Moving to a surrounding municipality considered to an increasing extent by people living in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa

Sipoo would be the most popular choice for Helsinki residents, whereas Kirkkonummi would be the most popular choice among Espoo residents and Tuusula or Kerava among the residents of Vantaa.

The willingness of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa residents to move to the surrounding municipalities has increased during 2021.

This result is from the Sustainable Urban Environments barometer*, which is a survey among more than 1,000 Finnish city dwellers commissioned by YIT and conducted by Prior Konsultointi in September 2021.

The barometer survey was aimed at revealing the types of urban environments Finns would like to see developed. The participating city dwellers express their views on various themes, such as home, work and urban environment and transport. The barometer was conducted for the fourth time this year. In part, the results are compared to those of the previous surveys.

A total of 36% of the respondents (n=571) have considered moving to a surrounding municipality during 2021. Last year, the corresponding figure (n=574) was 27%. The willingness to move has thus increased by almost 10%.

“This development is understandable, as the COVID-19 pandemic and increased remote work have increased interest in larger apartments and more spacious living environments. In the surrounding municipalities, apartments are also more affordable than in the large cities of the Helsinki metropolitan area. From the point of view of sustainability, it is good that even in the surrounding municipalities, such as Järvenpää, efforts are currently being made to avoid the fragmentation of the urban structure,” says Juha Kostiainen, Senior Vice President, Sustainable Urban Development at YIT.

According to the barometer, the willingness to move is particularly high among people with high incomes, families with children, dog owners and Vantaa residents.

Vantaa residents’ willingness to move has increased by as much as 24 percentage points from last year.
In 2020, 21% of Vantaa residents (n=107) said they had considered moving. This year, the figure had increased to 45% (n=120).

Espoo residents’ willingness to move has increased by 10 percentage points. In 2020, the percentage of those willing to move was 28 (n=111) and this year it was 38 (n=135).

Helsinki residents’ willingness to move had risen, too, but only slightly. In 2020, the figure was 28% (n=356) and this year, it was 32% (n=316).

The most popular municipalities surrounding major urban areas are Kirkkonummi, Tuusula, Porvoo, Sipoo and Järvenpää. Sipoo would be the most popular choice for Helsinki residents, whereas Kirkkonummi would be the most popular choice among Espoo residents and Tuusula or Kerava among the residents of Vantaa.

Read more:
Concern over climate change has increased among young people

For further information, please contact:
Juha Kostiainen, Senior Vice President, Sustainable Urban Development, YIT Corporation, tel. +358 (0)40 072 1475, juha.kostiainen@yit.fi 
Hanna Malmivaara, SVP, Communications, YIT Corporation, tel. +358 40 561 6568, hanna.malmivaara@yit.fi 

Sustainable Urban Environments 2021
*The Sustainable Urban Environments barometer was being conducted for the fourth time this year. The survey is targeted at the residents of eight cities: Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä and Kuopio. The data was collected by an online panel on 15–23 September 2021. There were 1,005 respondents. The sample is representative of the 18–75-year-old population of the participating cities in terms of the respondents’ age and gender as well as the size of each city.

YIT is the largest Finnish and a significant North European development and construction company with a strong customer focus and clear mission to create better living environments. We develop and build functional homes for sustainable living, future-proof public and commercial buildings and infrastructure for smoother flow of people, businesses and society. We employ 7,400 professionals in ten countries: Finland, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. Our revenue in 2020 was EUR 3.1 billion. YIT Corporation’s share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. www.yitgroup.com