Urban sprawl and suburban development around Pärnu and Tallinn, Estonia

Abstract

The spatial development of Estonian cities is at the present time characterised by patchy patterns of urban sprawl, mostly with little regard to infrastructure, public services, location of workplaces, and preservation of agricultural productivity. The article analyses the spatial development of urban regions after 1991 and how this is linked to decision-making processes. The focus is on the planning policies of local governments and the causal links between these and urban development. Empirical studies have been carried out in Audru, Sauga, Paikuse, and Takhuranna municipalities around the city of Pärnu and also in Harku, Viimsi, Rae, and Saku municipalities around Tallinn. The studies were based on in-depth interviews with local politicians and administrators. Background material on the physical urban sprawl around Tallinn was provided from a study by University of Tartu. Around Pärnu, registration of the physical development was carried out through field observations and discussions with local planners. The local authorities were quite unprepared for the new liberal legislation which gave them responsibility for spatial planning. Private ownership rights and vested interests of real-estate developers have in many cases undermined public interests. The suburban municipalities have, however, gradually learned; some have developed a proactive planning policy, while others have applied reactive policies to meet the challenges created by the new settlements.

Keywords:

• local governance
• planning processes
• suburban development
• urban sprawl

Notes

1. The investigations were supported by information in reports by Norwegian students taking part in BA field courses in Pärnumaa in 2005, 2006 and 2007, organised by the Department of Geography, University of Bergen. The fieldwork was carried by groups of 2–3 students who conducted semi-structured interviews with local informants, assisted by local students at Pärnu College as translators. Several of the BA reports were related to planning and urban development in the Pärnu region. The fieldwork in 2007 focused on the social environment in new suburban settlements and a number of interviews were carried out with the new inhabitants in areas of urban sprawl. The following unpublished BA reports from the Department of Geography, University of Bergen, were used directly to provide background information for this article: M. Aasene, M.v. Krogh & S.S. Selvig ‘Her vil vi bygge og her vil vi bo: Housingkultur i Paikuse spesielt og Estland generelt’ (2007); V.F. Halvorsen, T.K. Jensen & R.H. Karlsen ‘Urban sprawl in Sauga: Innflytternes levemåter og holdninger’ (2007); K. Håland, C. Krebs & D. Tanderø ‘Felles identitet og tilhørighet i “urban sprawl” områder: Jakten på sosiale felter i Audru’ (2007); J. Meding & N. Cogiel ‘The implementation of sustainable development in new housing developments in the municipalities of Sauga and Paikuse: Similarities and differences’ (2006).