City Introduction & Context

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1 City Introduction & Context Give an overview of the city and a general background to the application, including examples of social and economic sustainability in the city. Discuss positive and negative factors that have influenced the quality of the environment within the city and its surrounding area. Provide a description of the key environmental challenges which the city faces including historical, geographical and/or socio-economic factors which have influenced the cities development. The city's infrastructure plan should be briefly explained. Applicants are advised to include any former or outstanding environmental legal proceedings in this section. Please also complete the following table: Indicator Units Year of data Population 438,569 Inhabitants 2015 Area Km Population Density 2753 Inh/km GDP 22,832.9 /Capita 2013 Köppen climate classification Dfb (humid continental climate with cool summers) (max words & 5 graphics, images or tables) Tallinn is the largest city in Estonia and has a long and colourful history. When Estonia regained its independence in 1991, it brought about huge changes in society which have had a strong impact on the appearance of the city and considerably improved its environmental status. Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and a centre of maritime, air, rail and road transport due to its geographic location. The maritime border of Tallinn is only a little shorter (46 km) than its land border (59 km). The sea has influenced the development and natural environment of Tallinn. The Hanseatic town of Tallinn, which developed trade in a strategically important location, received its town bylaws in As a pearl of medieval architecture, the Old Town of Tallinn has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since The network of parks established in the bastion zone surrounding the Old Town is unique from the viewpoint of the city s development. At present, Tallinn has 90 m 2 of public green urban areas and 207 m 2 of areas covered in vegetation per capita.

2 Figure 1. Tallinn Old Town surrounded by the bastion zone with parks The most remarkable natural landform is the Northern Estonian limestone coast or klint, whose highest point within the borders of Tallinn is 48 m, with a relative height of 30 m. In addition to the protected Maarjamäe limestone coast, there are several types of protected natural features in Tallinn, such as the ancient valley of Pirita river, the Tondiraba meteorite impression, Kadriorg Park, Pääsküla bog, the island of Aegna and many more. Protected areas comprise 13.8% of the territory of Tallinn. Sites belonging to the pan-european Natura 2000 network cover 8.2% of the city s territory. Figure 2. Pääsküla bog local conservation area 273 hectares large whole green area which is valuable for its diverse landscape and several protected species; the bog is also valuable in terms of recreation and nature education Mass construction of residential buildings in Tallinn started in the 1960s and lasted until the mid-1980s. This was also when the public transport network which uses four types of vehicles (bus, tram, trolleybus, train) developed in the city. There was another boom in construction activities in the second half of the 1990s, which was driven by Estonia regaining its independence in 1991, as there were massive changes in other fields in Tallinn. Today, municipal land comprises less than a third of land ownership (31.1%) and the majority of it is under roads and social infrastructure. The majority of residential premises are also in private ownership (97.07%). This sets significant limits on the planning

3 of land use, which makes Tallinn different from many other European cities. Figure 3. Väike-Õismäe residential district; the territory of Tallinn Zoo is on the right and the green urban areas of the Estonian Open Air Museum at Rocca al Mare and Õismäe bog can be seen above left Trends similar to those occurring in other cities a sudden increase in the number of cars; construction of high-rise buildings in the city centre; urban sprawl have increased the need for mobility, caused a shortage of parking spaces in the city centre and reduced the number of public transport users in Tallinn. The increase in the number of vehicles has created several problems, because the majority of atmospheric emissions in Tallinn are generated by traffic. Public transport lanes and a priority system have been introduced to promote public transport, and travelling on public transport has been free of charge for Tallinn residents since As almost one-third of Estonia s population lives in Tallinn and the city s GDP covers almost half (49-50%) of the GDP of the country, the use of the environment in the city is extensive. Tallinn dominates Estonia for its commuting volumes. According to data for 2013, 79,000 people travel to Tallinn every day for work, studies or other everyday activities, while 41,000 people travel out of the city for the same purposes. The location of Tallinn in the catchment area of water bodies means that its impact on them is huge. For example, this impact must be taken into account with beaches, where streams, ditches and rainwater outlets run into the sea. In 2015, two beaches in Tallinn were awarded the Blue Flag ecolabel: Pikakari and Pirita.

4 Figure 4. Paljassaare special conservation area is rich in breeding and migratory birds and belongs to the Nature 2000 network, is located on Paljassaare Peninsula; Pikakari beach can be seen in the foreground and Paljassaare wastewater treatment plant is above left Tallinn had developed into an industrial city by the early 20 th century. Significant air polluters and water users such as a cellulose and paper factory, the phosphorite industry, industrial boiler houses and plants in the city centre ended their production activities in the early 1990s. This considerably decreased the part played by large industrial enterprises in generating air pollution and water consumption. Not all of the wastewater generated at the time was treated, because of a lack of sewerage networks: ca 20% of the territory of Tallinn was still not canalised in the late 1990s. At present, 100% of the wastewater generated in Tallinn is treated and the indicators of treated water comply with all requirements. The city s water requirements are mostly met by surface water: 88% is taken from Lake Ülemiste through a water treatment plant and 12% from ground water. Lake Ülemiste (9.8 km²) is the biggest inland body of water in Tallinn. Human and development activities, road construction and the use of the airport have increased in recent years alongside the lake with the growth of the city, which has increased environmental risks in respect of drinking water, but the quality of the water remains high. Total water consumption is l per capita per year.

5 Figure 5. Tallinn is located between the sea and Lake Ülemiste Positive developments have also occurred in the heating industry. Coal and heavy fuel oil (mazut) comprised a large share of burnt fuels in the early 1990s, but a transition to natural gas started in the mid-1990s, which reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Tallinn now focuses on renewable fuel. New combined heat and power plants that burn wood chip and waste have been established in place of old boiler houses and have been connected to the citywide district heating network. Separate collection of waste started in Tallinn with a test programme in The quantity of separately collected waste will exceed the quantity of mixed municipal waste by 2015, over two-thirds of generated waste will be recovered and only an estimated 10% of waste will be deposited in landfills. The former Pääsküla landfill, which was a threat to the environment and where waste from Tallinn had been deposited since 1972, was closed in Although there is no longer any major industry in Tallinn, the city is open to enterprise. As at 1 April 2015, there were companies per 100 residents in Tallinn. In the rankings prepared by the fdi magazine European Cities and Regions of the Future 2014/2015, Tallinn is ranked third among midsized cities in the cost-effectiveness category and fifth in terms of business friendliness. Tehnopol Science and Business Park (which houses start-ups and growing technology companies) and Ülemiste City (which is developed according to smart city principles) were established to bring knowledge and enterprise closer together. The e-services which residents can use without the need for paper and which are easily accessible via the city s website or registers are well developed in Tallinn. The documents circulating in the city s departments and the city s legal acts are also processed without using paper. The majority of the communication between the city s departments as well as external communication with state authorities agencies, companies and other organisations is also largely electronic. Tallinn offers free Wi-Fi in 40 public coverage areas in all city districts. The City of Tallinn is managed by the City Council and the City Government. The citizens of Tallinn

6 elect the Tallinn City Council for four years. Tallinn has eight districts, which in turn consist of subdistricts. Active non-governmental neighbourhood associations operate in many of these subdistricts to help improve the quality of life there. In 2014, Tallinn was a member of 14 international organisations and contact networks, including the Hanseatic movement, the Union of Baltic Cities, EUROCITIES (the network of major European cities), INTA (the International Urban Development Association), the Baltic Metropoles Network and POLIS (European Cities and Regions Networking for Innovative Solutions). Tallinn is also a university city and a city of culture. In 2011 Tallinn was the European Capital of Culture alongside Turku in Finland. In 2006, then Mayor of Tallinn Jüri Ratas initiated the idea of the European Green Capital. Tallinn is also an attractive tourism destination, with more than three million foreign visitors annually. Tallinn is the third cruise harbour (with about half a million cruise tourists each year) by the Baltic Sea after Copenhagen and St. Petersburg. As a maritime city, Tallinn has turned a lot of attention to opening the city up to the sea and rediscovering its identity as a coastal city. In recent years, many opportunities have been created for people to spend time by the sea. Tallinn Maritime Days are organised every year, and the city participates in international Baltic Sea projects was the joint Gulf of Finland year of Estonia, Finland and Russia, and Tallinn participated actively in celebrating this with environmental education and information activities. The rediscovery of our maritime identity is ongoing. The redevelopment of coastal areas that were closed and prohibited zones during the Soviet era as valuable living and recreational areas continues and will remain an inspiring challenge for Tallinn for a long time to come. References: Tallinn Facts and Figures, Annual Report of Tallinn _A4_spread_web2.pdf Environment of Tallinn Tallinn Environment Department 2000.