A draft of the plan frame for the Mäkelänkatu boulevard city is now on display – the plans can be commented on online and at a fair

The planning of the Mäkelänkatu boulevard city has progressed to the plan frame drafting phase. A new city structure is being planned to be built in the area between the Käpylä, Metsälä, Oulunkylä, Maunula, Patola and Pakila districts.

The plan is to replace the current Tuusulanväylä motorway with a new main street of the area, an extension of Mäkelänkatu. Between Käpylä and Pakila, the motorway will be transformed into a street space similar to the current Mäkelänkatu. The new street will feature a light rail that will take passengers all the way to Pakila from the city centre. The new light rail will be connected to the City’s tramway network and rail connections.

The plan is to build apartments and workplaces for roughly 15,000–17,000 Helsinki residents in the area. Construction is expected to begin at the turn of the 2020s and the 2030s.

Familiarise yourself with the plans and comment on them online and at events!

The plans of the Mäkelänkatu boulevard city plan frame draft will be presented to Helsinki residents in November 2023 both online and at events.

The draft plans of the plan frame will be on display at a fair(Link leads to external service) held at the Urban Environment Building (Työpajankatu 8, 00580 Helsinki), where attendees will have an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the plans and discuss them with the City’s experts. The fair will be held on 15 November 2023 at 16.30–19.00, during which time people can visit at their leisure.

Residents can also familiarise themselves with the plans and comment on them in a Kerro Kantasi survey(Link leads to external service) and at the address hel.fi/planning. Comments will be collected until 1 December 2023.

Additionally, the City will hold workshops (Link leads to external service)for adults and young people in November 2023, providing an opportunity for people to share and discuss their ideas.

A light rail into a more urban environment

The new Mäkelänkatu, built to replace the current Tuusulanväylä motorway, will enable people to travel by tram, on foot and by bike in addition to cars and buses. The new street will have a grass-covered light rail track in the middle, connected to the inner city tram network and transverse tramway connections. The Käpylä station will be developed into a high-quality and lively public transport station at which people can smoothly switch between modes of transport.

The motorway, which currently divides the planning area into two sections, will become an urban street and its peripheral areas will become a more built environment. New transverse transport connections will make it easier to travel from one district to another.

The blocks planned along the new Mäkelänkatu will be placed closely adjacent to the street area. Business premises will be planned on the street level of the blocks, and the streets and squares between the buildings will facilitate open and verdant views. Construction and the public outdoor space will be carefully harmonised with their surroundings in the blocks demarcated by the nationally significant built cultural environment of Käpylä.

The key areas of the green network of the area will be preserved and connections between the green areas will be improved. In addition to the natural green areas, the urban space will also be made as verdant as possible by reserving enough space for trees.

Planning phases

The planning of the Mäkelänkatu boulevard city is based on the new Helsinki City Plan (2016), in which the city’s motorway-like entrance routes within Ring Road I were planned to become city boulevards. Some of the city boulevards were approved and included in the final City Plan. The Urban Environment Committee approved the planning principles drawn up to serve as the basis for further planning in December 2018. Back then, the Mäkelänkatu boulevard city area was still called Tuusulanbulevardi.

Detailed planning of the boulevard city will start one area at a time in 2024 at the earliest, from the southern part of the planning area. When changes to a detailed plan are initiated, the local residents will be informed and interaction will be facilitated with the parties concerned.

A draft of the Mäkelänkatu boulevard city plan frame will be on display to be commented on from 13 November to 1 December 2023. The aim is to present the general plan frame preceding the detailed planning process to the Urban Environment Committee in early 2024. The construction of the area is expected to begin at the turn of the 2020s and the 2030s.