the skills of the personnel, the building of trust may also increase the customers’ willingness to participate. As the employees’ willingness to support customers’ participation is concentrated around certain enthusiastic persons, the participation and influencing activity revolves around residents that are already active in other ways. The objective is to extend the willingness to participate to all resident groups and support the ability and willingness of the entire personnel to strengthen the participation of residents. There have been challenges in getting employees to participate to training. Especially in customer work, it is difficult to attend training and it always requires special arrangements. That is why parts of the training package are also included in other staff training, such as orientation and supervisor training. An online training entity is also being prepared. Participation is both a method and a goal of sustainable development. Of the elements of sustainable development, social sustainability is near the objectives of the interaction and involvement work in terms of its content. A socially sustainable society treats all its members equally, supports their well-being, health and functional capacity and provides the necessary security and services. Socially sustainable development is about the possibilities of people to influence their future, their ability to demand their rights and their opportunities to bring up their concerns. The training entity of interaction and involvement work supports these objectives. KEY FACTS • The joint training for residents and city employees of the city received positive feedback. Participants have made successful changes to their operating methods. An official decision has been made that participation training will be included in supervisor training. • It is difficult for all employees to attend training, so online study material is also needed. • New, successful practices should be communicated more widely among the stuff. WHAT IS GOOD WHAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED 50 51

INFORMATION CREATES THE BASIS FOR A SUSTAINABLE CITY These issues are being explored in a project focusing on land-use potential and public transport corridors (MaaLi). The aim is to improve public transport within Espoo in particular. The project examines possibilities for infill development in order to reduce the need for passenger cars and increase the share of public transport, walking and cycling. The project has developed new methods and approaches for research in the field. The results of the project are applied in master planning and detailed planning as well as in transport planning. The results can be used to draw conclusions on the most effective land use and transport solutions, both locally and at the city level. Espoo’s land use and traffic are also connected to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. In addition, the material can be used in cooperation with land use, housing and transport in the Helsinki region, which covers 14 municipalities. City planning aims to promote urban development that is economically, ecologically, socially and culturally sustainable. The MaaLi project provides a good knowledge base for this. The city and the needs of Espoo residents will constantly change over the coming decades. When planning land use and traffic in Espoo, background information and understanding of these changes are needed. How do five city centres connect in a functional network that is easy to move around in? Where is it most sensible to build housing and jobs? Which forms of public transport best serve different areas? 188 189

LAND USE POTENTIAL AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT CORRIDORS PROVIDES THE BASIS FOR FUTURE URBAN DEVELOPMENT Based on the results obtained, it is possible to conclude whether the passenger potential along public transport routes is currently at trunk bus route or light rail level, and whether it is possible to increase the number of passengers along the routes so that the passenger potential in the future justifies the deployment of a light￾rail route. The data helps identify areas where land use changes should be targeted in particular. The project produces master-plan level material in the form of areas with floor-square metres and population estimates. A NETWORK-LIKE URBAN STRUCTURE CONNECTED WITH RAIL TRANSPORT The land use potential and public transport corridors project provides the basis for a network-like and rail-based urban structure. Espoo’s growth and development corridors are based on effective rail links that strengthen sustainable growth, equality, well-being and achieve economies of scale. The project promotes a compact urban structure along the rail network, evaluates the potential for infill development in areas of low density housing, and enables Espoo to grow, particularly along the West Metro, Metro extension, Jokeri Light Rail and the City Railway corridors. At the same time, it promotes the siting of businesses and jobs in the growth and development corridors of the West Metro and the City Railway, and draws up plans for the development of the city with consideration to potential light rail routes. The material generated in the project can be used to support decision-making, for example in commensurate evaluation of the city’s growth trends and the routing options for city-level future public transport corridors, and in supporting coordination of land use and traffic planning. During the project, new methods and approaches to study land use potential and public transport corridors have been developed. The first phases of the project have been implemented in cooperation with the master planning unit and the traffic planning unit, and the work continues. The aim is to improve public transport within Espoo in particular. The project explores opportunities for infill development in order to reduce the need for passenger car traffic and increase the share of public transport, walking and cycling The land use potential and public transport corridors project is long-term background work to local planning, with an impact far into the future. The aim is to identify the potential for future land use development in areas adjacent to strong public transport corridors. Land use planning is long term work for sustainable development. 190 191

WITH LANDMASS MANAGEMENT TOWARDS A CARBON NEUTRAL SOCIETY USING DATA AND REGIONAL COLLABORATION TO REDUCE EMISSIONS Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority (HSY) launched the ‘SeutuMaisa’ -pilot project in 2017 aiming at creating a tool for regional landmass management. SeutuMaisa aims to mitigate the carbon emissions in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area through better landmass management. In the project, HSY and the large cities in the metropolitan area (Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa) have collaborated to design and develop a regional data base and a data system for landmass management based on geographic information, which has now been used with test materials. With SeutuMaisa, users will be able to find landmasses in the metropolitan area and exchange information with others who manage landmasses. In the ongoing pilot phase, the tool is directed at the needs of HSY and the cities, but it will be possible to expand the user base in the future. A key objective of the SeutuMaisa project is openness, which is an objective set by HSY for all its operations at the organisational level. Thanks to this policy, it has been decided in the project to use an open source code platform (the Oskari platform) for the technical solution of the map service. Openness is also aimed at in terms of the landmass data. HSY coordinates the project, which implements several objectives of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through enhanced logistics of landmass management. The most active city partner in the development of SeutuMaisa has been Espoo, which uses the project to look for answers to the challenges posed by the Agenda for Sustainable Development. The pilot phase of the SeutuMaisa will finish by the end of 2020. After that, the objective will be to open the finished tool for landmass management as soon as possible. Traditionally, construction projects have not paid too much attention on landmass management. However, this would be particularly necessary since landmass accounts for some 75 per cent of the amount of waste in the Metropolitan Area. In the past decades, poor landmass management has led to ineffective soil logistics, creating significant environmental hazards. The most prominent of these have been the considerable greenhouse gas emissions from digging and transports, the noise disturbance and emissions degrading air quality from lorry traffic, and the unnecessary expansion of landfills. An action plan for landmass management carried out in the 2010s demonstrated that significant savings are possible even in the short term. In three years, the action plan achieved savings of 32 million euros and reductions of 4.5 million litres of fuel and more than 11,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions at the city level of one researched city. The results of the programme acted as a stimulus in Espoo, where an action plan for soil and rock management and the use of recovered materials in groundworks was prepared for 2019– 2021. In Finland, a truckload of soil is used annually for each resident just for public sector construction. KEY FACTS 1. In the SeutuMaisa project, HSY and the large cities in the metropolitan area (Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa) have collaborated to develop a regional data base and a data system for landmass management based on geographic information. 2. With SeutuMaisa, users will be able to find landmasses in the metropolitan area and exchange information with others who manage landmasses. 3. It has been decided in the project to use an open source code platform (the Oskari platform) for the technical solution of the map service. Openness is also aimed at in terms of the landmass data. 4. Landmass accounts for some 75 per cent of the amount of waste in the Helsinki region. 5. Inefficient landmass management has caused significant environmental hazards, the most prominent of which have been the considerable greenhouse gas emissions, the noise disturbance from lorry traffic and the unnecessary expansion of landfills. 192 193

ESPOO INVOLVED IN BALTIC SEA PROTECTION In addition to nutrient loads, litter and different chemicals cause damage to the marine environment. Underwater noise is also a growing problem throughout the Gulf of Finland due to new construction and increasing ship traffic. In addition, climate change is expected to further increase the burden on the Baltic Sea in the future Good results have already been achieved during the first two operating periods of the Baltic Sea Challenge, but improving the state of the Baltic Sea will require further measures. The objective of Espoo water protection is to achieve at least good ecological status in water systems. In the Action Plan for the third period of the Baltic Sea Challenge (2019–2023), Espoo’s measures focus in particular on reducing nutrient loads, pollutant emissions and litter in its marine areas. Espoo also commits to increasing Baltic Sea awareness and activity within the city. There are many beautiful sites in Espoo’s marine areas, which have an important recreational value for the urban population, but also important areas for aquatic birds, some of which are sites of national value in the Natura network. In future, the importance of the local nature for recreation and biodiversity will be further strengthened in line with the Espoo Story. PENTALA ARCHIPELAGO MUSEUM PROMOTES ACTIVE BALTIC SEA CITIZENSHIP Pentala Archipelago Museum was opened in summer 2018 and is one of five units of the Espoo City Museum which, through their activities, contribute to sustainable development, especially from a socio￾cultural and ecological point of view. Pentala Archipelago Museum serves as a platform that creates opportunities for participation and for greater involvement in the common cultural and natural heritage. The archipelago museum focuses on the history of the old fishing farm and the archipelago of Espoo. The purpose of Pentala Archipelago Museum is to increase Espoo residents’ and other visitors’ understanding of the cultural and natural heritage of the archipelago and its biodiversity, and to make visible and protect the distinctive archipelago of Espoo. In the future, the aim is to further increase cooperation with various organisations, hobbyists, businesses and other actors in the archipelago museum. Inclusiveness, cultural and social diversity and support for active citizenship are at the heart of the activities. In future, the aim is also to increase the point of view of economic sustainability. The most serious factor that undermines the state of the Baltic Sea is the excessive nutrient load and the resulting eutrophication. Espoo is part of the Baltic Sea Challenge, where a large network of Baltic Sea Region actors is committed to implementing concrete water protection measures to improve the state of the Baltic Sea. Espoo has been involved in the Baltic Sea Challenge since 2007. 194 195

GOAL-ORIENTED PLANNING OF NATURE MANAGEMENT IN ESPOO The five objectives of the Espoo forest and grassland management model, introduced in 2017, are: 1 to maintain and develop the diverse ecosystem services produced by forests, 2 to protect biodiversity in forests, 3 to strengthen the resilience of forests to changes in growth conditions, 4 to manage valuable landscapes by strengthening their characteristics, and 5 to enable residents and stakeholders to influence the processes of forest and grassland management. When planning the city’s forest management, larger units are considered than just one forest, e.g. the outdoor exercise route, the lake shore area or the future green areas of a new area to be built. Properly planned management is designed to maximise the lifespan of forests and avoid major landscape changes. INFORMATION IS OPEN FOR ALL In the compilation of the plans for nature and landscape management, new information on the state of nature and the specific characteristics of biodiversity in the city’s forests is collected in a targeted manner. New information is made available to all actors in the city. Nature management and planning methods and new tools are being developed and implemented to achieve the objectives. Continuous influencing by residents and stakeholders can enable nature management measures to be concentrated and natural sites to be developed according to their characteristics and use. In order to make giving feedback and comments as part of planning work as smooth and easy as possible, the City of Espoo is developing the process of highlighting and communicating plans. The City of Espoo plans and implements goal-oriented forest and grassland management throughout Espoo. The green areas managed cover about 5,500 hectares. The majority of the area managed consists of forests used for recreational purposes and outdoor exercise and the local forests of urban settlements. WHAT IS GOOD Information and the promotion of material are developed as part of the interactive planning work. New methods and planning tools for nature management are developed, tested and implemented. The sharing and exploitation of information that is collected and existing in the design work is constantly evolving. KEY FACTS • More information on the state of the urban nature is constantly being collected, and the existing information is being exploited in a complex manner. The information is widely available to the various actors in the city. • The introduction and exploitation of new nature management methods is possible with the latest nature data. The forests of the city are managed by continuous growing methods aimed at keeping urban forests in a continuously wooded and in good general condition as well as preserving diversity. • Everyone has an opportunity to influence things: Feedback from residents and stakeholders is listened to continuously as part of the planning work. Everyone has an opportunity to influence things: Feedback from residents and stakeholders is listened to continuously as part of the planning process. 198 199

ESPOO AND THE PROTECTION OF DIVERSE NATURE In Espoo, nature is always near. Thanks to good nature conservation and urban planning, local nature and multipurpose green areas offer recreation to people and a living environment for various species. Espoo has made long-term efforts to preserve the diversity of nature. The best example of this is the city’s extensive spectrum of nature reserves spanning thousands of hectares and forming the core of our green network. Other green spaces and water areas of our city complement the network and are an essential part of the whole. New valuable natural sites are continuously found as knowledge of nature increases and is updated, for example, through annual nature surveys. Nature is also an essential part of the Espoo Story. According to it, Espoo must ensure the preservation of nature values and the diversity of nature as the city grows. The Espoo Story has the objective that the nature benefits and recreational opportunities of the local environment will increase, the local environment of Espoo residents will be attractive and nature values and natural diversity will remain intact. ESPOO CELEBRATING THE BIODIVERSITY YEAR IN 2020 The NATURE project 2019–2021 of the City of Espoo is divided into two parts that are carried out in parallel: The objective of the survey of the current state of the green network is to identify the framework and connections of Espoo’s green network, its central core areas and their connectivity. The network survey will be turned into a practical tool to support decision-making, land use planning, nature management and nature conservation. The resulting green network covering the entire city will be reviewed from the point of view of nature reserves, for example. This enables the identification of areas outside the nature reserves that have significant nature value and the preservation of the value of these areas. DIVERSITY AS A KEY OBJECTIVE An action plan will be prepared, presenting how the network of nature reserves can be supplemented regionally and qualitatively. In this context, regional supplementation refers to the establishment of new nature reserves. Qualitative supplementation refers to land use policy instruments that can be used to improve the connectivity of nature reserves, for example. However, the establishment of nature reserves alone is not sufficient to preserve nature and its diversity. For this reason, the project group also includes experts from urban planning, nature management and green space planning. The project looks for solutions to support the existing nature reserves by taking the diversity of nature better into account in areas beyond the nature reserves as part of land use planning and environmental management. As part of the action plan, a natural diversity policy for the city will be prepared, describing the nature conservation methods in different units of the city, particularly in Urban Planning and Public Works. The aim is to retain Espoo’s rich and diverse nature for the future. COMMITTING RESIDENTS IS ESSENTIAL The theme of the biodiversity year in 2020 is “Enchanted by Urban Nature”. It is important that the residents of Espoo are aware of nature in their city, the way it is protected and managed and their own opportunities to influence the state of the environment and biodiversity. The theme year focuses on the diversity of urban nature and the ways to conserve and improve it. Besides raising awareness of nature and its state in Espoo, the aim is to generate basic information and thereby acceptance for certain measures increasing the diversity of nature, such as leaving road shoulders unmanaged or increasing decayed wood in forests. The goal is to take the diversity of nature better into account also in areas beyond the nature reserves. 200 201

FLYING SQUIRRELS AS PART OF THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT Espoo’s strengths include its local nature, recreational areas, lakes, the Waterfront Walkway and the proximity to the sea. These are things that Espoo residents tend to value. Espoo is involved in the Flying Squirrel LIFE project, funded by the European Union, which will last until 2025. Espoo’s aim in the project is to share and develop its competence in the coordination of flying squirrels with land use, increase informa￾tion on the habitats of the flying squirrel in Southern Espoo, coop￾erate with project partners and raise awareness of the protection of flying squirrels not only among residents but also within the city organisation. For Espoo’s part of the project, EU-Life funding of ap￾proximately one million euros has been received. The overall budget is approximately €9 million. THREE SUBPROJECTS STEER THE DEVELOPMENT Together with two other Finnish project cities a guidebook will be prepared on good practices discussing the coordination of flying squirrel protection with land use based on the cities’ own experiences and operations models. The guidebook takes the perspective of the special characteristics of the urban environment, especially urban planning, and competence is conveyed, for example, through CASE examples. The guidebook will be completed at the end of 2020. More information on the habitats of flying squirrels in Southern Es￾poo will be collected. The effects of the city structure on the habitats of the flying squirrel are investigated through radio tracking of flying squirrels performed in the area. In the tracking, movement paths and habitats of the species are investigated by fitting flying squirrels with radio collars. The results of the investigation are utilised in the coordination of land use planning and flying squirrel protection in order to maintain a favourable protection level despite the increasing construction in the surrounding area. In addition, the effects of town planning practices on the habitats of flying squirrels are investigated through three-year tracking of flying squirrels at five different town plan sites. The third major subproject for which Espoo received funding is the maintenance of the habitat network of the flying squirrel. We will plant large saplings in places where the moving paths of flying squirrels have deteriorated. Forest management plan will be prepared for a site where the growing pressure for recreational use and the habitat of the flying squirrel must be coordinated. nosto: The aim is to enable favourable protection level despite the increasing construction in the surrounding area 202 203

CITY OF ESPOO PROMOTING HEALTH BENEFITS OF NATURE THROUGH HEALTH&GREENSPACE PROJECT Urbanisation and urban consolidation are megatrends affecting many cities in Europe. At the same time, the proportion of elderly people in urban areas is growing and the sense of community is challenged. Although cities have become healthier and safer places to live in, loneliness and depression are now a common theme among urban citizens. The Health&Greenspace project brings together nine European cities and implements ways to increase the health benefits of urban vegetation, greenery and recreational areas. Vegetation can, for example, mitigate the health effects of urban environments such as traffic noise and street dust. The project gathers information, exchanges experiences and plans actions in five different themes: • stress caused by heat, • air quality and noise, • the impact of green areas on mental and physical health, • green areas as part of the lifestyle, social interaction and physical activity of urban citizens. The Health&Greenspace project receives funding from the EU’s URBACT programme and will continue until 2021. URBACT brings together networks of urban experts to share expertise, experience and best practices in urban development. In the Health&Greenspace project, Espoo’s good experiences in the management and use of green areas will be shared with the other cities, and new ideas are gathered from the partner cities. During the project, the City of Espoo will draw up a Local Integrated Action Plan to increase the health benefits of the green environment. The plan will be developed in a broad partnership with the Urbact Local Group. In addition, the cooperation group is an important route for data collection and the implementation of measures. KEY FACTS The city of Budapest from Hungary coordinates the project and in addition to Espoo the following cities participate: Breda (Netherlands), Limerick (Ireland), Messina (Italy), Poznan (Poland), Santa Pola (Spain), Suceava (Romania) and Tartu (Estonia). Driving change for better cities 204 205

TOURISM GUIDED BY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT The role of tourism as a part of the world economy is growing. Climate change affects where the streams of tourists will be directed in the future. We consume natural resources much faster than they can be replenished. Sustainable tourism takes into account the present and future economic, sociocultural and ecological effects of tourism. Visit Espoo is part of the city marketing company Espoo Marketing owned by the city, and its task is to promote and develop tourism and meeting and conference activities in Espoo. For tourism to be able to respond to the changed demand and continue growing, development must be sustainable. Visit Espoo supports the achievement of the objectives of sustainable tourism by forming its own roadmap of sustainable tourism for 2020–2030 to guide Visit Espoo towards creating a more sustainable travel region. The objective of the City of Espoo is to be carbon neutral in 2030 and the most sustainable city in Europe on a permanent basis. Through development of a sustainable tourism destination can tourism support the objectives of the city. Cooperation is at the core of the roadmap. The roadmap is prepared and implemented in cooperation with the tourist industry of the area and other stakeholders with the aim of finding shared objectives and actions to make Finland the leading country of sustainable tourism and Espoo the most sustainable city in Europe. THE SEA BELONGS TO EVERYONE – ACCESSIBILITY AND SHARING ECONOMY AT THE CORE Nature and the sea are always present in Espoo, and they are important to both residents and tourists. Enjoying the sea is not a privilege for a few but something that belongs to everyone. Besides local nature, Espoo features 58 km of seaside, the approximately 40 km long Waterfront Walkway, 165 islands, the Central Park and the Nuuksio wilderness in Northern Espoo where suburbs meet Nuuksio’s nature values and dozens of lakes. The development of the Waterfront Walkway is a good example of the promotion of sustainable tourism, carried out in cooperation with local businesses while taking into account the needs of residents. The Waterfront Walkway runs close to the shore in a very diverse landscape, ranging from a protected Natura area to an urban business hub. Significant to Espoo residents, the Waterfront Walkway offers opportunities for enjoying the sea, relaxing in local nature and recreation. The Waterfront Walkway is a little over 40 kilometres long. In addition to diverse nature and marine landscapes, there are beaches, cafés, restaurants and marinas along the walkway. BOAT RIDES WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF THE SHARING ECONOMY Espoo’s Waterfront Walkway is easy to reach by public transport, for example the metro and city bikes. The Waterfront Walkway is a gate to Espoo’s beautiful archipelago, which can be enjoyed without a boat of one’s own. In the summer, archipelago boats take people to Espoo’s outdoor recreation islands complete with piers, cooking areas, toilets and campfire sites with wood for everyone to use. Espoo wants to develop the archipelago transport services further in accordance with the theme “The sea belongs to everyone”. The new transport solutions emphasise the sharing economy. With rentable city boats, boating is possible for more and more people, and through new digital services, it is possible to share boat rides and enhance the use of the existing infrastructure, including berths. The City of Espoo has engaged in long-term development work to enable the Waterfront Walkway and marine recreation for everyone. Sustainable tourism and recreation is made possible through cooperation between the city, businesses and residents. The development of tourism is part of the Espoo Story and supports the city’s carbon neutrality objective. The Waterfront Walkway offers 40 kilometres of diverse open space for marine recreation (equality) and local services. Transport in the area is based on accessibility and the sharing economy: city bikes, city boats, archipelago boats, the metro, buses. Enjoying the sea is not a privilege for a few but something that belongs to everyone. For Finland, tourism is a service field with great potential and a growing field of export. In 2017, more than 17% of the export income of services was from tourism exports, the overall demand of tourism was approximately €15 billion and its direct share of the GNP was 2.7%. Finland’s objective is to be the most sustainably growing tourism destination in the Nordic countries. Tourism is developed as a responsible and growing field of service business that generates well-being and employment throughout the year in all of Finland. Tourism employs more than 140,000 people in Finland. In addition, tourism has significant effects on regional economies. 206 207

ESPOO STORY STEERING THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEADERSHIP Effective management is a prerequisite for the renewal of the city. The root cause behind the need are the rapid changes in the environment and from expectations of the residents, partners and citizens in terms of swift response and close dialogue with city management. CLEAR STRATEGY CREATES COMMITMENT Espoo’s management is steered by the Espoo strategy, the Espoo Story. The narrative strategy, owned by the mayor, with customer orientation and versatile sustainability as some of its key themes has served as a basis for developing management work and leadership. One of the key successes for Espoo Story is that it is well known across the Espoo´s organisation. Development of management in Espoo is part of the implementation of the strategy and is based on cooperation and inclusion. The city’s management values also include network management and working in various global networks in a target-oriented and respectful manner. The 14,000 employees, experts, supervisors and managers of the city are all working towards the implementation of the strategy. This provides a solid support for every employee. When everyone knows and shares the targets, there is less confusion and more action. Managers and supervisors are seen as a resource in the city, and as with any resource, it is important to also keep developing it in the future. Knowledge alone cannot manage change, but we need to manage people and their motivations, feelings and knowledge. Espoo management was developed in 2013–2017 in a project focusing on the best common practices in goal-oriented management and good management team work. BUILDING THE CORNERSTONES OF LEADERSHIP TOGETHER The foundation of Espoo leadership, the five cornerstones of leadership, were gathered in shared discussions between top management and all leaders: • Customer-oriented activities • Responsible pioneer • Making everyday life easier • Development as a leader and expert • Effective partnerships and networks In addition to the cornerstones of leadership, best management practices based on the experiences of leaders were created for setting, implementing and learning goals. In addition, some rules were developed for good management of team work. Inspiration was also sought from outside experts and other organisations. CONTINUOUS LEARNING AS A BASIS FOR DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP The development of Espoo leadership is characterised by continuous learning. Leadership is an open, interactive, dynamic process that can be studied and practised. Leadership and managerial work are supported by systematic leadership training in the city. Every year, 100 managers participate in the “Making Espoo leadership your own” -training. Since 2017, 75 managers have participated also in the management eMBA programme. In addition, the city offers leadership coaching. Recently, Espoo has been piloting sustainable leadership training for experienced leaders. One key leadership development forum is an annual event for supervisors and senior experts dealing with common goals and shared leadership experiences from different perspectives. The event is hosted by the mayor. All leaders, and about one in five of the city’s senior experts, participate in the event. • Strategy-oriented, goal-oriented • Common leadership cornerstones – common values and culture’ • Continuous development, application of leadership practices and learning • New ways to manage sustainable development • Strengthening the learning perspective • Tolerating incompleteness, maintaining resources WHAT IS GOING WELL IN ESPOO LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WHAT HAS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT KEY FACTS The organisation or individual is never “ready” in terms of management; management is an open, interactive, dynamic process instead of a static state. “ 52 53

RESEARCH BASED ASSESSMENT FOR HELPING IMMIGRANTS Integration activity is highly cross-administrative, meaning that the services are provided by multiple organisations. Officially, the responsibility falls on municipalities in Finland, but multiple sectors participate in carrying out these activities within each municipality. In addition, some government authorities and organisations play a role in supporting integration. If we want to know how integration works, we must join forces and collect information extensively, not just from a single organisation. Alongside pragmatic projects there is a follow-up research project on the impact of the skills centre services for immigrants carried out in cooperation with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the University of Helsinki and Aalto University. Its aim will be to create a basis for confirming the impact of public services in a new and comprehensive manner and for a new procedure for conducting impact assessments based on evolving data relying on register information and data analytics. Based on the research results, services of the skills centre for immigrants can be developed according to the needs of various customer groups even better than before. The research project is also expected to advance the development of services supporting integration in Finland and internationally. The project also examines how the skills centre and background factors influence integration, employment, labour status and welfare from the point of view of the society and immigrants, and how they influence the financial balance of the society with regard to investment and return. Instead of assessing the direct results of the skills centre activities, the aim is to examine the impact of its services while factoring in other external factors. Based on data collected over five years, we can diagnostically review factors that influenced integration and employment. The underlying assumption is that success in the skills centre accelerates integration and increases employment. Another objective of the research project is to understand what kind of educational needs immigrants have in different phases of their integration process and how, for example, their home country and culture, age or residence permit status affect their need for integration. The project aims to create a template for a simulation model which could later be used in designing services for immigrants. 36 37

• Climate and energy Much has been invested in mitigating climate change in recent years, and important decisions to re￾duce emissions have been made for several years to come, including investment decisions for coal re￾placement (€300 million) and wind energy (€100 mil￾lion). PACE OF EMISSION REDUCTION MUST BE INCREASED The majority of Helsinki’s emissions come from the energy use of buildings and trafc. Helsinki’s green￾house gas emissions decreased by 26 per cent from 1990 to 2019. The main reasons for the reduction in emissions are the replacement of coal with natural gas in energy production, improved energy efcien￾cy of the building stock and increased renewable en￾ergy. Helsinki’s energy production is still heavily based on fossil fuels, which is why the city launched the in￾ternational Helsinki Energy Challenge competition. The competition sought solutions to make the city’s heating system sustainable, i.e. to get rid of fossil fu￾els without switching to signifcant biomass use. The competition lasted one year (from March 2020 to March 2021). As a result of the competition, the city now has a signifcant number of solutions and eye-opening lessons to help make further deci￾sions for an emission-free heating system. TOWARDS A TOTAL HEATING SYSTEM THAT IS AS MODIFIABLE AS POSSIBLE The competition showed that the future heating sys￾tem consists of several partial solutions and oper￾ators optimised to work together. Such a system challenges the traditional way of working. There are many operators in the model of the future, and rec￾onciling their interests requires new ways of thinking and operating. On the basis of the competition results, the city has started systematic further processing of the mater. The aim is to build a total heating system that 18 is as modifable as possible and does not exclude fu￾ture technologies or new players, but, on the contra￾ry, enables innovation. The lessons learned and solutions found in the competition will help not only Helsinki but also oth￾er cities looking for sustainable and innovative solu￾tions; Helsinki is commited to sharing the output of the competition with all cities. EMISSIONS FROM CONSUMPTION ARE SIGNIFICANT Another major challenge in terms of improving en￾ergy efciency is the private building stock. The city has launched the Energy Renaissance, which aims to start approximately 350 energy renovations in pri￾vate housing companies each year. Reducing emissions from trafc requires further eforts and closer cooperation with the state. In addition to emissions generated in the area, it is also important to consider emissions from the consumption of Helsinki residents, since they at least double Helsinki’s emissions. Emissions from consumption refer to emissions that arise elsewhere than in Helsinki as a result of, for example, the pro￾duction of goods or food used by Helsinki residents. Helsinki is involved in the development of con￾sumption-based emission calculations, which can be used to make emissions from consumption visible and raise them more strongly in the discussion. CONCERNS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE In late 2018, the city commissioned a safety survey, 66% of whose respondents were concerned about climate change. The proportion of those concerned has clearly increased compared to the previous sur￾vey conducted three years earlier. Respondents highlight many global or city-wide concerns more than just concerns about their own lives. Climate change was a common concern shared by all respondents, regardless of their age. However, the greatest increase in the number of those concerned has occurred among young people. This is also refected in the Youth Barometer 2018 for young people across the country, where concerns about climate change had increased dramatically. ADAPTATION MUST BE INTEGRATED MORE STRONGLY INTO PLANNING The importance of preparing for and adapting to cli￾mate change has not been understood well enough in the city organisation. It is important to adapt to the changing climate well in advance and to prepare for extreme weather phenomena and the global ef￾fects of climate change. The whole must be integrated and connected more strongly to all of the city’s activities and plan￾ning. In particular, planning should focus on meas￾ures to prepare for rising sea levels, increasing amounts of rainwater, hot spells and fooding caused by heavy rainfall. Green areas have a signifcant impact on adap￾tation to climate change, and planning must en￾sure that they have the capacity to adapt to difer￾ent climate-related situations. The ability to adapt to change, resilience, is improved by preserving di￾verse nature, implementing diverse green structures and securing nature-based solutions, such as rain￾water management solutions. In an increasingly dense urban structure, the amount of rainwater is expected to increase but, with good planning, rainwater can be used as a pull factor in urban recreational areas and as a biodiver￾sity-enhancing element in built parks. SUCCESSES: • The Carbon-neutral Helsinki 2035 Action Plan has been strongly integrated into the city’s activities. • The city has climate change adaptation policies, a highly integrated rainwater management pro￾gramme and climate risks assessed. • The launch of the Energy Renaissance programme is a major step towards improving the energy ef￾ciency of housing companies. • The Helsinki Energy Challenge competition was a new and innovative way of approaching Helsinki’s big challenge in heating emissions. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS: • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions must focus on fnding alternative sources of energy for fossil fu￾els. • Climate change adaptation policies need to be translated into concrete actions, and the imple￾mentation of the most efective of them needs to start immediately. • Helsinki has not much managed to infuence emis￾sions from consumption. Especially young people are concerned about climate change. 19

Livelihood and employment Globally, Helsinki is at a good level in achieving SDG 1 (No poverty). Helsinki’s challenges have to do with relative poverty caused by high living standards and costs, perceived income adequacy and increas￾ing poverty of families with children. Helsinki is bet￾ter placed than most other municipalities and cities in Finland to cope with future challenges, even though 43 demographic changes are beginning to hamper growth in Helsinki, too. According to population fore￾casts, migration will remain favourable to Helsinki, and the diverse business and premise structure will increase employment opportunities and tax revenues. POSITIVE FINANCIAL RESULT DESPITE THE COVID-19 CRISIS The City of Helsinki’s fnancial result for 2020 ap￾pears to be nearly €500 million positive. Munici￾pal tax revenues also seem to be slightly higher than in 2019, although the unemployment rate was clear￾ly higher in 2020 than in 2019 and the total amount of wages and salaries also remained slightly lower than in the previous year. Last year, the operating expenses of all municipali￾ties and joint municipal authorities in Finland grew by 2.0%, tax revenues by 4.0% and central government transfers by 27.2%. In the long run, however, the addi￾tional costs caused by COVID-19 and the loss of rev￾enue for municipalities may exceed the state aid. The surplus now generated will bufer these efects. The worst nosedive in the national economy caused by COVID-19 seems to be over, at least temporarily. According to both the Confederation of Finnish Indus￾tries and Technology Industries of Finland, the outlook for enterprises was improving in January 2021. AGEING OF POPULATION PUTS PRESSURE ON MUNICIPAL FINANCES In addition to the development of the national econ￾omy and the related tax revenues, a key issue con￾cerns expenditure in the municipal sector. There, pressure is created by the ageing of the population, which afects public fnances in two ways: the growth of the elderly population creates pressure on health, care and pension expenditure, and the shrinking of the working-age population weakens the growth po￾tential of the economy, which is directly refected in the development of the tax base. The pressure created by the ageing of the popu￾lation particularly afects municipal fnances, as mu￾nicipalities currently bear the responsibility for so￾cial and health care services. Measures to improve employment and increase the efciency of social and health care service production can potentially im￾prove the sustainability of public fnances. Increased work-related migration will, under cer￾tain conditions, have a faster and more benefcial im￾pact on long-term sustainability than the birth rate. According to population fore￾casts, migration will remain favourable to Helsinki 44 Permanently higher net immigration would strength￾en public fnances if the average employment and wage levels of immigrants did not difer signifcantly from the native population. COVID-19 WEAKENED THE POSITION OF YOUNG PEOPLE AND PEOPLE WITH A FOREIGN BACKGROUND IN THE LABOUR MARKET The decrease in the number of unemployed people in Helsinki faded by the end of 2019 and, at the begin￾ning of 2020, the number of unemployed people was the same as a year earlier. The COVID-19 crisis led to a sharp increase in the number of unemployed job seekers from March 2020 onwards. The unemployment rate (proportion of unem￾ployed people in the labour force) in Helsinki peaked at 18.6% in May. Full-time lay-ofs accounted for 41% of unemployed jobseekers. At the end of 2020, some of the restrictions relat￾ed to COVID-19 remained in place and consumers were still cautious. In December 2020, the total num￾ber of unemployed job seekers was 51,100, of whom 40,100 were fully unemployed and 11,000 laid of full￾time. Unemployment has hit the tourism, restaurant, cultural and specialised retail sectors the hardest. The COVID-19 crisis has signifcantly weakened the position of young people and people with a for￾eign background in the labour market. The number of young unemployed people has doubled from a year ago. Many young people working in the service sector have become unemployed, and many recent gradu￾ates have difculties entering the labour market. NUMBER OF LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED HIGH IN HELSINKI Unemployment has hit those with upper secondary and lower tertiary qualifcations the hardest. Unem￾ployment and lay-ofs are also refected in an increase in the number of recipients of basic income support and general housing allowance. Long-term unemploy￾ment may lead to an increase in inequalities in the coming years and have a signifcant impact on the risk of social exclusion of young people and people with a foreign background. The COVID-19 cri￾sis led to a sharp increase in the number of unem￾ployed job seekers from March 2020 onwards. 45 The number of long-term unemployed is high in Helsinki and started to grow strongly in autumn 2020. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, those who were al￾ready unemployed did not succeed in fnding employ￾ment. The risk of long-term unemployment increases with age. Half of the long-term unemployed are over 50 years old. At the end of 2020, there were 15,300 people in Helsinki who had been unemployed continu￾ously for more than a year, which was 46% more than a year earlier. Regionally speaking, the number of unemployed people has grown more in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area than in the rest of the country. There are also gender diferences: for example, the unemployment rate of immigrant women is much higher than that of men. LABOUR SHORTAGES IN THE HIGH-TECH AND DIGITALISATION SECTORS In terms of labour demand, the trend is a decrease in the number of low-skilled jobs and increase in the number of expert and managerial positions. The share of skilled professionals in the labour force is expected to remain almost unchanged, while the share of work￾ers with a low level of education will decrease. The training requirements of the workforce need￾ed for job openings by 2035 are expected to be signif￾cantly higher than those of the employed at the end of the last decade. As skills requirements increase, it is essential to improve the level of education and train￾ing of those already in employment. Supply and demand do not properly match in the labour market, and Helsinki sufers from labour short￾ages, especially in the high-tech and digitalisation sec￾tors. Helsinki must atract experts from abroad. Helsinki participates in the local government pi￾lot on employment, which is organised nationwide from 1 March 2021 to 30 June 2023. Part of the tasks of the Employment and Economic Development Of￾fces will be transferred to municipalities in areas se￾lected for the local government pilots on employment. The nationwide goal of the local government pilots on employment is to promote the employment of unem￾ployed jobseekers and their guidance towards train￾ing and services more efectively and to create new solutions for the availability of skilled workforce. SUCCESSES: • Growth in employment and number of enterprises before COVID-19. • Support for employment is available, and foreign language-speakers are also actively involved. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS: • The employment of people with a foreign back￾ground, young people and minorities must be im￾proved. • An increase in unemployment and long-term un￾employment, which has further increased during the COVID-19 crisis. The number of enterprises in Helsinki grew by 10.1% between 2013 and 2019. 46

Industry and innovation The most important condition for the vitality of Hel - sinki is a well-functioning city. The bedrock of com - petitiveness is formed by high-quality services, cleanliness, accessibility, safety, liveliness, equali - ty and other things that increase the quality of life of citizens. Every division and individual employee of the City of Helsinki in fuences the city’s vitality with their daily work. In Helsinki, SDGs 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 9 (Industry, innovation and in - frastructure) and 11 (Sustainable cities and commu - nities) are well advanced in many respects. Helsin - ki’s economy and competitiveness are strong, and the city invests in research and development and business services in many ways. SERVICE -INTENSIVE INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE Helsinki utilises the opportunities and strengths of a well-functioning city in its long-term industrial policy. The city’s permanent task is to develop the business environment, promote the employment of Helsin - ki residents and enable sustainable and knowl - edge-based economic growth. The three priorities of industrial policy are de fned as follows: internation - ally a tractive Helsinki, a city of skilled labour and a platform for new and growing business. The number of enterprises in Helsinki grew by 10.1% between 2013 and 2019. At the same time, the 46 number of enterprises in the whole country grew by 2.8%. Between 2013 and 2019, the number of employ￾ees in companies increased by 14.9% in Helsinki and by 3.5% in the whole country. In Helsinki, the industrial structure was highly ser￾vice-intensive, as nearly 88.2% of Helsinki’s enter￾prises operated in the service sectors in 2019. Hel￾sinki plays an important role in the business activities of both the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and Finland as a whole. Helsinki is an important area of business ac￾tivity that ofers the opportunity to innovate, develop new things and make proftable and stable business. COVID-19 HAS TWO KINDS OF EFFECTS In the case of companies, COVID-19 has two kinds of efects. In those enterprises and industries most af￾fected by the restrictions, turnover has fallen sharp￾ly compared to 2019. The decrease in turnover and sales has directly hit jobs and employment in the city. In particular, restaurant and accommodation se￾vices, arts, entertainment and recreation as well as specialised shops have been severely afected by the restrictions. This has been refected both in the slight increase in the number of bankruptcies opened and the small number of companies started. On the other hand, growth has been seen in many sectors, such as construction, grocery trade and in￾formation and communication, which have not been greatly afected by the restrictions. Summary of the industrial structure of Helsinki and Finland as a whole in terms of number of enter￾prises, number of employees and turnover in 2019 Helsinki Number Number of personnel Revenue Primary production 2.3% 0.1% 0.0% Processing 9.5% 15.9% 39.9% Services 88.2% 84.0% 60.1% Entire country Number Number of personnel Revenue Primary production 20.9% 3.5% 0.6% Processing 17.7% 31.7% 41.9% Services 61.4% 64.8% 57.5% 47 SMART CITY DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATIVE EXPERIMENTS Helsinki has continued and expanded its experimen￾tal platform activities. Companies can now propose innovation cooperation to develop their own busi￾ness through the new testbed.helsinki website. In addition, the city publishes various challenge and ex￾periment competitions on the site, which are used to fnd the best solutions. Innovations have been developed in areas such as intelligent transport, mobility of the elderly, air quali￾ty, energy efciency and learning environments. The city’s divisions also employ innovation agents, whose task is to facilitate cooperation between companies and the city and to fnd new sustainable solutions to various challenges facing the city. One of the key innovation development environ￾ments of the Smart City of Helsinki is located in Kal￾asatama, where business services have been de￾veloped and cooperation across the city’s divisions has been strengthened. Local residents have partic￾ipated in the activities and actively started using the smart city solutions, and they have also felt that they can lead a more sustainable everyday life in this area than in their previous places of residence. In the next phase, which has already started, the activities will be extended to other city districts. A new theme for smart city development is the digital￾isation of the natural environment and new solutions for green infrastructure, which also involve interest￾ing opportunities for new business. GREEN GROWTH AND A CIRCULAR ECONOMY CLUSTER PROGRAMME The city wants to promote green growth business so that the post-pandemic recovery can take place in accordance with sustainable development. Helsin￾ki is launching a new circular economy cluster pro￾gramme, which aims to create business in line with circular economy, especially in construction. As part of the post-pandemic recovery, new busi￾ness incubator activities will also be established on the campuses of universities and universities of ap￾plied sciences, aiming to create more R&D&I- and student-oriented entrepreneurship and jobs. Sus￾tainability and positive social impact are growing phenomena and drivers in Helsinki’s growth compa￾ny ecosystem, especially among students and young people. SUCCESSES: • Successful and participatory Smart City piloting in Kalasatama and a decision to expand the activities. • Helsinki launches a circular economy cluster pro￾gramme as part of a sustainable recovery. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS: • Innovative procurement and wider use of diferent procurement models have not been possible. Industries most afected by the restrictions, turn￾over has fallen sharply compared to 2019. 48

Sustainable infrastructure Sustainable infrastructure is the foundation of the city, and this is particularly linked with SDGs 11 (Sus￾tainable cities and communities) and 9 (Industry, in￾novation and infrastructure). In these goals, Helsinki should still invest especially in environmental health, 50 climate-friendly and adaptive planning, promoting clean technologies and nature-based solutions. In Helsinki, the infrastructure is functional and good de￾velopment takes place all the time, in construction and trafc planning. HELSINKI IS GROWING INTO A DENSE CITY The master plan is a long-term land use plan that guides the development of the city’s community structure. It afects what Helsinki will be like in dec￾ades from now. A new master plan is drawn up in Helsinki approximately every ten years, and it guides the zoning. The 2016 master plan enables Helsinki to grow into a dense city with several centres connected by rail trafc: the metro, trains and light rail lines. Con￾struction has been specifcally targeted at rail trafc hubs and around major stations. For example, Mal￾mi, Itäkeskus, Kontula, Hertoniemi, Kannelmäki and Malminkartano can grow into new centres with di￾verse housing, services and jobs. According to the master plan, Helsinki is still a green city whose strengths are urban forests and cultural environments. Important new areas for recreation and tourism are planned for islands no longer used by the Finnish Defence Forces. As regards trafc planning, Helsinki has invest￾ed in sustainable trafc planning by, for example, in￾vesting in public transport, especially in the develop￾ment of rail trafc, and cycling. Promoting cycling as a mode of transport improves and extensively devel￾ops the comfort and vitality of the city and the func￾tionality of the transport system. ACCESSIBLE HELSINKI The Accessibility Guidelines of the City of Helsin￾ki serve as uniform general guidelines for the whole city and all the administrative branches in accessibil￾ity work. The accessibility guidelines are divided into fve focus areas: zoning and trafc planning, build￾ings, public areas, living environment and services. The accessibility guidelines apply to all the admin￾istrative branches whose activities are linked to the entity in question. The accessibility of public areas and buildings in Helsinki is progressing in the right direction, but the progress has been considerably slower than originally thought. Among the successes in accessibility, we could mention the accessibility recognition given to the Lammassaari duckboard path by the Council on Dis￾ability and the National Accessibility Award given to the Hämeentie street renovation project by the Hel￾sinki and Uusimaa Visually Impaired Association. Various guides have been prepared to promote accessibility, including guides for schools, day-care centres and indoor swimming pools, and separate 51 accessibility requirements have been added to the quality requirements of social and health care facil￾ities. IMPROVED ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN CONSTRUCTION According to the Carbon-neutral Helsinki 2035 Ac￾tion Plan, the energy consumption of new building stock in the Helsinki region must decrease signif￾cantly, local renewable energy production must in￾crease and emissions from centralised energy pro￾duction must decrease considerably. The city carried out an extensive study of the emission and cost impacts of a new area’s energy solutions in the Malmi Airport area. An energy sur￾vey of the carbon-neutral Malmi Airport area was prepared as a basis for the planning of the area’s energy system and in order to achieve the carbon neutrality objectives. The aim is to implement a carbon-neutral energy system in the Malmi Airport area that provides ener￾gy with the lowest possible emissions from the be￾ginning of construction. DEVELOPING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF LIVING IN BLOCKS OF FLATS In addition to regional energy systems, the city’s main instruments for planning a carbon-neutral city include zoning, plot allocation conditions and land use agreements. In 2019, the city’s plot reservation terms were tightened to the strictest level in Fin￾land, the A2018 energy efciency level became man￾datory in quality and price tender competitions, and carbon neutrality also favours plot reservation on other plots. In December 2019, Helsinki joined the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. The city commits to making the en￾ergy use of all buildings controlled by the city car￾bon-neutral by 2030 and to developing its construc￾tion guidance towards carbon-neutral buildings by 2030. Six new projects were approved in 2019 for the Re-thinking Urban Housing programme aimed at im￾proving the quality of living in blocks of fats in Hel￾sinki. The development theme in all six projects is sustainable construction. There will be three build￾ings in the same block in Oulunkylä: Sustainable Apartment Building, Living Building and Wooden Apartment Block of the Future. In Helsinki, developers have been encouraged for several years to build energy-efcient buildings by ofering a 30% discount on the building permit fee for a residential building project if the site is de￾signed for a low energy level. In 2019, a policy was also made to abolish the permit fee for smaller geo￾thermal heating systems that are drilled to less than 300 metres. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH – GOOD WATER QUALITY, MAJOR CHALLENGES IN AIR QUALITY Helsinki’s environmental health is at a good level on the global scale. Drinking water and also swimming water are of good quality, with the exception of oc￾casional outbreaks of blue-green algae. The health risks associated with waste and chemicals are also low. The main causes of health risk are air quality and noise. In particular, indoor air involves many chal￾lenges, also in the city’s service buildings. The prob￾lems with indoor air are caused by, among other things, the repair backlog and the risky structures of old buildings. Helsinki has developed a ten-year indoor air programme to help solve indoor air prob￾lems. The air quality in Helsinki quality has improved in recent decades and is relatively good on the in￾ternational scale. However, the health-based annu￾al limit value for nitrogen dioxide in the EU Air Quali￾ty Directive is still being exceeded or at risk of being exceeded in the street canyons in the city centre. This is due to exhaust emissions from trafc, es￾pecially diesel vehicles. Respirable particles, i.e. dust, also reduce air quality, especially in spring and in the vicinity of large construction sites. NOISE PROBLEMS CAUSED BY ROAD TRAFFIC In the case of street dust, too, there is still a risk of exceeding the limit value. In dense single-family house areas, air quality is decreased by residential wood burning in freplaces and sauna stoves. In the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, particulate emissions from freplaces are even higher than those of trafc. In addition, black carbon from wood-burning smoke warms the climate. The city’s Air Quality Plan aims to reduce emissions that are harmful to health. Helsinki joined the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. 52 Environmental noise is a signifcant factor re￾ducing the quality and comfort of the living environ￾ment in Helsinki. Strong continuous noise also caus￾es damage to health. The biggest noise problem is caused by road trafc. 37% of Helsinki residents live in areas where the noise level caused by road trafc exceeds the ref￾erence level of 55 dB during the day. Noise is also caused locally by, for example, construction and ren￾ovation work, public events and restaurants. The City of Helsinki’s noise abatement work is guided by the noise abatement action plan for 2018–2022. Noise problems are prevented by land use and trafc plan￾ning. SUCCESSES: • Safety of the transport system: no trafc deaths in Helsinki in 2019. • Energy efciency in new construction has improved considerably. • Taking accessibility considerations into account in planning has improved, and Helsinki has received awards for it. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS: • Noise, air pollution and dust reduce comfort and threaten health. • Indoor air problems in the city’s service buildings. • Improving the energy efciency of the existing building stock. 53

Responsible procurement and circular economy Responsible procurement reduces negative envi - ronmental impacts and promotes positive impacts. The city will also be able to support the creation of re - sponsible markets by leading the way in the develop - ment and implementation of new solutions that are energy- and material-e fcient and promote the circular economy and the preservation of biodiversity. PROCUREMENT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO SUSTAINABILITY ON A LARGE SCALE The City of Helsinki’s annual procurement volume is approximately €4 billion, making it Finland’s larg - est operator engaging in public procurement. Helsin - ki is commi ted to promoting environmental, social and economic responsibility in its procurement, and the city has a comprehensive network of responsible procurement. In accordance with the city’s environmental poli - cy, environmental impact assessment must be car - 53 ried out in all procurements exceeding the national threshold value. The promotion of responsible pro￾curement is implemented in particular by the City of Helsinki’s procurement strategy, which was ap￾proved by the City Board in December 2020. In the new procurement strategy, Helsinki places greater emphasis on the responsibility and efective￾ness of procurement. The three main themes of the strategy are functional markets and promoting inno￾vations; impact and responsibility; and procurement management and procurement skills. Although Helsinki is very commited to promoting responsible procurement at the upper level, there is still work to be done in the implementation of the objectives. The challenge has been to systematical￾ly link the responsibility criteria to the procurement processes, which would require beter procurement management, training and awareness-raising. In addition, monitoring and impact assessment should be developed. In order to facilitate the prepara￾tion of procurement, the city’s common criteria bank was established in 2020 to collect successful exam￾ples of the responsibility criteria used in procurement. HELSINKI INVESTS IN LOW-CARBON PROCUREMENT In particular, there is still work to be done in acknowl￾edging global responsibility and human rights and in promoting the circular economy and nature-based solutions. Beter progress has been made in taking environmental and climate considerations into ac￾count, as well as in employment through procurement. Helsinki has begun to take climate impacts into ac￾count in its procurement through the six-year Cane￾mure project. The aim of using carbon footprint cal￾culation is to take beter account of climate impacts in procurement. The project has put emission reduc￾tion measures into practice and carried out devel￾opment work in, among other things, building and in￾frastructure construction and food, textile and ICT procurement. In 2020, Helsinki also signed Green Deal agree￾ments for emission-free construction sites and the reduction of harmful substances in procurement in early childhood education. The Green Deal is a volun￾tary agreement between the state and the public sec￾Image: Jussi Hellsten The City of Helsinki’s annual procurement volume is approximately €4 billion 54 tor or business sector to reduce emissions and harm￾ful substances. CIRCULAR ECONOMY HAS PROGRESSED SLOWLY Helsinki has recognised the signifcance of the circu￾lar and sharing economy in solving major sustainability challenges. New models of the sharing economy cre￾ated by residents and businesses diversify the city so￾cially and fnancially. In accordance with the Carbon-neutral Helsinki 2035 Action Plan, the City has prepared a road map for the circular and sharing economy, the time span and goals of which extend to 2035. Work in Helsinki is only just beginning, and the implementation of the road map requires additional resources for, among other things, the implementation and monitoring of measures, per￾sonnel training, surveys and various pilots. Until now, the circular economy has not grown to a very large extent, but its importance is expected to in￾crease in the future. The circular economy has so far been promoted mainly through the use of recycled materials and soil masses in infrastructure construc￾tion, which have also achieved signifcant emission and cost savings. The circular economy is also promoted through the city’s new demolition guidelines and, at the same time, the capacity and utilisation possibilities of the city’s own recycling operators have been investigated. Furni￾ture recycling and the Tavarat Kiertoon recycling sys￾tem have also been developed, but there is still work to be done. To support phenomenon-based learning, the KIERRE model for future skills from circular econ￾omy has been developed, combining natural resource awareness, climate understanding, design education and creative learning. SUCCESSES: • The new procurement strategy places a strong em￾phasis on responsibility. • Guidelines and cooperation have been developed to promote responsible procurement. The Cane￾mure project has contributed to the development of low-carbon procurement. • A road map for the circular and sharing economy has been prepared to promote the circular economy. The promotion of the circular economy has started in many ways: for example, through demolition guide￾lines, the Kierre concept for circular economy educa￾tion at schools and the circular economy cluster. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS: • The circular economy and sustainable procurement have not yet been sufciently promoted, and many targets are progressing too slowly. 55

Water ecosystems SDG 6, Clean water and sanitation, is one of the goals that Helsinki has achieved to a large extent. In Helsinki, clean drinking water and efcient waste￾water management are available to everyone. In ad￾dition, wastewater treatment is of the highest qual￾ity. SDG 14, Life below water, is particularly related 22 to the Baltic Sea in Helsinki. The state of the sea has improved in recent decades, but it is still one of the most sensitive and polluted seas in the world, par￾ticularly afected by eutrophication. STATE OF WATER ECOSYSTEMS MUST BE SECURED Helsinki’s water areas comprise large sea areas and freshwater areas, which include the Vantaanjoki Riv￾er, streams, ditches, ponds and springs. Helsinki’s archipelago of 300 islands stretches from the shel￾tered inner archipelago to the open sea. The water quality and the ecological status of small bodies of water and sea areas are afected by nu￾trients and harmful substances, liter, water trafc, treated wastewater and the condition of the open sea in the Gulf of Finland. The city’s water protec￾tion is guided by the Baltic Sea Challenge action plan, small water programme, rainwater management pro￾gramme and food instructions. The nutrient load in coastal waters has decreased in recent decades, but the coastal ecosystem has not yet recovered and eutrophication is also a key prob￾lem in the sea area of the coast of Helsinki. Key ac￾tions have been the development of wastewater treatment technologies and centralisation of treat￾ment plants. The Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant, locat￾ed in Helsinki, is the largest treatment plant in the Nordic countries with world-class treatment efcien￾cy. The Viikinmäki treatment plant treats all wastewa￾ter from Helsinki and, in addition, wastewater from other municipalities in the Helsinki region, i.e. the wastewater of approximately 860,000 residents. Coastal ecosystem has not yet recovered and eutrophication is also a key problem in the sea area of the coast of Helsinki. BALTIC SEA UNDER THREAT Despite the reduction in external loads, phosphorus concentrations in the coastal waters of Helsinki have been increasing since the early 1990s, mainly due to scatered loading from the large catchment area of the Vantaanjoki River and internal phosphorus load￾ing from the seabed. In addition, an alarming number of harmful chemicals and microplastics are found in the water environments. For these reasons, many ecosystems and habitats in the Baltic Sea are under threat. The underwater nature of the Helsinki sea area is not yet known well enough for important habitats to be taken into ac￾count in the planning and use of the sea area. The aim is to improve the state of the Baltic Sea not only through the development of the city’s own activities but also through the Baltic Sea Challenge. The Baltic Sea Challenge is a network initiative of the cities of Helsinki and Turku, which invites organisa￾tions to voluntarily commit to the protection of the Baltic Sea and to draw up their own Baltic Sea ac￾tion plans. Small bodies of water in Helsinki are important habitats and pathways for various organisms as well as recreationally valuable destinations for city res￾idents. The ecological, recreational and landscape value of small bodies of water has increased consid￾erably, and it is important that they are beter taken into account in urban planning and ecology. Indeed, eforts have been made in recent years to restore streams and ditches to more natural condi￾tions and, at best, they have managed to atract the extremely endangered sea trout to setle in them. However, the situation of ponds has deteriorated and they are eutrophicated. SUCCESSES: • Through the Baltic Sea Challenge, the city’s water protection activities have been strategically and cross-sectorally developed and other operators have been encouraged to participate for 14 years now. • Wastewater treatment in the Helsinki region is world-class and covers the wastewater of 860,000 residents. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS: • In rainwater management, more atention must also be paid to the loading and litering of the sea area, especially microplastics. • The renovation of the combined sewerage system into separate sewers must be continued in order to reduce wastewater discharges. 23

Learning Helsinki wants to be the world’s most e fective place to learn. The city o fers high-quality and a tractive early childhood education and basic education ser - vices close to the residents. The ever-growing Helsinki requires active meas - ures and investments to ensure open, equal and high-quality education and lifelong learning oppor - tunities for all. SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities) is also strongly linked to the theme of learning, in addition to SDG 4 (Quality education). 29 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN CURRICULA The aim of the teaching is that pupils receive the necessary support in their local school and study with other pupils in their neighbourhood. The city of￾fers educational opportunities for all young people in Helsinki and vocational skills for the needs of work￾ing life. In learning, we utilise the entire city as a learn￾ing environment. Day-care groups and classes make study trips to art, culture, working life and experience destinations. The city ofers free public transport for the groups. Sustainable development has been taken into ac￾count throughout the City of Helsinki’s early child￾hood education plans and curricula. In the Education Division, a sustainable future learning path was devel￾oped in 2020. It enables learners of all ages to inter￾act with sustainable development themes in their day￾care and school life and upper secondary studies. The learning path is based on the value base of eco-social education and innovative or transforma￾tive learning. SDG 4 (Quality education) is one of the goals that is already achieved quite well in Helsinki. FOX CHARACTERS GUIDING TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE The learning path starts with early childhood edu￾cation, which introduces a sustainable lifestyle with the help of a fox family. The KETTU (FOX) model com￾bines climate and environmental education, future lit￾eracy and creative learning. For example, the nature relationship will be strengthened with the Outdoor Fox, diferent futures will be created with the Artist Fox, and circular economy will be studied with the In￾ventor Fox. The model was developed together with children, because growing into participation and infuence is a key starting point for learners of all ages. The KET￾TU model is also used as an applied version in grades 1–6 of basic education. Sustainable development has been taken into ac￾count throughout the City of Helsin￾ki’s early childhood education plans and curricula. 30 The sustainable future learning path continues in secondary school, where sustainable development is studied in lessons of diferent subjects and across subject borders. To support phenomenon-based learning, the KIERRE model for future skills from cir￾cular economy has been developed, combining natu￾ral resource awareness, climate understanding, de￾sign education and creative learning. The learning path continues in both upper sec￾ondary school and vocational education. In cooper￾ation with the staf and students of upper second￾ary schools, a cross-curricular climate course was developed under the name Carbon-neutral Helsinki. The title of the course comes from the Carbon-neu￾tral Helsinki 2035 Action Plan. The course will be compulsory for all frst-year upper secondary school students starting from August 2021. Helsinki Voca￾tional College has launched the “Professionals of a Sustainable Future” programme, which examines how sustainable development can be strengthened in all study programmes. The vocational college of￾fers training for more than 50 diferent professions. For example, those graduating as restaurant pro￾fessionals can infuence the carbon and water foot￾print of thousands of people when designing menus, and construction professionals can promote sus￾tainable and energy-efcient solutions. CULTURE OF READING AND FUTURE WORKING LIFE SKILLS In all units of the Education Division, eco-supporters have been appointed who, in addition to their other duties, promote environmentally sustainable practic￾es and raise environmental awareness. Sustainable development is promoted not only in education but also in other activities of day-care cen￾tres, schools and educational institutions. From 1 Au￾gust 2020, meals containing red meat were reduced from the school menus, an oat milk experiment was conducted during the school year and an extensive recycling survey was carried out on the premises of both day-care centres and schools. Environmental criteria are always taken into account in the design and construction of new day-care centre and school buildings. Sustainable development was also promoted through a wide range of projects. The Joy of Reading (Lukuinto) project strengthened the culture of read￾ing, Know Work 2.0 (Tunne Työ 2.0) supported pupils’ future working life skills and the Project for Youth Social Inclusion (Mukana) promoted the participa￾tion and well-being of children and young people. In addition to basic and secondary education, the city ofers diverse learning opportunities for learn￾ers of all ages through adult education centres and libraries, for example. The city also organises envi￾ronmental education activities. The nature centres and nature schools of the Hel￾sinki Metropolitan Area organise courses for teach￾ers, day-care personnel, educators and residents. The Harakka Island in Helsinki, in front of Kaivopuis￾to, and the nature school there provide a wonderful seting for nature education and Baltic Sea educa￾tion to support educators. SUCCESSES: • The early childhood education participation rate grew by 3% between 2017 and 2020. • The number of frst-graders choosing their local school grew by 6% between 2017 and 2020. • The availability of special support for pupils in local schools has increased during the strategy period. • The sustainable future learning path has been de￾veloped and launched. • The overall customer satisfaction rate is 5.6 (scale 1–7). DEVELOPMENT TARGETS: • The number of dropouts in vocational education in￾creased by 4% from 2019 to 2020. This requires systematic and long-term investment and close co￾operation with diferent operators. • COVID-19 has increased learning defciencies and undermined well-being among children and young people. • Mental health problems among young people have increased; poor social well-being is refected, for example, in an increased number of clients in stu￾dent welfare services. • The KETTU and KIERRE models must be made an integral part of activities in day-care centres and schools. 31

Gender equality and non-discrimination Helsinki aims to be a city built on human rights where everyone can be seen and heard and can live and participate on an equal footing without any direct or indirect discrimination. Achieving this goal requires strong commitment and continuous and determined work to promote equality and non-discrimination in the city. This is particularly relevant to the promotion of SDG 5 (Gender equality), but also closely related to SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities) and SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth). A gender analysis of the indicators for the 2017– 2021 strategy period shows that men’s unem￾ploy-ment and deprivation are at a higher level than women. Particular atention should be paid to the exclusion of young men from education and to the symptom of crime. For women and girls, on the other hand, it would be good to pay atention to security ex￾perience, the employability of immigrant women and the anxiety and loneliness of girls in upper second￾ary school. The corona crisis has also afected young women in particular. More information would be need￾ed on the situation of diferent gender minorities. A gender analysis of the indicators of the 2017– 2021 strategy period reveals that unemployment and deprivation are at a higher level for men than for women. Particular atention should be paid to young boys’ exclusion from education and proneness to crime. In the case of women and girls, atention should be paid to perceived safety, the employment of immigrant women and the anxiety and loneliness of girls in secondary school. Young women have also been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 crisis. More information is needed on the situation of vari￾ous gender minorities. CONCRETE MEASURES TO PROMOTE EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION According to the strategy, gender equality is a prin￾ciple permeating all activities of the city. During the past strategy period, a large research and develop￾ment project was carried out in the city, focusing on gender impact assessment and gender-sensitive budgeting. It is important to invest in the implemen￾tation of the recommendations compiled in the fnal reports of the project in order to ensure that the city benefts from the project on a lasting basis. The separate equality and non-discrimination plans for services approved by the City Board in 2019 and 2020 contain concrete measures for the work of the City Executive Ofce and divisions to promote 32 equality and non-discrimination. The internal interme￾diate assessment of the equality plan for services at the end of 2020 concluded that fairly good progress had been made in the overall implementation of the measures: fve measures had been implemented, 16 were ongoing and two had not been started. The equality and non-discrimination plan for ser￾vices for the 2022–2025 council term will be drawn up as a coherent whole in order to comprehensively ad￾dress the issue from a wide range of perspectives. In other respects, too, the city’s work for equality and non-discrimination increasingly seeks to take into ac￾count the intersectional aspect, meaning how an en￾vironment built on diverse and intersecting norms af￾fects the lives and opportunities of the city residents. HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK ESTABLISHED As service providers, the city’s divisions play a cen￾tral role in ensuring that equality and non-discrimina￾tion are implemented in the city’s services in practice. In addition to city-level equality and non-discrimination planning, it is important for the divisions to take into account the equality and non-discrimination perspec￾tive at diferent levels of their activities in planning, re￾sourcing, monitoring and evaluation alike. The COVID-19 crisis has increasingly highlighted the need to pay particular atention to the most vulnerable. The city-level development of the equality and non-discrimination of services is coordinated by the City Executive Ofce. A human rights network was also established in spring 2019, which can be joined by any city employee interested in promoting human rights. In addition, the city has an equality and non-dis￾crimination coordination group composed of man￾agerial and executive-level representatives, as well as two politically elected bodies, the Gender Equali￾ty Commission and the Non-discrimination Commis￾sion, which monitor the equality and non-discrimina￾tion work in the city. Statutory decision-making bodies the Elderly Citi￾zens Council, the Council on Disability and the Youth Council focus on monitoring the implementation of equality among their own reference groups, as well as on highlighting their perspectives and needs in the city’s activities and decision-making. STAFF PERSPECTIVE ON EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION The City of Helsinki is the largest employer in Fin￾land, employing approximately 39,000 people. The city has worked for a long time to promote the well-being and equality of its staf. The gender equality plan and non-discrimination plan for personnel guide HR policy work in promoting equal and non-discriminating work￾ing life. The measures of the non-discrimination plan pro￾mote, among other things, the employment of peo￾ple with disabilities. The City of Helsinki has also tried anonymous recruitment. It is based on the equal and non-discriminating treatment of applicants and pro￾motion of staf diversity. 33 The aim is to give all applicants an equal opportu￾nity to be invited to the job interview without being af￾fected by anything irrelevant to the job. The annual staf report also covers the implementation of equali￾ty and non-discrimination. The city has also used the virtual Helvi group dis￾cussion instructor in equality and non-discrimination themes, preparing an equality and non-discrimination Helvi for work communities and a diverse recruit￾ment Helvi for supervisors. The Helvi instructors help work communities, su￾pervisors and experts to discuss how everyone can promote equality and non-discrimination through their own work and in recruitment. SUCCESSES: • Human rights have been highlighted as the basis for the development of equality and non-discrimi￾nation work in the city. • The extensive investigation and practical piloting carried out in the gender equality project (2018– 2019) and the clear recommendations for further￾measures based on them provide a good basis for cementing gender impact assessment and gen￾der-conscious budgeting practices in the city. • The human rights network brings together city em￾ployees across administrative boundaries to learn, think and discuss; the common goal is to promote equality and non-discrimination in the city’s services. • An anonymous recruitment experiment, intranet pag￾es in support of diverse recruitment and Helvi virtual coaching for supervisors for diverse recruitment. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS: • Lack of indicators to verify the realisation of gender equality and non-discrimination • Practical implementation of the recommendations of the gender equality project’s two fnal reports for gender impact assessment and gender-sensi￾tive budgeting • Beter consideration of diferent subsets (women vs. men vs. gender minorities; native Finnish wom￾en vs. immigrant women, etc.) in the information production of the city and in monitoring and re￾porting the implementation of the goals of the city strategy, divisions and segments, so that diferenc￾es between groups that are important for the plan￾ning of measures are not overlooked • Comprehensive consideration of equality and non-discrimination aspects in the management and afermath of the COVID-19 crisis (e.g. sign language communication/crisis communication) 34

Participation Promoting participation is particularly relevant to SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustaina - ble cities and communities) and SDG 16 (Peace, jus - tice and strong institutions), which highlight equal opportunities for participation, citizen involvement in urban planning and participatory decision-making. In global terms, participation opportunities and inter - action are at a good level in Helsinki. EXPERIENCE OF PARTICIPATION STRENGTHENS TRUST The goal of the participation and interaction model approved in Helsinki in 2017 is to increase the trans - parency of decision-making and to strengthen cus - tomer- and user-orientation aspects in the devel - opment of services. The principles of participation include the utilisation of the knowledge and exper - tise of individuals and communities, enabling inde - pendent activities and creating equal opportunities for participation. The city-level participation and interaction mod - el describes the structures, goals and key areas of participation work. The participation plans of the di - visions summarise the objectives and measures to strengthen the participation of residents in the de - velopment of services. The participation objectives are implemented in ten themes: regional participation especially through the city pilot and corporate pilot activities, process - ing and utilising initiatives and feedback, open data, promoting digital inclusion, opening up the use of the city’s premises, participatory budgeting, divisions’ participation work, volunteering, and aspects pre - sented by decision-making bodies (Youth Council, Council on Disability and Elderly Citizens Council). The experience of participation strengthens citi - zens’ trust in the activities of public authorities and in social activities and services in general. It helps to accept commonly established rules and practic - es and to understand the reasoning behind di ferent perspectives. Participatory budgeting has increased discussion about the development needs of city dis - tricts between residents and communities. DIGITAL SUPPORT IS IMPORTANT The city supports the activity of city residents and service users in organisations and communities with signi fcant fnancial and operational investments. The city has also opened premises for residents and communities for independent activities. However, participation in the planning and deci - 39 sion-making of the city’s services cannot be im￾agined today without the digital dimension. For this reason, it is important to recognise that participa￾tion in digital platforms requires adequate skills and appropriate equipment, which are not available to all residents. The digital support services provided by the city at service points and in the form of remote digital support make it possible to lower the barri￾ers to participation. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has also been seen in the city’s participation work. A wide variety of digital ways of interacting with residents have emerged, and so have hybrid events within lim￾itations. SUCCESSES: • The voting turnout of 8% in the frst round of participatory budgeting in 2019 is good interna￾tionally. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS: • Intimate partner violence remains a problem, es￾pecially violence against women, and the COV￾ID-19 crisis seems to increase violence in homes. • The equality of citizens and accessibility of partic￾ipation channels for all must be ensured in the im￾plementation of participation. The experience of participation strengthens citizens’ trust in the activities of public authorities and in social activities and services in general. 40

Safety According to the 2018 safety survey, Helsinki res￾idents feel that their neighbourhood, the city cen￾tre and means of transport are safer than ever. The change has been positive for both women and men, although the experience of insecurity is still much more common for women. Many other indicators also point to positive safe￾ty developments in Helsinki: for example, people see less violence in their own residential area that they did at the beginning of the millennium, and safe￾ty concerns about the residential areas have dimin￾ished. People are more concerned about the surround￾ings in areas they perceive as unsafe. People’s safe￾ty concerns about their residential area have de￾creased between the last surveys (2015–2018). The issues that Helsinki residents are the most con￾cerned about are social exclusion, property damage and grafti and the reduction of green areas. A to￾tal of 15 concerns about the living environment were covered by the survey. There are diferences in the concerns of resi￾dents between various parts of Helsinki. In areas where experiences of insecurity are more prevalent, there are particular concerns about people’s misbe￾haviour, street violence, crime, drug use and dealing as well as conficts between diferent language and cultural groups. Concerns about trafc behaviour and the reduc￾tion of green areas are common in all types of are￾as and are not equally linked to the perceived safety of the residential area. (Helsinki’s present state and development 2019) WORK AGAINST INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE RE￾QUIRES FURTHER EFFORTS Intimate partner violence, especially violence against women, is a problem in Finland. Finland is the second most violent country in the European Union for women, which has also been highlighted in the national work on sustainable development. The exceptional situation caused by COVID-19 seems to continue to increase violence in homes. The working group for the prevention of domes￾tic and intimate partner violence has been operating in Helsinki for about 10 years and involves numer￾ous organisations. The current working group has been set to operate until 2025. Its task is to promote the local implementation of national recommenda￾tions and suggestions for measures in Helsinki, to promote cooperation with other cities in the Helsin￾ki Metropolitan Area and to monitor the develop￾ment of the number of violent crimes in intimate re￾lationships. The working group makes suggestions for meas￾ures, information and training to prevent intimate partner violence. The working group is also respon￾sible for producing guidelines for residents and in￾formation campaigns. The working group for the prevention of domestic and intimate partner violence operates as part of a network for the promotion of well-being and health, which contributes to the well-being, health and safe￾ty of the city residents. The work against intimate partner violence has also been integrated into Hel￾sinki’s safety planning principles for 2019–2020 and, thereby, into the work of Helsinki’s safety planning specialist group. The City of Helsinki and its partners campaigned against intimate partner violence in autumn 2019 and in spring 2020 through the Declaration of Fam￾ily Peace. In 2019 and 2020, approximately 1,300 people participated in the training. In 2019, the theme of the training was honour vio￾lence. The training themes for 2020 were crisis and trauma work, digital violence in a relationship, sex￾ual harassment of children, grooming and sexual vi￾olence against children in digital media, sexual vio￾lence as trauma, and meeting traumatised children and young people using cognitive methods. Although active eforts have been made against intimate partner violence, further eforts are still needed. SUCCESSES: • Perceived safety has improved among both men and women. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS: • Intimate partner violence remains a problem, es￾pecially violence against women, and the COV￾ID-19 crisis seems to increase violence in homes. • There are diferences in perceived safety, both be￾tween genders and between residential areas. In￾timate partner violence against women must be reduced. 41

28 Water ecosystems SDG 6, Clean water and sanitation, is one of the goals that Helsinki has achieved to a large extent. In Helsinki, clean drinking water and efcient wastewater man￾agement are available to everyone. In addition to this, wastewater treatment is world-class. SDG 14, Life below water, is particularly related to the Baltic Sea in Helsinki. It is one of the most sensitive and polluted seas in the world and particularly afected by eutrophication. Helsinki’s water areas comprise large sea areas and freshwater areas, which include the Vantaa River, streams, ditches, ponds and springs. Helsinki’s archi￾pelago of 300 islands stretches from the sheltered inner archipelago to the open sea. The water quality and the ecological status of small bodies of water and sea areas are afected by nutrients and harmful substances, liter, water trafc, treated wastewater and the condition of the open sea in the Gulf of Finland. Even though the nutrient load in coastal waters has decreased in recent decades, thanks to developments such as advanced wastewater treatment technology and the centralisation of treatment plants, the coastal ecosystem has not yet recovered and eutrophication remains a key problem in the sea area of the coast of Helsinki. Over the long term, concentrations of total phosphorus and chlorophyll a, an indicator of the amount of algae, have continued to grow, and the total nitrogen concentrations fuctuate around the long-term average. The increase in the turbidity of surface waters has stopped at the 2010 level, and the turbidity of the waters near the seabed has decreased. However, the oxygen level of water near the seabed is continuing to decrease in Helsinki coastal waters, partially due to the rising average temperature of the coastal waters. The eutrophication of the sea areas in Helsinki is caused by the nutrient load from the catchment area and the special characteristics of coastal waters and bays. Despite the decreased nutrient load, the phos￾phorus concentration in the middle and outer archi￾pelagos has grown since the start of the 21st century. To reduce the load on the sea area, the Metropolitan Area must implement targeted actions in the local catchment areas. The aim is to improve the state of the Baltic Sea not only through the development of the City’s own activities but also through the Baltic Sea Challenge. The Baltic Sea Challenge is a joint water protection ef￾fort of the cities of Helsinki and Turku, which includes a joint Baltic Sea Action Plan and a broad interna￾tional network open to all. The Baltic Sea Challenge’s network members have voluntarily commited them￾selves to the protection of the Baltic Sea by drawing up their own Baltic Sea Action Plans. One of the objectives of Helsinki’s blue network work in 2021–2022 was to provide information on wa￾ter ecology in a more accessible format. In connection with the blue network work, new creek channels were discovered and creeks’ qualitative class and water body status were specifed. As a measure to improve the condition of small bodies of water, a new guide was also prepared for the qualitative and quantitative treatment of construction site water. Successes: • Wastewater treatment in the Helsinki region is world-class and covers the wastewater of 1.3 million residents. • Comprehensive data on underwater biodiversity in the marine area of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area has been collected between 2021 and 2022, and underwater marine nature areas of local ecological signifcance have been identifed. • Coastal water monitoring is comprehensive and of high quality. Areas for development: • Monitoring of the status of currents and small bodies of water. • Qualitative management of stormwater. • Restoration of lost habitats. • Control of human pressure. • Establishment of underwater nature conservation areas. Programmes: The Baltic Sea Challenge Action Plan 2019–2023 PDF 29 The Baltic Sea Challenge The Baltic Sea Challenge is a free interna￾tional network open to all kinds of operators, focusing on the protection of water bodies. The members of the network are commited to concrete water protection measures on a voluntary basis, with objectives more ambi￾tious than environmental protection laws.

39 Non-discrimination and gender equality In the City Strategy, Helsinki has commited to promoting non-discrimination, equality and human rights in all its activities. The City’s work on non-discrimination and equality aims to highlight human rights as a basis for activities, particularly from the perspective of non-discrimination. Gender equality should be mainstreamed in all of the City’s activities. In February 2022, the City Board approved the equality and non-discrimination plan for services for the period 2022–2025. The aim of the plan is to prevent discrimination and promote equality in the City’s services and activities, thereby strengthening the realisation of the rights of city residents with diverse backgrounds and characteristics in every￾day life. The four guiding principles of the plan are intersectionality, norm awareness, participation and accessibility. The plan contains almost 100 measures in total, three of which are City-wide and the rest are specifc to the City Executive Ofce or individual divi￾sions or enterprises. The progress on the measures is being monitored on a regular basis. At the City level, the promotion of non-dis￾crimination and gender equality in services has been supported through measures such as active communication, training, events and new materials, including a guide to norm-aware communication, a guide to the drafing of safer space principles and a guide to the preliminary assessment of gender and non-discrimination impacts for decision-makers. The City has been one of Helsinki Pride’s main partners in 2020–2022 and will be again in 2023. In summer 2021, the City Hall was Pride House, the main venue for Helsinki Pride. 40 As service providers, the city divisions play a key role in the implementation of equality and non-dis￾crimination in City services. A separate coordination group on equality and non-discrimination issues has been set up in the Urban Environment Division and the Social Services and Health Care Division to strengthen the internal fow of information on this theme. In 2021, a sub-project of the EU’s Drivers of Equality project, coordinated by the Ministry of Justice, was carried out in cooperation between the City Executive Ofce and the Urban Environment Division to develop a tool to take non-discrimination and gender equality into account in city planning. Staf perspective on equality and non-discrimination The City of Helsinki is the largest employer in Finland, employing approximately 39,000 people. The City has worked for a long time to promote the wellbeing and equality of its staf. The staf equality and non-discrimination plan 2022–2025 guides HR policy work in promoting equal and non-discriminat￾ing working life. The measures of the equality and non-discrimi￾nation plan promote, among other things, the employ￾ment of people with disabilities or those with partial work ability, summer jobs for young people aged 16– 29 who need targeted support for employment, and accessible practical training. Information events and training on the staf equality and non-discrimination plan and its priorities and measures were organised for the City’s employees. The City of Helsinki favours anonymous recruitment and has piloted afrmative action in recruitment. Diverse recruitment is based on the equal and non-discriminating treatment of ap￾plicants and promotion of staf diversity. Management and supervisors were provided with training and workshops on accessible recruitment and afrmative action. The diversity clause used in job advertise￾ments was specifed. The purpose of the clause is to encourage applicants from as diverse backgrounds as possible to apply for the City’s jobs. The City has launched safer space principles, and work communities have virtual group discussions on equality and non-discrimination and diverse recruit￾ment. At the beginning of June 2022, a We Walk With Pride event was organised for the City’s employees to tune in to the Pride atmosphere. The staf had the opportunity to participate in a training session on LGBTQ+ vocabulary and LGBTQ+-sensitive customer encounters and a panel discussion on the implemen￾tation of equality and non-discrimination in working life and the consideration of gender and sexual diver￾sity in the City’s work communities. A discussion event was also organised for staf, where experts and management discussed the importance of a diverse work community. Successes: • City-wide equality and non-discrimination plans 2022–2025 have been prepared. • The promotion of non-discrimination and gender equality has been strengthened at the group level, for example in public enterprises. • City-wide coordination of Roma afairs has been strengthened. • Minorities within minorities have been highlighted in the themes of public events: racialised LGBTQ+ people in 2021, older and disabled LGBTQ+ people in 2022. • The Helsinki Pride Community granted the City the ‘Ylpeys muutaa maailmaa’ recognition for its outstanding work in promoting equal and non￾discriminatory encounters of sexual and gender minorities in 2021. • The aspects of non-discrimination and gender equality have been strengthened as part of the work on sustainable development. Areas for development: • A lack of indicators to verify the realisation of non-discrimination and gender equality and a lack of a clear set of indicators to assess the efective￾ness of equality and non-discrimination work. • The transfer of materials produced in projects and basic work to systematic and continuous use throughout the City organisation. • The lowering of the threshold for reporting dis￾crimination and harassment and the development of a uniform approach to the processing and monitoring of reports. Programmes: City of Helsinki equality and non-discrimination plan for services 2022−2025 PDF

41 Reducing inequalities and segregation In global terms, Helsinki is at a good level in many inequality-related issues when looking at SDG 10, Re￾duced inequalities. Nevertheless, inequalities and so￾cial exclusion are among the most serious problems in Helsinki. They are also persistent and long-term problems, even though many City programmes and objectives have been trying to reduce them for years. The number of Finns at risk of poverty or social exclusion has increased during the COVID-19 crisis. Health and wellbeing disparities between population groups have also increased, as have regional dif￾ferences. Homelessness and undocumented status are bigger challenges in Helsinki than in the rest of the country, although in international comparison Helsinki has a low level of homelessness, especially primary homelessness, and Finland has so far been the only country in Europe to reduce homelessness. The challenges of homelessness in Helsinki are exacerbated by the city’s atractiveness as a big city, the high cost of housing, the large number of mar￾ginalised people and the inadequacy of temporary accommodation. Helsinki aims to halve homeless￾ness by 2023 and end it altogether by 2025. The City has drawn up an action plan to prevent and reduce homelessness in 2020–2022. The number of homeless people has decreased compared to the situation in 2019. Homelessness among single Helsinki residents has decreased by 28% and among families and couples by 32%. In January 2023, there were 470 long-term homeless people living in Helsinki. The number of long-term homeless people has also decreased. The number of undocumented people in Helsinki is difcult to estimate. Undocumented people are a diverse group but, in practice, an undocumented person is someone who resides in Finland without a residence permit. The everyday lives of undocument￾ed and homeless people are marked by constant uncertainty about their future. Homeless and undoc￾umented people are in a vulnerable position and also at high risk of other threats, such as violence and exploitation. Segregation development Ethnic segregation in Helsinki is also relatively low by international standards, compared to Stockholm or Copenhagen, for example. However, there has been an increase in segregation over the past 10 years. The proportion of the population of Helsinki accounted for by immigrants and their children born in Finland has increased considerably in the 21st century, while at the same time there have been major changes in the demographic structure of individual areas. Regional diferences in the socio-economic struc￾ture of the population are refected in diferences in morbidity and perceived wellbeing. This is refected in regionally diferentiated service needs. There are also signifcant regional diferences in the types of pupils and children in schools and daycare centres. In addition, regional diferences are refected in per￾ceived safety. Studies have shown that the segregation development also has an impact on migration choices and on the segregation of housing prices and school learning outcomes. Migration within the city can inten￾sify the segregation development if people who move house start making their choices based on the char￾acteristics of the areas, favouring certain areas and avoiding others. 42 The inequality of children and young people is reduced by high-quality teaching and early childhood education. In addition to this, it has been ensured that children and young people can engage in diverse recreational activities during their free time. An example of this is the Finnish model for leisure activities, which Helsinki has implemented very well. Free afer-school hobbies are provided at all comprehensive schools in Helsinki. The selection includes more than 30 diferent recre￾ational activities that children and young people have asked for, and each pupil between grades 3 and 9 can choose one. The inclusion of the Finnish model for leisure activities in the Youth Act established it as a permanent operating model. The model for the needs-based funding of early childhood and basic education has been updated and the amount of funding has been increased. The needs-based funding is targeted at the daycare centres and schools that need support in ensuring equal learning opportunities. In comprehensive schools, the learning and mastery of emotional and interaction skills have been reinforced. Comprehensive schools have drawn up plans for teaching emotional and inter￾actional skills, and the topic is regularly explored with pupils. School coaches and multilingual instructors ofer pupils low-threshold support and guidance. The City of Helsinki’s schools have employed 19 school coaches, and the establish￾ment of the model has been prepared for the 2023–2024 school year. Helsinki is currently taking part in the exten￾sive, national SKY and Right to Learn projects aimed at strengthening learners’ wellbeing and ensuring the necessary support for learning. The starting point of the Right to Learn project is to ensure that every child and young person receives the necessary support in a systematic, multipro￾fessional and timely manner. Children and young people an important target group in preventing social exclusion and reducing inequalities 1 Socio-economic sum index by district of Helsinki 43 Integration plays an important role in reducing inequalities At the end of 2021, the population of Helsinki in￾cluded 116,000 people with a foreign background. Of these people, 93,527 were born abroad. People with a foreign background accounted for 18% of the population, and this proportion has been steadily increasing. People have moved to Finland for work, study or family reasons, and some have received residence permits on the basis of international protection. At the end of 2020, people with a for￾eign background born abroad represented 13% of the city’s working population and 27% of the city’s unemployed population. The unemployment rate of immigrants was 25%. The poor employment situation afects fnancial resources and thereby the wellbeing of individuals and families. Integration is a multidimensional phenomenon and includes aspects related to language and culture acquisition, the building of social relations and networks, inclusion and par￾ticipation, and the development of a sense of be￾longing, among other things. People with foreign backgrounds in Helsinki have integrated in very diferent ways, with many doing well but some fac￾ing various challenges in diferent areas of their lives. At worst, these are also refected in their children, the second-generation immigrants born in Finland. A great deal of work has been done to promote integration, but most of it has been pro￾ject-based. For example, people who have moved to Finland for work and mothers caring for their children at home have been difcult to reach. 44 Successes: • Families with children receive support at an earlier stage thanks to new operating models. • The model for leisure activities has been developed in cooperation between divisions to ensure that every child gets a hobby. • The needs-based funding model has had a positive impact on reducing inequalities in education, and the approach was also extended to other divisions. • The Helsinki Skills Center provides vocational training and employment services to those who have moved to Finland. • International House Helsinki provides a wide range of authority and advisory services for those who have moved to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area from abroad Areas for development: • Much of the development work for reducing inequalities and integration is carried out in projects, making it more difcult to carry out systematic and long-term work. • Cooperation between divisions must be further improved, and structures for preventing social exclusion must be further developed. • The COVID-19 crisis has further increased the risk of social exclusion of young people and has weakened the position of socially excluded and homeless people. • Reaching parents caring for their children and families in order to support the progress of their integration requires further development. • The prevention of social and regional ethnic segregation and the mitigation of its negative consequences must be developed. • The employment path of immigrants must be shortened.

48 Participation The principles of participation in Helsinki include the utilisation of the knowledge and expertise of individuals and communities, enabling independent activities and creating equal opportunities for partic￾ipation. The experience of participation strengthens citizens’ trust in the activities of public authorities and in social activities and services in general. It helps to accept commonly established rules and practices and to understand the reasoning behind diferent perspectives. Promoting participation is particularly relevant to SDG 10 Reduced inequalities, SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities and SDG 16 Peace, justice and strong institutions, which high￾light equal opportunities for participation, resident involvement in urban planning and participatory decision-making. By global standards, residents’ participation and infuencing opportunities and interaction are at a good level in Helsinki. The goal of the participation and interaction model approved in Helsinki in 2017 is to increase the transparency of decision-making and to strengthen customer- and user-orientation aspects in the development of services. The city-lev￾el participation and interaction model describes the structures, goals and key areas of participation work. The participation objectives are implement￾ed in ten themes: regional participation especially through the borough liaison and business liaison activities, processing and utilising initiatives and feedback, open data, promoting digital inclusion, opening up the use of the City’s premises, participa￾tory budgeting, divisions’ participation work, volun￾teering, and aspects presented by governing bodies (Youth Council, Council on Disability and Elderly Citizens Council). In addition to this, the City’s four divisions’ participation plans compile the goals and procedures for strengthening residents’ participa￾tion in developing services. In 2021, the City assessed the implementation of the participation model during the strategy period 2017–2021. The assessment states that the participation and interaction model has clarifed the City’s participation work and the work is more systematic and more managed. During the strategy period, Helsinki has developed a variety of partici￾pation methods, which are being used extensively in service development and decision-making preparations alike. Helsinki has even gained international recognition for its development of digital participation. Digital participation Helsinki ofers digital platforms and tools to its residents, which allow them to participate in the planning and development of the City’s services regardless of time and place. The objective of digital participation services is to improve the transparen￾cy of preparations and the efectiveness of partici￾pation. Digital participation platforms and feedback systems provide the City with data that can be used to develop the City’s services. The City has start￾ed development work with the aim of producing a roadmap for the development of digital participation. It aims to promote and support the use of digital participation platforms in the city. Participation on digital platforms requires sufcient skills and suitable devices, to which not all residents have access. The City’s digital support services at service points and in the form of remote digital support make it possible to lower the thresh￾old of participation. The key objectives of digital sup￾port are to raise awareness of free digital support, strengthen the skills of digital instructors and grow the network of digital instructors. These objectives have been achieved by reforming City-level coordi￾nation and networks of digital support in cooper￾ation between the divisions and organisations, by raising awareness of digital support through various communication tools and by providing regular train￾ing for digital support experts. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has also been seen in the City’s participation work. A wide variety of digital methods have been created for interaction with residents, and hybrid events have been held in accordance with relevant restrictions. 49 Mediation in criminal and civil cases The City of Helsinki organises extensive mediation in criminal and civil cases. Mediation in criminal and civil cases is a free and voluntary statutory municipal ser￾vice for the parties involved in a criminal or civil case. The purpose of mediation is to provide solutions to a criminal or civil case, in addition or as an alternative to the formal legal process. At the mediation meeting, the parties have the opportunity to discuss the crime or dispute between them, guided by mediators, and agree on how to compensate for any harm caused. The City of Helsinki’s development of mediation is particularly focused on the mediation processes of minors. The aim is to resolve various conficts and wrongs at an early stage and thereby infuence young people’s ability and understanding to act amicably and fairly in their communities and shared spaces. In 2022, 669 mediation initiatives were submit￾ted by 16 December 2022. The initiatives included 1,056 diferent criminal and civil cases, and 1,579 parties were involved in the initiatives. Minors ac￾count for about one third of the parties. During the COVID-19 period, the number of crimes reported to the police in Helsinki has decreased and this, in addition to the general efects and constraints of the pandemic, has afected the number of initiatives submited to mediation. Regional participation Helsinki supports the regional participation of the city’s residents. The City’s seven borough liaisons support residents and various operators in participation, infuencing and working together, taking regional needs into account. The borough liaisons operate in the seven major districts, focusing on regional network cooperation and promoting forums that enable interaction. They also promote experiments in participatory approaches and multilingual and multi-channel communication on residents’ participation and infuencing opportunities. Regional dialogue and development have also been supported by participatory budgeting imple￾mented by Helsinki since 2018. Helsinki’s partici￾patory budgeting system is called OmaStadi, and it is implemented fully on a digital platform. Between 2018 and 2021, the city’s residents have had the opportunity to brainstorm and decide how the City will spend more than 13 million euros. Participa￾tory budgeting has resulted in 119 projects across the city. During 2022, the participatory budgeting process was reformed in broad cooperation with the City’s divisions and residents. The aim of the reform was to make participation and implementa￾tion simpler and the overall duration shorter. OmaStadi OmaStadi is the participatory budgeting programme of the City of Helsinki. In 2021, the city allocated 8.8 million euros to fnance development projects proposed by city residents. The targets were brainstormed together with residents into proposals, from which the residents could vote on the ones to be funded. 50 51 Statutory councils The Elderly Citizens Council and the Council on Disability promote the non-discrimination and par￾ticipation of Helsinki residents who are older or have a disability or long-term illness. These councils in￾fuence the planning, preparation and monitoring of the City’s activities in maters relevant to wellbeing, health, inclusion, living environment, housing, mo￾bility or the performance of daily activities. During the past term, the Elderly Citizens Council and the Council on Disability have organised visits to meet￾ings by ofcials and decision-makers, strengthened cooperation between the councils in drawing up opinions and statements, and improved cooperation by organising meetings with relevant organisations and other municipalities’ councils to strengthen the participation and access to information of older people and people with disabilities. Helsinki Youth Council ensures that young peo￾ple are heard in Helsinki’s decision-making and in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the operations of the City’s divisions. The Youth Council prepares opinions and statements on youth issues, making young people’s voices heard in the City’s decision-making. Helsinki Youth Council has the right to speak and be present at the meetings of the City’s commitees. Development of work with NGOs The City supports Helsinki-based organisations, communities and resident groups with around 70 million euros per year. Helsinki is a platform for free civic activities that focus on working together and initiatives from organisations. In Helsinki, NGO cooperation is promoted through a network-based model. The City is looking to strengthen its partner￾ship with organisations and cooperate regularly at the City level. Structures for regular cooperation with organisations have been prepared in 2022. In spring 2023, a City-level steering group for NGO and grant activities will be launched to prepare and coordinate the implementation and interaction of the overall model for NGO cooperation. The participation and infuence of organisations will be strengthened in Helsinki by establishing an NGO Advisory Board bringing together Helsinki-based organisations, trustees and experts from the City’s central admin￾istration and divisions. The NGO Advisory Board will be launched in spring 2023. Other work on the development of participation Helsinki supports the daily lives of its residents by providing various advisory services. The City has decided to focus on the development of closer co￾operation between the diferent advisory networks and increasing the competence of those involved in advisory work, both within the city and in the wider Uusimaa region. In 2020, Helsinki carried out a democracy trial aimed at providing Russian-speaking residents with information on the diferent ways of participating and supporting their participation. The experiment trained agents for change, organised participatory budgeting workshops and produced materials. The City has clarifed its communication on various opportunities for participation in 2022 by compiling information in one place on the osallistu. hel.f website. The website provides information on participation, opportunities to participate in the City’s development and decision-making process and support for working together. In 2023, the City of Helsinki will organise dialogi￾cal resident discussions across the city. They aim to promote discussion and infuence on regional phe￾nomena important to the city’s residents in cooper￾ation with diferent operators. In addition to this, the resident discussions also accelerate the independ￾ent development and local activities of the regions, while also improving understanding and dialogue between the residents. The new approach provides the city’s residents with initiative and agency in a so￾cially sustainable manner, creating a new structure and implementation method of resident discussions in Helsinki. 52 Successes: • The participation and interaction model has clarifed the City’s participation work, and it is more systematic and more managed. • The City established the NGO Advisory Board in spring 2023, and the City’s new model for NGO cooperation has provided a clear struc￾ture for interaction. • During the strategy period, Helsinki has devel￾oped a variety of participation methods, which are being used extensively in service develop￾ment and decision-making preparations alike. • Helsinki has even gained international recogni￾tion for its development of digital participation. • Participatory budgeting has increased resi￾dents’ interest in participating in and infuenc￾ing city afairs, and turnout has been relatively high by international standards. Areas for development: • Participation and interaction in all of the City’s operations need to be strengthened by promot￾ing an open operating culture and interactive practices, as well as utilising feedback from residents and businesses. • Multi-channel opportunities for participation need to be developed, combining digital and face-to-face methods of participation. • Equal opportunities for resident participation and the participation of all population groups in urban development need to be strengthened. • Multi-channel, diverse and multilingual commu￾nications and opportunities for participation and infuence need to be promoted, taking into account diferences between neighbourhoods. • The resident and shared use of the City’s f acilities need to be developed to beter meet the needs of residents.

53 Culture UNESCO’s Hangzhou Congress in 2013 placed creativity, cultural heritage, knowledge and diversity at the heart of cultural sustainability: these values are inextricably linked to human development and freedoms. Based on this, Helsinki wants to give its residents the opportunity to live a life that they have reason to believe is worth living. We want to make cultural sustainability a new perspective in this sus￾tainable development report. The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals requires cultural change. It will require a shif in many of the ways of thinking and acting that we have grown up with, that shape our lives and that we pass on to younger generations. In order to be able to build an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable city, we need to recognise and understand our culture – the beliefs, institutions and morals that shape our actions – in a more informed way. Changes in the environment and culture and their efects can be most clearly seen through art and science. Art also allows us to address change in a holistic manner while fnding creative ways to solve the challenges it brings. It is important that the City supports artistic freedom and pluralism and is open to the discussion that takes place through art. Art and culture are resources for the development of the city. We build our perception of ourselves and our community on the basis of both our intangible and tangible cultural heritage. Cultural heritage and the built cultural environment that is interwoven with it provide the basis for art and culture. The present is the cultural heritage of the future. Helsinki is grow￾ing and becoming more culturally diverse, and at the same time the age structure has changed, with an increasing proportion of older people. We need increasingly culturally responsible action to deal with change in a way that enriches our culture and strengthens our creativity and resilience, rather than causing polarisation and confict. In this diversifying operating environment, it is good to remember that a clear awareness of one’s own cultural identity is linked to a good self-esteem and a sense of satisfaction. A strong ethnic identi￾ty does not mean that minorities become insular. Instead, it has been found to correlate positively with employment, education and moderate political views. Building a strong and accepting cultural identity begins already in early childhood. Helsinki aims to promote responsible cultural education and ena￾ble all Helsinki residents to form a connection with culture and art. Everyone should have the right to know and be proud of their own cultural background and practise their own culture. In order to achieve this in practice, this right requires awareness of cultural needs, such as languages, traditions and customs, in the felds of education, leisure, urban environment and health and social services. In this report, we examine the cultural sustain￾ability of Helsinki from the perspective of the City’s cultural services, cultural heritage and design. The selected perspectives are not an exhaustive list of cultural sustainability phenomena and actions afecting Helsinki – however, they give an idea of how and where Helsinki works for a more culturally sustainable city. 53 54 Art and culture Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Helsinki’s own cultural institutions reached approximately 1.43 million visitors per year (about 2.5 visits/resident). Services provided by the City were estimated to account for around 25% of the total cultural sec￾tor service production in Helsinki. The City’s eight cultural centres hosted around 2,000 events a year, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra performed around 50 symphony concerts and the six museums of Helsinki City Museum and Helsinki Art Museum hosted 23–25 exhibitions a year. The City of Helsin￾ki distributes around 17 million euros annually to support the organisation of arts and culture activi￾ties, including basic education in art. The criteria for awarding these grants include the consideration of equality, non-discrimination and ecological aspects in the organisation of the activities. The restrictions on gatherings caused by the pan￾demic had a severe impact on cultural events, which in practice could only be held intermitently and with reduced atendance in 2020–2021 and early 2022. The cultural sector is recovering from the break slowly, and in 2023 many areas of culture are focusing on strengthening general confdence in the future and operational structures, and restoring public confdence to pre-pandemic levels. In 2021–2022, the City invested signifcantly in the revitalisation of the cultural sector. The City of Helsinki has identifed the promotion of cultural equality as a priority for the wellbeing of the city’s residents. In 2021–2023, measures have been planned and implemented with a special focus on cultural diversity and inclusiveness, children and older people, and Helsinki residents in a vulnerable position. The City’s extensive library institution, which serves all Helsinki residents in a diverse manner, is an excellent promoter of cultural sustainability. Promotion of cultural equality The promotion of cultural equality is guided by the principles of inclusiveness and diversity, which include both people’s diverse backgrounds and functional impairments. In planning arts and culture activities, it has been recognised that it is not possible to cater precisely to the needs of all special groups at the same time; instead, the es￾sential thing is to fnd practices that do not exclude anyone. Practices that increase inclusiveness are sought frst and foremost through the promotion of the agency and participation of special groups. In particular, the activities of Caisa, a cultural cen￾tre managed by the City of Helsinki, support the strengthening of diversity and inclusiveness in the City’s cultural activities. The City of Helsinki also pays atention to the promotion of the Swedish language and bilingual culture, as well as regional equality. Cultural means are used to strengthen the identity of the diferent areas of Helsinki. Focus on children and older people In the promotion of children’s culture, the City of Helsinki aims to orient its activities in such a way that it can ensure equal opportunities for all chil￾dren to experience art and culture. The City also implements UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities model. At the heart of the activities is Annantalo Arts Cen￾tre for Children and Young People, which organises activities such as the 5x2 art education for all of the City’s primary schools, introducing around 6,200 children each year to artistic activities under the guidance of professional artists. 55 All Helsinki residents born in and a fer 2020 are invited to become Culture Kids. The Culture Kids sponsors organises activities for the children based on their stage of development until they start school. The Culture Kids sponsors include 32 arts and culture operators. At the beginning of 2023, around 11,500 families had already joined. The participating opera - tors work together on ways of implementing culturally responsible art and cultural education. Accessible special programming for older people is produced in a coordinated manner by health and social services and the City’s cultural operators. Notable examples include the cooperation of Helsinki City Museum and Helsinki Art Museum HAM with service centres, Age-friendly Orchestra activities and Helsinki Art Museum HAM’s senior panel. The cultural equality of older people is also supported through grants. In 2023, the Culture and Leisure Division will allocate a total of 2 million euros to promote the phys - ical activity and cultural activities of older people. The supported projects will strengthen the participation and active agency of older people. Reaching vulnerable residents In LiiKu support, developed in multidisciplinary cooperation, health and social services profession - als guide and support their clients to participate in exercise and cultural events that interest them and engage in independent recreational pursuits. Participatory local cultural work (the Helsinki Model) strengthens the communality, comfort and positive pro fle of neighbourhoods and enables res - idents to have experiences of inclusion that support empowerment and the expression of their own voice and creativity. Libraries as drivers of cultural sustainability The library institution is a strong driver of cultur - al sustainability both in Helsinki and elsewhere in Finland. Libraries are a kind of backbone of culture – easily accessible and free of charge, they are meeting places where you can fnd not only information but also cultural experiences, equipment for various activities and facilities for gathering. Helsinki has 37 regional libraries, two mobile libraries and two hospi - tal libraries and fve service points at service centres. The library has been able to renew itself as the city has changed. The library also o fers Helsinki residents services such as the Multilingual Library and eLibrary, which contains thousands of books, magazines, news - papers, flms, music, courses and databases. The library is an important place for learning and literacy, serving residents from infancy to old age. 55 56 Successes: • Individual artists and art institutions, as well as many other cultural operators, constantly raise issues of sustainable development in their public activities and produce works that increase the understanding of Helsinki residents on these issues and their ability to fnd creative solutions to the challenges that arise. • The promotion of cultural equality has been made an important priority throughout the cul￾tural sector. In particular, the City has identifed children, older people and vulnerable residents of Helsinki as groups whose cultural rights should be focused on. Areas for development: • The visibility and involvement of diferent minorities in the planning and implementation of cultural services and the inclusion of content relevant to them in the provision of cultural services must be increased. • More discussion and common understanding is needed among cultural and art operators on the principles of art and culture education and other cultural activities that take into account diverse cultural backgrounds. Culture Kids Culture Kids is a service for families with children living in Helsinki. Each child born in Helsinki from 2020 onwards has their own cultural sponsor. The Culture Kids are invited to free-of-charge cultural events twice a year until they start school. By the end of 2022, more than 11,000 Culture Kids have been registered and 32 arts and culture operators have become sponsors. Sponsors to children born in 2023 include operators such as the Museum of Finnish Architecture, the National Museum of Finland and Helsinki City Muse￾um, and more than 600 free events suitable for children at diferent stages of develop￾ment will be organised in 2023. 56 57 Helsinki is known for great design. Design is a way for Helsinki to build a functional and equal city. Design is a tool for understanding the needs of residents and solving relevant problems. Design and architecture have long played an important role in the building of the Finnish welfare society and beter daily life at both the national level and in Helsinki. The City of Helsinki’s design journey began in 2012, when Helsinki was selected as the World Design Capital together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti. For the City of Helsinki, that year served as a starting point for utilising design in the deve￾lopment of the City’s services and operations. As a result, design became a strategic-level focus area for the City. During its ten-year design jour￾ney, Helsinki has consistently strengthened the role of design as part of the City’s core activities. One of the key factors behind the success of this design journey has been the strong role of design in the City Strategy. Design Helsinki Design Journey 58 Helsinki is one of the world’s frst cities to appoint a Chief Design Ofcer. In 2020, the City appointed a Chief Design Ofcer to promote the use of design and architecture in the development of the city and strengthen Helsinki’s reputation as an internationally renowned design city. The Chief Design Ofcer is supported by Helsinki Lab, the City’s internal design team, and the City’s internal design network of more than 200 experts. Helsinki implements design projects in close cooperation with design agencies. Helsinki has a framework agreement on service design, which covered a total of 3.6 million euros in design procurements in 2021. The volume of design procurements in Helsinki has increased ninefold over the past six years. During the strategy period 2021–2025, design is a more systematic part of user-oriented service re￾newal and the improvement of the City organisation’s productivity. The goal is to increase the atractiveness of public urban spaces by means of insightful design and experimentation. New initiatives in this area include the Placemaking programme focusing on the co-creation of pleasant urban spaces and the comple￾tion of the Helsinki architectural policy programme. Design is an important factor in seting Helsinki apart internationally, and this objective is supported through networking and by promoting the realisation of the new museum of architecture and design. An important challenge for the future is to develop the assessment of the efectiveness of design activities and the utilisation of data generated in design work. Successes: • Design thinking at Central Library Oodi. • Strategic design project for older people’s physical activity. • Service design of the Hel.f website. Areas for development: • Design of public urban spaces. • Strategic design: systems, phenomena and anticipation. • Development of the efectiveness and efectiveness indicators of design activities. Studies and websites: Design Helsinki website UNESCO Creative Cities Network – Helsinki UNESCO City of Design Report 2019–2022 PDF 59 Cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the result of human activity and interaction with the environment. Cultural heritage and the cultural environment are intertwined. The changing of values, beliefs, skills and traditions is a key characteristic of cultural heritage. A lovingly nurtured cultural heritage is an economic atrac￾tion factor and plays an important role in the devel￾opment of tourism. Therefore, cultural heritage is also a resource for development from an economic point of view. Cultural heritage and related information are produced, used, managed and preserved by a wide range of actors, from private enthusiasts to pub￾lic sector operators. In Helsinki, the Culture and Leisure Division is responsible for library materi￾als, museum collections and the maintenance and renewal of cultural heritage and supports art and cultural activities, which are the cultural heritage of tomorrow. Helsinki City Museum in particular has the task of giving the people of Helsinki roots and helping them form their own, unique relationship with Helsinki and identity as a Helsinki resident. As a cultural environment authority, the City Museum brings a cultural heritage perspective to the town planning process and urban development. In turn, HAM Helsinki Art Museum fosters, presents and develops art heritage. The City Archives manage and store the City’s archive collection. Schools and other educational institutions uphold and pass on cultural heritage in their daily work. There is a lot of cross-sectoral cooperation, ranging from daycare to upper sec￾ondary education, as well as with the Työväenopisto and Arbis adult education centres. Cultural heritage data and related services are digitalised at the same pace as the rest of society. Digital tools have opened up new opportunities for both professional cultural heritage operators and citizens. Helsinki’s tangible cultural heritage is easy to access digitally through the national Finna search service. Through Finna, the materials have been part of the pan-European Europeana service since 2021, and have thereby become part of the European cultural heritage. The City Muse￾um’s photo collection is also accessible through the Helsinkiphotos.f service. The freely usable high-resolution images also create preconditions for business activities. Cultural Environment Programme The Cultural Environment Programme is a joint policy of the City Museum and the Urban Envi￾ronment Division on the consideration of cultural environments and their management and utilisation in Helsinki. The programme provides an overall view of the values of Helsinki’s cultural environments, the importance of working together and the related cultural heritage. The preparation has been carried out in consultation with and with the participation of the City’s divisions, businesses and residents. The programme will be submited to the City Board for approval in spring 2023. The Cultural Environment Programme focuses in particular on the preserva￾tion of cultural environments and the reconciliation of the City’s other objectives, as well as on support￾ing residents’ independent activities in various cul￾tural environments. Combining sustainable growth with the preservation of cultural environments is crucial. The objectives of the programme support many of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly in relation to ecological sustainability and natural environments, as well as wellbeing and sustainable tourism. 60 Successes: • Active participation in the production and upholding of cultural heritage and the preser￾vation of cultural environments has signifcant welfare efects. Participatory forms of work are therefore utilised in all cultural heritage work. In the Adopt a Monument activities, volunteers manage archaeological sites under the guid￾ance of the City Museum, and the Kuvasakki photography group documents the city by taking photographs. Museum grandmas and grandpas pass on cultural heritage in Children’s Town. The City Museum also works with operators ofen perceived as marginal. In 2021–2022, people in mental health rehabilitation were involved in exhi￾bition production, and an exhibition entitled Hoes – Voices in Sex Work was opened in November 2022, with the materials and script based on the sex worker community’s own heritage work. • The Cultural Environment Programme has been drawn up in close cooperation within the City and involving residents. Working together has increased Helsinki residents’ awareness of cultural environments and their values. At the same time, there has been extensive network￾ing, emphasising the diverse values and vitality impacts of the cultural environment, and high￾lighting the importance of conservative repair of buildings as part of sustainable development. The vision of the programme is that the Helsinki of 2050 will be a historically interesting and sustain￾ably changing city that values its cultural environ￾ment and where everyone can put down roots. Areas for development: • The challenges of regionality and diversity afect the sustainability of cultural heritage as much as the urban organisation in general. • The Culture and Leisure Division continuously develops digital tools and working methods to make cultural heritage and experiences based on it more accessible. The Library Services ofer a wide range of electronic materials and tools, advice and support for the use of digital services. The development of digital operating models and the maintenance of systems require continuous investments. Combining digital accessibility and performance expectations requires a wide range of skills. • Those involved in highly specialised aspects of cultural heritage are ofen older people, and passing on their skills to the next generation is a key challenge. Volunteers ofen have very few resources. Programmes and studies: Art and Culture in Helsinki 2030: The commitee’s vision for the city and its citizens, March 2020 PDF Helsinki City Museum: Afrosuomalaisuuta tallentamassa (article in Finnish about a children’s workshop on being Afro-Finnish) 60 61 History Helsinki online service In 2022, the City of Helsinki’s History Commitee, which operates under the City Executive Ofce’s Information Management Unit, launched the History Helsinki online service, which distributes history and cultural heritage materials related to Helsinki and information derived from them. Being Black – Afro Finns’ Experiences exhibition Being Black is an exhibition of the Helsin￾ki Afro-Finnish community and Helsinki City Museum, opened in April 2023. The exhibition provides perspectives on family, friendship, ideals of beauty and activism and shows how Afro-Finnish people are part of Helsinki and the Helsinki identity. 61

63 Livelihood and employment Globally, Helsinki is at a good level in achieving SDG 1 (No poverty). Helsinki’s challenges have to do with relative poverty caused by high living standards and costs, perceived income adequacy and increasing poverty of families with children. In national compar￾ison, Helsinki has beter prospects than most other Finnish municipalities and cities to maintain growth and positive employment trends. Even though the changes in the population structure afect Helsinki as well, population forecasts suggest that migration will remain favourable to Helsinki, and the diverse business and premise structure will increase em￾ployment opportunities and tax revenues. In addition to the development of the national economy and the related tax revenues, a key issue concerns expenditure in the municipal sector. Pressure is created by the ageing of the popula￾tion, which afects public fnances in two ways: the growth of the elderly population creates pressure on health, care and pension expenditures, and the shrinking of the working-age population weakens the growth potential of the economy, which is di￾rectly refected in the development of the tax base. Measures to improve employment and increase the efciency of health and social service production may improve the sustainability of public fnanc￾es. Increased work-related migration will, under certain conditions, have a faster impact on long￾term sustainability than the birth rate. Permanently higher net immigration would strengthen public fnances if the average employment and wage levels of immigrants did not difer signifcantly from the native population. In 2022, afer recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the employment rate in Helsinki rose to a record high of 76.0%. The employment rate was 1.9 percentage points higher than in 2021. The number of hours worked fell dramatically in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, but recovered in 2021 and has continued to grow in 2022. Hours worked by Helsinki residents increased by 3.3% from the previous year. The increase in employment and the number of hours worked had a positive impact on the City’s tax revenue. Unemployment rate 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Unemployment rate 9,3% 9,2% 14,6% 11,2% 10,4% Youth unemployment rate 6,7% 6,6% 13,5% 9,1% 8,1% Men, Helsinki 10,3% 10,2% 15,7% 12,3% Women, Helsinki 7,9% 7,8% 12,6% 9,6% 64 Since the COVID-19 pandemic, part-time work has increased relatively more than full-time work. The number of part-time contracts as a share of all em￾ployment increased moderately. In 2022, part-time employment accounted for 19% of all employment in Helsinki. The unemployment rate in Helsinki was 10.4% in December 2022. At the end of 2022, Helsinki had 36,600 unemployed jobseekers, which was 2,800 (7%) less than the year before. The pandemic caused a signifcant peak in unemployment in 2020. At its highest, the unemployment rate in Helsinki was 18.6% (May 2020). Even though the employment situ￾ation improved considerably in 2021 and 2022, there were still 4,900 more unemployed people at the end of 2022 than in 2019 before the start of the pandem￾ic. At the end of 2022, the number of job vacancies declined afer a strong increase. As a result of the pandemic, youth and long￾term unemployment increased sharply. During 2022, unemployment has decreased in both groups, but remains higher than before the pandemic. Long￾term unemployment may lead to health and wellbe￾ing challenges if prolonged. Employment becomes more difcult when unemployment is prolonged. Foreign-language speakers account for 32% of all unemployed people. The training requirements of the workforce needed for job openings by 2035 are expected to be signifcantly higher than those of the employed at the end of the last decade. As skills require￾ments increase, it is essential to improve the level of education and training of those already in employment. Supply and demand do not properly match in the labour market, and Helsinki sufers from labour shortages, especially in the high-tech and digitalisation sectors. Helsinki must atract experts from abroad. Helsinki is participating in the local government pilot on employment launched at the beginning of 2021. In the pilot, the City of Helsinki is responsible for employment services for the following custom￾er groups: unemployed people who do not qualify for earnings-related allowance, people aged under 30, foreign-language speakers and immigrants. The local government pilot paves the way for the TE services reform 2024, which will transfer the responsibility for organising employment and economic development services (TE services) from the state to municipalities from 2025 onwards. The City of Helsinki is preparing for this change with the aim of creating an efective model of employment in Helsinki that takes into account the needs of local residents and employers. During 2022, the key indicators of the local government pilot on employment regarding the smooth running of services have developed positively. At the end of January 2023, more than half of the customers had a valid employment plan, compared to around 39% one year earlier. The number of customers in services supporting employment has increased. The City has also developed digital solutions and performance￾based procurement for employment services. As an employer, the City itself also actively uses employment support instruments, such as work try-outs, pay subsidies and apprenticeships. Successes: • The employment rate has risen since the pandemic, and unemployment has declined steadily. • The local government pilot on employment supports the City’s preparation for the TE services reform 2024. • The use of the employment clause has been developed. Areas for development: • The long-term unemployment rate is higher than during the pandemic. Efective measures should be found to reduce long-term unemployment. • The employment of foreign-language speakers requires support. Programmes and publications: City of Helsinki Financial Statements 2022 (in Finnish) PDF City of Helsinki Economic Policy Priorities 2022–2025 PDF

65 Industry and innovation In a vibrant city, companies have good opportunities to operate, grow and innovate. A well-functioning city is an important prerequisite for the success and competitiveness of companies. The city must be a high-quality and atractive living environment. A pleasant and safe city; well-functioning basic servic￾es; art, cultural and recreational services; adequate housing, business premises and education; smooth transport and efcient administration form the basis for the success of companies and employees. Every division and individual employee of the City of Helsin￾ki infuences the city’s vitality with their daily work. The City of Helsinki’s Economic Policy Priorities 2022−2025 structure the City’s economic policy priorities and activities. The City continues its long-term economic policy by investing in strength￾ening business and innovation environments that support the competitiveness of companies by means such as developing cooperation with higher education institutions in the region. The City invests in the growth and renewal of entrepreneurship and business in Helsinki by providing services for starting a business and strengthening the capacity of startups to grow in selected industries. Entre￾preneurship opportunities are widely introduced to diferent population groups. The City develops its employment services by utilising the resourc￾es of the entire City organisation with the aim of strengthening the likelihood of Helsinki residents to fnd employment. Helsinki’s atractiveness as a city of sustainable tourism, culture and events is also being developed. 66 During the current strategy period, particular atention is paid to the development of the vitality of the city centre and making Helsinki an increasingly at￾tractive destination for international talent, business and investment. Helsinki has therefore prepared an action plan to strengthen immigration based on work, study and entrepreneurship. The City’s economic policy objective is to develop Helsinki as a source of business that solves globally relevant problems. The City organisation responds to this objective by provid￾ing companies with opportunities to develop products and new solutions in an urban environment and with diferent City services. Helsinki plays an important role in the busi￾ness activities of Finland as a whole. Helsinki is an important area of business activity that ofers the opportunity to innovate, develop new things and make proftable and stable business. For example, Uusimaa accounted for nearly 50% of all research and development expenditure in Finland in 2021. Uusimaa’s research and development expenditure is strongly concentrated in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Uusimaa’s research and development expendi￾ture has increased by around 29% between 2016 and 2021. This growth has been strongest in the business sector. The potential for business renewal and growth in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and Helsinki is also well illustrated by the capital investments received by startup and growth companies in the region. These investments are highly concentrated in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in Finland. Helsinki’s industrial structure is highly service-in￾tensive. During the pandemic, this service-intensive nature was partly a weakness, as the various restric￾tions and the decrease in demand hit tourism and restaurant activities important to the city, as well as services such as culture and entertainment, causing a signifcant increase in unemployment. Meanwhile, other industries, such as information and commu￾nications, continued to grow strongly throughout the pandemic. The region’s business has recovered very well from the pandemic, but tourism to Helsinki, for example, has not yet recovered to pre-pandem￾ic levels. This is also afected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which may have an impact on the city’s position as a tourist destination in the longer term. It is still not possible to assess all the efects of the COVID-19 pandemic accurately. For example, how will the increasing remote work afect the development and role of the Helsinki city centre as one of the many urban centres in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area? The economic structure of Helsinki and Finland in 2021 Helsinki Number of companies Number of personnel Turnover Primary production 2,2% 0,0% 0,0% Processing 9,1% 14,9% 33,6% Services 88,6% 84,7% 65,9% Helsinki Number of companies Number of personnel Turnover Primary production 20,5% 3,1% 0,6% Processing 17,2% 32,4% 40,6% Services 61,9% 63,8% 58,0% 67 The City’s Economic Development Department has established testbed activities. The Testbed Helsin￾ki website brings together examples of the City’s innovation cooperation and serves as a platform and communications channel to companies and for publishing innovation challenges. Companies can use the form available on the website to submit pilot proposals for the development of their busi￾ness in cooperation with the City and other possible stakeholders. The challenge and pilot competitions are used to fnd the best solutions, and innovation development is carried out in areas such as smart transport, health and welfare promotion, learning environments and a comprehensive range of topics related to the physical and digital urban environ￾ment, such as energy efciency or the planning and implementation of the addition of urban greenery. The City’s divisions employ so-called innovation agents, who are joint experts of the City Execu￾tive Ofce’s Economic Development Department and the divisions and whose task is to facilitate cooperation between companies and the City, identify development needs and fnd new, sustain￾able solutions to the city’s various challenges. The pilots selected are fnanced from the budget of the Economic Development Department either fully or partly in cooperation with operators such as the divisions’ substance units or operators of the City Group, which provides fexibility in the planning and implementation of the pilots to achieve the objec￾tives. In some cases, companies also participate in co-fnancing the pilots themselves. Pilots and planning are also carried out in cooperation within the City and with Forum Virium Helsinki, an innovation company owned by the City. In research, development and innovation for sustain￾able urban development, stakeholder cooperation has also taken on a more prominent role in strategic university cooperation and business incubator activ￾ities, for example. In Helsinki, the themes of innovative activities in the Kalasatama area, among other smart urban development testing environments, have become increasingly focused on sustainable development. This is also the case in the new testing environments in the suburban regeneration and urban develop￾ment areas in Eastern, Central and Western Helsinki. Projects and national and EU-wide programmes are carried out with companies to develop participatory services that take into account local characteristics. Multidisciplinary activities strengthen cooperation across the City’s divisions, and the building and transformation of areas bring together the activi￾ties of the City organisation and partners, thereby strengthening the business base and, in particular, the substance expertise of the Urban Environment Division. This creates a sustainable and innovative Helsinki for its residents. During 2022, the Urban Environment Divi￾sion set up an Innovator Network, which was well received and has atracted a wide range of repre￾sentatives from the diferent units of the division. The network also invited and engaged people work￾ing closely with the Urban Environment Division on innovation from the City Group’s subsidiaries, among others. The network draws on the division’s broad knowledge base to assess needs and make suggestions for pilots, which can be ofered for innovation challenges for companies. In urban envi￾ronments, particular interest, development needs and new business potential are currently focused, in particular, on the digitalisation of the environ￾ment, satellite and drone solutions, green infra￾structure and climate change adaptation, property management, and improvement of environmental efciency and the circular economy. Since 2021, the circular economy cluster of urban construction has signifcantly promoted the theme’s cooperation and business development potential, especially in 2022. The cluster includes a wide range of companies whose core business con￾cerns the property and construction sector. The City’s cluster work is also progressive on national and EU-level decision-making issues and is running a number of pilots to promote green growth and digitalisation. University cooperation and activi￾ties such as joint project planning and business incubator activities to improve sustainable urban environments ofer an increasing number of new companies opportunities to bring their solutions to the fore in pilots and even on larger-scale projects. The activities generate more RDI (research, devel￾opment and innovation) and student-driven entre￾preneurship and jobs. Sustainability and positive social impact are growing phenomena and drivers in Helsinki’s growth company ecosystem. Innovative pilot activities for the development of a smart and sustainable city 68 Successes: • The strengthening of innovative and sustainable testing activities and the building of networks for the establishment of activities within the City organisation and with the City Group’s oper￾ators, as well as in cooperation with business incubators and universities. Examples include the establishment of the Urban Environment Division’s Innovator Network and the UrbanTech Helsinki cooperation. • The expansion of Forum Virium and Kalasata￾ma’s smart urban development themes and participation work in the suburban regeneration and urban development areas together with the divisions, and the expansion of cooperation with external stakeholders and EU-level project activities, such as the New European Bauhaus project. • The implementation of the City of Helsinki’s clus￾ter programme for circular economy in construc￾tion and the extensive extension of cooperation to the business sector (around 100 companies involved in related activities), RDI sector opera￾tors, and City Group operators and subsidiaries. Areas for development: • Eforts have been made to expand cooperation on innovative and sustainable procurement with the City Group’s operators and in international pro￾ject cooperation, including through the ICLEI and Eurocities networks. So far, this has been carried out on a rather small scale, but it is important to extend the use of diferent procurement models to a larger scale. Programmes and websites: City of Helsinki Economic Policy Priorities 2022–2025 PDF Economic policy priorities of the City Strategy Testbed Helsinki website Circular economy cluster The City’s circular economy cluster pro￾gramme promotes both circular innova￾tion and business and the City’s climate objectives. The cluster programme fo￾cuses particularly on promoting circular economy in construction, as the City has a major role as a developer, builder and client. 68 69 Digitalisation Through digitalisation, the City develops services that make life and activities in Helsinki smoother for residents, businesses, communities, tourists, City employees and decision-makers. Helsinki’s ambitious digitalisation programme launched in 2019 enables the City to improve its services and modernise its activities in many ways. The changes relate not only to new technologies but also to the culture of development, organisation, leadership and staf competence. In the new City Strategy, digitalisation and knowledge-based management have been highlighted as one of the priorities. Helsinki wants to be more customer-oriented and agile in its activities and to use data in its services and decisions. Digitalisation can contribute to the SDGs in many ways and ofer new solutions and opportunities for people to participate. Investment in accessibility Digitalisation may also increase inequalities. Digital exclusion has been identifed as a growing problem. Social exclusion and lack of participation can befall people of all ages. The COVID-19 pandemic strongly highlighted the risk of digital exclusion for older people in particular. Helsinki has invested heavily in increasing digital skills and improving the quality of digital services, so that everyone has equal access to them. However, more eforts are needed, espe￾cially for the elderly, and atention must also be paid to the availability of equipment for all age groups. Accessibility is also an important aspect. Accessible digital services are easy to use for all users, including the elderly and people with various disabilities. Once accessibility is taken into account, as many people as possible can use digital services independently. In terms of the accessibility of digital services, Helsinki aims to reach at least the AA level speci￾fed in the WCAG guidelines. Afer the transitional period, an accessibility statement will be available in each of the City’s digital services. The statement describes how well the website or application meets the accessibility requirements and how a ccessibility feedback can be provided to the City or supervisory authority. 69

72 Sustainable urban structure To achieve a sustainable urban structure, the key goals are SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communi￾ties and SDG 9 Industry, innovation and infrastruc￾ture. Other objectives, such as SDG 13 Climate action and SDG 15 Life on land, are also linked to the theme. In order to achieve these goals, Helsinki should focus even more on the challenges posed by the built environment to climate change mitiga￾tion and ecological diversity objectives. Another challenge for the built environment is adaptation to the changing climate. However, it can be said that the urban struc￾ture of Helsinki is functional and the design and construction organisation is able to adapt to the challenges. The city is constantly being developed in a direction that takes sustainability objectives beter into account in planning, design, construc￾tion and maintenance. However, the escalation of the climate crisis and loss of biodiversity is creat￾ing unprecedented pressure to learn new things, internalise knowledge and change practices. This is a critical factor in the achievement of the goals, as the required systemic change is extensive. The key document guiding city planning in Helsinki is the City Plan 2016, which guides the long-term development of the city structure with sights set on 2050. According to the City Plan, the urban structure is planned to rely more on public transport, while preserving the city’s key green and recreational values. During 2022, four local master plan projects were launched in Helsinki to defne future land use in areas not covered by the 2016 City Plan. These areas are the surroundings of Länsiväylä, the Lah￾denväylä–Viikinranta area, Vartiosaari and Öster￾sundom. The frst phase of the work on the local master plans is a scenario analysis of the future development of the areas, on the basis of which a selection will be made as a basis for the actual plan. The strategic orientation of the projects is supported by a comprehensive and wide-ranging sustainability assessment, in which climate impact assessment is one of the key elements. Measures have been taken to improve the lifecycle sustainability of the built environment. A methodology for calculating lifecycle climate emis￾sions has been actively developed as part of the impact assessment of detailed planning in particular. The assessment is carried out in connection with the most signifcant detailed plans, and the results are atached to the plan material. Going forward, the question to be addressed is the target level of lifecy￾cle emissions and how this level will be determined in line with the wider emission reduction targets. Functionality of infrastructure As is usually the case in Finland, the functionality and reliability of Helsinki’s infrastructure are very good by global standards. Helsinki has good expertise in ensuring the functionality of infrastructure. As the changes in the operating environment intensify, struc￾tural sustainability faces more challenges. For exam￾ple, climate change increases cost pressures on the maintenance of existing urban structure. Tempera￾tures fuctuating below and above zero and increased winter precipitation are already causing erosion and unforeseen repairs, which are more expensive. On the other hand, the tightening budget allocates less and less money to the sustainable lifecycle management of infrastructure. This, combined with the growing vol￾ume of the urban environment, poses real challenges in ensuring quality and functionality. For infrastructure, determining the repair backlog and sustainable lifecycle management of structures is challenging. It requires the compilation and manage￾ment of extensive initial data, defnition of the scope of the analysis and the performance of condition inspections. For bridges, a study has been carried out on lifecycle management that includes an assess￾ment of the fnancing needs to maintain the current state of the bridges and eliminate the repair backlog. Green space and street asset management plans are being prepared to improve the situation; it is not yet possible to form a sufciently accurate picture of the growing infrastructure repair backlog. 73 Helsinki’s repair backlog of building assets is very high compared to other Finnish cities, which is due to its relatively old building stock. The repair backlog of the real estate stock owned by Helsinki has fallen in real terms in recent years. Sales, dem￾olitions, substitutive new construction and modern￾isation can further reduce the repair backlog. Participation and interaction in urban planning The dialogue between planners and residents on urban planning is guided by legislation, the City’s Participation Model and, in 2019–2021, the division’s participation plan and the available resources. There is no functional indicator for the efectiveness of interaction. The City considers it important that participants feel heard and perceive the planning process as fair. As part of the planning process, feedback from residents is addressed and decisions based on it are explained. The low participation of less active groups in urban planning is one of the biggest challenges in the interaction process. These groups include young people, less educated people, people with an immigrant background and residents of areas with a weaker social status, among others. In 2020, the communications unit of the Urban Environment Di￾vision had a project aimed at lowering the threshold for the participation of immigrants. Plain-language communications were developed with organisations, and a video was produced on the social media chan￾nels, explaining in plain language what participation is and how to participate in the discussion on the city. In some urban planning projects, specifc meas￾ures, such as interviews or workshops, are taken to involve less active groups. Greater and more fre￾quent eforts should be made in this area. There are many ways to take part in urban planning. There are around 50 online surveys on urban planning topics every year. The pandemic moved some events online, such as the resident events on urban development that bring together all current projects in a wider area. The online events have atracted large audiences, and the recordings in particular have atracted many views. At best, the events have had more than 500 simultaneous par￾ticipants, and the views of the recordings have been many times higher. The average age of participants has been younger for online events than for in-person events. As regards trafc planning, Helsinki has allo￾cated resources to sustainable trafc planning by e.g. investing in public transport, especially in the development of rail trafc, and cycling. Promoting cycling as a mode of transport improves and exten￾sively develops the comfort and vitality of the city and the functionality of the transport system. 74 It must be noted that Helsinki has also made transport infrastructure decisions that increase climate emissions from tra fc and reduce local air quality, such as the decision to build the Sörnäi - nen tunnel. In the future, these types of projects must be viewed more critically from the point of view of overall sustainability. Accessible Helsinki The City of Helsinki has long carried out systematic work to improve accessibility. The City’s updated Accessibility Policies 2022–2025 were adopted by the City Board in 2022. Helsinki came second in the European Union’s Access City Award competition in 2015 and 2022. The award was based on the City’s comprehensive approach that allows all City functions to be involved in accessibility work. The City also continuously strives to improve the accessibility of its services. Examples cited in the competition application included Central Li - brary Oodi, which has been designed with special atention to the needs of people with mobility and functional impairments, the accessible boardwalk of Lammassaari, and an application developed for the Helsinki Service Map, which shows informa - tion about the accessibility of the City’s service locations. Public transport in Helsinki has also been well developed. Helsinki has also made the results of its accessibility development work free - ly available to all. For example, the accessibility guidelines for outdoor areas have been introduced nationwide. Improved energy e fciency in construction As part of the Carbon Neutral Helsinki work, sever - al measures are being implemented to improve the energy e fciency of construction. City facilities and service buildings are designed and implemented with an E value of -30% of the national threshold value for the use class, while building moderni - sations are implemented in such a way that the E value is reduced to 34% of the building’s original E value. In plot allocation conditions and detailed planning, blocks of fats (use class 2) are required to have energy class A, in addition to which detailed planning requires non-residential buildings to have an energy class that is -20% of the national norm set for that type of building. 74 75 The main heating system selected for the City’s facilities and service buildings will be a heat pump system if its repayment period is under 15 years and its implementation is technically feasible. In 2023, all infrastructure projects commissioned by the City will switch to low-carbon concrete that meets the class GWP.85 requirements as defned by the Concrete As￾sociation of Finland. The class required of low-emis￾sion concrete will be reviewed and updated annually, at the minimum. Emissions from the preconstruction of the former Malmi Airport area are planned to be reduced by 50% by replacing the binder used for stabilisation with an available recycled binder. The tendering process for the energy solutions of City-owned properties will be developed: the aim is to open up the implementation of heating solu￾tions in the City’s own large building complexes and areal development sites to competition. The current process does not support the business development objectives or ensure the realisation of best heating solutions in the City’s own properties. In addition to regional energy systems, the City’s main instruments for planning a carbon-neutral city include zoning, plot allocation conditions and land use agreements. The City’s plot reservation conditions were tightened in 2019, making them the strictest in Finland. Environmental health supports people’s comfort and wellbeing Helsinki’s environmental health is at a good level on a global scale. Water quality at Helsinki’s beaches is generally good, but it can occasionally deteriorate due to factors such as leaching caused by heavy rainfall and the impact of wildlife. The health risks associated with chemicals are also minor, and the quality of Helsinki’s water supply is excellent. The main health risks are caused by air quality and noise. Litering is also a problem in Helsinki, harming not only people’s health but also the envi￾ronment. It reduces the comfort and atractiveness of urban areas and negatively afects the cityscape. In addition to this, litering causes the City of Helsinki more than 11 million euros in clean-up costs each year. In order to reduce liter, the City has prepared the Liter Management Action Plan 2022–2025. In Helsinki, there are also many challenges related to indoor air, including in the City’s service buildings. The problems with indoor air are caused by, among other things, the repair backlog and the risky structures of old buildings. Helsinki has drawn up an indoor air programme for the years 2018–2028 to help tackle indoor air problems. 75 76 The air quality in Helsinki has improved over the last few decades, and it is fairly good at an in￾ternational level. However, exhaust emissions from trafc, street dust and emissions from burning wood in domestic freplaces continue to be harmful to people’s health and comfort. In autumn 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) published new threshold values for air pollution based on the latest health research. These threshold values are signifcantly lower than before, and they are largely exceeded even in Helsinki, especially in terms of nitrogen dioxide, inhalable particles and fne particulate mater. In recent years, the annual EU limits for nitro￾gen dioxide have not been exceeded in Helsinki. The exhaust gas emissions from trafc have decreased thanks to advanced vehicle technology and electri￾fcation. Replacing buses with lower-emission ones has played a key role. However, the nitrogen dioxide concentrations may rise at times on busy and chasm-like streets. In addition to direct exhaust emissions, trafc also produces street dust. The limit values for street dust, i.e. inhalable particles, have not been exceeded in Helsinki in recent years, but the risk of exceeding them still remains. The dust volumes in the spring are also signifcantly af￾fected by the weather conditions and snow volumes in the spring and winter. In autumn 2022, a three￾year ban on studded tyres began on Lönnrotinka￾tu, the aim of which is to improve air quality and reduce trafc noise in the area. Environmental noise is a signifcant factor reducing the quality and comfort of the living en￾vironment in Helsinki. Strong continuous noise is harmful to health and wellbeing. Road trafc is the primary source of harmful noise. According to the noise study conducted in 2022, approximately 39% of Helsinki’s residents live in areas where road and street trafc noise levels exceed the daytime ref￾erence value level of 55 dB. The number of people exposed has risen by two percentage points since the last survey in 2017. This is mainly explained by the increase in housing in noisy areas near trafc routes and the inclusion of new street sections in the study. The noise abatement eforts by the City of Helsinki are directed by the Noise Abatement Ac￾tion Plan, which is currently being updated. Noise problems are prevented by land use and trafc planning, and this becomes more important as urban density increases. It is also important to have easily accessible and revitalising green spaces with a peaceful soundscape in diferent parts of the city. Successes: • The HAVA 2.0 tool was introduced to calculate and control the carbon footprint of the urban structure. • Progress has been made in tackling indoor air problems, and reports on indoor air issues have decreased. • Air quality at measuring points in Helsinki has improved. Areas for development: • Reconciling the growing city with the city-level climate goals will require very determined work in the future. • We need to manage growth in such a way that we stay on target with our goals to strengthen biodiversity and ensure that the local environ￾ment is preserved in line with our objectives. • The sustainable modal split of transport should be brought onto a more positive growth path, as the modal shares of public transport and cycling have declined. • Noise, air pollution and dust reduce comfort and threaten health. • The low participation of less active groups in urban planning is one of the biggest challenges in the interaction process. Programmes: Helsinki City Plan 2016

21 Climate The City of Helsinki’s carbon neutrality target was brought forward to 2030 in the City Strategy, and the Carbon Neutral Helsinki Action Plan was updat￾ed to refect this. Due to the very limited timeframe, efectiveness has been put at the heart of the pro￾gramme and eforts have been made to set efective measures that directly and rapidly reduce emis￾sions. In Helsinki, the most signifcant sources of direct emissions are heating, transport and electrici￾ty. The action plan focuses in particular on emissions reductions in these sectors. Furthermore, indirect Scope 3 emissions are being taken into considera￾tion in a more target-oriented manner. As for these indirect emissions, the focus is on construction emissions, based on impact and the City’s strategy policies, as these are emissions that the City can also infuence through its own actions. From 1990 to 2021, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in Helsinki decreased by 33%. The main reasons for the reduction in emissions in the long term are the replacement of coal with natural gas in energy production, improved energy efcien￾cy of the building stock and increased renewable energy. Helen Ltd will completely phase out the use of coal as part of its carbon neutrality target for 2030. The use of coal will cease at the Hanasaari and Salmisaari power plants between 2023 and 2025, which will signifcantly reduce emissions from heating. In the future, heat will be produced by using heat pumps, waste heat, electric boilers and sustainable bioenergy. Energy storage also plays an important role. Electricity will mainly be pro￾duced by nuclear, wind and solar power. In trans￾port, the target is to reduce emissions by 69% from the 2005 level by 2030. Transport emissions have decreased slowly, and it is predicted that the target will not be reached. For this reason, new measures for transport that would be required to meet the target have been identifed and will be further prepared during 2023. Helsinki has also begun to defne the boundary conditions of a limited and changing world for t he planning of a carbon-negative city. Achieving the carbon negativity target requires that the number of carbon sinks can be increased and emissions can be pushed down. In order to achieve this, changes are also required in the current way of planning the city because the carbon-negative city of the future is already being planned and some of the chains of infuence will take time. 22 HSY is the primary operator that carries out consumption-related infuencing and communication directed at residents, based on the City’s strategic steering. Climate work is also visible in the subsidi￾aries. In accordance with the ownership strategies, most of the City’s subsidiaries have prepared or are in the process of preparing carbon neutrality plans, through which they can contribute to the City’s carbon neutrality objectives. Towards a Helsinki prepared for extreme weather phenomena Climate change requires adaptation to its efects. Helsinki strives to prepare for extreme weather phenomena and their indirect efects, which re￾quires preparation for increased periods of heat and drought as well as heavy rainfall and even rising water levels in the coming decades. This means that preparedness must be taken into account in urban planning and new construction and renovation pro￾jects. To adapt to climate change, the City is adding more trees and greenery, meadows that can with￾stand scorching conditions and green structures that control stormwater, such as parks and green roofs. A well-functioning green structure enables stormwater management, the minimisation of food risks and the reduction of the urban heat island efect. The ability of the most vulnerable popula￾tion groups to adapt to climate change is ensured through the necessary measures, for example in hospitals, institutions and older people’s housing services. In recent years, adaptation measures have fo￾cused on the development and implementation of nat￾ural stormwater management methods, the strength￾ening of the green structure, the promotion of the use of the green factor in town planning and the develop￾ment of the tool, the improvement of summer cooling in City-owned properties such as schools and nursing homes, as well as the improvement of climate-resilient renovation and climate change risk management. The adaptation work has been rather fragmented, which is why an overall plan will be drawn up for it. The frst step is to draw up a plan for heavy rainfall, followed by a hot weather plan and the mitigation of the negative efects of crisis and risk situations. The adaptation work is particularly challenged by the speed of climate change, but also by the City’s growth targets, which requires coordination of objectives and measures. Successes: • The carbon neutrality target was brought forward from 2035 to 2030. • The efectiveness of climate work has been signifcantly increased. • The Energy Renaissance Team has promoted the energy efciency of housing companies. • Hanasaari coal power plant was closed in 2023. Areas for development: • More solutions to replace fossil fuels are needed in energy production. • New measures to reduce emissions must be introduced in transport. • Climate change adaptation and city growth require reconciliation. Programmes: Carbon Neutral Helsinki Action Plan PDF Supporting Strategy with Action Plans: Guide for the Preparation of an Emissions Reduction Action Plan PDF Helsinki’s Climate Change Adaptation Policies PDF City of Helsinki Storm Water Management Program PDF 23 Carbon Neutral Helsinki 2030 Carbon Neutral Helsinki 2030 is the City’s emis￾sions reduction action plan, updated in autumn 2022. Through the action plan, the City aims to reduce its direct emissions by 80% compared to 1990 and ofset the remaining 20%. In the 2040 zero-carbon target, the remaining 20% will have Energy experts The City of Helsinki ofers the help and support of its energy experts to housing companies looking to make efective, energy-efcient and fnancially viable energy renovations. been reduced to a level where carbon sinks within the city limits can compensate for the remaining emissions. 23

Tampere wants to be the best city to grow up in for all. This goal is being promoted at the city level through the Tampere Junior development programme. The aim of the programme is to narrow diferences in well-being among children, young people and families with children in the various residential areas of Tampere, and to ensure that everyone has equal op￾portunities to be, live, engage in hobbies and participate. The activities aim to strengthen child-friendliness and children’s rights in Tampere. As part of the work on the development programme, Tampere is seeking to obtain the Child-Friendly Municipality recognition granted by the UN. The programme aims to better identify the diversity of families with children and the needs of vulnerable children and young people. In addition, eforts are being made to strengthen the services for children and young people. Knowledge management and the use of advanced, analysed data on families with children contribute to this. Tampere Junior brings together the city’s services, companies, associations and various research communities in the high￾er education institutions. Scattered information must be combined in order to understand phenomena afecting the lives of children, young people and families with children, as well as related needs for change. The development programme promotes, in particular, the 2030 Agenda goals related to the prevention of poverty, equal distribution of well-being and health, resident participation, and cooperation and partnerships. Inequality can be influenced Case Tampere Junior development programme Objective To reduce diferences in the well￾being of children, young people and families with children in diferent residential areas and services of Tampere. 13

The goal of Tampere is to be a climate neutral city by 2030, and the city is working in a variety of ways to achieve this goal. However, the city’s climate measures alone are not enough; residents and companies need to be involved, as well. The cli￾mate neutral action development programme promotes a fair and just transition of residents and companies in Tampere towards a climate neutral and climate resilient city. The programme encourages Tampere residents to make more sustainable consumption and mobility choices, and focuses on business cooperation and the promotion of the circular economy. The aim of the programme is to increase local resi￾dents’ awareness of, interest in and motivation for sustainable lifestyles. Reducing emissions from mobility and consumption, and promoting the circular economy require a large-scale change in practices. The aim is to encourage changes in practices through targeted and tailored means of cooperation, market￾ing, communication, nudging and choice architecture. Tampere strives to become a climate neutral city in a fair way and through cooperation. The development programme promotes, in particular, the 2030 Agenda goals related to climate change mitigation, sus￾tainable mobility and consumption, and cooperation and partnerships. Towards a climate neutral city by en￾couraging residents and companies to change their practices Case Climate neutral actions development programme Objective To promote a fair and just transition of residents and companies in Tampere towards a climate neutral and climate resilient society. 57

Tampere was chosen as the frst Fairtrade city in Finland on International Fairtrade Day on 9 May 2008. The decision to apply for the title was inspired by a Council initiative. The title is a statement in favour of sustainable development, in ac￾cordance with which the City of Tampere is committed to developing its procurement to be more sustainable. In the City of Tampere’s operations, the title of a Fairtrade city means meeting certain criteria, such as providing Fairtrade cofee and tea at the city’s own events and personnel restaurants, and participating in Fairtrade weeks. In addition, the title requires cooperation with local companies and communities to promote ethical and sustainable consumption. Over the years, Fairtrade and sustainable consumption have been promoted through various events, campaigns and training in close cooperation with local partners. Fairtrade ofers the City of Tampere and its residents a simple way to promote fair global trade, and the state of human rights and the environment globally, through everyday choices. From a local perspective, the activities promote, in particular, the sustainability of the consumption habits of local resi￾dents and other operators, the city’s sustainable public procurement and thus good governance, and the global efective￾ness of the city’s activities in the spirit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Global responsibility and effectiveness in a Fairtrade city Case Fairtrade city title and activity Objective To develop the city’s procurement to be more responsible and to encourage the city’s residents, personnel, companies and communities to make fair choices. 64

Tampere’s sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP) is a strategic plan that reviews people’s mobility needs from the per￾spective of better quality of life. Tampere’s frst SUMP was approved in 2021. The key goal of the plan is to incorporate the principles of sustainable urban mobility more frmly into decision-making related to mobility. The plan unifes, complements and concretises the goals set for mobility in the city’s carbon-neutrality roadmap and other development programmes. Above all, the programme is linked to Tampere’s strategic goal of promoting sustainable urban mobility. The plan includes about forty diferent measures to create an efective, equal, safe, active and environmentally responsible Tampere for everyone. In spring 2022, the City of Tampere was awarded frst prize in the SUMP Award for European cities. The award was granted by the European Commission. Tampere’s SUMP plan received special praise for equality goals in mobility and for connect￾ing well-being and safety goals with mobility planning. The plan makes a particular contribution to the 2030 Agenda goals related to the promotion of sustainable mobility, well-being and health, and climate change mitigation, while promoting equal mobility opportunities for residents, regard￾less of income level and background. Planning for safe, healthy and equal urban mobility in Tampere Case Sustainable urban mobility plan SUMP Objective To infuence choices of transport modes and the sense of safety, equality and sustainability of mobility in Tampere. 20

The Art Arc cultural education programme, implemented by the City of Tampere, has been operating in Tampere for more than 15 years and is the largest cultural education programme in Finland. In the Art Arc, children and young people are given the opportunity to explore diferent art forms and cultural phenomena during the school day. The Art Arc activities are free of charge, and all schools and age groups in Tampere, from early childhood education to ninth-grade pupils, are involved in the programme. In the Art Arc, pupils get to visit an art and culture institution and afterwards create their own art in the Art Arc’s workshop. The Art Arc introduces pupils to a wide range of art forms – circus, theatre, musical and literary art, as well as various mu￾seum complexes – through activities, stories and interaction. It is a great learning experience in itself when a child visits an art or culture institution and sees what there is and how one acts there. If the spark is ignited, the child might inspire their whole family to come along. The Art Arc requires plenty of close cooperation between schools, art and culture institutions and independent artists. The programme employs 35–50 freelancers each year and involves a dozen art and culture institutions. Through the Art Arc, culture is brought into the everyday life of every resident. The programme promotes, in particular, the 2030 Agenda goal of preventing poverty and the related goals of equal rights of children and young people, quality education, and reducing inequalities from the perspective of cultural well-being. Cultural joys and successes for children and young people, equally Case Art Arc cultural education programme Objective To incorporate culture and art into the lives of all children and young people in Tampere. 24

The Hiedanranta residential area in Tampere will become the future centre of western Tampere. The former factory area on the shore of Lake Näsijärvi will be built into a district of 25,000 residents. Hiedanranta is a smart, distinctive and sustain￾ably growing district of the future, which provides a platform for new innovations and business opportunities. A diverse range of digital solutions is being utilised in the development of Hiedanranta, and the goal is to create a car￾bon-negative residential area that produces more than it consumes. In the area, special focus is being placed on, for example, sustainable mobility and logistics, a smart energy system, the circular economy and blue-green infrastructure. What makes Hiedanranta special is that there is already self-initiated activity and culture in the area, as well as a lot to see, do and experience, even while the area is still unfnished. The City of Tampere and many other operators organise many kinds of events in the area’s historic manor and factory milieu, which tens of thousands have visited every year. The development programme promotes the 2030 Agenda goals related to sustainable urban development, particularly by developing new solutions for the energy sector and for consumption and production. New innovations are being devel￾oped and piloted within an extensive public, private and third sector cooperation. A historical factory site becomes a sustainable urban area in Hiedanranta Case Hiedanranta development programme Objective To develop the new Hiedanranta district into a smart, sustainable and vibrant district centre while promoting urban development expertise, practices and innovations through broad cooperation. 31

Experiences create well-being for people and economic vitality for cities. Tampere has recognised the growth potential of the experience economy, and it is investing in the experience economy through a development programme that lasts for the City Council’s term of ofce. The development programme aims to bring together diferent sectors, companies and experts in the experience economy and to support the systematic development of the industry. At the same time, a home￾town ofering experiences, activities and job opportunities will be created for Tampere residents. The experience economy encompasses a diverse range of sectors, operators and companies that have in common the provision of experiences. The programme brings together all these diferent sectors and their experts, links previously disconnected development projects, and provides a platform for various companies and communities to engage in joint activities. The vision of the development programme is to create a reputation for Tampere as an international hub for the creative in￾dustries and the experience economy. The aim of the development programme is to pursue a transition from competence development towards a cluster of competence, new business from an evolving operating environment, and a sustainable and responsible appeal for the city from events and experiences. The development programme promotes, in particular, the 2030 Agenda goals related to sustainable employment and jobs, and sustainable cities and communities, and builds on strong cooperation and partnerships at diferent levels of action. Sustainable creativity, creative sustainability Case Experience economy development programme Objective International reputation for Tampere as a hub for the creative industries and sustainable experience economy. 38

The City of Tampere has been both nationally and internationally recognised as an active developer of a smart city. De￾veloping competence, structures and practices within the city organisation is a prerequisite for making better, ethical and safe use of technologies. Tampere promotes this development through a development programme entitled Data-driven city for citizens. The development programme focuses on making more efective use of data and artifcial intelligence for the beneft of the city, residents and companies, by emphasising human-orientedness and strengthening proactivity and timeliness. By making proper use of technology, new tools can be introduced to support everyday life and work, more reliable and up-to￾date information can be produced for decision-making, and the realisation of equality can be improved. The concrete themes of the programme are the following: boosting local companies’ prospects of success with the help of servitised data; ensuring successful and smooth migration to Tampere from all over the world; reducing school segre￾gation throughout the entire school path from early childhood education to upper secondary school; creating an urban environment where pedestrians feel safe; and promoting ecologically sustainable solutions in the residential area. The development programme promotes, in particular, the 2030 Agenda goals related to sustainable innovation, efcient and responsible institutions, and cooperation and partnerships. Human-centred and ethical use of data and artificial intelligence Case Data-driven city for citizens development programme Objective To develop Tampere into an international pioneer in smart urban development, which uses data and artifcial intelligence to beneft people and companies. 42

Tampere’s tramway project has been a key step forward in promoting a comfortable environment, convenient mobility and smooth everyday life in Tampere. Tram trafc on the frst section of the Tampere tramway began in August 2021, and the route network will be further expanded in 2023 and 2024. From the beginning, accessibility has been the starting point for the development of the tramway: the tram ofers each passenger a convenient mode of transport in Tampere. The needs of passengers have been taken into account in the de￾velopment of the tramway. There are seats for a maximum of 264 passengers and room for several prams, wheelchairs, bicycles and passengers with a guide dog. In addition to convenient mobility, the tramway has incorporated art into travel and the urban environment through a tramway art programme. With the tramway, Tampere’s streetscape is constantly evolving, as space can be freed for walking, cycling and recreation. Feeder lines will also improve the reliability of bus services, and the utilisation of electric buses on short routes will be improved. Lower-emission public transport improves air quality in high-trafc areas in Tampere. The tramway also brings signifcant indirect emission reductions, as the density of the urban structure can be increased and public transport servic￾es improved, serving an increasing number of people. The development of the tramway contributes, in particular, to the 2030 Agenda 2030 goals related to sustainable infra￾structure, transport system and urban environment, mitigates climate change, and develops the city in cooperation with various partners. Welcome to the tramway era! Case Tramway project as a facilitator of sustainable growth and development in Tampere Objective To build a tramway network to make the everyday life of Tampere residents smoother and to support the city’s sustainable growth, development and appeal. 46

The city centre of Tampere is already vibrant and attractive, but it is still being renewed with determination through the Five-star city centre development programme. According to the programme’s vision, by 2030, the centre of Tampere will be more international, convenient to reach and easy to navigate, it will have a more diverse ofering of events, experiences and services, and it will be a driving force for Finnish business. In accordance with the Five-star city centre programme, the density of the urban structure will be increased, unused space utilised and new construction built, but existing buildings will also be utilised sustainably. The most signifcant part of the programme has been the development of the Deck area, the aim of which is to transform the surroundings of the railway station and track area into a new area for people and living. The most prominent landmark in the area is the multi-purpose arena above the main railway line, completed in 2021, which functions as a centre of entertainment, sports, culture and business. The arena also served as the main stage for the Ice Hockey World Championships in May 2022. The development of the centre of Tampere will create more diverse and sustainable urban environment. By developing shared public spaces, and parks and squares in the city centre, as well as by improving Tampere’s unique relationship with the surrounding waters, it will be ensured that the city centre of Tampere is one of the best places to live and spend time. The development programme promotes, through broad cooperation, the goals of sustainable urban development and the related goals of safe and inclusive urban spaces and a vibrant city in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The five-star city centre of the city of action Case Five-star city centre development programme Objective To develop the centre of Tampere into an interesting and attractive operating environment for events, services and business, as well as a comfortable and desirable environment for leisure, recreation and housing. 50

13 CROSS-CUTTING THEMES 14 Cross-cutting themes The city strategy of Vantaa has defined cross-cutting SDGs that should be reflected under all strategic themes and should therefore be tak￾en into account in all development work. These cross-cutting SDGs are Gender Equality, Climate Action, Peace, Justice and Strong Institu￾tions, and Partnerships for the Goals. This section describes the basis for the equality work of the City of Vantaa, the carbon-neutral Vantaa 2030 targets, sustainable procurements and various forms of cooperation. These themes are not separate from the other sections of the review but are closely linked to all the themes. Ensuring justice, non-discrimination, and gender equality The City of Vantaa’s commitment to promoting gender equality and the equality of all people is expressed in the City Strategy in connection with the values of Vantaa: ”Values are shared views on what is important and valuable to us. They guide local decision-making and the activities of the entire organisation. The city’s branches may also have ethical principles concerning their own activities in place. The City of Vantaa is committed to promoting fairness, equality and non-discrimination in its operating methods This requires efforts to ensure equality and non-discrimina￾tion in the context of all decision-making and services.” Gender equality and non-discrimination work refers to conscious, systematic, long-term and continuous efforts to assess the real￾isation and promotion of equality and non-discrimination in dif￾ferent areas of activity and to implement the necessary changes. Vantaa’s equality and non-discrimination work is based on the requirements of the Act on Equality between Women and Men and the Non-Discrimination Act. Decision-making, planning, service operations and assessment must be conscious of the significance of gender and take into account other non-discrimination criteria, such as age, origin, beliefs and family relationships. Equality and non-discrimination work in decision-making and services is guided by the City of Vantaa equality and non-dis￾crimination plan 2022–2025. The plan contains objectives and measures derived from legislation, which departments and ser￾vice areas put into practice in the framework of their operations. The priorities of the planning period include the ethical action of elected officials, the use of gender-aware budgeting, mitigating gender segregation in education and working life, developing equality and non-discrimination planning in schools and edu￾cational institutions, promoting an anti-racist operating culture, cooperating with interest organisations and developing digital accessibility. Examples of success Vantaa has developed a process for sustainable procurement, which enables various aspects of sustainability to be taken into account in compet￾itive tendering. With sustainable procurement, the city sets an example and promotes the sustain￾able operations of companies. Both legislation and the city strategy carry strong obligations to consider and integrate the gender and equality perspective and non-discrimination criteria (age, origin, disability, etc.). Gender equality and non-discrimination work takes place in various con￾texts throughout the organisation, but it has not become part of the mainstream of the organisation’s operations. The gender perspective is missing even in obvious contexts. The promotion of 15 gender equality is considered to be a voluntary matter, which is evidenced by the fact that the lack of equality and non-discrimi￾nation perspectives does not result in, for example, programmes, plans, projects or reports being returned to preparation during the approval process. Carbon-neutral Vantaa 2030 Vantaa has set itself the goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. Achieving this goal requires integrating climate work into all acti￾vities. The change requires commitment and action not only from the city organisation, but also from residents, companies and communities. Although the direct emissions of the Vantaa city organisation make up only about 10% of the emissions generated in the city region, the indirect impact of the city organisation’s activities is many times greater, for example through companies belonging to the city group, such as Vantaa Energy Ltd, and through hou￾sing and land use control. It is estimated that the city, through its instruments and subsidiaries, can influence at least 40% of the emissions produced in the city region. The development of the City of Vantaa’s environmental sustai￾nability is guided by the city’s shared Roadmap to Resource Wisdom, the content of which is described in more detail in the ‘Vantaa is ecologically sustainable’ section of this report. The environmental perspective and climate action should be refle￾cted in all activities throughout the organisation. The aim of the Roadmap to Resource Wisdom in 2030 is a carbon-neutral Van￾taa where the city’s planning and implementation will be resour￾ce-wise, nature will be diverse, natural resources will be used sustainably and the practices of residents, companies and com￾munities will be sustainable. If implemented, the roadmap’s goals will create sustainable wellbeing and strengthen the competitive￾ness of companies and the vitality of the city. Examples of success Vantaa’s greenhouse gas emissions have been falling for a long time, although in 2021 they re￾mained unchanged. The decrease in emissions was largely a result of Vantaa Energia’s actions, but the city organisation of Vantaa has also succeeded in its reduction measures. The City of Vantaa achie￾ved the total quantitative energy savings target of 12,181 MWh (7.5% of the energy used in 2015) set in the energy efficiency agreement for 2017–2025 in early 2022. Examples of development areas The equality and non-discrimination perspective is not yet systematically included in all decision-making and activities throughout the city organisation. In addition to energy consumption, traffic emissions account for a large part of Vantaa’s greenhouse gas emissions. Much still needs to be done to pro￾mote sustainable and diverse mobility, and the city cannot influence all of them alone. Sustainable procurement More than half of the city’s budget is made up of procurements, so the nature of the procurements really matters. Municipalities are also bound by international conventions and objectives: The UN’s Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, EU-level legis￾lation and agreements, national legislation, such as the Local Government Act, the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts, the labour code and special legislation in various fields, as well as the national procurement strategy all require that sustainable development is taken into account in procure￾ments. Citizens’ opinions also support sustainability; according to a consumer survey conducted in 2021 (carried out by Kantar TNS agri), 80% of Finns believe that municipalities should set an example with their sustainable procurement. Vantaa’s City Strategy, the Roadmap to Resource Wisdom, the Roadmap to Strategic Procurement and Vantaa’s own procure￾ment guidelines also steer procurement in a sustainable direction. 16 The strategic focus areas identified for procurement are: 1. carbon neutrality, 2. circular economy, 3. innovations, 4. human rights and rights at work in procurement, 5. social perspective of corporate social sustainability, 6. inclusion, and 7. lawfulness and efficiency. The procurement service unit has developed a process for sustain￾able procurement, where procurements to be put out to tender are submitted to an evaluation group, which uses an electronic tool to review which aspects related to sustainable development should be taken into account in the procurement. Tender competitions can take sustainable development aspects into account in a vari￾ety of ways: as selection criteria, minimum requirements or con￾tract terms. Procurement can promote, for example, the purchase of low-carbon vehicles, reduction of harmful chemicals in toys or improvement of workers’ rights. Vantaa requires suppliers whose company size exceeds 30 people to have statutory equality and non-discrimination plans. When the procurement is deemed suit￾able, an employment condition is attached to the contract, mean￾ing that the supplier must employ people who are in a difficult labour market position. Fair Vantaa Vantaa has been a Fairtrade City since 2015. In accordance with the title, Vantaa is committed to promoting ethical consumption, sustainable development and fair global trade through its oper￾ations. In its procurements, Vantaa strives to minimise the risk of child labour use in production, other violations of the rights of employees or damage to the environment. Fairtrade enables farmers and workers in developing countries to improve their livelihoods and decide their own future. There is a Fairtrade advocacy group operating in Vantaa that promotes the implementation of Fair￾trade principles in Vantaa. Fair Vantaa is built through cooperation – Vantaa-based compa￾nies, associations and parishes participate in the activities. Vantaa also actively com￾municates about Fairtrade activities, and Vantaa Info centres serve as Fair Vantaa information points. In 2021 and 2022, a poster exhibition was held at Vantaa Info cen￾tres during Fairtrade Week to share information on the impacts of Fairtrade and working conditions in producer countries. 17 Partnerships for the Goals The City of Vantaa, both at the city level and in the different departments, is involved in numerous international, national and local commitments, networks and cooperation bodies that strengthen sustainable development in its various areas. Coop￾eration with Vantaa city operators, educational establishments, parishes, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and associa￾tions as well as companies is also important. Achieving the SDGs requires extensive cooperation between different actors both re￾gionally and more widely, and cooperation leads to new kinds of solutions to complex challenges when different perspectives are brought together. Vantaa has many projects that are carried out in networked co￾operation with educational establishments, companies, NGOs and other cities, for example. The projects develop new operating models and solutions. However, not all departments and units have the resources to implement projects, as they have not been allocated the self-financed shares that may be required to apply for project funding. City-business collaboration is mainly carried out in business services, and its importance is emphasised under the ‘Vantaa is vital and brimming with expertise’ strategic theme in this review. However, it is also important to recognise the po￾tential of city-business collaboration in contexts other than em￾ployment and industry. Cooperation with NGOs is a significant channel for the inclusion of the residents of the municipality, and it is carried out in de￾partments and projects. The Joint Services unit, which serves all departments, coordinates the city’s cooperation with NGOs and organises events where NGOs can communicate their needs and wishes to the city. Many NGOs provide significant services to the residents of the municipality, and they have a role to play in in￾creasing wellbeing and a sense of community. NGOs often need support, for example in terms of resources and premises, and efforts are made to improve the operating conditions of NGOs. In this review, international cooperation is particularly empha￾sised under the theme of ‘Vantaa is international’, and it is ac￾tively developed. However, resources for cooperation are limited, so the potential of cooperation cannot be fully exploited. Examples of networks and commitments in which Vantaa is involved Eurocities Vantaa operates in the Eurocities network of 190 large European cities, which share good practices in forums and working groups. Vantaa is active in groups focusing on the environment and social issues, in particular. Nordic Safe Cities The network of Nordic cities shares and develops good practices to increase security, reduce confrontation and combat extremism. UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities The network supports and develops lifelong learning practices in cities through peer learning, and contributes to each of the 17 SDGs. Child Friendly Cities Initiative Network Vantaa is part of UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) and its international network of 37 countries and hundreds of mu￾nicipalities. In Finland, around 45 municipalities are participating in the network. The City of Vantaa has collaborated with the CFCI team members and municipal representatives of UNICEF in Lith￾uania and Poland, as well as with Vantaa’s Chinese sister city of Jinan, which is applying for participation in CFCI activities. Avia Network and the Green Deal manifesto The Avia Network is a network of over 30 private, public and third-sector operators focusing on the Helsinki Airport area. The members of the network are interested in the transport, logistics and accessibility of the airport and the Aviapolis area. The Avia Network aims to be carbon neutral by 2030, and the network’s joint Green Deal manifesto, published in March 2023, supports this goal. The network wants to be an international pioneer in clean and in￾telligent mobility, promote sustainable tourism while respecting the environment and create new jobs and wellbeing in the region. ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability ICLEI is a global network of more than 2,500 local and regional governments in more than 125 countries. The network promotes systemic sustainability work in an increasingly urbanised world. 18 Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy is a commitment of cities and regions with the European Commission to reduce cli￾mate emissions and promote adaptation. Green Deals between municipalities and the state Vantaa is committed to Green Deals on reduction of harmful sub￾stances in early childhood education procurements, emission-free construction sites, and sustainable demolition. Towards Carbon Neutral Municipalities (Hinku) climate network Hinku is an inter-municipal cooperation network that promotes the achievement of climate goals.

19 VANTAA BUILDS WELLBEING AND IS SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE + cross-cutting goals 20 VANTAA BUILDS WELLBEING AND IS SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE Wellbeing is a broad concept that includes different aspects of life. Health, a feeling of inclusion and a sense of community, education and learning, work and livelihood, and a safe and pleasant living environment are all factors that affect a person’s perceived wellbeing. At the beginning of 2023, municipal healthcare and social welfare responsibilities were transferred to the new wellbeing services counties, of which Vantaa is part of the Vantaa and Kerava Well￾being Services County. However, taking care of the wellbeing of the residents of the municipality in a broader sense remains an important focus for Vantaa. Work on wellbeing in Vantaa is guided by a wellbeing programme, which views investing in wellbeing as an activity that concerns all residents and helps prevent problems. It is of paramount importance that work on wellbeing pays special attention to the most vulnerable groups and to direct special support to where it is needed. In Vantaa, the differences between residential areas and regional segregation are not yet as strong as in larger cities, and Vantaa wants to prevent and reverse the trend of segre￾gation. This work is guided by the ‘Vantaa is socially sustainable’ programme, and the measures set out in the programme extend to all city departments. The programme directs measures and support in particular to areas where, according to certain demographic crite￾ria, there is a risk of a negative trend towards segregation. The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the wellbeing of Vantaa residents in many ways. Feelings of loneliness and, for example, anxiety among young people increased. The strain on health services left behind a large backlog in care. In 2022, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and the rise in food prices also aggra￾vated the situation, especially for those who were already in the most vulnerable positions. These crises are reflected in some of the indicators in this review as negative developments. However, Vantaa has conducted a lot of development work and taken measures to mitigate the effects of the crises, and this work continues. Crime rate, Crimes / 1.000 inhabitants, 2021 118.83 Source: Statistics Finland Street safety index, 2020 17.3 Source: National Police Board of Finland Safety Urban safety refers to the comprehensive safety of residents in everyday life, which is the basis for their wellbeing. Vantaa’s urban safety is guided by a safety plan. The realisation of safety and a sense of security requires cooperation between different opera￾tors, and it is affected by many factors, such as a safe living and working environment, equality among the population and traffic planning. Safety planning prevents various problems and creates resilience to cope with crises, which requires up-to-date informa￾tion and safety management. In Vantaa, safety challenges have in recent years been largely re- 21 lated to the pandemic and social exclusion. Domestic violence in￾creased during the pandemic, as violent behaviour moved into the home, particularly affecting women and the most vulnerable groups. Violence and disruptive behaviour by young people have been on the rise. People are also concerned and feel unsafe because of sub￾stance abuse and drug trafficking. In Vantaa, cross-sectoral safety work focuses on intimate partner violence, substance abuse, youth and safe mobility. In addition, safety management and gender awareness are cross-cutting themes in safety work. Experienced sexual harassment during the past year, 2021 Source: Statistics and indicators database Sotkanet.fi (THL) The safety plan includes measures from different departments re￾lated to the thematic focus areas of the plan. Often, the best way to prevent problems is to direct resources and development work to permanent operations and existing services. There have also been new initiatives, for example training professionals working with young people in the early recognition of and intervention in radicalisation and violent extremism. One way in which Vantaa promotes the residents’ sense of secu￾rity is by adopting safe space principles in all city premises. A safe space is one that offers those present a sense of physical, mental and social safety. The aim is to ensure that no one has to face any form of discrimination, bullying, harassment or violence. They are actively prevented, and situations where they occur are dealt with immediately. A safe space must also be reachable and accessible. Safe space principles include respect for others and giving everyone the space to be themselves. When implementing the principles, it is important to consider all the people who use the space and to plan the principles together with them. The initiative to introduce safe space principles came from the work on the Child Friendly City Initiative. Children and young peo￾ple spend a lot of time at city premises and events, so the safe￾ty of the premises and events is of key importance. However, the safety of the premises applies to all users. A space that is safe for children is safe for everyone. Preventing and tackling bullying is an essential part of the work being done for the safety of children. Vantaa’s daycare centres, schools and other educational institutes actively prevent bullying and tackle situations of bullying at a low threshold. At the beginning of the 2022–2023 school year, a new action plan for preventing and tackling bullying was introduced in Vantaa schools. Every daycare centre, school and educational institute in Vantaa will specify the plan to suit its own activities. The action plan includes nine mea￾sures to prevent bullying and to tackle possible bullying situations. Communal wellbeing is strengthened by supporting the participa￾tion of pupils in the planning and development of work on wellbe￾ing. For example, pupils are encouraged to consider how everyone can feel good in school and how the classroom atmosphere can be improved. Vantaa also organises wellbeing-themed event days and weeks. In addition, some schools also use peer-to-peer mediation (Verso) and the Kiva bullying prevention method. A bullying pre￾vention team is elected in each school to work actively on bullying prevention and early intervention in bullying. Experiences of sexual harassment have increased among pu￾pils in lower secondary school (the final level of comprehensive school) and students at upper secondary level. As sexual harass￾ment has also been discussed much more in Finland in recent years than before, it is possible that today’s young people are bet￾ter able to identify inappropriate behaviour, which contributes to the higher figures. However, it is important to pay more attention to preventing and tackling harassment. As in the case of bullying, prevention of sexual harassment is largely related to strengthen￾ing a good and trusting atmosphere in schools. Sexuality educa￾tion also plays an important role in helping children and young 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 % Lower secondary school 8th and 9th grade, girls Lower secondary school 8th and 9th grade, boys Upper secondary school 1st and 2nd year, girls Upper secondary school 1st and 2nd year, boys Vocational school 1st and 2nd year, girls Vocational school 1st and 2nd year, boys 22 people to recognise and articulate when they encounter harass￾ment. Recognising personal boundaries and respecting others is an important part of sexuality education. Vantaa also pays atten￾tion to preventing and tackling bullying, safety skills and holistic sexuality education in early childhood education. Safety is linked to good governance, municipal democracy and inclusion. In May 2022, the Vantaa City Council approved ethi￾cal principles for appointed and elected officials. The aim of the ethical principles is to ensure high-quality municipal adminis￾tration, the trust of local residents in decision-making, and equal treatment of both officials and local residents in official activi￾ties. The principles also apply to relations between appointed/ elected officials and city employees. The starting point for the activities of appointed and elected offi￾cials is appropriate, equal and respectful behaviour. The goal is a safe space where everyone can safely participate in the offi￾cial activities as themselves without fear of inappropriate treat￾ment or harassment. There is zero tolerance for inappropriate treatment. Political debate involves differences of opinions and opposing, some￾times even pointed, views. Nevertheless, everyone must treat others with respect and dignity. Things can be debated and many different views held without offending anyone. Nobody should tolerate in￾appropriate behaviour from others. If someone feels that they have been treated inappropriately, the matter must be investigated so that a good atmosphere between the officials can be restored and joint activities continued in an appropriate and respectful manner. Voter turnout, county elections 2022 38.1% Source: SVT, County elections Proportion of women on the city council, 2022 55.22% Inclusion The inclusion of city residents is an important factor in terms of wellbeing, the transparency of administration and the realisation of democracy. Voting is a fundamental form of participation and a cornerstone of municipal democracy. Voter turnout and its impact on equality is a theme to which particular attention is being paid in Vantaa due to the low turnout in the previous elections. Other forms of inclusion and direct influence are also being actively de￾veloped in Vantaa. When Vantaa was selected as Europe’s Rising Innovative City in 2021, the city decided to use €300,000 of the prize money to en￾able new innovations through an innovation competition. In 2022, an Urban Inventions of All Sizes innovation competition was organised, inviting local residents, companies, NGOs and associ￾ations to come up with new ideas in the categories of thriving city centres, good everyday services and combatting climate change. Fifteen of the 174 entries submitted were selected for funding. The participants whose ideas will be funded will implement these so￾cial innovations of different types and sizes during 2023. The next innovation competition will be held in 2024. Since 2021, the City of Vantaa has encouraged residents to partic￾ipate in the development of residential areas through participato￾ry budgeting. Participatory budgeting is a method of interaction between residents, where residents have the opportunity to decide on the use a certain amount of city funds for and participate in planning and decision-making. Residents get a genuine feeling of inclusion, their opinions are heard and their influence leads to con￾crete actions, which increases wellbeing, sense of community and the comfort of areas. Participatory budgeting has been used in Vantaa to reduce the welfare disparities between areas and residents in several projects 23 that have sought to reach diverse groups of residents and inspire them in the participation process. There is also cooperation with local actors, such as NGOs, libraries, schools, daycare centres and youth centres. Participatory budgeting will be extended to the entire city in 2023. Participatory budgeting is implemented through the Committed Vantaa service at OsallistuvaVantaa.fi, which brings together current opportunities for participation and influence in one place. The platform serves as a good channel for interaction between the city and residents, as the service can be used to publish surveys, organise online discussions and communicate about the progress of projects. On the website, residents can familiarise themselves with and participate in projects, plans and the development of res￾idential areas in Vantaa. The development of Vantaa residents’ opportunities for partici￾pation and influence is guided by the Committed Vantaa pro￾gramme 2022–2025. The implementation of the programme is coordinated by a cross-departmental working group. Personnel are supported by the Inclusion Services team, which develops and maintains various methods of inclusion, such as resident panels, dialogue methods, an online inclusion environment and participa￾tory budgeting. In addition, Inclusion Services organises training and networking activities for personnel. Vantaa residents’ feeling of inclusion and satisfaction with oppor￾tunities to participate and influence things are monitored through an annual survey. The results of the survey conducted at the turn of the year 2021–2022 show that Vantaa residents’ feeling of inclu￾sion had strengthened since the previous annual survey to an av￾erage inclusion indicator rating of 78.4. Satisfaction with opportu￾nities for participation and influence had increased slightly; 36% of the respondents were somewhat or very satisfied with them. In the 2022 county elections, Vantaa had the lowest voter turnout in the country at only 38.1%, which is significantly lower than in other previous elections. In particular, the turnout of foreign-lan￾guage voters was low, and there were significant differences in voter turnout between different areas in Vantaa. Voting is a very important form of participation, and the low turnout is worrying in terms of democratisation. The central election boards of munic￾ipalities and cities are responsible for organising elections, and their task is to ensure that elections are conducted legally and are independent. It is important to ensure that all persons entitled to vote feel that voting is genuinely possible. Vantaa wanted to determine what factors are behind the declin￾ing voter turnout, how voter turnout is distributed regionally and demographically, and why some Vantaa residents have abstained from voting. A study was carried out on the subject, making use of Statistics Finland’s register and survey data. The study showed that the nomination of candidates plays an im￾portant role in voting or abstaining and that people often abstained because they could not find a suitable candidate. In addition, there were shortcomings in access to information; not all foreign-language speakers, in particular, knew whether they were entitled to vote or had been provided with sufficient information on what the elections were about. If more foreign-language speakers stand as candidates, it also promotes the voter turnout of foreign-language speakers. If there are foreign-language speakers among election officials, infor￾mation will also spread to different communities through them. In the spring of 2023, parliamentary elections were held in Finland, and Vantaa planned various measures to increase voter turnout. Vantaa drew up its own Government Programme goals, which were presented and promoted together with Vantaa candidates at four ‘Vantaudu vaaleille’ voting promotion events in February and March. The plan was to take the events to the places that people already frequented. Vantaa also carried out a voter activation cam￾paign, in which information was provided at residential areas by means of an election car. The elections were announced actively and in as many languages as possible. Vantaa works in close co￾operation with various immigrant organisations, and elections were also be announced at their events. Examples of success Adopting safe space principles in all city premis￾es promotes experienced safety and a culture of respect for others. 24 The study showed that the placement of advance polling stations in places that residents frequent has an impact on voter turnout. Vot￾ing must be easy and effortless so that as many undecided voters as possible decide to vote. The advance polling stations in Vantaa are located in different parts of the city, along good public trans￾port connections and in the vicinity of services i-n residential areas. Children, young people and families The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is in force in Finland as a statutory instrument, i.e. it obliges everyone operating in the municipal sector. The City of Vantaa is committed to increasing the consideration of children, and Vantaa applied for and was accept￾ed into UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) in 2021. CFCI is a tool provided by UNICEF that helps cities to make the right decisions for the wellbeing of children and to ensure that the rights of the child are implemented as well as possible in the every￾day life of every child, including those in a vulnerable position. Vantaa’s CFCI activities started with a survey of the current state of affairs that consulted a large number of the city’s employees, partners and Vantaa residents, especially children and young people. Based on the survey, a Child Friendly City action plan was prepared, and the City Board approved it in December 2021. The action plan contains five goals and 14 measures. The mea￾sures include developing peer-to-peer communication for children and young people, increasing children and young people’s inter￾action with leaders and decision-makers, introducing safe space principles, and increasing the knowledge of staff and appointed and elected officials about children’s rights. If Vantaa succeeds in achieving its goals and promoting the rights of the child in the city, it will receive the recognition of a Child Friendly City in 2024. Knowledge-based management, i.e. systematically collected information and its utilisation at all levels of operations, is of par￾amount importance in promoting wellbeing. In particular, expe￾riential knowledge collected from local residents is a valuable source of information in the development of services and deci￾sion-making. The School Health Promotion study conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare every two years com￾piles data on the wellbeing, health and inclusion of school-age children and young people in secondary education. The longi￾tudinal study enables long-term monitoring and comparisons of Vantaa’s results with other regions and national results. In addi￾tion, the responses of children and young people living in Vantaa can be examined by gender and origin. The results of Vantaa’s School Health Promotion study are collected in the Power BI plat￾form, which is open to all. At national and municipal level, there is very little systematic information on the wellbeing of children under school age. This will be improved once the National Insti￾tute for Health and Welfare compiles the FinLapset survey data from school-age children and their guardians in 2024. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wellbeing of chil￾dren and young people can be seen in the results of the School Health Promotion study. Children and young people are experi￾encing widespread anxiety and fatigue, and the situation of girls shows particularly worrying developments. The pandemic has caused a backlog in care as well as a learning deficit, and the transition to distance education had a negative impact on the wellbeing and education of many young people. The challeng￾es have been met by increasing the resources of mental health services for children and young people and of specialised youth work, for example. Child poverty, 2021 12.6 Source: Statistics and indicators database Sotkanet.fi; % Tulonjaon kokonaistilasto (Statistics Finland) Families with children that received income support, 2021 16.9 Source: Statistics and indicators database Sotkanet.fi % 25 Children who experienced anxiety 2013 2017 2019 2021 Source: School Health Promotion study Examples of success: Expanding participatory budgeting throughout the city increases wellbeing and residents’ partic￾ipation and promotes a pleasant urban environ￾ment that meets residents’ wishes. Examples of development areas The shortage of skilled labour makes it difficult to carry out work on wellbeing or, for example, pro￾vide high-quality and equal early childhood edu￾cation. Special attention is now being paid to the power of attraction and retention of the city as an employer. Youth work has identified the need to get a real-time picture of the wellbeing of young people in different areas. SOS Children’s Village has launched a project to build a data collection model for regional youth work for Vantaa Youth Services. The model under development is based on highlighting young people’s experiences and perspectives, and it is being built together with young people using the means of service design. In addition to the pandemic, the situation of many families has been made more difficult by the rise in food and energy prices. % male female male female male female 8th and 9th grade students Vocational school students 1st and 2nd year Upper secondary school students 1st and 2nd year 26 Child poverty, that is, the share of children under the age of 18 living in low-income households, had already risen slightly com￾pared to previous years according to data from 2021. The poverty of families with children is a complex phenomenon with various consequences for the wellbeing, health and inclusion of children and young people. The wellbeing of the whole family is central to the wellbeing of children, and inequality during childhood also has far-reaching effects on the child’s entire future. In Vantaa, more attention should be paid to the poverty of families with chil￾dren, its causes and consequences. In cooperation between the City of Vantaa and the new wellbeing services county, services for families have been developed to make it easier for residents to receive different services on a one-stop shop basis. A family centre operating model is being developed to bring together services used by families, such as child health clinics and mental health services, as well as open meeting places in the same building. The model will intensify cooperation between differ￾ent actors, and NGOs have been involved in the development work. The aim is to make low-threshold services easily accessible to every￾one. The first family centre will be established at the Koivukylä open meeting point in Eastern Vantaa, and the next one is being planned for Myyrmäki in Western Vantaa. Within the framework of the oper￾ating model, multi-professional family centre teams will be piloted to be able to respond comprehensively to the service needs of families. In the future, the operations will also include the lending of equip￾ment to families with neuropsychiatric spectrum disorders and the implementation of mental health support methods in local NGOs. The inclusion and wellbeing of children and young people are also being developed in Vantaa through leisure activities. Van￾taa wants to offer every child opportunities to have a hobby, regardless of the family’s situation. Supporting leisure activities promotes children’s wellbeing, inclusion and equality, as they can help children find a community and reduce the risk of social ex￾clusion. Harrastusten Vantaa (Vantaa Offers Leisure Activities) is a project that offers comprehensive school pupils in Vantaa equal opportunities to participate in free recreational activities of their preference near their schools and homes. The activities are part of the Finnish Model for Leisure Activities, which combines listening to children and young people’s wishes about leisure activities, the coordination of existing good practices and operating methods, and cooperation between schools and activity service providers. In 2023, the model will be established in the Youth Act. In Vantaa, leisure activities are organised based on requests from children and young people collected through various surveys. To ensure that as many children as possible can benefit from the available activities, more attention will be paid to communication channels and multilingualism in future. In particular, it has been challenging to encourage pupils in lower secondary school to par￾ticipate in leisure activities. Examples of success: Support for education, training and learning, and thereby equality, has been advanced through close multisectoral cooperation. Examples of development areas The COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis and ris￾ing prices are complicating the everyday lives of the residents of the municipality and challenging wellbeing and equality in many ways. The effects of the pandemic on the wellbeing of children and young people, for example, are long-lasting. We must continue to invest in these matters in inter￾sectoral cooperation, including with the wellbeing services county. Up-to-date and reliable information is the basis for good and effective decision-making. Structures of knowledge-based management are being devel￾oped at the city level as well as in the departments. The Tempo Orchestra, which started its operations in Vantaa in 2009, enables music activities at a low threshold. The orchestra was launched by the Vantaa Music Institute at Länsimäki Compre￾hensive School and Kytöpuisto Primary School. Over the years, lei- 27 sure activities in the Tempo Orchestra have become an established part of the everyday life of schoolchildren and a valuable addition to the educational work of comprehensive schools. The activities are currently offered at six different schools all over Vantaa. The Tempo Orchestra strengthens the sense of community between young people from different backgrounds. There are no entrance exams for the orchestra, and both the instruction and instruments are provided free of charge. School teachers help the orchestra find young people who will particularly benefit from the activities. Instruction is provided by qualified teachers familiar with the Tempo Orchestra’s operating methods. Schools from areas where low-threshold recreational opportunities have been asked for are involved in the activities. Playing in the Tempo Orchestra has developed friendships and strengthened pupils’ so￾cial skills and motivation to attend school. Education and learning Providing early childhood education and training and support￾ing continuous learning are at the core of municipalities’ basic duties and an important part of promoting the SDGs. In Finland, equal, free-of-charge and high-quality comprehensive school has long been considered a key value and a source of pride. Finland extended compulsory education to the upper secondary level in 2021. Recently, however, there has been worrying news about a decline in learning levels and the differences between different groups in learning and education. Education must be continuous￾Young people aged 17-24 who are not enrolled in education, 2021 12.7% Source: Statistics and indicators database Sotkanet.fi Gender distribution among students accepted into upper secondary school and Varia vocational school, 2022 Upper secondary school, % Varia vocational school, % Varia, motor vehicles sector, % Varia, logistics, % Varia, electrical engineering and automation technology, % Varia, social and health care, % 53 35 84 4 6 15 47 65 16 96 85 94 female male Source: City of Vantaa 28 ly developed and supported to ensure a high level of learning and equality throughout the study path. Vantaa wants to invest in continuous learning for all age groups, which is broadly linked to wellbeing, equality, working life and the vitality of the region. In 2020, Vantaa joined UNESCO’s internation￾al Learning Cities network. The network of 294 cities around the world shares knowledge, skills and experience in the development of lifelong learning. The work is guided by the UN’s Sustainable Devel￾opment Goals. Vantaa has established its own network of lifelong learning (Aina oppiva Vantaa), which distributes information and supports the members of the network in finding partners for cooper￾ation. The key objective of the network is to promote lifelong learn￾ing for all Vantaa residents equally, to support the raising of the lev￾el of education and to increase the wellbeing brought by learning. Finnish early childhood education and primary and lower second￾ary education are committed to the principles of inclusion. Inclu￾sion means that all children have the right to early and appropriate support and the realisation of their right to learn as part of a group. Early and appropriate support has a long-lasting positive impact on children’s learning. There has been much public debate in Finland recently about the challenges of inclusion in schools, and the real￾isation of inclusion does require continuous work by both teachers and the entire work community in early childhood education and schools. In Vantaa, the shared commitment to the principles of in￾clusion and effective early support are developed, for example, by strengthening staff competence and multi-professional cooperation and by developing the targeting and effectiveness of support. As part of a package that supports the principles of inclusion, Vantaa’s early childhood education has introduced the ProVaka model for supporting social skills by developing the operating cul￾ture of daycare centres, which is a long-term training and guid￾ance package for early childhood education staff. According to studies and Vantaa’s own assessments, the most common support needs of children are related to lacking social and emotional skills, such as difficulties in self-regulation and defiant or aggressive be￾haviour. It is in these areas that deficiencies in Finnish early child￾hood education have been identified, and support should be pro￾vided more systematically. ProVaka strengthens the competence of staff so that they are better able to support children’s social and emotional skills. In this way, it contributes to a more effective and thorough incorporation of the principles of inclusion into the core activities and operational culture of early childhood education. Since 2019, four school social workers have been working in Vantaa’s early childhood education teamed up with psychologists to sup￾port parents, children and daycare staff. Providing early support helps prevent the problems of children and families from growing worse. The operating model aims particularly to reach the families that have difficulty seeking help through other channels. For exam￾ple, language can be a barrier to getting help, and more than half of the clients of the school social workers’ speak a language other than Finnish as their native language. The effectiveness of the ser￾vice has been monitored through regular surveys. Customers feel that they have received support in parenting, confidence in their own abilities as parents and means for dealing with their child in challenging situations. The staff of daycare centres have received multi-professional support in their own work and in addressing is￾sues with parents. Students who skip school meals at least once a week, 8th and 9th grade, 2021 52.6 Source: Statistics and indicators database Sotkanet.fi % Varia graduates who are employed 1 year after obtaining their degree, 2020 64% Source: Vipunen 29 Regional segregation, which Vantaa is striving to prevent through measures such as the ‘Vantaa is socially sustainable’ programme, also poses challenges to daycare centres and schools and under - mines the realisation of equality. Vantaa applied for and was grant - ed the state’s equality funding, which is being directed to di fferent units to support education according to certain criteria related to the population of the region to reduce the e ffects of segregation. For example, the funding has been used to hire transversal special edu - cation teachers for transitional stages, resource teachers, assistants and multilingual counsellors. The aim is to curb the increase in seg - regation with the help of a model that reduces school segregation, which is being developed in the Shared School (Yhteinen koulu) project. The project aims to create permanent structures for cooper - ation between the city’s various departments in order to address the multidimensional challenge of segregation in the long term. Students experiencing burnout 2010 2013 2017 2019 2021 Source: School Health Promotion study Vantaa is the most international city in Finland, and about 23% of the residents of the municipality have a foreign mother tongue. The foreign-language population is considerably younger than the Finnish-speaking population, which is reflected in the schools and early childhood education in Vantaa. Approximately 28% of the pupils study Finnish and literature as a second language in separate groups. In Finland, there has recently been some debate about the suitability of these groups for pupils who have a good command of the Finnish language and could participate in the regular mother tongue instruction. There are plans to better spec - ify and guide the selection of the curriculum in Vantaa. The lan - guage awareness of all teachers will be increased, for example by % male female male female male female 8th and 9th grade students Vocational school students 1st and 2nd year Upper secondary school students 1st and 2nd year 30 means of a network of language awareness officers. The largest language groups in Vantaa’s schools are Russian, Estonian, Ara￾bic, Somali and Albanian, and more than 30 different languages are studied in Vantaa in native language instruction complement￾ing primary and lower secondary education. Studies show that the learning outcomes and wellbeing of fo￾reign-language pupils in comprehensive school are lower than ave￾rage, and multilingual counsellors have been hired in Vantaa to support them since 2020. The counsellors support pupils in planning their studies, transition phases, goal setting and emotional and in￾teraction skills. They also support families and cooperate with other parties that offer services to young people. The work carried out by the counsellors strengthens the important role of the school in sup￾porting integration and improves cooperation between schools and families. The feedback on the work of the counsellors has been posi￾tive from schools, families and pupils alike, and the job description will be further developed to better meet the needs. Students who are physically active for one hour or more per day 2017 2019 2021 Source: School Health Promotion study Cooperation between families and schools and the wellbeing of pupils have also been developed in the Engaging School Commu￾nity Work (SKY) project coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Culture, in which Vantaa is participating. The aim of the proj￾ect is to create an operating model that supports pupils’ engage￾ment in the school community and reduces absenteeism. The proj￾ect has piloted the teaching of emotional and interpersonal skills to pupils in lower secondary school and giving additional training related to emotional skills and positive pedagogy to teachers, and % male female male female male female male female 8th and 9th grade students 4th and 5th grade students Vocational school students 1st and 2nd year Upper secondary school students 1st and 2nd year 31 has also supported schools’ operating models against bullying. A model for addressing absenteeism has been planned and imple￾mented at the city level. Proportion of unfilled vacancies and unqualified teachers and special needs teachers in early childhood education, 02/2023 47% Source: City of Vantaa Long-term cooperation has been carried out in Vantaa for years in connection with the transition from comprehensive school to upper secondary education. New preparatory training for ed￾ucation leading to a degree was launched nationwide in 2022, and has started well in Vantaa. Case manager activities have been developed in cooperation between youth services and in basic and secondary education, giving certain young people long-term support through the transition period. Information transfer between basic education (primary and lower secondary education) and upper secondary education has been intensified in Vantaa, and is being developed further. Practices related to information transfer should also be developed nationally in the future. Supporting study paths for students with disabilities has also been identified as a challenge; Vantaa has no study oppor￾tunities for them, and the provision in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area is not sufficient for their needs. Cooperation between different parties has also been intensified at secondary education institutions. At Vantaa Vocational College Varia, concerns about high drop-out rates highlighted the need for youth workers on the premises of the educational institute. The operating model, which includes cooperation between the school and youth services, was first developed in a project aimed to reduce the drop-out rate (Keskeyttämisestä kohtaamiseen) project and was made permanent in 2022. A total of eight youth workers work at Varia’s various locations, focusing in particular on identifying, supporting and increasing the wellbeing of students at risk of dropping out. Cooperation between comprehensive school and Varia has also been intensified in this context. In 2021–2022, in cooperation with Annie Advisor Oy, Varia devel￾oped and piloted the Annie bot, which provides students with low-threshold support by sending them regular text messages and asking about their need for support. Depending on the na￾ture of the support needed, the bot will direct the student to the right contact person. Varia has seen a significant decrease in the drop-out rate since the service was introduced. The feedback from students has been positive; they have felt that the bot has lowered the threshold for asking for help with various problems, which has helped keep them on track in their studies. Students’ wellbeing and ability to cope is enhanced by the knowledge that they are cared about and that support and help are available. 32 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Shortage of labour challenges for work on wellbeing Vantaa, like all of Finland, is facing growing challenges in terms of the availability of skilled labour in many sectors. There is a shortage of healthcare and social welfare professionals, early childhood ed￾ucation teachers and special education teachers in Vantaa, which significantly affects the city’s ability to provide high-quality services and ensure the wellbeing of its residents. Vantaa has drawn up an employee availability programme for 2022–2024, which aims to support the power of attraction and retention of the city as an employer. The programme emphasises the development of manage￾ment as a retention factor and also includes measures to increase the wellbeing of personnel and to develop competence. The city aims to influence national decision-making in order to increase the num￾ber of starting places in the fields of study facing a labour shortage. The labour shortage poses major challenges in early childhood education, where unfilled vacancies, non-qualified teachers and special needs teachers already account for 47% of vacancies, compared to 34% in 2021. The shortage poses many challenges in the everyday life of daycare centres; in the worst case scenario, the operating hours of daycare centres may need to be limited. This situation weakens the prerequisites for conducting high-qual￾ity early childhood education and has a negative impact on em￾ployees’ ability to cope at work. An availability working group established for early childhood education in the autumn of 2022 has planned and implemented various measures to increase staff attraction and retention. The measures include open recruitment, the development of recruitment marketing and competence of existing personnel, qualification paths, for example through ap￾prenticeships, increasing the number of trainee positions and the development of practical training. It is also important to pay at￾tention to the employees’ ability to cope and wellbeing at work. Youth work faces major challenges in the availability of labour de￾spite active recruitment. Nearly one third of youth work vacancies have not been filled. Various arrangements have been made to hire unqualified youth workers and hourly workers to fill the labour shortage. In spite of this, the city has been forced to reduce the opening hours of youth facilities, close facilities for fixed periods of time and reduce the amount of outreach youth work due to the serious labour shortage. The shortage of skilled workers also brings challenges to several services that transferred from the City of Vantaa’s sustainability to the Vantaa and Kerava Wellbeing Services County at the be￾ginning of 2023. In child welfare services, the shortage of skilled social workers brings major challenges and causes long queues in accessing services. The wellbeing services county will continue the development work started by the City of Vantaa in terms of pro￾cess and management development and the wellbeing at work of the personnel. In the services supporting families, which were also transferred to the wellbeing services county, the challenges in the availability of personnel are reflected in the occupational groups of psychol￾ogists, social workers and physicians, in particular. The shortage has been partly compensated for by outsourcing services or tem￾porary agency work, but this is not possible for all positions. The challenges of staff availability have been reflected in delays in access to services, especially in family counselling services and the services of child welfare supervisors. Processes and services are being continuously developed to meet clients’ service needs despite the challenges posed by the labour shortages. Share of adults whose perceived quality of life is good, by age group, 2021 % 20-39 46.4 40-64 57.4 65-79 57.3 80+ 33.7 Source: Capital region Health Survey 2021 51.8% total (age-corrected) 33 0 10 20 30 40 Adult population The wellbeing of the adult population is being increased and in￾equalities reduced in Vantaa through a number of measures related to health, inclusion and a sense of community. Services are brought close to the residents by establishing them in places people fre￾quent anyway and through outreach work. Targeting services at all residents prevents problems from arising, but at the same time spe￾cial attention must be paid to the most vulnerable groups. The phenomena and developments related to wellbeing are based on a wide range of factors that are linked to each other. For exam￾ple, homelessness is a complex phenomenon where many underly￾ing factors are linked together. In the wake of the transfer of health and social services from the city to the wellbeing services county, it is important to ensure effective cooperation between them and to ensure overall coordination of the wider issues to which the services provided by both parties respond. Attention must be paid to cross-administrative coordination and its structures in order to maintain and promote the overall wellbeing of people. For the city to be able to support the wellbeing of the residents effectively in the future, it needs to have up-to-date information. The prerequisites for knowledge-based management in Vantaa have partly deteriorated since the start of the wellbeing services counties because the Healthy Finland survey of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), which measures the wellbeing of the adult population in a broad manner, will only provide Vantaa with information at the level of the wellbeing services county in future. The city’s decision not to order municipality-specific information on the survey results weakens the knowledge base on the basis of which measures and development work will be planned and man￾aged with regard to the wellbeing of the adult population. A sense of community is an integral part of wellbeing, and cities play an important role in creating a public space where a sense of community is created and promoted. Such spaces include librar￾ies and community centres, which play a diverse and significant role in supporting wellbeing. Libraries support the continuous learning of all residents and equal opportunities for education and culture. They also promote a broad sense of community and a circular and sharing economy, not only through their core activity of lending books but also by offering various services and meetings. Vantaa has an extensive li￾brary network of 11 libraries throughout the city. In addition, a mo￾bile library circulates in areas that do not have their own library. The libraries offer residents a variety of facilities and shared com￾puters. In addition to borrowing books, the libraries have piloted the lending of many other items and, in 2022, the selection was expanded to include rubbish pickers, energy meters, entrance tick￾ets, season tickets, and much more. The libraries are important meeting places for Vantaa residents, and they organise various activities that increase the sense of community for people of all ages. Activities have been planned together with young people, and four libraries have started offer￾ing club activities for children and young people. Book clubs have been organised for adults, such as the Climate Reading Circle in 2022, as well as language cafés and communal language learn￾ing activities. Volunteers have delivered books to elderly people at home, organised various clubs and provided digital support, and the libraries also cooperate with NGOs. Share of adults whose perceived health is average or worse, 2021 % 37.5 35.8 women men 36.6% total Source: Capital region Health Survey 2021 Opportunities for different activities and a sense of community are also offered in Vantaa by community centres, spaces shared by residents and open to all that host a lot of activities organised 34 by, for example, NGOs and volunteers. Community centres reduce loneliness and exclusion and offer opportunities for participation. They increase the sense of community and connections between residents, different communities and the city. In recent years, sev￾eral new community centres have been established in Vantaa. For example, a former library in Koivukylä was renovated into a com￾munity centre that offers opportunities for recreational and vol￾unteer activities. The Koivukylä community centre also hosts com￾munity meals within the framework of the Shared Table network, which provides waste food assistance. After the start of the war in Ukraine, an assistance centre was established at the Koivukylä community centre together with the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare. The assistance centre pro￾vides support, advice and material assistance to Ukrainian refu￾gees. Employees of the City of Vantaa and the Uusimaa District of the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare works at the assistance centre. Other NGOs and companies are also involved. The assis￾tance centre hosts a variety of activities, and people can go there to spend time, have a coffee and chat with others in similar situ￾ations. There is a playground for children with Ukrainian or Rus￾sian-speaking volunteers present. Vantaa promotes the health and wellbeing of its residents by creating various client-oriented services and making them easily available. Wellbeing mentoring, which started in Vantaa in 2020, is a free lifestyle guidance service intended mainly for Vantaa res￾idents over the age of 18. The service aims at permanent lifestyle changes and improving health habits in a client-oriented manner. The service includes regular guidance meetings with the men￾tor and a health-related mobile application. The programme has achieved significant lifestyle changes and cost savings in health￾care expenditure. Relative poverty, 2021 10.9 Source: Statistics and indicators database Sotkanet.fi; % Total statistics on income distribution (Statistics Finland) Long-term recipients of income support, % of inhabitants, 2021 3.9 Source: Statistics and indicators database Sotkanet.fi % Amount of homeless persons, 2022 291 Source: Ara Gini coefficient, 2021 26.3 Source: Statistics and indicators database Sotkanet.fi Oral healthcare organised various low-threshold resident events during 2020–2022 with the aim of finding residents who had a great need for oral health care but did not seek out such services on their own. They were referred to oral health care services and self-treat￾ment for oral health. Another aim was to increase residents’ interest in and taking responsibility for their own wellbeing and understand￾ing of the effects of their actions on health. The low-threshold service was offered to residents at familiar loca￾tions, such as open meeting places, youth centres, libraries, neigh- 35 bourhood clubs and community centres. Pop-up centres provid￾ed an individualised assessment of the need for care for people different ages. A total of 162 group events were held during the project between 2020 and 2022, with more than 3,000 people of different ages participating. In addition, over 8,000 children and young people were reached at a summer food event. More than 500 assessments of the need for care and further appointments were made. The operating model has been integrated into prac￾tice as part of the operations of open meeting points and other low-threshold locations, and it will also be continued now that responsibility for oral health care has been transferred to the Van￾taa and Kerava Wellbeing Services County. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sports service module launched a new digital service, virtual exercise sessions, in No￾vember 2020. The service is open to all and free of charge, and its use does not require a login. The virtual exercise sessions have played a very important role in the continuation of physical exer￾cise – this was especially true for the elderly during the pandemic years. In addition to physical exercise, the virtual exercise sessions promote a feeling of inclusion. In 2020–2021, the sessions had thousands of users each month, at most almost 30,000 completed exercise sessions per month. The virtual exercise sessions are still available for everyone at Vantaa.fi. The website has a large num￾ber of recordings and a few weekly live streams. Vantaa aims to promote the services and wellbeing for the elderly in a comprehensive and preventive manner. In Finland, the ageing of the population will significantly change the structures of society, and the trend will only accelerate in the coming years. A lot of atten￾tion must be paid to the wellbeing and full inclusion of older people. Age-friendly Vantaa is a vision of a city where every older person can lead a good life according to their preferences. In September 2021, the City of Vantaa joined the WHO’s Age-Friendly Cities and Communities network of 1,363 cities from 47 countries working to improve and promote the living conditions of the elderly popula￾tion. Vantaa’s goal is to promote and develop age-friendly urban construction, accessible services and civil society activities in all aspects of the planning, preparation, decision-making, implemen￾tation and monitoring of the city’s and wellbeing services county’s operations. One of the objectives of the Vantaa Welfare Plan for the Elderly for 2018–2022 was to prevent the exclusion of the elderly, for ex￾ample by means of outreach work. The MEK Focal Points – out￾reach work for the elderly project started in 2020 with the aim of creating a model for outreach work for the elderly in Vantaa, finding older people in need of help, developing services for them and supporting meaningful and dignified living at home. The proj￾ect reached 130 older people at risk of social exclusion or loneli￾ness and supported them in taking control of their own lives. The project launched groups to provide free and continuous activities, support and help for elderly substance abusers in their daily lives. Outreach work with older people supports their independence and increases their wellbeing. Since the project, the work is be￾ing continued by the wellbeing services county, and the develop￾ment of operations will continue within the framework of the Good Age (Hyvä ikä) project, in cooperation with the wellbeing services county, cities and NGOs. When it comes to poverty and inequality, as well as overall well￾being, the importance of one’s own home is immeasurable. Home￾lessness has been reduced in Finland using the Housing First principle, where housing is seen as a fundamental right and basis for, not a consequence of, solving the person’s life management problems. Finland aims to halve homelessness by 2023 and eradi￾cate it completely by 2027. To achieve this goal, a cooperative pro￾gramme to halve homelessness has been launched with key city regions, service providers and NGOs. Vantaa is constantly working to eradicate homelessness. In 2021, more emergency accommodation places were added and the Homelessness Prevention Project (Asunnottomuuden ehkäisy￾hanke) was launched. The Homelessness Prevention Project devel￾ops services for the most vulnerable and those in need of multidis￾ciplinary and extensive support, mainly the homeless population and those at risk of homelessness in Vantaa. The project is developing a multi-professional working method that combines healthcare and social welfare expertise and expertise through experience. The team conducts outreach work with the target group on the streets and on the premises of partners, pro￾viding multi-professional service guidance and advice. The aim of 36 the activities is to ensure that clients get access to the necessary services and to support them in resolving their housing situation. A team consisting of a nurse and a social worker is developing multi￾disciplinary cooperation in the handling of issues concerning home￾less target groups and is creating a model for client-oriented and need-based housing consultation. Between February 2021 and Sep￾tember 2022, the outreach team reached 118 people in the project, 39 of whom received housing and 22 of whom gained access to support￾ed housing services. In addition, a solution was found to the home￾lessness of seven people. In 2022, housing consultation organised a walk-in event attended by 35 clients, 15 of whom received housing and four were helped to retain their housing. The number of homeless people in Vantaa was 227 in 2020 and 219 in 2021, but in 2022 the number rose sharply to 291. This change is part￾ly explained by the fact that the Homelessness Prevention Project’s outreach work also reaches clients who were previously not known to be homeless and who were newly recorded in the statistics and services. Homelessness data has also been compiled more careful￾ly. Long-term homelessness has continued to decline in Vantaa, but short-term homelessness has probably increased despite statistical perspectives. The service backlog in health and social services due to the pandemic and the rise in prices affect this development and fur￾ther weaken the position of vulnerable groups. Inclusion and a sense of community are an integral part of well￾being, and they can also be combined with other SDGs, such as Reduced Poverty, Zero Hunger and Climate Action. These perspec￾tives are combined in the Shared Table activities, which combines food security with reducing food waste and community activities. In Finland, food consumption accounts for an average of 20–25% of a consumer’s climate impact. Approximately 650 million kg of food waste are generated in Finland each year, approximately half of which is wasted food. The Vantaa Shared Table network combats food waste by donating it to residents in need of food aid. The network employs long-term unemployed persons and vol￾unteers in logistics, kitchen and storage duties. Shared Table is a model of food waste utilisation and communal food assistance developed in Vantaa that brings together city operators, the church, the third sector and educational institutes to make use of edible food waste. The network includes more than 50 active donors of food waste (wholesalers, grocery shops, food factories) and 86 NGOs that distribute food aid in different ways. Lutheran parishes and other churches are also involved. Approxi￾mately 5,500 people benefit from the food aid every week. The heart of the operations is a food waste terminal established by the City of Vantaa. The amount of food waste passing through the terminal has decreased sharply since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in 2022, from about 14,000 kg per week to 10,000 kg per week. The reason for this is the decrease in waste generated by food factories. At the same time, the effects of pandemic and the rise in food prices have been reflected in the need for food aid, although not in perfectly straightforward ways. The need for food aid has increased and, on the other hand, some elderly people stopped visiting food aid services during the pandemic, which is concerning. Most of the recipients of food aid are older people, especially women.

37 VANTAA IS ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE + cross-cutting goals 38 Vantaa is ecologically sustainable Vantaa is contributing to the international objective of limiting global warming to below 1.5°C. The city has set itself the goal of being carbon neutral by 2030, which means that the city will reduce its emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2030. In order to achieve carbon neutrality, the Roadmap to Resource Wisdom has been drawn up to support the ‘Vantaa is ecologically sustainable’ strategic theme. - In 2021, Vantaa’s greenhouse gas emissions amounted to approximately 872 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), which means that the greenhouse gas emissions re￾mained almost unchanged from the previous year, when the corresponding figure was 871 kt of CO2e. In order for the city to be carbon neutral, the emissions in 2030 would need to be 215 kt CO2e. Vantaa’s Roadmap to Resource Wisdom was approved in 2018 and the update for the new council term was approved in February 2022. The goal of the updated Roadmap to Resource Wisdom in 2030 is a carbon-neutral Vantaa where the city’s planning and im￾plementation will be resource-wise, nature will be diverse, natural resources will be used sustainably and the practices of residents, companies and communities will be sustainable. The vision of Vantaa’s Roadmap to Resource Wisdom Vantaa moves towards the goal on the six lanes of the Roadmap to Resource Wisdom: community structure and mobility, carbon-neu- 39 tral energy, life cycle and circular economy of materials, diverse nature, sustainable Vantaa and carbon sinks and offsetting. Examples of success: The new local master plan entered into force at the beginning of 2023 and takes into account all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The local master plan designates significantly more nature conservation areas than before. The future tramway will promote sustainable mobility and create preconditions for reducing regional in￾equalities. A summary of the implementation of the measures of Vantaa’s Roadmap to Resource Wisdom is recorded annually in the Environ￾mental Sustainability Report. The report also describes the good examples implemented in the city during the year to advance climate issues and resource wisdom. In the spring of 2023, in addi￾tion to the Environmental Sustainability Report, the progress of the measures in the Roadmap to Resource Wisdom can also be mon￾itored at the action level with the Environmental Watchdog appli￾cation, which is available on the city’s website. Community structure and mobility A resource-wise community structure enables Vantaa residents to live a sustainable and low-emission lifestyle, use sustainable modes of transport and safeguard natural values. The key to environmental sustainability is to reduce the burden on the en￾vironment and invest in green, sustainable and accessible solu￾tions and public spaces, as well as to increase opportunities for participatory, integrated and sustainable community planning. Land use solutions can significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the Vantaa region, for example by influencing the energy consumption of buildings, the use of renewable energy and transport solutions. The effects are felt with a delay of sever￾al years and are long-lasting. At the same time, Vantaa is being planned, built and maintained taking into account the require￾ments of the changing climate. Vantaa is located at the intersection of national main roads, an international airport and long-distance and commuter railways. Diverse and comprehensive transport connections enable smooth travel chains within the city and the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, to other parts of Finland and abroad. In the coming years, the transport system in Vantaa will focus particularly on efficient public transport, the development of pedestrian and bicycle traf￾Modal split of passenger transport, 2018 % car 45 public transport 20 bicycle 7 walking 27 other Source: HSL 1 Greenhouse gas emissions, 2021 Total emissions 872 kt CO2-ekv Emissions per inhabitant 3.6 kt CO2-ekv 0 10 20 30 40 50 Source: HSY 40 fic, the streamlining of traffic infrastructure and the promotion of low-emission vehicles. The planned tramway is one of Vantaa’s key projects for the next few years. The local master plan guides construction in the city, and it is the most direct and effective way to promote sustainable con￾struction. Vantaa’s new local master plan, which takes into ac￾count all aspects of sustainable development, entered into force on 11 January 2023. The aim is to compact the urban structure in already built environments, mainly relying on rail transport, and to leave space for green areas and growing land. Growth will focus on population centres, especially Tikkurila, Aviapolis and Myyrmäki. The route of the future tramway will be the strongest growth area, and the city structure along it will densify. A net￾work of green areas has also been linked to the tram route. The route will better connect areas threatened by increasing segre￾gation to the rest of the city region, creating preconditions for greater regional equality. The tram route will connect the easternmost parts of the city, in particular, with rail transport. According to a report assess￾ing the planning framework, the urban structure along the tram route will become more mixed and diverse. In many places, the car-centric urban environments will be transformed into a tram-centric and pedestrian city of short distances. As an acces￾sible form of mobility, the tramway will especially improve the mobility opportunities of older people and people with reduced mobility. From a climate perspective, reducing the need for mo￾bility and focusing on sustainable modes of transport are the plan’s particular strengths. The planning framework takes com￾prehensive account of the natural and aquatic environment and connects green areas to each other with green streets. In addition to the tram, sustainable mobility will be promoted in Vantaa by ensuring the smooth operation of bus services. To improve the conditions for walking, a walking promotion pro￾gramme has been drawn up with measures that will improve the comfort and accessibility of the environment. The main cycling routes will be improved, and planning will be guided in the longer term by cycling superhighways marked in the local master plan. Private vehicles in use, 2022 110,817 Source: Traficom Total energy consumption (GWh), 2021 5,708 Source: HSY Community energy consumption (kWh/inhabitant/a), 2021 23,862 Source: HSY Carbon-neutral energy In Vantaa, energy production and consumption account for the majority of climate emissions. The floor area of district-heated build￾ings makes up about 70% of the total floor area in the city region. The aim is to phase out fossil fuels in heating in Vantaa by 2030. En￾ergy efficiency is being systematically improved in city properties as well as in properties in the entire city region. Municipal residents are being encouraged to become active operators in energy pro￾duction. The key is to ensure affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all in a sustainable, low-emission way. Vantaa Energy Ltd is working decisively to reduce carbon dioxide emissions with its Carbon-negative 2030 project aimed at ensur- 41 ing that the company binds more carbon dioxide than it releases into the atmosphere. In this way, the company will move towards carbon negativity in 2030. The City of Vantaa owns 60% of Van￾taa Energy Ltd. Examples of success A new lane, diverse nature, has been added to the Roadmap to Resource Wisdom. Vantaa is commit￾ted to formulating a long-term strategy to safe￾guard local nature and biodiversity. In 2023, an overall biodiversity plan will be drawn up in Vantaa to deepen the goals and measures of the ‘diverse nature’ lane of the Roadmap to Resource Wisdom. Examples of development areas Integrating environmental sustainability aspects into all activities still requires work. For example, economic and urban growth objectives should be systematically assessed from the perspective of ecological impacts, so that growth can be effec￾tively steered in an environmentally sustainable direction. Energy sources used for heating buildings, 2021 % coal 19.2 gas 12.7 oil 0.2 biomass 24.8 waste 44.8 peat 2.7 Source: HSY Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed the energy situation throughout Europe, and the availability and price of energy have an impact on Finns’ everyday lives. However, there was no shortage of electricity in Finland during the winter of 2022–2023, partly due to the mild weather. Nevertheless, we cannot predict future develop￾ments, and it is still important to be prepared for occasional power shortages. The City of Vantaa and the companies in the city group have been carrying out long-term energy saving work for years, which makes it challenging to find new significant energy saving tar￾gets in the event of a crisis. For the winter of 2022–2023, a separate energy saving plan was drawn up, with measures for adjusting the temperatures of the premises, outdoor lighting and sports facilities. In its own operations, the city organisation of Vantaa has ac￾tively reduced energy consumption and the emissions caused by it. Oil consumption in city properties has decreased, mainly as a result of a transition to geothermal heat. Carbon footprint calculation has been piloted in planning projects and energy efficiency class A has been required in new plot competitions. Projects in preparations include land transfer competitions that take the city’s environmental objectives into account. In addition, pilot work has been carried out on the incorporation of energy efficiency requirements into land use agreements. The self-gen- 42 Image: Vantaan energia 43 Energy sources of district heating, 2010–2021, % 31 47 39 42 41 39 37 21 7 19,2 64 53 33 12 17 14 18 9 3 12,7 4,1 0,3 1,3 2,3 0 0,1 0,1 0 0,1 0,2 0,1 0 1 20 30,2 24,8 0 0 27,1 44,1 41,8 46,4 44,8 47 53,5 44,8 0 0,2 3 5,2 2,7 2010 2012 2014 2016 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 % 0 0 coal gas oil biomass waste peat Source: HSY eration of renewable energy in electricity and heat has been increased annually in renovation and new construction projects. The city is involved in a project developing a low-carbon assess￾ment tool for detailed plans (AVA), which takes into account the emissions of development projects in terms of pre-construction, infrastructure construction, buildings and plots as well as energy consumption and transport. In addition, the carbon stocks in the soil and vegetation are assessed. The project will last for two years and aims to create an evaluation tool for all municipalities. Green Deals are voluntary agreements between the state and the business sector or, for example, the municipal sector. They are used to find relatively quick solutions to address climate challenges and promote circular economy in Finland. In Vantaa, the climate impact of construction will be reduced by means of a Green Deal for ze￾ro-emission worksites. The preparation of the project began in 2019, and from the beginning Vantaa was actively involved together with Helsinki, Espoo and Turku. The Green Deal applies to construc￾tion machinery, construction site runs and the energy used on the site, and it includes new construction as well as, for example, street maintenance. The goal is fossil-free worksites by 2025, and by 2050, at least half of the machinery and transport vehicles will be pow￾ered by electricity, biogas or hydrogen. In view of the carbon neutrality targets, it is important to also en￾courage local residents, companies and other stakeholders to act sustainably. Housing companies, for example, play an important 44 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 role in energy consumption and promoting energy efficiency. The City of Vantaa was involved in the Housing Company Club (Taloy￾htiöklubi) project, which developed regional cooperation to pro￾mote the energy efficiency of housing companies. The project was implemented together with the cities of Helsinki and Espoo, and its main objective was to support and guide housing companies in energy saving measures and the launching of energy renovations. In the project, nine pilot areas were selected for the establishment of housing company clubs, i.e. cooperation forums for the boards of housing companies in the areas. The clubs provided information on energy efficiency and funding channels and promoted cooperation and information sharing between housing companies. About 300 housing companies participated in the housing company clubs. The promotion of neighbourhood cooperation and energy effi￾ciency among housing companies will be continued in Vantaa in a project focusing on the development of cooperation between housing companies and support for residents’ climate actions. Waste delivered to the incinerator plant, 2020 147.7kg/resident Source: HSY Bio waste from schools, day care, institutions 2020–2022 g/consumer 2020 50.0 2021 50.5 2022 50.1 Source: Vantti Water usage 2019–2021 liters / resident / day 2019 137 2020 131 2021 134 Source: HSY 45 1 2019 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0 2020 2021 The project will produce a scalable cooperation model in the form of a handbook for club activities, which will connect resi￾dents more closely to the city’s climate action and circular econ￾omy activities. The aim is also to launch new club areas in accor￾dance with the city’s regional development goals. Water leak rate in the sewage system, 2021 32% Source: HSY Materials life cycle and circular economy Vantaa is one of the fastest-growing cities in Finland. The built en￾vironment plays a crucial role in climate change mitigation, since buildings cause a third of Finland’s climate emissions. The share of building materials in greenhouse gas emissions during the life cycle of buildings is significant, and pre-construction also causes emis￾sions. The importance of building materials will continue to grow as the energy efficiency of buildings improves and greenhouse gas emissions during use decrease. In Vantaa, the use of repurposed materials in infrastructure con￾struction sites has increased. The carbon calculator has also been piloted in infrastructure construction with good results. An electron￾ic procedure for construction and demolition waste reporting has been introduced by the Building Control Department. In addition, Vantaa promotes the circular economy through a Green Deal for sustainable demolition. The main objective of the Green Deal is to increase the reuse and recycling of demolition materials. All ren￾ovation and demolition projects carry out a survey of the resulting demolition materials and report them in advance. The Green Deal provides a framework for the systematic development of operations and the planning of demolition processes. It improves information management and increases understanding of the changing of val￾ue chains. The Green Deal combines the sustainable construction of premises and the reuse of materials from demolished buildings through the circular economy. Total phosphorus and nitrogen loads and BOC g / resident / day phosphorus nitrogen BOC (biological oxygen consumption) 2.17 1.53 0.05 1.96 1.25 0.05 2.03 1.18 0.05 Source: HSY Amount of days on which the limit values for particulate matter (PM10) were exceeded during 2016–2021 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 2016 1 2017 2 2018 10 2019 13 2020 0 2021 Source: HSY 2 46 The Circular Construction in Regenerative Cities (CIRCuIT) proj￾ect develops and implements best practices to promote the circular economy. The project has assessed and measured the environmen￾tal and economic impacts associated with the various options that can be considered for buildings under threat of demolition. Life-cy￾cle calculations show that, in many cases, preserving a building by repairing it or changing its use is both economically and environ￾mentally preferable to demolishing it and building anew. The project has also examined the promotion of flexible construction through procurement criteria and land use steering. The utilisation of demol￾ished buildings as sources of material is one of the solutions exam￾ined in the project. Many of the building elements to be demolished would be suitable for use as such in a new building. One of the objectives of the project is to disseminate and commu￾nicate the best practices of the circular economy and to involve city residents. This goal is promoted by the Circularity Hub built in the project, which includes applications that illustrate the circular economy. https://www.circuit-project.eu/circularity-hub During 2023, best practices will be implemented through workshops, training and events. Examples of development areas Efforts are still needed to improve the state of Van￾taa’s aquatic environment. The ecological status of the Vantaa River was satisfactory in 2017, and active measures are needed to improve it. Diverse nature Climate change and nature loss are mutually reinforcing crises of sustainable development. Vantaa is committed to safeguard￾ing and promoting biodiversity through many international agreements as well as through EU and national legislation. In the Council Agreement covering the years 2021–2023, all coun￾cil groups also committed to drawing up a long-term strategy with indicators for protecting local nature and biodiversity. In its strategy, the City of Vantaa is committed to ensuring the preser￾vation of biodiversity and monitoring the state of biodiversity. In 2022, a new lane, diverse nature, was added to the city’s up￾dated Roadmap to Resource Wisdom. The objectives and mea￾sures of the implementation plans for this lane will function as a biodiversity programme in Vantaa. In 2023, an overall biodiversi￾ty plan will be drawn up to support the measures in the lane. Guided nature walks, 2022 40 Source: City of Vantaa Nature preserves, percentage of total area, 2022 6.7% Source: City of Vantaa Nature preserve area per inhabitant, 2022 66.7 m2 Source: City of Vantaa Vantaa’s local master plan for 2020 safeguards biodiversity and functional ecosystems by strengthening the ecological network. The plan designates 800 hectares of new nature conservation areas, which increases the share of conservation areas to 9.3% of the total land area. This is significantly higher than the average for Finnish municipalities (4.7%). The nature conservation areas of the local master plan, other areas of significant natural value (e.g. LUO ar- 47 eas) and ecological connections ensure the long-term conservation and diversity of species and natural habitats. Since 2015, Vantaa has organised theme years for local nature. During the theme years, special attention has been paid to nature and its important species, and the diverse nature of Vantaa has been made familiar to the city residents through excursions and oth￾er guided activities. In 2022, the focus was on birds, and this theme will continue through 2023. During the year, special attention will be paid to many familiar and previously common species becoming en￾dangered. The programme of the theme year includes birdwatching trips for children and adults and birdhouse workshops. Bird-themed excursions have been combined with guided nature excursions in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, which are open to all. Other events have included a drive against invasive species to eradicate the persistent Himalayan bal￾sam in Vantaa. Vantaa is a city of running water, whose landscape has been significant￾ly shaped by the Vantaa River and its largest tributary, the Kerava River. The Van￾taa River area is home to two species strictly protected by the European Union, the European otter and the thick-shelled river mussel, the most significant habitat of which in Finland is the Vantaa River. The environmental objective of the Uusimaa water management programme is to achieve the good ecolog￾ical status of the Vantaa River by 2027. In 2017, the ecologi￾cal status of the Vantaa River was only satisfactory, so active measures are required to reach the goal. In addition to the rivers, there are dozens of streams in Vantaa, which with their banks serve as ecological connections for fish, birds, insects, mammals and plants. Measures in accordance with the rehabilitation programme (2016–2020) have been taken in the streams of Vantaa, and the city’s stream caretakers have picked up rubbish and made spawning grounds for trout. The removal of bar￾riers has made it possible for the endangered sea trout to rise into the rivers and streams of Vantaa. Measures are still needed to im￾prove the aquatic environment in Vantaa. Ecological state of flowing water, 2022 100% satisfactory Source: City of Vantaa 48 Vantaa’s streams sometimes run through narrow corridors in the middle of population centres, leaving little room for nature. In these areas, too, the vitality of the stream should be improved. When plan￾ning new areas, sufficient space must be reserved for stream corri￾dors so that streams can meander and evolve in an organic way. the 1980s, which has drained part of the bog. In restoration, the ditches in the bog are being filled to stop the water flowing out of the bog, and moisture is starting returning to the soil. However, it will take several decades for the bog to fully recover. Vantaa is participating in an ecological offsetting project organ￾ised by the Finnish Environment Institute. The aim of ecological offsetting is to compensate for the damage caused to biodiver￾sity by human activity by increasing biodiversity. Ecological offsetting is the last resort when detrimental effects cannot be prevented or mitigated. Implemented in 2021–2024, the project is linked to the reform of nature protection legislation prepared by the Ministry of the Environment. In 2022, a pilot project on ecological offsetting was continued in Vantaa, seeking to offset a forest area reserved for construction in Kivistö. The implementation of the current plan would weaken and destroy some of the area’s nature values. Based on the na￾ture surveys carried out, experts from the Finnish Environment Institute have calculated the need for ecological offsetting. Pre￾liminary searches have been made for areas where the possible deterioration in natural values in the Kivistö area could be offset. Finding offsetting areas has been very challenging. Sustainable Vantaa The ‘sustainable Vantaa’ lane of the Roadmap to Resource Wis￾dom refers to the involvement of city residents and other stake￾holders in environmentally sustainable operations. The city serves as an example, enabler and messenger to others and also devel￾ops various forms of cooperation to promote environmental sus￾tainability. Examples of these actions can also be found in other sections of this report, for example under the theme ‘Vantaa is vi￾tal and brimming with expertise’. This section highlights measures to encourage schools, children and young people, in particular, to act for the good of the environment and to make sustainable choices, the effects of which reach far into the future. Public events to remove non-native species, 2022 4 Source: City of Vantaa For many years, Vantaa has engaged in multidisciplinary cooper￾ation to develop environmental sustainability and inclusion in food services. There has been cooperation between the education and learning department, procurement and food service provid￾ers. A key objective is to reduce the total carbon footprint of food services. The carbon footprint was calculated for the first time in 2020, and it is monitored every two years. Based on the results of the second calculation conducted in autumn 2022, the footprint In 2022, an accessible outdoor route was built in the Isosuo bog, one of the most representative raised bogs in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The bog, which has been long a site of edu￾cational excursions, is now accessible by more people. Work on the restoration of the bog is under way. Peat was extracted from the bog in the 1940s and 1950s, and ditches were dug as late as 49 has decreased slightly. Approximately 80% of the carbon footprint comes from the food served. Food waste amounts to about 10%. In cooperation with food service providers, measures have been taken to reduce the environmental impact of food. Food waste is constantly being measured, low-carbon and tastier recipes are be￾ing developed and the opinions of diners are being heard. To suc￾cessfully reduce the carbon footprint, the number of people eat￾ing low-carbon foods must be increased. Efforts are being made to achieve this, for example, through food education and by improv￾ing the appeal of vegetarian foods. Examples of success Children and young people have had the oppor￾tunity to participate in the development of school meals in many ways and to consider solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of food and reduce food waste. At the same time, they learn about the significance of environmental actions and their own choices, which will carry far into the future. Examples of development areas As part of the carbon neutrality goal, Vantaa aims to strengthen carbon sinks and carbon stocks and, through experiments, create a carbon offsetting model. One incentive for choosing low-carbon food options is the Carbon Deal label introduced in autumn 2021. The idea of developing the label came from young people’s desire to learn more about the en￾vironmental impact of food. The purpose of the label is to highlight ecological lunch options and to offer children and young people opportunities to take positive climate action. Meals that earn the Carbon Deal label have a 30% smaller carbon footprint than the average meal. In Vantaa, vegetarian food is available for everyone, and it is always the first option on the service line. Non-vegan veg￾etarian foods also often get the Carbon Deal label if they do not contain a lot of cheese or other dairy. The Carbon Deal label has aroused interest in the food services of several other cities. In Vantaa, meal service contracts require service providers to ar￾range inclusive service packages for schools and daycare centres. The content of the service packages has been defined in coopera￾tion with service providers. A service package can, for example, bring various food items to be tasted in daycare centres, involve schoolchil￾dren in kitchen tasks or prepare a food-related campaign at a school. These actions have received positive feedback and are expected to increase awareness and appreciation of food and its preparation. Meal-related inclusion and environmental sustainability are being developed from early childhood education to secondary education in cooperation with stakeholders. Development work is being carried out, for example, in the Knowhow and Involvement (Osaamista ja osallistumista) project. The project aims at improving cooperation and increasing inclusion, creating educational and learning materi￾als to support the Carbon Deal label and to integrate it into educa￾tion, and developing climate-friendly recipes together with children, young people and food service providers. In the summer of 2022, work cards for environmental education were published with the aim of facilitating environmental educa￾tion work in early childhood education. The content of the cards is updated as good new environmental education methods are developed. The themes of the work cards are local nature and re￾lationship with nature, sustainable consumption, influencing and inclusion in a sustainable lifestyle, energy saving, food education and a daycare garden. The themes, which come from the National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care, support the implementation of the Early Childhood Education Plan and the Roadmap to Resource Wisdom. The work card of each theme con￾tains practical tips for daycare centres’ everyday life, such as how to reduce the use of virgin materials at daycare centres or how to involve children in the daycare centre’s energy saving efforts. In addition, the cards present pedagogical operating models and technological applications of environmental education. The work cards are a comprehensive set of practical tips for the everyday life of daycare centres, and they can be used to increase and diversify the environmental education carried out at daycare centres. Vantaa Vocational College Varia’s vision 2022–2025 is to be a bold builder of sustainable professional competence. One example of Varia’s ecologically sustainable development work is its partici- 50 pation in the KESTU project, training professionals for a sustain￾able future. The KESTU project is a network project of five vocational institutions that develops management, teaching content and staff competence from the perspective of ecological sustainability. In 2022, Varia’s focus was on the planning of instruction. Answers to the following questions, among others, have been sought at sectoral lev￾el: How can we minimise the use of natural resources? Where and for what is energy being used? How do we do things energy-efficiently? What are the key supply chains and their significant environmental issues for the sector? What tools and equipment are being used? How can digitality be utilised in an environmentally sustainable and appropriate manner? How could the carbon handprint of the sector be increased, i.e. how can we maximise the positive environmental impact? How do companies and workplaces in the sector develop environmental sustainability now and in the future? The aim of the sustainable development education carried out by Vantaa youth work is to strengthen the way young people think and work for a more sustainable future. The aim of youth work is to support young people in making informed and sustainable choices in their lives with regard to the environment, the economy and social justice. The youth services created a level description of sustainable development together with the employees during autumn 2021 and spring 2022, and the model was implemented in work communities during autumn 2022. Education for sustainable development and the development of employee skills and work￾place activities strengthen employees’ understanding and precon￾ditions for acting in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. Carbon sinks and offsetting Carbon neutrality means that, regionally in Vantaa, the greenhouse gas emissions balance is zero. The carbon neutrality target of Van￾taa is to reduce emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2030. The remaining 20% can be bound in vegetation, soil and wood con￾struction or offset by emission reduction measures elsewhere. The consideration of the carbon handprint has also been discussed. If the share of emission reductions exceeds 80%, this reduces the need to obtain offsets. Carbon sinks, 2019 14% Source: HSY The goal is to offset emissions in the city region, strengthen carbon sinks and carbon stocks, increase the carbon handprint, promote carbon negativity and offset the city’s own direct emissions. Eco￾nomically and scientifically sustainable offsetting mechanisms that are useful for Vantaa will be explored by cooperating with other cit￾ies, the state, the Finnish Environment Institute and Helsinki Region Environmental Services HSY. Offsetting methods will be introduced through experiments, and experiences of offsetting will be sought from other cities. The aim is to create an offsetting model and to make offset calculation part of the emissions calculation.

62 VANTAA IS INTERNATIONAL + cross-cutting goals 63 Vantaa is international Vantaa is the most international city in Finland, and approximately 23% of Vantaa residents speak a language other than Finnish, Swedish or Sámi as their first language. The international character of Vantaa also means that the city is being developed as an international and innovative airport city; Finland’s only international airport is located in Vantaa. The aim is to attract more international companies and investments to the city, and international cooperation is actively pursued through various networks. The ‘Vantaa is international’ theme is strongly linked to other themes of this review, such as ‘Vantaa is vital and brimming with expertise’, which covers, for example, city-business collaboration and services aimed at international experts. The population of Vantaa is growing primarily due to immigration, and efforts are being made to make it easier for immigrants to set￾tle in Vantaa. Integration and full inclusion are affected by many factors. The factors related to, for example, schools and employ￾ment, are discussed in other sections of this report. An amend￾ment is about to be made to the Integration Act, which will transfer the overall responsibility for integration services in Finland from central government to local governments. Other recent and up￾coming structural changes also affect the overall picture. These include the TE24 reform, which will transfer the responsibility for employment services even more strongly to municipalities, and the activation of wellbeing services counties, which transferred the responsibility for health and social services from municipali￾ties to wellbeing services counties. Effective cooperation within the municipality between different functions, as well as between the municipality and the wellbeing services county, will be key to the development of integration as a whole. The promotion of equality is central to the ‘Vantaa is internation￾al’ theme. Equality is related to the full inclusion and equal treat￾ment of all Vantaa residents in all areas of life. It also involves the city’s activities in, for example, the development of multilingual and plain language communication and the development of multi￾cultural competence in the city’s organisation. It is also important that the City of Vantaa is an equal-opportunity employer. International networks and cooperation Vantaa actively participates in international activities that sup￾port sustainability. Liaisons report annually on the activities of the networks, so that the cooperation of the networks benefits the city more widely, and the work done is documented. Examples of international networks that include Vantaa: Eurocities Vantaa is a member of the Eurocities network of approxi￾mately 200 large European cities. The network’s activities are extensive and promote, for example, carbon neutrality, biodiversity, healthy living environments, the cultural envi￾ronments of cities, and the participation and inclusion of city residents of different ages and backgrounds. Good practices are shared in the forums and working groups of the network. 64 UNICEFin Child Friendly Cities The City of Vantaa cooperates closely with UNICEF Finland and, through it, with the Child Friendly Cities teams in other countries. Vantaa has also presented its own good practices internationally. Nordic Safe Cities Vantaa is a member of a network of 20 Nordic cities that share and develop good practices to combat extremism, increase safety and reduce confrontation. The network pays special attention to the activities of young people to promote a safer and more inclusive urban space. International cooperation is also carried out in Vantaa through projects. In 2021, a project office was established under Business Services to support more efficient use of EU project funding. Proj￾ects are suitable for the development of an urban city and intro￾duce innovations needed to meet the challenges of the future. The project office aims to increase the number and quality of EU proj￾ects. The strengthening of co-creation is also key, which the project office supports by bringing international partnerships to the devel￾opment and innovation of city departments. The project office provides project funding opportunities for de￾partments, maintains and identifies efficient utilisation of net￾works suitable for projects, and coordinates the preparation of projects in the city region based on EU funding. It supports part￾nerships and co-creation between companies, educational institu￾tions, RDI actors and the city. The impact generated by the project office increases cost-effectiveness and helps the city respond to future challenges. The innovative approach required by EU proj￾ect funding enables things that would not be achieved otherwise. A project portfolio that supports the city strategy strengthens the city’s systemic development, and employees learning new things inject strategic capability into the city’s operations. The project office has limited resources; it operates within the limits of one employee’s working hours. Increasing its resources would significantly increase its effectiveness, open up new oppor￾tunities for expanding cooperation and provide support for ongo￾ing projects. Vantaa is an interesting partner on the international level, especially since its selection as Europe’s Rising Innovative City. The networking of the project office also brings communica￾tion value to the city. The value of internationality: the city as an employer The city plays an important role in promoting equality as an em￾ployer. At the end of 2021, the City of Vantaa employed a total of 11,671 people, 7.3% of whom were foreign-language speakers. The share of foreign-language speakers among city personnel has been steadily increasing for several years, reaching 6.5% in 2020. The numbers vary greatly between departments, and the share of foreign-language speakers has been highest in the Social Services and Health Care department. However, many of the functions and personnel in this department transferred to the wellbeing services county at the beginning of 2023. The city is constantly striving to increase the proportion of for￾eign-language speakers among its personnel. To this end, efforts are made to influence supervisors who conduct recruitments, whose awareness is raised through various training courses relat￾ed to non-discrimination, equality and diversity as part of other re￾cruitment training. Anonymous recruitment is one way to promote equality during the recruitment process, and this tool is also used in Vantaa. The use of anonymous recruitment will be increased in the future. The language and illustrations of recruitment announcements also affect who applies for the position. The aim is to convey to appli￾cants a picture of Vantaa as a sustainable employer that wants applicants from different backgrounds. In different service areas, cooperation with educational establishments takes the form of apprenticeships, for example, and this improves the employment of foreign-language speakers by the city. The aim is to increase the competence of Vantaa’s personnel in international and multicultural matters, not only with regard to recruitment, but also with respect to interacting with residents and providing services. On the initiative of the International Van- 65 taa strategy team, a working group was formed of representatives of the city’s various departments to plan and produce an online training course on linguistic and cultural diversity in Vantaa, which will be published in 2023. The aim of the training is to provide the city’s employees with infor￾mation on immigration in the context of Finland and Vantaa, to dis￾cuss the importance of equality and non-discrimination, culturally and linguistically aware interaction, and good population relations in interactions with foreign-language Vantaa residents, and to go over the most important services of different departments targeted at foreign-language residents. International communication In an international city, it is important for public actors to commu￾nicate in such a way that the messages reach the diverse a popu￾lation as well as possible. Communication supports inclusion and people’s awareness of, for example, city services. Accessible com￾munication supports equality and wellbeing, and, during the pan￾demic, multilingual communication was of paramount importance for the health of the entire population. When developing communi￾cation, it is important to use not only multiple languages but also multiple channels in order to reach all population groups, and this need was emphasised during the pandemic. Messages are trans￾lated into different languages, but attention is also paid to using plain language in Finnish communications, which also benefits non-native speakers. In January 2023, the City Board decided that the city’s commu￾nications will be in Finnish, Swedish, English and plain Finnish. Budget resources for Swedish and English translations have been added to the service areas. For example, news and websites will be increasingly translated into Swedish and English in future. The redesigned Vantaa.fi web service has been built primarily in three structural languages: Finnish, Swedish and English. When the website was rebuilt in 2022, the marking of non-structural languag￾es for content (language attribute) was enabled so that, for exam￾ple, screen readers and analytics tools can interpret the text in the right language context. In addition, terms for selected languages were added to the taxonomy of keywords in order to create lan￾guage-specific listings for site visitors. In order to improve the discoverability of the language versions, tech￾nical readiness was produced for a miniature language menu along￾side the main language menu (FI, SV, EN). The miniature language menu will also include plain Finnish. In the spring of 2023, an auto￾mated machine translation functionality was added to the website, allowing users to translate any page into the language of their choice. In 2022, the City of Vantaa has organised two plain language training courses for its personnel, one of which was aimed at communications experts and the other was open to everyone. Both courses were very popular, and plain language training for city staff will be continued in 2023. In 2022, Vantaan Sanomat started publishing a local newspaper in plain language in cooperation with the City of Vantaa. The pilot proj￾ect of the paper was launched in October 2022. The monthly news￾paper tells Vantaa residents about topical issues, events and people in plain Finnish. The newspaper is the first of its kind in Vantaa. Examples of success: Multilingual, clear-cut and multi-channel communi￾cations have been and are being developed active￾ly, and the city’s communications are now reach￾ing the diverse population better than before. The Tsemppari model and the opening of multilingual counselling in connection with Vantaa Info centres improve the information available to the residents of the municipality and promote equal inclusion. Examples of development areas As an employer, the City of Vantaa strives to be as international as the city’s population. Various measures are being taken to increase the pro￾portion of foreign-language speakers among the city’s employees. 66 Integration Integration as a whole and its objectives in Vantaa are guided by an integration programme. The new integration programme is for 2023–2026, and previous similar programmes were called mul￾ticultural programmes. The vision of the integration programme is better integration and inclusion of foreign-language speakers in society. This includes the idea of two-way integration in which integration requires not only the integration and participation of foreign-language speakers, but also the ability of the host soci￾ety to learn about multiculturalism and diversity, both in working life and in other contexts. The integration programme lays out the city’s role and objectives in relation to multiculturalism and equali￾ty as an employer, a provider of services, a purchaser of goods and services, a decision-maker and a promoter of inclusion. From the perspective of integration as a whole, it is essential to cooperate with many different parties to ensure that services reach those who need them. Immigrants’ own organisations and associa￾tions are active operators through which different language groups can be reached effectively. These associations have a lot of linguis￾tic and cultural expertise that the city should make use of, and they also provide complementary services. Vantaa has developed and intensified cooperation with immigrant organisations through the Tsemppari work model. Tsemppari counsellors operating in the organisations’ premises help people with filling in applications and forms, offer support in applying for public services and provide advice in the customers’ own lan￾guage and in Finnish. The Tsemppari model brings public services closer to customers and improves the inclusion and wellbeing of foreign-language speakers. The model increases the expertise of NGOs in supporting integration. The model has been developed in the Tsempataan! project and in previous Tsempataan projects fo￾cused on cooperation and employment. Examples of success The project for including parents in education and work life (Vanhemmat mukaan kouluun ja työelämään) has created a model for integrating stay-at-home immigrant parents into education and working life, which promotes equality in gener￾al, wellbeing and gender equality. Immigrant wom￾en in particular have benefited from the service. Established in 2021, the project office supports more efficient use of EU project funding, partner￾ships and project cooperation. Examples of development areas Increasing the resources of the project office would increase impact and create opportunities for new initiatives through international projects. It would also enable better support for ongoing projects. Major structural reforms will change the whole of integration work and the related responsibilities in Finland. It is important to further promote and develop intersectoral cooperation and interfaces with the wellbeing services county. The employment project (Tsempataan töihin), for example, devel￾oped a recruitment model in cooperation with Sodexo, in which jobseekers had the opportunity to learn about various tasks in the company by shadowing an employee for two days. This gave the jobseekers an idea of the field and tasks, allowed them to ask ques￾tions and consider possibly seeking relevant training, and allowed the employer to get to know potential applicants. The Tsemppari model has increased trust between NGOs and city actors and thus strengthened relations in the population. It has also given rise to several different projects, which NGOs and as￾sociations have actively planned and implemented together with the city. The partnership model and networking developed in the Tsemppari model have been relayed and expanded, for example to the Neuvova Vantaa project. Neuvova Vantaa is a development project that develops counsel￾ling for immigrants (2020–2023). The project’s clients include all Vantaa residents with a foreign mother tongue and personnel pro￾viding counselling and guidance for them in Vantaa. The aim is to support the accessibility and fluency of counselling for foreign-lan￾guage speakers in Vantaa by establishing multilingual counselling. 67 The project is funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Em￾ployment and the City of Vantaa. The pandemic highlighted the importance of multilingual informa￾tion and guidance in a new way. In autumn 2021, under the co￾ordination of the project, Vantaa’s multilingual guidance was opened in connection with Vantaa Info. Experts in multilingual advi￾sory services provide personal assistance related to the services of the City of Vantaa and various authorities. The service languages are Finnish, Swedish, English, Estonian, Russian, Arabic, Somali, Dari and Farsi. There are multilingual counsellors in the Vantaa Info centres in Myyrmäki and Tikkurila as well as at International House Helsinki. The project is also piloting group-based and outreach counselling and multidisciplinary cooperation. Schools play an important role in supporting integration, and the section of this review entitled ‘Vantaa builds wellbeing and is social￾ly sustainable’ deals with multiculturalism and multilingualism in Vantaa’s primary and secondary education. Vantaa has developed a model in which parents who have moved to Finland also get to benefit from comprehensive school education while strengthening their attachment to Finnish society. The project for including par￾ents in education and work life (Vanhemmat mukaan kouluun ja työelämään) is aimed at immigrant parents and is implemented by the Vantaa Skills Centre, Vantaa’s primary and lower secondary ed￾ucation services and Careeria. In the project, parents attend class￾es in primary and lower secondary education together with school￾children for part of the week, and the rest of the week they study in their own group under the guidance of the project’s S2 (Finnish as a second language) coach. Childcare is arranged for the duration of the lessons so that parents of young children can also participate. The activities strengthen the participants’ Finnish language skills and support them in planning further paths and in gaining access to education and employment. At the same time, they receive information about Finnish education and society, which pro￾motes their integration and helps them consider their goals. Parents who might otherwise spend their days at home gain an important peer community and experiences of inclusion. The activities also strengthen cooperation between families and the school and the opportuni￾ties of immigrant parents to support their children in school. The participants take classes for one aca￾demic year, and in the spring term they are introduced to Finnish working life through work trials, for example. At the end of the spring term, the participants are found a further path to studies or working life, if possible. The success rate is high; about eight out of ten find a suitable way forward. Howev￾er, reaching parents at home and getting them to par￾ticipate, especially when 68 their Finnish proficiency is often poor, is challenging. It requires a strong commitment from schools, because often the best way to reach parents is through their children. The project is intended for all immigrant parents, but most of the participants are mothers. Special attention has recently been paid to supporting the employment and integration of immigrant wom￾en, for example in connection with the comprehensive reform of the Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration, as the employment rate of immigrant women is lower in Finland than in the other Nor￾dic countries and also lower than that of immigrant men or of wom￾en of the original population. In particular, the project supports the learning of the Finnish language, integration and access to educa￾tion and working life for immigrant women. Supporting Ukraine The City of Vantaa has been supporting Ukraine ever since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. On 28 February 2022, Vantaa City Council decided to support Ukraine with a donation of EUR 150,000. At the same council ses￾sion, all the council groups issued a joint statement in which they expressed their support for Ukrainians and condemned the Russian invasion. The statement supported sanctions to promote an end to the hostilities. In addition, the City of Vantaa was required to pre￾pare for the continuation of humanitarian aid and the reception of refugees fleeing the war. The statement also noted that ordinary Russians living in the multicultural city of Vantaa should not be subjected to discrimination or isolation due to the unacceptable hostilities perpetrated by the Russian leadership. In April 2022, the City of Vantaa established the Ukrainian Help Center together with the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare. The centre’s offerings have included support, advisory services, material assistance and interaction. In 2023, the City of Vantaa will also support the Ukrainian Association in Finland in the operations of the Korso Logistics Centre with EUR 60,000, mainly directed at rents on premises. At the end of 2022, there were approximately 1,150 Ukrainian refugees living in Vantaa. Vantaa has also participated in European cooperation to support Ukraine in the activities of the Eurocities network. In February 2023, as part of the Generators of Hope campaign launched by Euroci￾ties and the European Parliament, Vantaa and the cities of Helsinki and Espoo collected 117 generators, engine-generators, heaters or other devices for Ukraine. They were donated by companies, com￾munities and individuals.

36 37 PEOPLE 1 No Poverty 2 Zero Hunger 3 Good Health & Well-Being 4 Quality Education 5 Gender Equality 8 Decent Work & Education 10 Reduced Inequalities 11 Sustainable Cities & Communities 15 Life on Land 39 ‘We are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.’39 “We are reporting in the era of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. At least 11 of the 17 SDGs can be seen as key social determinants of health. The twin problems of social inequalities and climate change have to be tackled at the same time. Addressing each is vital to creating a society that is just, and sustainable for the current and future generations.” Professor Sir Michael Marmot, in the foreword to Health equity in England: The Marmot review 10 years on40. This chapter on ‘People’ aims to explore the connections between a range of social issues. In particular, the need for holistic action focused around poverty and inequality, which cause (and are caused by) connected challenges on health, housing, education and others. But this chapter’s themes are also integral to the subsequent ones on Prosperity, Environment, Peace and Partnerships. Unemployment and labour conditions are key to understanding poverty. Reducing environmental inequalities can alleviate aspects of poor health and wellbeing, as well as fuel poverty. And equalities are central to issues of community cohesion and crime (Peace), and participating fully in civic life (Partnerships). The SDGs (and the framing of the five Ps) can help explore some of the connections, with the aim of identifying solutions with co-benefits across a range of policy areas. PEOPLE 40 41 The SDGs invite us to focus on the “poorest, most marginalised and vulnerable”. Persistent poverty47 (target 1.148) in London has fallen slightly, but experience by 17% of people in London face persistently low incomes (2014-18 average). Poverty in London is unevenly distributed spatially – in inner London, 27% of children and 20% of pensioners live in material deprivation and low (or severely low) income. In outer London, these figures are 14% and 13% respectively. However, poverty rates have generally been increasing in outer London over recent years, and although the poverty rates are lower in outer London, there are more people living below the poverty line there due to its higher population. Covid-19 has eroded the fnancial resilience of many households, placing many in serious financial stress49; across the UK, 4.2 million more people were frequently running out of money by the end of the week than in March, with younger people, those with disabilities, women and BAME people hit the hardest50. The years following the last recession in 2008 also saw a change in the nature of poverty in London. A focus from national government on getting people back into work led to unemployment falling to the lowest level since 1970s, but this did not translate to a dramatic decrease in the number of people living in poverty. With little focus on the quality of jobs or progression, and cuts to in-work benefits, many low-income Londoners still did not earn enough to escape poverty. This is commonly referred to as ‘in-work poverty’. Unemployment trends as a result of Covid-19 are explored further in ‘Prosperity’. Although overall poverty rates in London have remained stable over the past 25 years, the last fve years in particular have seen poverty rise among certain groups, most notably children. The start of this uptick coincides with the introduction of a range of welfare reforms (the majority brought into effect by national government in April 2016) which saw significant cuts to national welfare benefits. Of particular note were the four-year freeze to all working age benefits, the lowering of the benefit cap (which particularly effected single parent households), and the introduction of the two-child limit. POVERTY 28% of Londoners live in relative poverty, i.e. with incomes below 60% of the national median (target 1.241). 26% live in absolute poverty, i.e. income below 60% 2010/11 real terms median (target 1.142). Housing costs are a major contributor to poverty in London - before such costs are included, relative poverty is 16%. This proportion of people living in relative poverty after housing costs has remained largely static over time, showing little change over the last 20 years (though this varies for different sub-groups – explored below). Housing affordability trends have worsened – 26% of average household income was spent on housing costs in 2017/18, up from 25% in 2010/11 (albeit down from its highpoint in 2016/17) – though the fgure is as high as 33% in the private rental sector43 (target 11.144). This is set against a national backdrop which has seen household budgets squeezed as poorer households experienced average annual price rises of 2.6%45.The London Economic Fairness Indicators explore this in further detail46. 2010/11 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 40 35 30 25 20 15 MEDIAN OF HOUSING COSTS AS A % OF GROSS HOUSEHOLD INCOME Private Renters Social Renters All Tenures Mortgage Home Owners Financial year % 10 5 0 42 43 GLA research51 analysed the impact of changes to tax and welfare since 2010, including Universal Credit to highlight how these will differently affect separate groups (target 1.352). That analysis finds that changes will hit single-parent families, Black people, disabled people, renters, and women the hardest, and will exacerbate poverty and unequal outcomes forthese groups. Collectively all these reforms have led to an additional 100,000 Londoners (including 75,000) children being pushed below the poverty line. Policies introduced by the Government in 2016 had a particularly big impact, most notably the four year freeze to working age benefits, the lowering of the benefit cap, and the introduction of the two child-limit. Collectively these reforms are believed to be the main cause of a rise in child poverty from 37% to 39%). As a result of Covid-19, the number of Londoners claiming Universal Credit doubled between March and November 2020, and is still rising53. The UK Government’s furlough scheme was a lifeline to many, but uptake was unevenly distributed according to Manchester University’s Rapid Evidence Review on the unequal impacts of Covid-1954 which states: “In April (2020), the accommodation and food services sector had 73% of its workers on furlough, with an estimated 68% of jobs in that sector at risk; yet the information and communication sector had just 13% of workers on furlough and 8% of jobs at risk. This reflects great variations across occupations in the ability to work from home.” The SDGs also invite us to look at the many dimensions of poverty beyond income (target 1.255): • Food insecurity56 is not measured consistently in the UK, likewise it is newly-measured in London. A survey in 2019 indicated that 21% of adults face “low” or “very low” food security, and 17% of parents have children in the same situation (target 2.157). Children of parents aged 16-24 are most likely to be in food poverty (70%). This has been exacerbated by Covid-19 – increased use of food banks is noted in ‘Peace’, and the provision of free school meals has been highly contested • Fuel poverty has risen in London – affecting 9.7% of households in 2015 and 11.4% in 2018 (target 7.158), Cold homes, in turn, damage health - for example, through increased mortality risk for older people and significant negative effects on children’s development59 • Poorer people face financial barriers to accessing transport in London and disabled people, who are more likely to be poor, face reinforcing financial and physical barriers (target 10.360) • The number of people sleeping rough on the streets of London increased by 32% to 10,726 people between 2015/16 and 2019/20 (target 11.161). Covid-19 caused a surge in people experiencing housing insecurity and vulnerable to eviction, repossession and homelessness, compounded by a reduction of related services (shelters, substance abuse services) during lockdown. However, the immediate response to housing rough sleepers in the wake of the pandemic demonstrates that homelessness can be reduced overnight with the right will and funding • Refugees and asylum seekers are particularly at risk of falling into extreme poverty, as many are ineligible for welfare benefits and other state support. We have no accurate data on the number of Londoners in the situation, and their invisibility makes them doubly marginalised. NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT BY BOROUGH Jan 2020 Mar 2020 May 2020 July 2020 Sept 2020 Nov 2020 60,000 45,000 30,000 15,000 0 Camden Kensington & Chelsea Wandsworth Bromley Havering Richmond upon Thames City of London Lambeth Westminster Croydon Hillingdon Sutton Hackney Lewisham Barking & Dagenham Ealing Hounslow Waltham Forest Hammersmith & Fulham Newham Barnet Enfeld Kingston upon Thames Haringey Southwark Bexley Greenwich Merton Islington Tower Hamlets Brent Harrow Redbridge 44 45 Londoners’ mental health and wellbeing has also been severely impacted by Covid-19. In addition to the stress and isolation caused by the pandemic, there is a close relationship between poor mental health and financial stress70, which has been exacerbated for many by the loss of income, as well as a reduction in some services71. London’s education results are very good, with the best ‘Attainment 8’ and ‘Progress 8’ scores of any region in England (which are respectively measures of attainment, and progress between key stage 2 and GCSE). (The Department for Education advises making geographical comparisons rather than year-on-year ones). The proportion of youth not in education, employment or training and adults without qualifications has decreased over time (target 4.472). However, London’s underlying social inequalities manifest in significant inequalities in educational outcomes, refecting a major challenge for national and local government. Systematic gaps in attainment remain between sexes (target 4.573), reflecting the national picture. There is a gap of 20 points between the GCSE attainment of the best and worst performing ethnic groups (Chinese and Black students, respectively), and a wide disparity between pupils eligible for free school meals and those are not. The rates of adults with low and no qualifications are down (target 4.674), though with disparities between boroughs - from Havering (24.7%) to Richmond (6.6%). There are also age and gender disparities, with older women being more likely to have no or low qualifcations than younger women and men of the same age. Covid-19 has further disrupted education and childhoods in ways that set back already-disadvantaged and vulnerable children the most, from a lack of IT equipment in poorer households to greater risk of hunger and abuse75. Disadvantage and inequality of opportunities and outcomes in London takes many forms. Poverty and inequality are interwoven (relative poverty is explicitly measured in terms of inequality) and self￾reinforcing (for example, since wealthy buyers increase house prices for all). The universal provision of freely accessible social protections, education and health systems is a way to limit inequalities. The very universality of these systems – addressed in SDG 1 – is one way to make sure that “no one is left behind”. However, universal access does not necessarily translate into universal equality. For example, despite a universal NHS system (target 3.863) guaranteeing outcomes that exceed the expectations of many targets under SDG 363, health inequality persists. For example, life expectancy for the most deprived quintile of London’s population lags 6 years (male) and 4 years (women) behind that of the least deprived (2015-17). The Marmot Reviews show clearly the relationship between deprivation and socio-economic inequalities and some of the leading causes of mortality, including circulatory diseases and cancer. This same socio-economic patterning of disease outcomes has been seen with Covid-19 (target 3.464). The strong links between health and wealth again highlight that an integrated approach to health, economic and social equalities policies would be mutually beneficial. Covid-19 has exposed major health inequalities, and BAME communities have been hit especially hard. Public Health England ascribe this to a combination of disproportionate more precarious and frontline employment and higher rates of certain underlying health problems65, whilst migrants have faced special problems accessing healthcare66. Although the disease itself has proved more lethal for men than women67, Covid-19’s socio-economic impacts have fallen disproportionately on women68, including through unpaid care work, disproportionately having frontline and precarious jobs, childcare and home schooling during lockdowns, and a surge in domestic violence. Further inequalities in the impacts of Covid-19 are explored in the Rapid Evidence Review69. INEQUALITY 46 POLICY CONTEXT London and the wider UK have been grappling with the issues above for many years, and there is a plethora of national and local policies and strategies in place, including on social integration, health inequalities, economic growth, homelessness, and poverty. The SDGs ask whether these strategies and policies are distributed across issues in the best way, a greater focus on how policies in related areas could be mutually reinforcing, and how different levels of policy-making align. More deeply, we need to understand the extent of positive overlap, synergy and reinforcement within policy-making, as well as potential tensions and trade-offs. For example, the ‘health in all policies’ approach has meant that health features throughout London’s recovery programme: not just in the ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing’ mission, but the missions on Good Work, Young People, Food, Green New Deal and Robust Safety Net. This is crucial, because it is social, economic and environmental factors that largely determine health and health inequalities. Target 10.3 expects policies and action with regard to legislation that ensures equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome. Primary UK legislation for delivering this is the Equality Act 2020. The characteristics it includes broadly reflect those in target 10.2 (age, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion), and additionally sexual orientation and gender reassignment (which are not explicitly addressed by the SDGs). This regulation drives data collection priorities. However, data is not collected evenly across all characteristics – for example there is less data available disaggregated by sexual orientation than there is by gender. Evidence-based policy-making requires good data to make informed decisions: timely, granular, and disaggregated by geography and demographic. It also requires effective partnerships between different data-collecting and decision￾making bodies. However, there are a number of challenges in these areas, notwithstanding that the UK has a good international track record on measuring a range of social and economic equalities data. These data issues are explored further under ‘Reflections on data collection in London‘.

36 37 1 No Poverty 2 Zero Hunger 3 Good Health & Well-Being 5 Gender Equality 7 Affordable Clean Energy 8 Decent Work & Education 9 Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure 10 Reduced Inequalities 11 Sustainable Cities & Communities 12 Responsible Consumption & Production PROSPERITY 48 49 London is one of the world’s most prosperous cities, and its economy is the eight largest if ranked against European countries (on a comparable basis). London’s net fiscal contribution to the Exchequer in 2017/18 was around £34.3bn. Between 2010 to 2018 (the latest data available), gross value added (an indicator of economic activity) increased by 27% (target 8.177), while productivity, measured by gross value added per hour of work, also grew (target 8.278). However, London’s economy has been heavily impacted by the recession caused by the pandemic. Unemployment rates fell steadily from 6.7% in 2015 to 4.5% at the start of 2020, but rose sharply to 6.3% by autumn 2020 (target 8.579). GLA projections (which pre-date the second wave of Covid-19) do not expect GVA or employment rates to approach pre-Covid-19 levels until late 202280. 413,000 jobs were furloughed in London as of October 2020, and 73% of the top 33 constituencies (top 5%) for furlough take-up rate were in London. Data on SDG target 9.5, expenditure on research and development, shows a 16% increase in the number of researchers per million people in London; this is consistent with the fact that the tech & digital and life sciences sectors are two of the Mayor’s seven priority sectors for boosting London’s economy81. However, August 2020 research shows that 26% of science, R&D and veterinary SMEs were at risk due to the economic downturn (the highest-risk of all SME sectors)82. Brexit is also expected to have a major negative impact on London’s economy. Despite the UK’s free trade agreement with the EU, the loss of Single Market and Customs Union membership will be a major challenge, especially to the service sector which makes up over 90% of the London economy. Its trade surplus with the EU (estimated at £21bn in 2017) is at risk. The financial and professional services sectors face large immediate challenges. London-based firms are now having to negotiate a patchwork of individual EU nations’ regulations. Major UK-based banks have had to move more than £1trillion of assets, and thousands of jobs to other EU cities to avoid disruption. ‘We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.’76 PROSPERITY 50 51 SHARED PROSPERITY However, the SDG targets and indicators also direct attention to how widely this prosperity is being shared. Even at the same time as this headline growth, the rise of the ‘gig economy’ has seen the proportion of employed people in London on zero-hour contracts grow steadily, from only 0.4% in 2010 to 2.5% in 2018, and as high as 11.4% of 16-24 year olds. Nationally, part-time workers are more likely to be in precarious work, the non-UK nationals is above the average highest proportion is found in the health and social care sector, and the rate for at 3.5%. Covid-19 has further has highlighted and exacerbated these inequalities, with precarious frontline workers most exposed to the virus as they are least able to work from home or take sick leave. The unequal impacts of Covid-19 in London are explored in depth in research by Manchester University83. Unemployment, too, is uneven across different social groups (target 8.584). Disabled people are twice as likely (8.2%) to be unemployed as the non-disabled people and Black men are nearly three times as likely to be unemployed (11.0%) as white men (3.7%) (2019). Statistics on human trafcking and modern slavery - as identifying two particular ways in which groups are marginalised - are imperfect, but show a substantial increase in these crimes85. The mean gender pay gap for men and women in full time employment (target 8.586) has remained broadly unchanged (20.4% in 2019, versus 20.7% in 2015) while the picture for part-time employment has fluctuated significantly between negative and positive figures. Though not a perfect measure of equality of employment between genders, these headline figures point to a complex set of causes, some of which are addressed in the SDGs across Goals 5 and 8. These include time spent on unpaid care and domestic work (target 5.487), a commitment to equal pay for equal work (target 8.588), and a commitment to end discriminatory laws and practices (target 10.389). Headline pay inequality across ethnicity (a median of 12.6% in 2018) and disability (16.6% in 2019) are similarly present, with similarly complex causes. No clear trend of a narrowing of pay inequality is discernible across any of this data in recent years. UNEMPLOYMENT RATES BY ETHNICITY AND GENDER 10.0 7.5 5.0 2.5 PERCENTAGE OF LONDONERS IN INSECURE EMPLOYMENT 0.0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 % White males Pakistani/Bangledeshi males Pakistani/Bangledeshi females While females Black or Black British males Black or Black British females Mixed ethnic group males Other ethnic group males Other ethnic group females Indian males Indian females Total 20.00 15.00 10.00 5.00 0.00 Mar-15 Sep-15 Mar-16 Sep-16 Mar-17 Sep-17 Mar-18 Sep-18 Mar-19 Sep-19 % 53 52 PROSPERITY WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITS The SDGs call attention to whether economic growth can be decoupled from environmental degradation. We address the state of London’s environment more fully under the Planet section, but it is crucial that London’s economic growth must be environmentally sustainable if we are to leave a city for future generations to thrive in. London’s resource consumption shows a positive downward trend - total supply chain carbon emissions dropped by 5% from 2001 to 2016; per capita, they dropped by 21% over the same period90.The amount of waste generated per household dropped 45% between 2000/01 and 2018/19. However, data is no longer publicly available on the wider ecological footprint of the city, i.e. the impact of its production and consumption on natural resources, biodiversity and land-use change. (Target 8.491, 9.492). This data was previously available, and reported in the LSDC’s QoL reports – however, it appears to be a new gap that current data and public discussion focus solely on carbon, and not wider ecosystem impacts. This is problematic if we are to understand the full impact of London’s economy on the planet. However, London’s Low-Carbon Environmental Goods and Services (LCEGS) sector has the capacity for businesses to contribute to decarbonise the economy through innovative clean technology and services. And the growth of the sector – which grew by 90% between 2007/08 and 2017/18, and which London targets to double further by 2030 – could create thousands of green and resilient jobs. LCEGS sector sales in London were £39.7bn in 2017/18, representing 13,906 businesses and employing 246,073 workers93. This is vital for a just transition to a fair, zero-carbon circular economy. It is also crucial that we invest in the green and fair recovery. The LSDC’s recent Financing for a Future London report also highlights the key role of London’s finance sector in building the transition to a zero-carbon economy, exemplified by the UK Government’s announcement in November 2020 of a Sovereign Green Bond (target 17.194). 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 LONDON LCEGS SECTOR TOTAL EMPLOYEES (£ Billion) 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 LONDON LCEGS SECTOR TOTAL SALES (£ BILLION) Years Years 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 Number of employees 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 54 55 POLICY CONTEXT A set of policies and initiatives are present to address aspects of London’s competitiveness and prosperity, and the need for inclusive and sustainable growth, notably the Mayor’s London Economic Development Strategy. A number of national and local policies and initiatives have attempted to address economic unfairness, for example the UK Government’s requirement for certain organisations to report on the gender pay-gap; the Mayor’s Good Work Standard, recognising employers who champion fair pay and good work, and Workforce Integration Network, supporting underrepresented groups to enter the workplace with an initial focus on supporting young Black men into living￾wage employment in London; and London Councils’ grant scheme to tackle poverty through employment. However, the proportion of jobs below the London Living Wage remains broadly unchanged from 2015, at 19.8% in 2019 and a constant 45-50% of part time work pays below this figure (target 1.b95). The Living Wage Foundation have worked with over 7,000 employers from civil society, public and private sector through their accreditation process, to ensure more workers earn at least a real Living Wage. They have consistently put forward that a real Living Wage is essential as global part of a global solution in order to meet the SDGs96. This remains a challenge that must be addressed by employers and businesses, policy-makers and other stakeholders. The SDGs have specific targets on the quality and coverage of policies around equality and discrimination. A judgement on whether these targets are met in the London context might be tested against these standards in the discussion that follows the publication of this report. The transition to a low carbon, circular economy is an objective within the London Environment Strategy and Economic Development Strategy, and a range of measures have been proposed to help facilitate this transition97 . Many of these proposals target innovation, business support and competitiveness in greening business. It remains critical that these policies integrate a “just transition” that deliver a zero-carbon circular economy whilst prioritising the needs and livelihoods of the lowest paid and most disadvantaged.

36 37 2 Zero Hunger 5 Gender Equality 6 Clean Water & Sanitation 7 Affordable Clean Energy 8 Decent Work & Education 9 Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure 10 Reduced Inequalities 11 Sustainable Cities & Communities 12 Responsible Consumption & Production 13 Climate Action 14 Life Below Water 15 Life on Land PLANET 56 57 The SDGs are clear that climate and ecological damage are not just ‘environmental’ challenges – they are social challenges too. Environmental degradation often affects society’s most disadvantaged hardest, and this is the case in London. In order to achieve a ‘just transition’ to a greener and fairer society, we must simultaneously enhance our natural environment and resilience, reduce environmental inequalities, and boost green skills and jobs to build a zero-carbon circular economy. This chapter explores three key aspects of London’s environment: climate change, air quality and green space. We assess progress, and particularly examine the ways that poor and more marginalised groups are affected. ‘We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.’ PLANET 98 58 59 The Equality Impact Assessment of the Homes for Londoners: Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 identifies that improving housing quality can also enhance the environmental impact of housing whilst reducing social inequalities102. For example, improving thermal efficiency helps cut carbon whilst reducing utility bills, so alleviating fuel poverty. Well-insulated homes are more resilient to climate change and extreme heat – this is of particular benefit to elderly people who are more vulnerable to spikes in temperature, as well as being more affected by illness caused by cold, damp homes. Furthermore, despite UK Government, GLA and borough funding and initiatives, much more will need to be done to retrofit London’s existing housing stock – £61bn must be invested in London’s built environment to achieve net zero carbon by 2050, largely from the private sector – showing the scale of the challenge facing London’s ambitious commitment on low carbon homes. The LSDC’s report, Financing for a Future London, explores this and led to the GLA commissioning the Green Finance Institute to explore the development of a London Future Finance Facility. London has made progress on its efforts to increase the use of more carbon friendly transport options. There are high numbers using public transport and walking as forms of transport in London, which remained largely constant from 2015 to the start of 2020, but which dropped drastically at the start of lockdown. (target 11.2103). Cycling numbers remain relatively low - though on a positive trajectory - with 9% of residents cycling at least once a week for travel in 2017/18. During the pandemic, there has been a modal shift towards walking and cycling, but also private vehicles: the proportion of journeys made by walking and cycling increase significantly, from 29% between January and March 2020 to an estimated 46% between April and June 2020. CLIMATE CHANGE SDG 13 (Climate Action), closely connected to the Paris Climate Change Agreement, calls on leaders to take urgent action to address the effects of climate change99. London’s efforts in response are beginning to bear results. London’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been decreasing since their highest point in 2000. GHG emissions dropped from 33.91 to 30.3 million tonnes CO2e between 2015 and 2017, and the Mayor of London has committed to becoming a zero carbon city by 2030, a goal compatible with the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Buildings are responsible for around four fifths of London’s total GHG emissions100 and there is some evidence of better and more energy efficient building practices. In 2020, 20% of dwellings attained an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of A or B, up from 17.2% in 2015 and 9.9% in 2008 (target 9.1101). EPC ratings do not offer a complete picture of sustainable buildings (they don’t address embodied carbon or other ecological impacts, and are only available for new and recently-transacted buildings). Even this is not compatible with a net zero carbon in operation standard that would be necessary for all new buildings to meet by 2030 in order to reach ambitions under Paris Agreement. CARBON EMISSIONS PER CAPITA 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 6.00 5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0 Years Tonnes CO2e 60 61 The proportion of journeys made by private transport increased from 38% between January and March 2020, to 45% between March and June 2020. Although the early weeks of the 2020 lockdown saw a substantial reduction in air pollutants104, Covid-19-related reductions in the capacity and use of public transport, and increased car use, threaten to worsen air quality in London. In response the Mayor created the Streetspace programme to enable more people to walk and cycle, rather than drive105 . In order to improve its resilience to climate change, London has been developing plans around preparedness and adaptation to extreme weather events. These centre on the triple threats of drought, flooding and heat. Given that nearly a fifth of London is in the Thames floodplain, the possibility of flooding is of particular concern. In February 2020, the Local Resilience Forum noted that even when London was in a level 1 drought, South London was at risk of flooding due to high ground water106. The new London Plan aims to address this by emphasising the importance of maintaining green and blue space that can absorb rainfall more effectively. This includes making even greater use of green infrastructure such as reedbeds to increase absorption, but also encouraging hard infrastructure projects such as increased sewer capacity and processing, in turn improving water quality and living conditions for those living near waterways. Heatwaves - likely to increase in frequency and severity as a consequence of climate change - are estimated to have led to 238 additional deaths in 2019, mostly amongst older people107.The impacts of climate change on the health of London’s ecosystems, and especially the health of London’s priority habitats and species, is an additional concern, though one where data - especially time series data - remains sparse. 62 63 AIR QUALITY AND HEALTH INEQUALITIES Across the globe, the environmental justice movement has highlighted the fact that in many cities, pollution of all types tends to be concentrated in low-income and minority neighbourhoods110. A report commissioned by the GLA in 2019111 found that in 2013 the most deprived Londoners are on average exposed to nearly a quarter more nitrogen dioxide pollution than the least deprived. There was also increased exposure to air pollution in areas that have a higher percentage of non-white ethnic groups, with a particularly skewed distribution for the Black/African/Caribbean/Black British population. Nitrogen dioxide concentrations were on average between 16 and 19 per cent higher in areas where non-white people were most likely to live compared to areas where white people were most likely to live. However, the report found that as a result of Mayoral policy the inequality in exposure across the deprivation scale will be greatly reduced by 2030. There is emerging evidence of an association between exposure to air pollution and the most severe effects of Covid-19, including an increase in the death rate. Most recently Sasidharan et al reported a strong correlation between NO2 and PM2.5 levels and an increase in the risk of Covid-19 transmission in London112. There is strong evidence that disadvantaged communities and non-white ethnic groups have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. A range of social and environmental factors have been suggested as the cause of increased vulnerability amongst these groups, including lifetime exposure to higher levels of air pollution. Whilst more research is needed to investigate the relationship between air pollution, inequality and Covid-19, there is established evidence linking air pollution exposure to social inequalities. AIR QUALITY: MONTHLY AVERAGE NO2 CONCENTRATION TREND 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 100 75 50 25 Urban background outer Roadside outer Urban background inner Roadside inner Urban background central Roadside central London’s air quality, along with many other national and global cities, has a signifcant public profle and is heavily monitored, with attention focused on particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) because of the health risks these pose (targets 3.9108, 11.6109). Since 2016 there have been dramatic improvements in London’s air quality, especially for NO2, according to a report on London’s air quality between 2016 and 2020 using data from London’s air quality monitoring network and modelling from the Environmental Research Group at King’s College London (now Imperial College London). The number of Londoners living in areas exceeding the legal limit for NO2 fell from over 2 million in 2016 to 119,000 in 2019, a reduction of 94 per cent. In 2016 monitoring sites in London recorded over 4,000 hours above the short-term legal limit for NO2 – in 2019 this reduced to just over 100, a reduction of 97 per cent. The majority of monitoring sites recorded a reduction in annual mean PM10 with an average reduction of 11 per cent across the network, rising to 14 per cent for roadside sites. Less data is available for PM2.5 as there are fewer sites and more issues with data capture. However, the majority of sites recorded reductions in annual mean PM2.5 with an average reduction of 9 per cent across the network, rising to 16 per cent for roadside sites. However, there is work still to be done: 99% of Londoners still live in areas exceeding the WHO PM2.5 limit. Between 2016 and 2019 the reduction in annual average nitrogen dioxide at roadside sites in central London was five times the national average reduction. This shows the most significant improvements in London have been driven by local, as opposed to national, policy. These successful Mayoral policy interventions include the ULEZ, Low￾Emission Bus Zones, cleaning up bus and taxi fleets, and increasing electric vehicle charging infrastructure. µg NO2 / m3 64 65 GREEN SPACE Urban green space provides environmental benefits such as cooling effects, better air quality and a reduction in flooding. In addition, accessible green space provides residents with important physical and social benefts, such as a place to exercise and meet friends and neighbours. The Covid-19 lockdown reinforced the value of access to greenspace for Londoners: the use of parks increased 160% in the first half of 2020113, and 62% of Londoners surveyed in May 2020 thought protecting and enhancing green spaces should be a higher priority after the lockdown114. The overall level of greenspace in London is high: approximately 48-51% of Greater London is green and blue space (target 15.1115). However only 18% of London is ofcially designated as publicly accessible green space – much of the rest includes private land such as gardens, and land that is technically private despite some public access, such as nature reserves. Approximately 50% of households in London live within 400m of a formally designated public green space (target 11.7116) as of 2014 - though many households within such areas of deficiency do have access to smaller amenity green spaces, pocket parks or private gardens. However, there is inequality over who has access to the best quality public open space. Large, high quality parks are disproportionately located in wealthier neighbourhoods, partly because property values have increased in areas close to good quality parks, thus displacing those Londoners on lower incomes. Black people in England are four times less likely than white people to have any outdoor space at home. 21% of London households have no garden, compared with 12% of Great Britain. However, the boroughs and the Mayor are addressing this, including via Grow Back Greener grants which support communities to create green spaces. These projects prioritised areas of the city with poor access to open space and nature, and which work with or are led by Londoners who are less likely to access green space, including BAME and lower￾income Londoners, and over-65s. The air quality inequalities noted above also affect green spaces. According to researchers at Imperial College London, whilst 27% of public parks in Greater London had levels of NO2 higher than the EU limit in 2016, the NO2 level for play spaces most accessible to the children in the most-deprived quintilewere on average 6µg/m3 higher than those accessible to children in the least-deprived quintile117. Although target 11.7 on providing greenspace which is “inclusive and safe, particularly for women and children” is often framed as safety from crime, inequalities in the air quality of play spaces should also be noted in this context. An interactive map presented by the GLA tracks a number of green infrastructure issues which can be cross-referenced against Indices of Multiple Deprivation, and an overall score on the ‘need for green infrastructure’. There is excellent data on public space and green space in London through the Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL) database, too. However, these resources require specialist tools and knowledge to make the best of use of them. For example, the green infrastructure map plots data across 15,000 equal hexagonal zones, whilst data on deprivation is available at the level of the 32 boroughs. Overall, the accessibility of this data could be further improved in order to make better policy decisions. 66 POLICY CONTEXT The current Mayor has clearly made the environment a priority. The London Environment Strategy (LES), in May 2018, lays out priorities, targets and action plans for climate change, air quality, green infrastructure and waste, treating these areas as integrally linked. The majority of London’s boroughs have declared a climate emergency, and London Councils have published a six-point plan to support the boroughs in devising climate emergency action plans. The London Recovery Board’s ‘Green New Deal’ mission will deliver a recovery that is both green and fair – boosting green skills and jobs; cutting carbon and air pollution; enhancing green spaces; and reducing health inequalities and fuel poverty. This will be delivered in partnership between the GLA, boroughs, community groups and private sector. COP 26 in November 2021 also represents a huge opportunity for London and the UK to take a leadership position in the battle against climate change. The Mayor’s 1.5˚C Compatible Climate Action Plan maps a pathway for a zero￾carbon city, but he has since committed to achieving this by 2030118. The LES also connects energy efficiency and carbon reductions with tackling the rise in fuel poverty, supported by the Fuel Poverty Action Plan119. The new London Plan (December 2020) aims to deliver this through the built environment, setting a net zero carbon target for new development; requiring all major developments to monitor energy performance post-construction; requiring reduced embodied carbon from new developments; energy efficiency and retroftting; climate adaptation measures; and encouraging placement of employment and housing so as to enable car-free commuting120. Climate adaptation is incorporated into mayoral strategies on food, transport and resilience. It is also crucial that the UK Government should not set national carbon standards in buildings as a ceiling for cities, but as a baseline – particularly because policies such as the new Future Homes Standard, although a step in the right direction, only requires new-builds to be ‘zero-carbon ready’ from 2025, rather than delivering zero carbon. Environmental data is often resourced and held by local multi-stakeholder partnerships, rather than being funded and managed by central government agencies. For example, GiGL (green space data) is a partnership of the GLA, boroughs, third sector bodies and others, and is funded by the GLA; Thames River Watch (river pollution data) is managed by the charity Thames 21 and funded by Tideway, in the absence of statutory monitoring. Other information is only available from private companies. Although initiatives such as these can and do provide excellent data, the absence of central government support may refect that national policy has historically placed less importance on the environment. It can also lead to greater variability in accessibility and presentation, and lower reporting frequencies which makes trend analysis difficult. This issue is also reflected in the national policy frameworks for climate adaptation, which are patchy: boroughs are the lead local food authorities; drought responsibility lies with water companies and borough resilience forums; and there is no formal responsibility for heat, although London has strong heat planning policies. These issues are explored further in ‘Reflections On Data Collection In London’. 67

36 Foundation for Future London, Changing Minds In Challenging Times by Catalyst in Communities CIC. PEACE 1 No Poverty 4 Quality Education 10 Reduced Inequalities 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 68 69 The SDGs state that maintaining a peaceful society is partly about minimising crime and discrimination, but also nurturing a strong civil society by fostering cohesive and resilient communities. This chapter focuses on both of these issues. The SDGs also cite the connected importance of building trust and participation in governance and public institutions – this is explored later in the Partnerships chapter. ‘We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.’ 121 PEACE 70 71 VIOLENCE AND CRIME Recorded instances of violence rose from 20.1 to 24.8 per 1,000 people from 2015 to 2020 (target 16.1122), and in particular the use of knives and acid in these acts stand out. The causes of knife crime have been widely debated, and data gathered on other SDG indicators (e.g. health, poverty, inequalities) captures a broad picture of social challenges and their relationship with crime. For example, a GLA report identifies a relationship between victims of serious youth violence and deprivation, mental wellbeing and educational attainment123. Knife crime was also found to be a particular concern of young people in the LSDC’s report on Young Londoners’ Priorities for a Sustainable City124. However, it is difcult to ascribe causation (as opposed to correlation) to any given factor, due to the wide range of intersecting issues at play, and the difculty of isolating any single one. Public confidence in the police to “do a good job in the local area” was 57% in 2020, down from 67% in 2015 (SDG targets 16.6, 16.7). However, trust in the police varies significantly between ethnicities (46% mixed ethnicity and 65% white other) and boroughs (47% in Hackney and 70% in Kensington and Chelsea). Reporting and recording of different kinds of violent crime have increased since 2015, partly due to the police being required to correctly implement rules on statistics collection. This is especially true for violence against women and girls (target 5.2124), where the ONS qualifies available statistics by noting ‘improvements in police recording practices and increased reporting by victims’ as possible causes of the increase’126. However, underreporting of such offences remains a pervasive problem, and exacerbated for some victims by other issues such as migration status and language problems127. The volume of hate crime reported to the police (target 10.2128) has also risen over time, though with similar caveats around the data. These kinds of crimes directly express and are deeply interwoven with inequalities that are entrenched right across UK society, not just London. COMMUNITY COHESION Reducing inequalities is important in creating mutual respect between diverse individuals and communities, and hence building social cohesion. This is a priority for the Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy. According to London’s Social Integration Dashboard, 92% of Londoners in 2018/19 said that their area is one where people of many different backgrounds get on well (markedly up since 2010), and 45% of Londoners “borrow things and exchange favours with their neighbours”, yet challenges remain. For example, 39% of all non-white respondents testify to having been treated unfairly because of their ethnicity in the last 12 months (2018-19). Socioeconomic inequality exacerbates this challenge: only 9% of the same respondents have positive, frequent contact with people outside their own social class. Social isolation is a challenge for many – 27% of adults feel they “do not have a spouse, friend or family member they can rely on a lot” (2018-19). This number is markedly higher for LGBTQ+ people, people in local authority housing, and members of Sikh and Muslim faiths. This has led the Trust for London129 and the London Assembly130, to call for a greater focus on relationships and tackling loneliness. Spatial planning is an important part of the response to such issues, and the participatory nature of these planning processes is itself the subject of SDG target 11.3131. 72 73 The increasingly digital nature of social interactions is a trend across the world, and one that has the potential to change the nature of this challenge for London. As the Relationship Project explains ‘technology connects us more than ever, but increasingly digitises human exchange.’132 London’s transient population may be a factor in feelings of community too, with migration into London from elsewhere in the UK and abroad, movement within London and the increasing emigration of Londoners to neighbouring counties as trends that will impact on ‘community’ in the city133. However, Covid-19 has also demonstrated the power of – and necessity for – strong community spirit and action in London. A GLA report estimates that around 280,000 Londoners participated in 740 local mutual aid networks during the first lockdown134, rapidly self-organising non-hierarchical, hyper￾local networks to help their neighbours with essential items, social support and more. The pandemic has shone a light on the crucial role of formal and informal social networks to support the most disadvantaged (UK food bank usage was 89% higher in March 2020 than 2019135). This carries an important lesson on the need for resilient community infrastructure as well as physical infrastructure, not only for future crises but the everyday life of the city. The London Community Response Survey provides further granular data on Londoners’ experiences of the pandemic136. However, data has shown that while many communities did experience an upsurge in community togetherness during Covid-19, this was not consistent across London. Better off areas, those with more community assets, pre-existing higher levels of neighbour trust, higher incomes, higher levels of civic participation, low population churn, low levels of social isolation, and low levels of divisions, had stronger community responses compared to less well-off areas137 138. This reflects more widely the huge and ongoing importance of active citizenship in London, and especially community volunteering – in terms of the benefits to those receiving support; the feelings of belonging it can engender in volunteers; and the overall resilience and cohesion of the community arising from these networks of relationships. 26% of Londoners stated they had volunteered in the last 12 months (2015/16)139. The legions of volunteers for the 2012 London Olympics were among the most visible examples of this, but examples also range from tree-planting to care work. People are more likely to feel happy and like they belong in a city which they have helped to shape and support. However, to participate, Londoners need access to relevant opportunities and activities to do this effectively. These opportunities and activities will be derived from a healthy eco-system of civil society organisations operating at local level and also from Londoners having the knowledge and confdence to set up their own collective action organisations. The pandemic has increased visibility of more friction-less and informal volunteering but overall there are still barriers for many Londoners in terms of their ability to participate. POLICY CONTEXT The Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy140 is closely aligned with the SDGs’ focus on reducing inequalities while enhancing community cohesion and active citizenship, especially through democratic participation. It is supported by a social integration dashboard offering a rich source of data on aspects of integration. The national Community Resilience Development Framework sets the context for the London Community Resilience Steering Group, which as part of the London Resilience Forum brings the boroughs, GLA and other key agencies together, recognising that social infrastructure is just as vital to a well-functioning city as physical infrastructure and resources141. London’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy142 also connects barriers to belonging with active citizenship and inequalities, with particular objectives to focus on the groups disproportionately affected by knife crime. London also has a knife crime strategy, task force, and multi￾agency violence reduction unit, along with a raft of initiatives, funding, and toolkits.

36 37 PARTNERSHIPS 10 Reduced Inequalities 11 Sustainable Cities & Communities 13 Climate Action 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 17 Partnerships for the Goals 74 75 The SDGs place an emphasis on partnership working across different levels of governments, departments and sectors to address key challenges. Multi￾stakeholder partnerships (SDG target 17.16) can unite resources, knowledge and action behind causes which are important to all parties, and cannot be addressed by any single actor alone. Vertical links between different levels of government, or horizontal links within these levels, could produce more coherent policies (target 17.14144) in response to complex and interlinked challenges. The SDGs also place importance on their implementation through “the participation of all people”. The case for greater involvement for people in decision-making is well established145 – more considered decision making and increased buy-in for resulting policies, and enhanced trust, respect, and equality. Participatory approaches are endorsed by organisations from the Local Government Association146 to Extinction Rebellion147. This chapter presents an overview of the diversity of organisational partnerships in London, as well as the breadth and depth of community participation. Both also link closely with community cohesion and engagement explored in ‘Peace’, above. However, this is non-exhaustive, and only a snapshot of the myriad interactions between the huge range of stakeholders in London. ‘We are determined to mobilize the means required to implement this Agenda through a revitalised Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focussed in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people’143 PARTNERSHIPS 76 77 PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN ORGANISATIONS The sheer number and diversity of partnerships across London, across the range of SDG themes, resists easy analysis. Some are relatively small, tackling a single or hyper-local issue. Others span hundreds of partners and address multiple, intersecting challenges at larger scales - for example the Partnership for Young London148. Partnerships are active across People, Prosperity, Planet and Peace, and at the intersections of these areas. Although the majority of partnerships addressing SDG-related themes do not mention the Goals explicitly, some partnerships are specifically built around the SDGs. Model My City, in Camden, is a local community interest company bringing together stakeholders and citizens to contribute to a sustainable borough using the framework of the SDGs149. The West London Business and BeeMidtown Business Improvement District networks both frame their work programmes around the SDGs. Other partnerships contribute to the Goals without an explicit SDG framing. The London Health Board is a partnership between London’s boroughs, the NHS, PHE and the Mayor, aiming to transform health and care, and reduce health inequalities – contributing to SDG 3 (Health) without referring to it directly. Thames River Watch, developed in partnership between Thames 21 and Tideway, and supported by local ‘citizen scientists’150 contributes invaluable data on plastic pollution in the Thames (SDG target 14.1151) in the absence of statutory monitoring, but again without being inspired or framed by the SDGs. The London Urban Forest Partnership is a network of organisations that collaborate to protect, manage and enhance the capital’s trees and woodlands; it comprises national and local government, the third sector, professional bodies and community groups. The London Child Poverty Alliance is a partnership of (mainly) civil society organisations and charities committed to tackling child poverty in London. They bring together collective knowledge, expertise and experience to develop and champion the practical solutions needed to tackle child poverty in London. They campaign and influence to ensure that London child poverty issues are understood and addressed by policymakers and the wider community. There are a number of examples of GLA-led partnerships that work together to address specific aspects of poverty. For example, the London Boroughs Food Group has a specific focus on tackling food insecurity, and the London Fuel Poverty Partnership (which also includes partners from the energy industry and regulators) works together to support Londoners living in fuel poverty. 78 79 London is also home to a large number of partnerships that focus on the SDGs beyond the city itself. For example, London plays a leading role in the global C40 Cities climate change network, spearheading collaborative initiatives such as international cities divesting financial assets from fossil fuels and championing investment in the green economy152. The City of London Corporation’s Sustainable Development Capital Initiative, which is supported by private sector institutions alongside the UK’s Department for International Development and the UK government-owned development finance institution CDC Group, works to develop London as a leading hub for SDG oriented development finance. The UN Global Compact UK is a network of leading businesses committed to the SDGs, whilst a number of London universities are signatories to the global ‘SDGs Accord’ for the higher education sector. Despite effective collaboration across many elements of national and local government, spanning many policy areas, there is an absence of an overarching national or regional sustainable development policy framework in London and the UK. Germany is one example of a multi-tiered government sustainability strategy incorporating the SDGs; the Scottish Government also uses the SDGs as indicators for its National Performance Framework, and the Welsh Future Generations Act is framed using the SDGs. The GLA Act also places a statutory duty on the Mayor of London to address sustainable development – the LSDC support the Mayor to deliver this requirement. Since partnerships are underpinned by mutual benefit, there is no guarantee that partnerships will form in those areas where the SDG challenges are greatest or multi￾stakeholder action is most needed – in fact, in some such areas it is unlikely that partnerships will arise without a change in context. It may therefore be desirable to conduct a further assessment of gaps where new partnerships could do most good, and analyse barriers to their formation as well as how to unblock them. This is explored further in ‘Further work for the LSDC’, below. PARTICIPATION AND TRUST IN LOCAL DECISION-MAKING Participation in formal local government is positive. Electoral registration has remained relatively steady (86% in 2018), and turnout for the 2016 mayoral election - 46% - was 21% higher than in 2012. However, there are disparities between voter turnout – from 36% in Barking & Dagenham to 57% in Richmond – though detailed demographic data is unavailable. There has been an increase in the number of female councillors on 2018 data, up to 42% from 36% in 2013. All levels of government use a number of tools to enable public participation in London’s governance beyond simply voting, reflecting SDG 16153 and SDG target 11.3154 on inclusive city planning. For example, formal public consultations are carried out by national and local government to inform legislation and strategies, and responses are recorded in the evidence-bases for those documents. 80 81 Public debate is encouraged through meetings – albeit not during lockdown – including on specific issues such as planning; regular meetings at ward and borough level; and ‘People’s Question Time’. Online forums are popular within boroughs, as is the GLA’s Talk London site, whilst councillors’ surgeries, direct correspondence and social media platforms all provide opportunities for public engagement. However, the SDGs call for public decision￾making to focus on including the voices of communities which are often side￾lined. This requires both a greater breadth of engagement, i.e. including more (and more diverse) voices; and greater depth of engagement, i.e. creating opportunities for more nuanced debate, which can shed light on the particular needs of all Londoners. The Centre for London’s 2019 report, ‘Strengthening public participation in London’s planning system’, highlights these challenges in the context of local planning consultations. It states that community representatives say “that they were ignored, marginalised and patronised by consultation on new development”, and also that “younger people, renters, small business owners, and people from some ethnic groups” were under represented in attendance at planning meetings155. 31% of Londoners felt they were “able to influence decisions affecting their local area” in 2018/19, down from a high of 36% in 2015/16. This period coincided with a nationwide downward trend, with London consistently outperforming the UK average on this metric. With the rise in apathy and polarised politics, plus the on-going low turnout in local elections, active participation should also include the ability for Londoners to have their voices heard and fully participate in democracy. There are many excellent examples of participatory local governance in London, which could be extended and replicated across boroughs and institutions. Newham Council held ‘People’s Budget Forums’ to agree council spending plans156. Newham and Camden have both held Citizens’ Assemblies on climate change; Camden’s brought together a cross-sections of the public to hear evidence and then co￾create local solutions to be adopted by the residents, community groups, businesses and the council157. The UK Government similarly held ‘Climate Assembly UK’ in 2020158. NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups in City & Hackney159, as well as in Barking & Dagenham160, have both implemented ‘co￾production’ approaches so that residents’ needs and priorities are reflected in healthcare strategies. In Westminster, the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Forum convened residents, businesses, students, visitors and others to help develop the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan, whose objectives are framed around the SDGs161. The London Recovery Board has also taken a strong approach to engaging with diverse communities in shaping the programmes of work that will underpin London’s recovery from the pandemic. This engagement has been delivered via the recovery mission on ‘Building Strong Communities’, as well as an overarching goal on ‘Collaborating and involving London’s diverse communities’. This is one of a number of ‘Cross-Cutting Principles’ (CCPs) – a set of objectives that are being applied across the recovery work programme. Collectively, the CCPs align very closely with the SDGs – they also include goals to improve the environment, health, and equality and diversity, across the programme. Therefore applying the CCPs effectively and in an integrated way is a route to embedding the SDGs within London’s recovery programme. Appendix 1 presents CCPs the alongside the SDGs, showing they map onto each other. However, it is clear that further steps must be taken to actively involve all Londoners, especially marginalised groups. Possible avenues for future work in this area are explored in ‘Recommendations’.

93 3.1 / The Materiality Issues toward “A city that respects and is inspired from its environment and culture” are: 1. Creation of new green spaces, enhancement, and maintenance of existing ones The creation and maintenance of green spaces constitute a fundamental pillar of the sustainability of Agios Dimitrios. Green spaces are essential for improving the quality of life for citizens and addressing the challenges posed by urban development. The establishment of new green areas provides opportunities for recreation, sports, social interaction, and the exploration of nature, simultaneously enhancing the microclimate of the area. 94 95 In order to achieve the creation of new green spaces and the preservation of existing ones, Agios Dimitrios has adopted a comprehensive approach. This approach includes the planning and development of new green spaces based on the needs of the citizens and the protection of biodiversity. Additionally, the city is committed to the continuous maintenance and improvement of existing green spaces, having invested in awareness programs for their utilization by the community. This encourages citizen participation in shaping, protecting, and maintaining these spaces. Extensive landscaping work was carried out in 2020 in squares, communal green spaces, and schools, following the staffing of the relevant Department with personnel hired specifically for this purpose through a four-month employment contract. The following areas were cleaned, trimmed, and pruned in more than 60 public spaces including squares, pedestrian streets, kindergartens, primary schools etc.

105 4. Efficient energy management, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change impacts The efficient management of energy is a cornerstone of the sustainability of Agios Dimitrios. The efficient use of energy and the reduction of green￾house gas emissions represent primary goals pursued by the city. To achieve this, active participation and collaboration of the public sector, the private sector, and society are required, along with innovative solutions and technological investments. The promotion of the use of renewable energy sources, energy saving in public buildings and transportation, as well as the development of municipal transportation, are significant initiatives in this direction. Moreover, addressing the impacts of climate change requires strategic action on multiple levels. Agios Dimitrios is developing adaptation plans to protect residents from extreme weather events and maintain the sustain￾ability of infrastructure. Furthermore, education and awareness initiatives about climate change are promoted to enhance support for taking action. With coherence, collaboration, and determination, Agios Dimitrios aims to play a critical role in reducing the impacts of climate change and shaping a sustainable and progressive path for the future. 106 Specifically, the challenge of climate change has become critical for our planet. The effects of rising temperatures, pollution, and depletion of natu￾ral resources are evident worldwide. In this fight, city mayors play a central role. In an effort to address climate change and promote energy sustaina￾bility, in 2020 Agios Dimitrios decided to join the European initiative called ‘Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.’ The ‘Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy,’ signed by Agios Dimitri￾os, is a global movement aimed at strengthening local-level action for cli￾mate change adaptation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Mayors from cities around the world unite to exchange best practices and commit to goals related to climate and energy. The city’s signing of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy represents a significant step towards achieving sustainability goals and climate protection. The signing is a declaration of commitment from the city of Agios Dimitrios for the future, an act that demonstrates the determination of the city ad￾ministration to collaborate for a sustainable and clean environment. 107 5. Designing artistic and cultural activities to develop the creative expression of residents Creative expression is a significant aspect of the cultural capital of Agios Dimitrios, and the planning of artistic and cultural activities to develop the creative expression of residents is an important means of engaging the community and promoting cultural diversity. Festivals and cultural events provide opportunities for community participation, showcasing local tal￾ents, and enhancing cultural exchange. With a combined approach to cultural promotion, sustainable environmental practices, and social human￾itarian engagement, Agios Dimitrios highlights its rich cultural heritage and promotes a more sustainable and prosperous community. It is worth noting that during the challenging period of the pandemic (2020–2021), the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios chose to implement ma￾jor cultural events, such as the ‘Autumn Celebrations’ city festival and the ‘Round Open-Air Film Festival,’ taking all necessary health protection measures to safeguard public health. This decision was conscious, con￾sidering that the Municipality felt the obligation to support and honor the artistic community, which was severely affected during the pandemic. In the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios, all cultural events are open to the public with free admission. However, solidarity is always at the core of the municipality’s cultural actions, and it gratefully welcomes the contribu￾tions of citizens in the form of non-perishable food, school supplies, and cleaning and personal hygiene items for the needs of the city’s Social Structures. For the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios, multifaceted community support is the only way to build sustainable and resilient cities. All cultural events during the 2020-2021 period provided tangible support to the artistic world but also created a chain of solidarity, starting from cul￾ture and extending to unwavering care for fellow citizens. 109 Indicative cultural and artistic actions for 2020-2021: ‘Autumn Celebrations’ City Festival - 2020 Even in the challenging conditions of the pandemic, the Organization of Culture, Sports, and Environment planned and organized the City Festival, taking care to implement all health protection measures based on the latest guidelines of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Culture, which governed events and festivals during that period nationwide. With concerts, theatrical performances, and shadow theater for children, in September 2020, the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios welcomed the new season with more optimism, supporting people in Culture and the Arts. 110 Autumn Celebrations’ City Festival - 2021 The artistic approach of the Organization of Culture, Sports, and Environ￾ment of the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios focused on high-level events for 2021 that, on the one hand, honored the 200 years since the Greek Revo￾lution and, on the other, appreciated the multifaceted expressions of the anniversary in a traditional and contemporary way. Traditional forms succeeded modern and young artists, shadow theater for children led to exceptional theatrical productions, while traditional music from all over Greece met artists such as Eleni Vitali and Eleftheria Arvanita￾ki. From the Pontians of the ‘Black Sea’ and the lyre players of Crete to the blues, funk, jazz, rock & hip-hop sounds of well-known contemporary artists originating from the city of Agios Dimitrios! 111 ‘1821: What Does It Mean to You?’ Theatrical Documentary The Theater Workshop of the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios, wanting to celebrate the 200 years since the revolution of 1821, prepared a theatrical documentary titled ‘1821: What Does It Mean to You?’ The action that took place on stage was based on the stimuli provided by the documentary, which consisted of interviews conducted by members of the theater work￾shop with 38 people of all ages.

115 The Municipality of Agios Dimitrios acknowledges that the transition to a modern, transparent, and human-centered municipality is an ongoing journey rather than a predefined project. This transition requires a commitment to change, particularly from the Municipal Authority, the involvement of stakeholders, especially municipal employees and citizens. However, it also demands continuous effort to ensure that the municipality meets the needs and vision for the future of its residents. In this context, the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios has set the following key steps and strategies to improve the quality of life of its residents on a daily basis: 1. New Technologies in the Digital Era: The Municipality of Agios Dimitrios leverages new digital technologies to enhance communication, transparency, and efficiency continually. Through digital platforms for citizen participation, such as online portals, mobile applications, and social media channels, the municipality aims to automate processes and streamline service delivery. 2. Open Data Initiatives: The municipality promotes transparency by implementing open data initiatives to make public information easily accessible. This includes publishing datasets, reports, budgets, and other relevant information online. 3. Citizen Participation Enhancement: The municipality organizes public consultations to gather input and comments on policies, projects, and initiatives. 116 4. Transparent Governance: The municipality establishes clear policies and practices that promote transparency and accountability through timely publication of minutes of meetings, daily agendas, and decisions. 5. User-Centric Services: The municipality prioritizes the needs and satisfaction of citizens in the design and provision of services. 6. Development of Partnerships: The Municipality of Agios Dimitrios develops partnerships with community organizations, NGOs, and businesses to address social issues, promote sustainable development, and leverage resources. It also encourages citizen participation in initiatives that enhance the well-being of the municipality. 7. Performance Measurement: The municipality has implemented performance measurements to assess its progress toward transparency and people-centricity. Through mechanisms, it regularly monitors and evaluates initiatives to identify areas for improvement and assesses the impact of implemented changes. 8. Continuous Improvement: The municipality has cultivated a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability. It seeks feedback from citizens and stakeholders, learns from best practices in other municipalities, and iterates existing processes to address evolving needs.

122 3. Continuous empowerment of municipal employees’ knowledge and skills through contemporary training and development programs A fundamental part of the Municipality’s vision for sustainable development is the operation of an organization where the employees constitute its strength and its most valuable asset, as stated in its operational plan. Good management is part of its strategy, and along with economic sustainability, it forms the foundation of the pillars of transparency and good governance. The Municipality places particular emphasis on cultivating harmonious relationships among its employees, fostering a safe working environment, and providing equal opportunities for training and development. However, the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios faces understaffing and significant shortages in scientific personnel, partly due to the prolonged economic crisis in the country. Without emergency hirings, both cleanliness and other frontline services would underperform, creating significant issues in the daily lives of citizens. As expected, the Municipality’s services were severely affected during the spread of the coronavirus. To address the urgent and temporary needs to curb the spread of the virus, the Municipality hired numerous employees on fixed-term contracts in various specialties. As a result, the number of municipal employees increased by 33% in 2020 and by 53% in 2021 compared to 2019 when there were no emergency conditions. During the coronavirus period, the health and safety of employees were a top priority for the administration. For this reason, many seminars and training sessions on ‘Work Safety and Proper Use of Personal Protective Equipment’ were conducted for all Municipality personnel, especially those on the front lines dealing with the consequences of the pandemic, ensuring the smooth operation of municipal services. In 2020, training was 123 provided to 40 individuals, and in 2021 to 29 individuals, a reduced number by 60% and 70%, respectively, compared to the number of employees who attended training in 2019. This reduction is evidently due to the restrictive measures of the pandemic. However, some employees of the Municipality participated in training provided by third-party entities. The following are indicative: • Scientific seminar on “Strategic Planning & Operational Programming in Local Government with a Vision for 2023,” 17/01/2020, Panhellenic Union of General Secretaries of Local Government - KLEISTHENIS, Athens. • Scientific Conference: Development Financing Policy & Financial Control in Local Government, Corinth, July 2-4, 2021.

129 The “Number of infrastructures that facilitate the movement of vulnerable road users” is assessing Agios Dimitrios’ commitment to road safety and inclusivity. A higher count of such infrastructures reflects the city’s dedication to improving accessibility for pedestrians, cyclists, and individuals with reduced mobility. Monitoring this indicator underscores the city’s goal of creating a safer and more equitable transportation environment. Number of infrastructures that facilitate the movement of vulnerable road users

129 Average sound pollution level dB(A) The “Average sound pollution level” is a critical indicator for measuring the quality of life in Agios Dimitrios. Lower sound pollution levels signify a quieter, healthier, and more livable urban environment. Monitoring this indicator reflects a city’s commitment to reducing noise-related health issues and promoting a serene atmosphere for its residents. A focus on minimizing sound pollution aligns with the broader goal of enhancing well-being, productivity, and overall urban sustainability.

130 The “Number of Blue Recycling Bins” is evaluating Agios Dimitrios’ infrastructure for sustainable waste management. A higher count of these bins signifies the city’s commitment to promoting recycling and waste reduction practices. Monitoring this indicator underscores the city’s dedication to providing convenient and accessible recycling options. Number of Blue Recycling Bins 07

131 The “Acres of green space per 1,000 inhabitants” is assessing Agios Dimitrios’ commitment to environmental sustainability and quality of life. A higher number of acres per capita signifies the city’s dedication to providing ample green spaces for residents to enjoy. Monitoring this indicator reflects the city’s focus on public well￾being, promoting physical and mental health, community engagement, and overall quality of life. It contributes to a more sustainable, attractive, and resilient city that prioritizes the natural environment and the well-being of its inhabitants. Green space per 1,000 inhabitants (acres)