Jobs and housing in the green areas of Kauppi Medi-Park

The planned national urban park is located north of the area. The plan area is mainly a previously planned business and park area, with an unplanned area about 240 metres wide in the middle. The planning area includes felled forests, patchy mixed forest, small-scale wetlands and forest patterns of different ages. The 38.5-hectare area will also have sheltered housing, sports facilities and commercial services in the vicinity of the new tramway stop.

The extensive recreational and nature areas of about 900 hectares in Kauppi-Niihama are available north of the planned area. Significant natural values and old-growth forests will be protected.

The city plan area is located four kilometres from the centre of Tampere, and it includes approximately one kilometre of Teiskontie to the north. The area starts in the west on Arvo Ylpön katu, near where the care home Pirkanmaan hoitokoti, as well as other sheltered housing and medical research and production facilities are located. The eastern boundary of the plan area is the Tampere Tennis Center. The Medi-Park city plan area together with the area to be planned for the next golf course will form a new neighbourhood of approximately 9,000 inhabitants, relying on the tramway to be built.

At the western end of Medi-Park, the premises of the Pirkanmaa wellbeing services county's Kauppi Campus hospital functions and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology of the University of Tampere are continuously being constructed. The tramway has already been built in the Tays Central Hospital area via Lääkärintie towards Lääkärinkatu, and more detailed further planning to the east in Linnainmaa is about to begin.

Objectives of the planning work

The aim of the planning is to continue the activities of the Kauppi Campus and the current Medi-Park areas, enabling services, teaching and facilities for medical and research activities and health technology needs. At the same time, housing and sheltered housing as well as sports construction and small-scale business construction will be located in the area.

The aim is also to build in line with sustainable development and carbon neutrally, taking into account the significant natural values of the area and the environment. The city plan makes it possible to build a new west-east collector street, the tramways and tramway stops located there. Parking in the area will take place in parking facilities. The regional main route for bicycle traffic is located north of Teiskontie.

In the master plan, diverse workplace and educational activities, commercial services, cultural and leisure activities and production activities that do not cause environmental disturbance are targeted at the area. Housing is also permitted in the area. The transport environment must support the use of sustainable modes of transport.

Medi-Park's city plan has been a part of the planning programmes for a long time, but nature surveys, for example, have taken time. The planning began in 2019, after which the objectives have been specified and surveys have been carried out, especially in relation to the nature values of the area, and there has been cooperation between the authorities. Nature values, a route suitable for the tramway and the objectives of housing and other use have been adjusted in the preparation. The end result is a lush whole formed by constructed islands between areas that remain forested. 

Content of the draft city plan

The construction is located on moraine slopes and rocky ridges, partly in clay areas. Intermediate and valley areas with rich natural values remain protected green and recreational areas. Green areas protected for biodiversity form a continuous network, and blocks remain village-like entities in the middle of the forest.

In the city plan, three new residential blocks or block sections and block areas are allocated to commercial and office buildings. One block is for social services and health care buildings, where small apartments can be built for use by special groups.

In the eastern part of the area, a block area is designated for city centre activities, two thirds of which are for housing construction and the rest for business, office and service facilities. The plan prepares for building a sports hall along Toimelankatu to the west of the Tampere Tennis Center. There will be some commercial services and premises in the eastern part. The tramway is located on Tenniskatu and its stop at the eastern end of the area.

Significant natural values have been protected by placing the built areas outside the natural values in order to safeguard the conservation and movement of species in the forest zone along Teiskontie. At the same time, significant conservation areas are formed for flying squirrels, moor frogs and green shield-moss. The continuity of the natural environment is sought by means of planning regulations and construction method instructions. The general plan for green areas, the general plan for stormwaters and the green factor analysis for block areas also safeguard the urban and green structures as the land use is compacted in a row.

In the area covered by the city plan, the building right comprises approximately 193,310 square metres of floor area, of which more than half is for apartment block plots. 4,500 floor square metres are reserved for sheltered housing. Approximately 63,600 are reserved for workplace activities, approximately 18,600 for parking facilities, 9,000 for the sports hall and 22,400 square metres for the centre area, of which more than half for habitation and the rest for workplaces and services. Green areas account for more than half of the city plan, or 52 per cent. These are mainly protected by city plan markings.

Participation and progress

The preparation material for the Medi-Park city plan will be presented at a public event on Tuesday 16 May 2023 at 5:00-7:00 pm in the Jarmo Visakorpi hall and lobby of the Arvo building in Kauppi Campus (Arvo Ylpön katu 34). Coffee and materials will be available starting 4.30 pm. The preparation material for the city plan west of Lake Alasjärvi and the tramways of Pirkkala-Linnainmaa will also be presented at the event. After the introductions, the discussion on the plans will continue.

The preparation phase of the city plan for the area of Lake Alasjärvi, i.e. the current golf course, is underway, and its materials will be officially available in the autumn. The aim is to create a varying cityscape, an interesting and pleasant block structure that will be split by the central park built in the area of the former golf course. Residential areas in the north are limited to the current forest areas.

The council recently approved the current tramway plans for Linnainmaa and the start of further planning aimed at the construction decision. The city plan to the west of Lake Alasjärvi and the change to the city plan enable the construction of tramway streets and surrounding residential blocks in the current golf course area. The continuation of golf activities is secured in another location. The disc golf course stays in the area.

The planning work progresses so that feedback from the preparation phase material is processed, the necessary reports and changes are made, and then a proposal for a city plan is developed from the draft city plan. The proposal will be available through the municipal board in early 2024, and official statements will be requested on it. Changes can still be made before the city plan progresses through the urban planning board and the city board to be decided by the council.

The preparation material for the Medi-Park city plan, which is now available, can also be viewed by watching the video presentation on the city's website. Feedback can be submitted to the city's registry during the showing period.