Caption: In recent years, Järvenpää has systematically invested in the future by investing several hundred million euros in housing, various types of office space and industrial sites. This has increased the attractiveness of the city and the number of residents and businesses has grown every year," say Harri Palviainen (left) and Marko Lehenberg.
Järvenpää has it: living in a garden city on the shores of a lake, yet all the services of an urban city are no more than 15 minutes away. Many people have already noticed this, as Järvenpää is the sixth most migrated town in Finland.
One of Järvenpää's main advantages is its location: the lakeside town is half an hour from the centre of Helsinki and has fast train and motorway connections to Lahti, Hämeenlinna and Espoo. There are four train stations in the city.
- We are in the middle of a metropolitan area of 900 000 working people, but as a city outside Ring III we can offer excellent value for money for both housing and business. Our growing and rapidly developing city, now with 45 000 inhabitants, is therefore uniquely attractive," says Harri Palviainen, Director of Urban Development.
Every year, 500-1000 new homes are built in Järvenpää and 300 new businesses are started. Its six industrial zones are home to both large international companies and small entrepreneurs. The city's more than 3,000 companies employ many residents of Järvenpää and the surrounding area. Fast transport connections also make it easy to live in Järvenpää and work in nearby towns and cities. In addition to Keuda in Järvenpää, the capital region's universities and vocational trainers, all less than 30 minutes away, provide a skilled workforce.
A pioneer in planning
Järvenpää has received a lot of praise from companies for its flexible cooperation. The city uses partner zoning in particular to plan business areas.
- The aim is to ensure that the interests of the city and the company meet, so that things run smoothly. We want to be agile in developing land use planning that serves the business needs of companies. For example, the newest 24-hectare business park, Svengi, is located just 500 metres from Haarajoki train station, with direct access to the motorway. There, too, the plan can be further refined through partner planning, explains Marko Lehenberg, Director of Vitality.
"People-friendliness and urbanity meet in Järvenpää".
Järvenpää's pioneering approach to town planning has attracted several high-employment companies to the city in recent years, including Lidl's distribution centre, Motonet and Gigantti. Industry, construction and service sectors are also highly visible in Järvenpää's entrepreneurial business structure.
Finland's lowest carbon city
According to data published by the Finnish Environment Institute, Järvenpää has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions of any city in Finland.
- You can live here in good spirits and make the most of both the nearby nature and our extensive and historically strong cultural services. The Järvenpää House and the new 3,200-seat Aino Arena host a wide variety of cultural and sports events throughout the year," says Palviainen.
Text by Maija-Liisa Germany
The article was published in Helsingin Sanomat's Suunnannäyttäjät supplement 8.5.2022