Socio-economic development of a metropolis and its statistical service Policy-making advancing the metropolitan region and requested information support Case: The Helsinki Region in Finland

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Socio-economic development of a metropolis and
its statistical servicePolicy-making advancing
the metropolitan region and requested information
supportCase The Helsinki Region in Finland

• International Forum on Metropolitan Statistics
  Beijing 2008
• Information Manager Leila Lankinen,
• City of Helsinki Urban Facts

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Content

• Introduction
• Joining forces and new voluntary co-operation in
  the Helsinki Region
• National Level Urban Policy and Metropolitan
  Policy
• Advancing the Helsinki Metropolitan Region
  requests urban research, urban statistics and
  proactive information support
• What are the information needs of metropolitan
  policy?

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Key features for Helsinki region

• Population 2008
• 1.3 million 25 percent of the whole country
• Prognoses for 2020 1.5 million
• Jobs and enterprises 2005
• 670 000 jobs 29 percent of the whole country
• Employment rate 75 percent
• Gross domestic product 2006
• GVA per capita 42 500 euros in Helsinki region,
  30000 in Finland
• Investments in research and development 2006
• RD investments 4.3 of GVA in Helsinki region,
  3.4 in Finland
• 41 of the whole country
• Students and schools
• 10 polytechnics and 4 universities about 100
  000 students
• People with foreign background 6 percent

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Urbanization and Metropolitan Policy

• Late urbanization and industrialization
• Competitive region needs critical mass
• Helsinki region grew as a consequence of domestic
  and international migration
• Metropolitan policy starts as voluntary
  co-operation
• City majors central role
• Shared view of regions challenges and shared
  goal to promote areas development
• Helsinki Metropolitan Area Advisory board
• 4 municipalities
• Helsinki Region Co-operation Assembly year 2005
• 14 municipalities
• Co-operation with Finnish state

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Common vision
The Helsinki Metropolitan Area is a dynamic
world-class centre for business and
innovation. Its high quality services, arts,
creativity and adaptability promote the
prosperity of its citizens and bring benefits to
all of Finland. The Metropolitan Area is being
developed as a unified region close to nature
where it is good to live, learn, work and do
business.
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Strategic Goals and strategies

• Joint measures
• to develop
• welfare and services

Developing the urban structure and housing

• Improving
• competitiveness

• Innovation strategy
• Regional business development
• International business marketing
• Availability of skilled workforce

• Joint strategy for welfare services and
  developing service processes
• Steering joint service organizations

• Joint land-use strategy
• Efficient transport system
• Accountability in housing policies

SHARED PRINCIPLES SUPPORTING STRATEGIES
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National level urbanpolicy

• Polycentric development Metropolisation
• In the 1990s the idea of cities as engines
  of growth became a guiding principle in urban
  policy
• Comparatively strong social cohesion
• Opportunity oriented urban policy
• Polycentric approach and succeeding regional
  centres
• Innovation creation a strong emphasis
• Efficient mutual co-operation between RD
  institutions, companies and public actors

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Urban development policy is guidelined by

• Government Programme (2007)
• Major cities, metropolitan region
• Decision on regional development targets (2007)
• Policy for major urban regions
• Not legally binding policy document
• Latest development in the Finnish innovation
  scene
• Ministry of Employment and the Economy merges
  together three departments relevant to innovation
• A renewed Centres of Expertise Programme has been
  started
• National Innovation Strategy
• Innovation university in the Helsinki
  metropolitan area

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Four main strategic targets for the policy in the
metropolitan region

• Improving land use, housing and traffic
• Advance international competitiveness
• Advance multiculturalism, immigration and
  bilingualism
• Advance social cohesion
• Co-operation and networking
• Cities, universities and polytechnics, central
  government
• Joint agreement
• A research programme with a set of support actions

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Information needs urban research a driving
force of the metropolitan region

• The international competitiveness
• to understand the state of metropolis
• defining of the concept to be able to measure
  metropolis achievements
• from European comparisons to global level
• Measuring social cohesion
• long regional traditions and good level of
  statistics and study results
• no harmonized data for international comparisons
• perceptions of well being

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• Culture and multiculturalism
• two official languages
• increasing multiculturalism in metropolitan
  region
• cultural offerings regions attraction
• Information on land use, housing and energy
• climate change
• the transformation of urban structure
• GIS
• Challenges
• up-to-date information analyses
• present state and future perspectives
• diversity

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• The Greater Helsinki Vision 2050
• International Ideas Competition started year 2007
• Open international planning competition
• Winners
• Emerald
• Boundary Strips
• Towads City
• Holistic Uniqueness
• All prized entries are available for commenting
  and re-developing http//www.greaterhelsinkivisio
  n.fi/
• Residents of the regions 14 municipalities have
  an unique opportunity to contribute to the
  development of their own living area. The
  comments will be included in the process, in
  which a new vision is created.

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Thank you for your attention!