Urban Planning | More homes for thousands in Viikki, the design is based on the ideal of a “guardian city”.

So the invited central-Viiki plan frame will be discussed by politicians on Tuesday at the Helsinki Urban Environment Board.

The goal of the master plan is to develop the areas of Viikki Science Park and the southern part of Latokartano so that Viikki’s currently quite separate sub-areas become a unified district.

In the north, the border of the area runs at Lahdenväylä, and in the south, the fields of the research farm of the University of Helsinki.

The master plan area is to be sized so that apartments can be built there for approximately 7,000 residents. There are currently around 1,000 inhabitants in the Viikki area, 9,000 in Latokartano.

Land will also be reserved for the university’s expansion and business premises.

The pattern frame the spine is described as a “functionally active network of walking connections”. The example of the area is the “15-minute city”, where all the essential services for everyday life are a quarter of a mile away on foot or by bike from home.

The new light rail line 15 runs through the area, and Viima light rail from Viiki to Malmi is also planned there.

Viima was taken into account, among other things, in the city’s budget negotiations held in October. It is the biggest public transport project in Helsinki in the coming decade.

A big change in the cityscape is also the transformation of the so-called “Viikin straight” into “Viikin bend”, when part of Viikintie is re-aligned.

Changing the stretch of road from a country road to a city-like street curbs driving speeds and changes driving behavior, the outline of the scheme states.

As affairs stand a large part of the planning area is arable land and experimental cultivation area. In addition to that, the area has, among other things, university facilities as well as various research and business facilities.

Part of the area is also a valuable bird area. The fields in the southern part also have important frog and reptile sites, but no major changes are planned for these areas.

Tuesday the master plan to be discussed is only an indicative plan for land use, which describes the city’s goals for the area and discusses the main features of the transport network.

The plan framework serves as a basis for future plans for the area and changes to old plans. According to the city’s estimate, it will take up to 15 years to renew the area.