Vantaa before: how the 50-year-old city grew up

1. Vantaaʼs ultra-modern suburbs attracted residents in the 1970s and 1980s

Vantaa, which was granted city rights in 1974, tried to keep its services attractive from the start. The young city wanted to grow and prosper as an independent part of the metropolitan area.

People moved to Vantaa for its clean nature, good transport links and newly completed housing. The district heating, showers and indoor toilets of the new suburbs were unheard of for many.

Municipal services such as clinics, early childhood education and dental care were designed to be advanced and of high quality. For example, Vantaa started offering mammography screenings in the early 1980s and was the first municipality in Finland to do so. The city was also so well prepared for the start of primary school that it could have started primary school before other municipalities in the metropolitan area.

Many young families with children moved to Vantaa in the 1970s and 1980s. This created a sense of community. Yards, blocks and neighbourhoods became home to communal activities such as ball teams, charity work and sausage roasts. These shared pastimes were the start of many cultural events that are still repeated today.

The reform of the Early Childhood Education Act in 1985 guaranteed every child under the age of 3 the right to a place in day care. The network of early childhood education and care services expanded under the new law. It made it easier for parents to go out to work. Indeed, the proportion of women working in Vantaa in the 1970s and 1980s was higher than the average for the rest of the country.

2. The recession of the 1990s hit hard −but it was a new beginning

For centuries, Vantaa had attracted industry and businesses that needed space, labour and good connections. From the 1980s onwards, legislation supported entrepreneurship with increasing vigour. This further stimulated the growth of entrepreneurship in Vantaa.

However, the recession of the 1990s threatened to halt development. The stagnation of growth put a severe strain on the city's economy. But it was also the beginning of a new beginning.

The City of Vantaa began to take decisive action to improve the business environment in Vantaa. The city's first business advisory service was opened in Vantaa in 1995.

The proximity of the airport was an important factor for businesses. Fast transport routes were needed for finished products and supplies, and international connections were strengthened.

In the 1990s, new aircraft approach routes were opened, reducing aircraft noise. Vantaa was able to reduce noise areas and build offices closer to the airport. This made it easier for companies to locate in Vantaa and helped the city to overcome the recession.

The Okmetic silicon wafer factory started operations in Vantaa in 1995. Many technology companies followed. Vantaa already had a large workforce and skills.

The Aviapolis site was boldly built in the early 2000s. It became a strong hub of jobs in Vantaa and home to thousands of people.

3. Through growing pains to an increasingly international city

Until the 2000s, income, education and other differences between Vantaa residents were small. The homogeneity of the metropolitan areas was also reflected in municipal democracy. Residents often voted for their own district representatives on the city council. The regions developed accordingly.

Vantaa gradually became the most international city in Finland. Vietnamese refugees moved to Vantaa in the 1970s and individual Chilean refugees in the 1980s. In turn, returning Inca migrants and Somali refugees arrived from the 1990s onwards.

Finland's first refugee office was opened in Tikkurila in 1991. Eight years later, a Multicultural Advisory Board was set up in Vantaa, also the first in Finland.

However, integration work was not fully prepared. New ways of dialogue and integration have been found in recent decades. For example, in the early 2000s, active municipal leaders organised discussion forums to help the city find new ways of multicultural coexistence.

4. Towards renewable energy production

In recent years, Vantaa has also tackled the challenges of sustainable energy production. In 2010, Vantaa Energy completed a waste-to-energy plant near Hakunila, which started to produce electricity from waste by incineration.

In 2022, the waste-to-energy plant was expanded. This enabled Vantaa to phase out the use of coal for energy production.

The waste-to-energy plant has proven to be a progressive solution in many respects. It provides more sustainable power generation and, with rising energy costs, at a lower cost than many alternatives.

Vantaan Energia plans to phase out fossil fuels by 2026 and produce carbon-neutral power by 2030.

Vantaa's journey from prehistoric settlement to city

5 000 BC: The first signs of settlement in what is now Vantaa.

500 BC: Settlement gradually increases.

1200s: Swedish settlers move to the confluence of what is now the Vantaa River and the Kerava River.

1300s: the parish of Helsinki in what is now Vantaa grows into a major centre.

1550: The city of Helsinki is founded at the mouth of the Vantaa River, but the parish of Helsinki retains its status as the centre of the region.

1600s: several noble manors are established in the Helsinki parish to support the cavalry, contributing to the growth and development of the area.

1700s: industries are established in the Helsinki parish, which become important on a Finnish scale.

1862: Finland's first railway line opens from Helsinki to Hämeenlinna. In the following years, Malmi, part of the Helsinki parish, becomes a busy crossroads and the administrative centre of the region.

1865: With the new municipal administration, the municipality of Helsinki becomes the Helsinki Rural Municipality.

1900s: the railway connection brings several popular settlements, such as Huopalahti, Kulosaari, Oulunkylä, Pitäjänmäki and Tikkurila, to the rural municipality of Malmi.

1946: Around a third of the municipality is annexed to Helsinki.

1952: Seutula Airport (now Helsinki-Vantaa) is completed.

1970s: New transport links, such as the Helsinki−Martinlaakso railway line and Kehä 3, are built, creating new residential areas and growth centres. Vantaa becomes a new centre for the development of new towns and cities.

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