Elina Eskelä, Crisis and the city: Helsinki _ The Helsinki Mix

Crisis and the city: Helsinki The Helsinki Mix Elina Eskelä Helsinki City Executive Office Academy of Urbanism Annual Congress Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 21 June 2019

Helsinki

Population of Helsinki Total of Helsinki region

Percentage of Finnish population

1.5 million 27 % Helsinki 79 000 1900

370 000 1950

490 000 1990

643 272 2018

330 000 households 1 person 2 person

49%

31%

3 person

10%

4 person

7%

5 or more persons

3%

360 000 dwellings Building type

Type of occupancy 3%

8%

42% 28%

Apartment buildings 85%

Detached houses 8%

Terraced houses 6%

Others unknow 1%

19% Owner-occupied State-subsidised rental Other rental Righ-of-occupancy Other or unknown

10 000 dwellings under construction in the beginning of 2019

HISTORY OF SOCIAL AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN HELSINKI

Social Housing: State-subsidised rental housing

Social housing in Wood City, Jätkäsaari

State support: interest-subsidy loan Criteria for tenant selection: • Need for housing • Income and wealth • Diverse tenant structure in the building and the social balance of the residential area

Rents determined by cost price (i.e. actual loan and maintenance costs) Must be used as rental housing for 40 years Mostly used as normal housing; there are also dedicated dwellings for special groups, such as students, youth, disabled, homeless, and persons with memory disorders

City of Helsinki Media Bank

Affordable Housing

Right-of-occupancy and Hitas housing in Jätkäsaari

Right-of-occupancy housing • Paying 15 % flat´s purchase price gives right of tenancy in the flat • Cannot not be redeemed completely

Hitas owner-occupied housing • • • •

Only in Helsinki Price and quality control system Reasonable priced owner-occupied housing Maximum prices of both new and old Hitas units are regulated by the City of Helsinki

City of Helsinki Media Bank

Helsinki City Museum / Heikki Havas 1957

Brief history of social housing in Helsinki 1940’s After the war, City of Helsinki builds first social housing projects in Kumpula, Toukola, Koskela and Maunula to combat housing shortage. State creates Arava for lending subsidised loans for housing construction.

1950’s Over half of Helsinki’s housing production is state-subsidised. Youth restlessness in Siilitie area demonstrates the need to allocate social housing more evenly.

1970’s Spatial allocation plan of social housing is made. Affordable owner-occupied Hitas housing is created in Helsinki.

1990’s Depression stops unregulated housing production almost altogether.

Social housing is built in large volume to a few constructions areas, creating concentrations of rental housing. Finland starts to receive immigration in larger numbers. Right-of-occupancy housing is created.

2000’s Former non-profit housing actors switch to free housing market. Economic

depression starts in 2008. Temporary solutions for affordable housing created in order to support housing production.

2010’s Finland received a record influx of 32,500 asylum seekers in 2015. New coastal residential areas with a mixed tenure structure (25% social rental housing) are developed in Helsinki.

THE ROLE OF THE CITY IN CREATING SOCIAL AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Housing policy objectives • 7,000 housing units annually • 40 % of the construction carried out as urban infill “HELSINKI MIX” Mixed tenure development • on the city level • in the neighbourhoods • on city’s land, state owned land and privately owned land • in infill areas after analyzing current tenure mix

Objectives for forms of ownership and financing in annual housing production:

45

25

30 State subsidised rental housing (including student and youth housing) 25 % Intermediate housing (e.g. Hitas and right-ofoccupancy housing) 30 % Market-based owner occupied and rental housing 45 %

The City owns 64 % of the land

City owned land City owned land (leased)

Jätkäsaari • 21 000 residents • 14 800 homes Finished 2030

Group building apartment block

Student housing Youth housing

Rental homes for musicians Housing for employees of Helsinki University Hospital Student housing

Senior housing Youth housing Housing for the disabled Generations block

Group building, owneroccupied price-and-quality control, 5,000 € / m2

City-owned rental housing 14,43 € / m2

Market-based owner-occupied housing 9,300 € / m2 *

Market-based rental housing 23,59 € / m2

Owner-occupied price-and-quality control, 4,700 € / m2 Market-based owneroccupied housing 9,600–12,600 € / m2 *

Owner-occupied priceand-quality control, 4,600 € / m2 Market-based rental housing 30,73 € / m2 Right of occupancy apartments 15% of the purchase price + 10,95 € / m2 Owner-occupied price-andquality control, 5,200 € / m2

* Plot price included

Funding social housing The City • Lower rent price for land used for statesubsidized housing production The State • Various incentives for production of social housing, e.g. interest subsidy loans and investment subsidies for special-needs groups • Individual households supported through housing allowance City of Helsinki Media Bank

Social housing for seniors in Herttoniemi

Planning social housing Finland • Municipal zoning monopoly Helsinki • All housing tenures have similar, highstandard appearance • Common courtyards • Sea shores are for everyone

City of Helsinki Media Bank / Riku Pihlanto

Elina Eskelä

Common yard in Arabianranta

Delivering social housing City owned housing developer, The Helsinki Housing Production Department, produces high quality rental homes, owner-occupied homes and right-of-occupancy housing

2018 production of state subsidised dwellings in Helsinki

582 484

563

152 State subsidised rental dwellings The Helsinki Housing Production Department

State subsidised right-ofoccupancy dwellings Other Constructors

City of Helsinki owns 60,000 dwellings Ownership and maintenance of City rental housing is organized through City-owned real estate companies

Social housing 49 000 dwellings Every seventh resident in Helsinki lives in City owned social rental housing!

Market-based 6500 dwellings • Job-related • Special groups

Right-ofoccupancy 4500 dwellings

Homelessness in Finland Homelessness in Finland 1987–2018 20000 18000 16000

• Permanent housing based on a normal lease • Individually tailored support services, increasing the supply of affordable rental housing and preventive measures • Hostels converted into supported housing units with independent flats for the tenants

14000 12000 10000

Homeless families In institutions Outside, in temporary shelters, hostels Temporarily living with friends and relatives No information on the type of homelessness

8000 6000 4000 2000 0

1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

The Finnish Housing First approach was introduced in 2007

CHALLENGES

Main challenges to delivery of affordable housing DIVERGENCE OF HOUSING PRICES Differences between prices of social and free market rents are growing A growing demand for social and affordable housing

Rents in Helsinki 2013-2018 Average rents â‚Ź/m2/month 25

20 16.81

15

14.56

17.63 15.15

18.37

18.71

15.71

16.06

19.36 16.56

19.96 17.05

10.55

10.8

11.02

11.24

11.49

11.61

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

10

5

0

unregulated rental housing City owned rental housing

all rents in Helsinki

Housing construction in Helsinki 2018

9,000

8,000

• 4,843 new dwellings

7,000

• Building permits for 7,954 new dwellings

6,000

• 87% of new dwellings in apartment buildings

4,000

• 55% as infill development

5,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

started

finished

building permits

Main challenges to delivery of affordable housing LACK OF CONSTRUCTORS Public actors build social housing, others build market-based housing Economic upturn decreases interest in building social housing

Helsinki City Material Bank

Social rental housing in Myllypuro

ARABIANRANTA

Arabianranta • 8000 residents • 3800 homes Finished 2015

Mixed tenure development in Arabianranta

City of Helsinki Material Bank / Suomen Ilmakuva Oy

City of Helsinki Media Bank / Sampo Korhonen

City of Helsinki Material Bank / Susanna Karhapää

Elina Eskelä

City Helsinki Media Bank / Pertti Nisonen ElinaofEskelä City of Helsinki Material Bank / Janne Saavalainen

Elina Eskelä Eskelä Elina

City of Helsinki Media Bank / Kimmo Brandt

Arabianranta: public artworks, common yards, top floor saunas, nature

KEY LESSONS

Key lessons from Helsinki

Arabianranta

Stable, long-term housing policy Land ownership crucial Nordic welfare state • Universal welfare • Neighbourhood schools • Equality

City of Helsinki Material Bank / Suomen Ilmakuva Oy

See you at The International Social Housing Festival in Helsinki, June 2021 elina.eskela@hel.fi