In 2016 the City of Turku starts four large spearhead projects that have been derived from the city strategy. The first of the spearhead projects to be given to the City Board for discussion is the Campus and Science Park. The other spearhead projects are the development of the city centre, the renewal of service guidance, and the digitizing of the city’s services.
All the central campuses of the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, and in the near future also the Turku University of Applied Sciences are located exceptionally close to each other and the city centre. Located in the same area are also the functions of Turku University Hospital as well as Turku Science Park as the most notable cluster of office complexes in the city.
The Campus and Science Park in Turku has been raised to the rank of spearhead project because exceptionally multidisciplinary strategic management and coordination is needed in comprehensive city development. The intention is especially to connect the development of the physical and functional environments. It is also important to link the worlds of higher education and business to the project.
The aim of the Campus and Science Park project is the high quality planning and implementation of land use, housing, construction, and traffic. A central element is the logistic accessibility of the area – especially the One Hour Train initiative with which the Campus and Science Park area will link strongly to the commuter belt of the metropolitan area. This will strengthen the growth of a magnetic city and urban environment as well as the development of the city’s service channels.
In search of exemplary performances and agility
The project seeks exemplary performances of partnership and doing together. The features that are emphasized are agility and a positive attitude towards experimenting. The spearhead initiative must be kept controllable in size and it must not be grown into a package that covers details and suppresses agility. The objectives are made concrete together with operators and stakeholders.
The success of the initiative is measured with the investments on the area, development of business, new vacancies, and the national and international recognition of the area brand. The project manager of the spearhead project is the Director of City Planning, Timo Hintsanen, and the party responsible for the initiative is the City Development Group of the City of Turku.