The last citywide plan was completed in 2001, but for the following 25 years, urban planning in Tallinn has been conducted by district.The only exceptions are Põhja-Tallinn and Kesklinn.

Tallinn's chief architect Andro Mänd said the plan for Põhja-Tallinn is in its final stage and should be implemented this year, whereas progress with Kesklinn has not gone as smoothly.

"In fact, work on the Kesklinn comprehensive plan also began a few years ago, but since Kesklinn is very closely connected to practically all other districts, addressing issues in Kesklinn also required addressing issues in neighboring districts," he said.

Mänd said this is what gave rise to the idea of a new citywide plan.

The new plan will focus more broadly on Tallinn's urban space, for example, including transport networks, educational institution networks, and district centers.

"Tallinn is rather a monocentric city, and we see that we need to empower and strengthen district centers precisely through urban planning, in terms of density and services," said the capital city's chief architect.

The new plan also places significant emphasis on the economy.

"We see that a great deal of production has moved out of the city, often to our neighboring municipalities, not even somewhere in China or Southeast Asia, and this has led to a situation where thousands of Tallinn residents have to commute out of the city every morning to go to work," Mänd explained.

Everyone has to give something up

Although urban planning became a highly politicized issue during the previous city government, Mänd said there is no need to overly fear that the same will happen with the new comprehensive plan.

He said the framework document includes discussion, and the law also requires taking different viewpoints into account. This means that political actors, experts, interest groups, and local residents can all have their say.

Mänd said a comprehensive plan is, in other words, a social agreement.

"All comprehensive plans are a joint agreement between parties — everyone has to give something up; that is what a social agreement is," he added.

The goal is to complete the new Tallinn comprehensive plan within the current electoral cycle by 2029.

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