Cultivating safe neighbourhoods with distinctive identities

Helsinki strives to be a city where residential areas are not segregated and where it is possible to live a safe and enjoyable life in neighbourhoods that have unique positive characteristics. Reforms will be planned and implemented in cooperation with the residents, taking into account the specific characteristics of the different areas.

Goal: Residential areas do not become segregated

Segregation trends in residential areas are monitored by means of a socioeconomic sum index. The index combines data on low income, unemployment and low educational background in the areas. The indicator shows the extent to which the socioeconomically weakest one-tenth of the subareas differs from the city average (=100) and what is the development trend. 

The reading of the indicator has been increasing, reflecting growing differences between the areas. In practice, the areas included in the lowest one-tenth have fallen further behind the city average. 

Segregation trends in residential areas of Helsinki.

Goal: It is possible to live a safe and enjoyable life in all neighbourhoods enriched by unique positive characteristics

The comfort of the city districts is monitored twice a year on the basis of the data collected in the Helsinki Barometer survey. The comfort aspect was included in the survey for the first time in autumn 2021. The indicator shows how many of the survey respondents agree either completely or somewhat that their own residential area is comfortable. 

Based on the survey data collected in spring 2022, more than 90 per cent of the respondents consider their own residential area to be comfortable. 

Proportion of respondents who consider their own residential area to be comfortable.

Goal: Helsinki exercises positive discrimination and combats segregation comprehensively across divisions

The City of Helsinki has allocated additional funding to services in the areas where the need for services is the greatest. This funding for positive discrimination has been utilised especially in the Education Division, in the library and youth services of the Culture and Leisure Division and in the services for families with children in the Social Services and Health Care Division. The allocation principles of the funds for positive discrimination will be further developed during the strategy period. 

Segregation will also be prevented by creating balanced neighbourhoods in terms of occupancy profiles. In areas containing mostly rental dwellings, the aim is to increase the production of owner-occupied and right-of-occupancy dwellings. The progress of this goal is monitored with an indicator describing the development in the share of owner-occupied and right-of-occupancy dwellings. 

There are several areas in Helsinki where rental dwellings form a majority and the share of owner-occupied and right-of-occupancy dwellings is clearly less than half. In the areas selected for monitoring, the share of owner-occupied and right-of-occupancy dwellings is currently approximately 52 per cent. 

Development of owner-occupied and right-of-occupancy housing stock in areas with predominantly rental dwellings.