Turku (Finland)

Turku, with its surrounding municipalities, is an energetic centre of growth in the Baltic Sea area. The versatile livelihood structure, top class selection of education, culture, and services, as well as the beautiful archipelago, form a magnetic combination. Turku is the oldest city in Finland, and the city recently launched a new Turku strategy2029 including the goal of Carbon Neutral Turku by 2040.  The Living Lab district Kupittaa (2.85km2) is located in the eastern part of the city center. It is one of Turku´s most rapidly developing brownfield areas. In addition to diverse types of housing, a university hospital, a train station and Finland’s largest urban park, the laboratory area also houses a Science Park and all the central campuses of the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, and soon the new campus of the Turku University of Applied Sciences. The laboratory area is connected to the spearhead projects of the city.

City area306,4 km2
Population187 000 (3/2017)
Population density764 inh/km2
ClimateHumid continental climate with severe winters and warm summers
Gender balance47,7 % male / 52,3 % female
Average life expectancy78,5 years (male) / 84 years (female)
Car ownership rate

409/1000 inhabitants (2016)

Total cars96 436
Companies

12000

Students 38000
Languages100
Marine industry30% of Finnish marine industry companies are based in the Turku Region

Modal Share

The Regional Transport System Plan 2035 covering the Turku region (Turku SUMP) aims to achieve a shift (from 52% to 66 % by 2030) towards the use of more sustainable modes of transport including public transport, walking and cycling in Turku and from 30-37% to 40% in other municipalities.

 

     Cycling (13%)

     Public transport (9%)

     Walking (30%)

     Cars (48%)

 

 

 

 

Challenges

Changes in the mobility pattern have not taken place.

There has not been enough sustainable measures implemented that would have had an impact on the modal share. More efforts are needed to enable the mobility patterns of the inhabitants to change.

There is no clear plan existing for improving cycling and walking.

A plan for cycling and a separate plan for walking needs to be approved, adequantly resourced and implemented. Without these the challenge 1 still remains.

Turku aims to be climate neutral by 2040 and this means also the mobility needs to be carbon neutral.

Carbon neutrality in mobility requires many measures together with different stakeholders. The city alone cannot achieve this and more focus needs to be put on enabling a larger movement towards carbon neutrality.

Turku region is growing and this increases car traffic, therefore congestion is expected to increase.

A new way of thinking mobility as a service is needed to make it possible for inhabitants to live without their own private cars. Measures to support this need to be integrated into the planning practices of the new housing and working areas.

Transport Infrastructure

Car network

Passenger car ownership: 471 cars per 1000 inhabitants (2014).

Cycling network

The total length of the cycling network in Turku was 368 km in year 2014.

Public transport network

In average every inhabitant in Turku travels only 109 journeys annually by public transport (2014). 

 

Turku after ECCENTRIC

 

In Living lab area “Kupittaa”:

  • A mobility point combining at least PT, shared bikes and cars.
  • Car sharing is a viable option for the companies and households in the area.
  • 20% citizens approving the mobility change: Awareness and satisfaction surveys.
  • 10% - 30% decrease of average speed in living lab after safety plans implementation.

 

At city level:

  • Mobility as a Service concept implemented in Turku at least, including the on-line and mobile service interfaces with 3 Maas operators functioning by then end of the project
  • A bike sharing system with 300 bikes is piloted in Turku.
  • Bicycle conditions are improved through piloted winter maintenance actions.
  • 13% reduction of private car km driven annually in Turku through the measures taken.
  • Development of a participation platform using ICT and social networks (mobile apps, social media) in Turku.

Projects

Mobility solutions

Resources

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