Professor Rajaniemi proposes alternatives to land reclamation in Tampere’s water bodies

Tampere University’s urban planning professor, Juho Rajaniemi, suggests that there are alternatives to land reclamation in water bodies, which has become a common practice in many Finnish cities. In Tampere, significant projects have seen millions of cubic meters of material added to lakes in recent years, with the next planned filling set for the Viinikanlahti area of Pyhäjärvi. Despite efforts to mitigate environmental risks in water permit decisions, filling land always impacts lake ecosystems, potentially altering water flows and causing sedimentation.

Rajaniemi believes that the artificial island created in southern Näsijärvi in 2022 was not the best choice. He would have preferred plans for a tram route along the Pispalan highway, which he argues would serve the current population better and be more technically feasible. He acknowledges that financial considerations played a key role in selecting Näsisaari, as the city needed to show substantial new construction along the tram line to secure state funding.

One alternative, he suggests, is to develop existing areas more intensively, although he opposes construction on green spaces in Tampere’s city center, emphasizing their importance for people and nature. He views the Viinikanlahti waterfront project as sensible, given that most of the filling area will become a recreational space. If approved, filling could begin as early as 2025.

Rajaniemi also points to increasing building heights in apartment developments as another option, as seen in Helsinki and Tampere. Furthermore, he believes that not all construction should concentrate in the Tampere city center but rather throughout the urban region, including exploring potential sites for residential communities near the Tampere-Helsinki railway line, thus promoting better accessibility.