Turku today and in the future

Turku, Finland’s oldest and first city, has grown throughout its history. In 2029, the city will celebrate its 800th anniversary. Today, Turku is a city of 210,000 residents, where the past, present and future coexist.  

By most key indicators, Turku and the Turku region rank among the leading cities and regions. Turku’s strengths are its history, culture, education and learning, bilingualism, the sea, climate and nature work, international outlook and strong identity. 

Studies also show that the majority of Turku residents are doing well. Most are satisfied with their lives and their residential area. Cultural and sports services, in particular, receive positive feedback. 

Turku is also a place that evokes emotions. Today, a place does not truly exist unless it evokes emotions. Turku’s superpowers are Turku itself and being from Turku.

Turku residents describe their home city as beautiful, growing, historic, cosy, pleasant, vibrant, compact and welcoming. Every one of these words is a declaration of love for Turku.  

Turku is growing, becoming more international and increasingly multilingual at a record pace. Turku attracts people from Finland and around the world. People do not end up in Turku – they want to come here. 

Every new and long-standing Turku resident is part of Turku’s Growth Story. 

 

A successful city needs both hard and soft power. Growing population and service needs require both “hard and soft” investments now and in the future. 

Hard investments relate to urban development, land use, transport and mobility. Soft investments support the smooth running of Turku residents’ daily lives and everyday services, such as education and learning, day-care centres, sports facilities, employment services, culture, libraries and events. Sustainability criteria are applied to investments. 

Turku’s growth opens up new opportunities, but it also brings new kinds of challenges for residents, nature and the economy. In the short term, growth increases financial pressures and indebtedness. This, too, is characteristic of a growing city. 

The year 2029 will mark Turku’s 800th anniversary. The anniversary year will highlight Turku’s position as a pioneer in culture, education, learning and sustainable development.

 

By 2040, Turku will be known as a pioneer in sustainable development and one of the world’s leading cities in climate and nature action, having achieved its ambitious climate and sustainability targets.  

By 2040, Turku will be a more regionally and socially cohesive city than it is today, with smaller differences between residential areas and wellbeing distributed more evenly across the city. In Finnish urban policy, the city will be recognised as a good example of a large city that has successfully reduced harmful residential segregation through collaborative efforts.

According to different scenarios, Turku’s population is expected to grow by several tens of thousands and the number of jobs by approximately 20,000 by the 2040s. 

Turku is itself a driver of growth, while also forming part of Finland’s growth corridor. It is a key hub in Western Finland and, of all Finnish cities, reaches furthest towards the West as a gateway. The Swedish language and connections with Sweden and the rest of Northern Europe are among the keys to this gateway.

Turku’s operating environment is changing rapidly and, in part, unpredictably. By 2040, Turku must prepare for, among other things, growing population and service needs, increasing diversity, risks of segregation, rapid changes in working life and skills needs, intensifying competition for talent and investment, and the impacts of climate change and the deterioration of the natural environment on the urban structure and everyday life. 

As its operating environment changes, Turku must be a city that makes conscious choices rather than merely reacting to change. Turku’s future success will depend on whether the city succeeds in translating growth, wellbeing and sustainability into practical action. Changes in geopolitics and geoeconomics further emphasise the importance of preparedness and comprehensive security in everything the city does.