The darkening of the center | The movement of people in the center of Helsinki collapsed

The movement of people in the center of Helsinki has collapsed. There has been no return to the center since the corona pandemic.

Helsinki there are clearly fewer people moving in the center now than before the corona pandemic in 2019.

The matter is clear from the statistics compiled from the mobile phone data of the telecom operator Telia.

Telia compiled statistics from mobile phone data for Helsingin Sanomat about the average daily number of visits in the center of Helsinki every month.

The number of visits has been calculated in the center of Helsinki in a rectangular area, the western border of which is at the Kamppi metro station, the eastern border of the Cathedral, the southern border of Kasarmitori and the northern border of the House of Parliament.

A visit occurs when you spend at least 20 minutes in the area delay. One mobile phone subscription can make several visits to the area during the day, if the visits are separate and last at least 20 minutes. At that time, the holder of the subscription can therefore come to the city center, sometimes go outside the city center and come back to the city center during the day.

It is not possible to identify the movements of an individual connection from the statistics.

The number of visits tell in no uncertain terms how the center of Helsinki has quieted down compared to the time before the corona pandemic.

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For example, in September 2019, the center had an average of 202,400 visits per day. During the exceptional conditions caused by the corona pandemic in September 2020, the number was 121,700 and 115,300 in September 2021. When the corona pandemic eased in September of this year, the number was 124,900.

The number of visits in the center of Helsinki in September this year was almost 40 percent lower than the corresponding number before the corona pandemic in September 2019.

“The fundamental explanation for the fact that the number of visits to the center has decreased is probably that remote work is still common. When you don’t go to work in the city center, there are no business trips to the city center either,” head of Telia’s data unit Tapio Alvä evaluate.

“Making purchases more and more online and in shopping centers outside the city center must also have contributed to the fact that the number of visits to the city center has decreased.”

Also the number of foreign tourists decreased to a minimum in the center of Helsinki after the start of the corona pandemic. It is not possible to directly conclude from Telia’s statistics how the number of foreign tourists has increased when the corona pandemic eased, because the data only includes Finnish connections.

Telia’s statistics, on the other hand, indicate that the occupancy rate of hotels in the city center is now lower than before the corona pandemic.

“It appears from mobile phone data that the number of overnight stays in the city center area has decreased now compared to the time before the corona virus.”

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The number of visits to the city center has therefore clearly decreased compared to the time before the corona virus. Levä says that it is still too early to assess whether the phenomenon will be permanent.

“This year, after the summer holidays, a hybrid model was created in many workplaces, where remote work and close work vary. The model is now being tested. The future will show how work practices will be organized.”

Helsinki the city has contributed to thinking about how to increase the attractiveness of the city center.

“Big events draw people to the city center. For example, the opening of Aleksanterinkatu Joulekatu brought in around 35,000 people this year, according to our information”, development manager of the City of Helsinki’s economic department Minna Marttola says.

“Everything that increases and diversifies the experience increases the appeal of the city center. It must also be recognized that people visit the center for different reasons at different times.”

Although the center is quieter than before, big events still draw people to the center. Photo from the opening of this year’s Christmas street on Aleksanterinkatu on November 19.

In Maarttola’s opinion, the city can contribute to the increase in experientiality with its actions.

“In practice, this means, for example, that we cooperate and listen to operators in the downtown areas.”

Concretely, the experiential nature of the city center could become more diverse if it were perceived to be easier to organize events. The city is planning measures to make organizing them easier.

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“At the moment, if the event lasts more than two weeks, a permit must be applied for from the building control. The city is renewing the building order. If the reform is carried out as planned, in the future the event could be organized without a permit if the event lasts no more than two months.”

City has also thought about how the downtown pedestrian areas could be developed to increase their appeal. One development target is the eradication of unauthorized parking from pedestrian streets.

For example, there are many cars on the sidewalk of Aleksanterinkatu even after the time allowed for maintenance has ended.

“We have received feedback from street level operators in the area that cars parked on the streets are not a good thing from the point of view of shops or restaurants. In the spring of next year, we are going to carry out power monitoring of the service drive in order to get rid of unauthorized service drives.”

Read more: Customers flock to giant shopping centers: The vitality of shopping centers can be seen in the numbers

Read more: Entrepreneurs in the core center feel the waning vitality: “Only residents move on the street”

Read more: Recent figures reveal the plight of central Helsinki: More than 15 percent of premises are empty

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