Sustainable urban mobility in Turku
During the 2030’s, the City of Turku aims for a totally carbon neutral transport system that increases the well-being and health of residents and enables safe traveling for all groups. Furthering sustainable mobility also promotes the city’s liveliness and attractiveness.
With over 200 000 residents, Turku is the sixth largest municipality and third largest city region in Finland, so mobility and transportation are remarkable phenomena with all their diversity. Turku and its core city region are growing strongly.
Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) guides the promotion of sustainable urban mobility. The goal of the plan is that Turku’s transport system and service network will attract everyone to move safely, healthy and sustainably by 2030. The goal is that 66 % of travels are made with sustainable traveling modes like walking, cycling, or public transport.
Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (in Finnish)
Sustainable urban logistics
Urban logistics are also to be developed with new models to control traffic emissions as part of Turku’s carbon neutral goals. The continuous growth of online stores and platform economies and the increase of package and courier deliveries demand from the city actions, that control and organise the freight transport in the city centre as smoothly as possible.
Urban logistics is guided by Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan (SULP).
Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan (in Finnish, updated 18.11.2025)
Read more about urban logistics (in Finnish)
Developing cycling in Turku
Turku’s size and city structure is ideal, as over 90 % of residents live within a 30-minute cycling trip away from Turku Market Square.
Turku’s cycling development plan for 2029 supports the city’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2029. Growing cycling and walking by 2 % yearly and the improvement of traffic safety are at the core of the programme. Cycling is seen not only as an environment friendly, but as a healthy mode of transport, that also enlivens the city.
The goals are being pursued by developing a comprehensive and high-quality cycling network. The improvement of fluency and safety of passages, separation of walkways and cycling and planning of safe intersection arrangements are crucial measures. Winter maintenance will be optimised and cycling conditions will also be improved by paving. There will also be investments in bike parking, city bike system and services for cyclists like maintenance points and signs.
The programme defines 10 core measures that will be implemented in the next five years. These include among others:
- unification of network
- improvement of quality passages
- optimisation of winter maintenance
- development of bike parking
- establishing the city bikes (föllärit)
Development programme of Turku’s cycling 2029 (in Finnish)
Tracking and evaluating cycling
The experiences and opinions of residents are followed regularly. Cycling barometer examines the residents’ attitudes towards the promotion of cycling and the opinions of the residents who cycle on cycling conditions and the quality of cycling in Turku. The results are utilised in the development work for cycling.
Cycling barometers (in Finnish)
Development of walking and spending time
Turku’s vision for 2029 is an urban space, that is functioning, safe, attractive and comfortable for all and planned with the conditions of walking and spending time. The promotion of walking as a mode of mobility decreases traffic’s climate and environment effects because walking is a sustainable, noiseless and exhaustless mode of transport.
Residents are encouraged to use urban space actively and diversely. Turku’s programme for walking and spending time defines the city’s goals for the development of walking and spending time for the year 2029. The programme aims to reduce hindrances for walking and spending time.
The programme has three goals:
- Planning that considers walking and spending time
- Comfortable and safe passages year round
- A culture that encourages walking and spending time
The development programme has defined 11 measures that promote walking and spending time. These include among others the improvement of winter conditions in regard of walking and spending time, increasing greenery in areas and the improvement of pedestrian crossing’s safety and accessibility.
Development work is based on vast cooperation between the entire city organisation, residents, companies and organisations. The promotion of walking and spending time is monitored using traffic counters and barometers, among other things.
Find out more about developing traffic and mobility in Turku
The City of Turku develops solutions for sustainable mobility. A sustainable mobility system consists of multiple different solutions that support each other. These are for example developing electrical traffic, digital solutions, shared-use vehicles, promoting cycling and mobility as a service operating model.
Turku’s traffic podcast produced by the city of Turku leads the listener to the diverse world of city traffic and mobility. The podcast introduces the City of Turku’s current mobility projects and electrical traffic.
The City of Turku has produced a wide range of publications related to sustainable mobility.
City of Turku has actively participated in national and international projects with the goal of developing a more sustainable, smarter and more vibrant city. The projects offer the opportunity to try out new solutions, strengthen cooperation with stakeholders and bring international competence into local development.
Mobility projects (in Finnish)Mobility projects (in Finnish)
City of Turku actively communicates about sustainable urban mobility and encourages residents to move by sustainable modes of transportation. The city also participates yearly in the European mobility week, which is the European commission’s most important campaign to promote sustainable mobility.