{"id":200406,"date":"2026-04-28T13:11:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/?p=200406"},"modified":"2026-05-01T13:14:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:14:17","slug":"uku-lauri-tallinn-cannot-become-a-city-of-talent-on-the-strength-of-its-city-centre-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/uku-lauri-tallinn-cannot-become-a-city-of-talent-on-the-strength-of-its-city-centre-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Uku Lauri: Tallinn cannot become a city of talent on the strength of its city centre alone"},"content":{"rendered":"

This opinion piece was published in \u00c4rip\u00e4ev<\/a> on 21 April 2026 (in Estonian).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When discussing Tallinn\u2019s development, the focus tends to return again and again to the city centre, the seaside, and areas that create a polished first impression of the city. That is understandable, because these are the places visitors see first; this is where investments, services, new residential developments and the most ambitious public space projects are concentrated. But if we want Tallinn to be a strong city for business and talent, it is not enough to improve only the city\u2019s most visible parts, writes Uku Lauri, Head of Real Estate at Tehnopol, in his opinion piece.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A strong city does not function in a way where life, business and quality urban space are concentrated only in the centre while the rest remains a functional backdrop. A city works as an ecosystem. If we want to attract companies, investment and top talent here, we need to develop Tallinn as a whole \u2014 so that its different districts are well connected, have a logical functional distribution, and offer high-quality public space. Equally important is efficient and seamless public transport that connects places to live, work and study, and serves as one of the city\u2019s calling cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is often said that location is the most important factor for a company. That is only partly true. Location no longer means just an address on a map. It means access to talent, smooth mobility, a well-functioning surrounding environment, opportunities for collaboration, and a sense of community. A company\u2019s success is determined not only by how many minutes it takes to reach the Old Town or the airport, but also by how conveniently people can get to work by public transport, bicycle or on foot, and by the kind of environment in which they spend their everyday working lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is especially important for knowledge-based businesses. Innovation rarely emerges in isolation. It requires proximity to universities, other companies, development environments and testing opportunities. That is why urban planning cannot be guided only by where the most expensive real estate or the most representative urban space is located. It is just as important to look at which areas foster collaboration, support knowledge-intensive business, and create new economic value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Tallinn\u2019s case, this also means acknowledging an obvious truth: the city\u2019s entire economy cannot and should not rely only on the centre. Life does not happen only downtown. Industry, technology development, logistics and manufacturing also need space, and the city centre is usually not the right place for them. Yet the prosperity of the capital also depends on whether the city provides a modern, attractive and well-connected environment for such activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we speak about Tallinn as a city of talent, we should not think only about whether it is pleasant to visit for a weekend or whether the Old Town and Kalamaja leave a charming impression on visitors. We should think more broadly: is Tallinn a city where a skilled professional, engineer, scientist or startup founder would genuinely want to live and work? Is it easy to move around here? Are the connections fast and logical? Is the city outside the centre also modern, green, smart and inviting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where areas that have so far been seen as somewhat secondary become very important. Mustam\u00e4e is a good example. It brings together a university, knowledge-intensive businesses, laboratories, engineering expertise and space where new value can be created. If such areas are treated merely as places where \u201csomething necessary happens to be located,\u201d a great deal of potential will be lost. But if they are deliberately developed as modern business and living environments, the whole city benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seen from this perspective, the idea of a promenade connecting the TalTech and Tehnopol campuses is highly symbolic. At first glance, it may seem like a simple landscaping or public space improvement project for one area, but in reality it reflects a much bigger shift in mindset. A well-designed promenade is not merely a route from point A to point B. It is public space that creates reasons to move, meet, stop and experiment. It improves mobility, brings more greenery into the area, and offers companies and developers opportunities to test new solutions in a real urban environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tallinn needs more projects like this. Not only representative calling cards, but spaces that connect districts in a meaningful way and strengthen the business environment. When public transport, cycling routes, pedestrian and light-traffic paths, public space and the business environment form a coherent whole, one district is no longer isolated from another. The city itself becomes a more logical whole, where movement and cooperation do not get stuck behind invisible boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quality of urban space is no longer just a matter of residents\u2019 comfort. It is a matter of competitiveness. Companies are becoming increasingly deliberate in choosing locations, and people are just as selective in choosing jobs. Younger and more international talent in particular expects to be able to move around comfortably without a car. If an employer operates in an environment that is difficult to reach or where public space does not support a sense of community, it inevitably affects that employer\u2019s attractiveness. A strong and well-designed environment helps a company grow, retain people and attract partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why, when talking about Tallinn\u2019s development, we should spend less time opposing the centre and the outskirts, and more time thinking about how different areas complement one another. The city centre will always remain an important calling card. But a calling card alone is not enough to build a city that can sustain business, industry, science and innovation in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tallinn can only be a strong international city if it is strong as a whole. This means that, alongside its representative centre, the city must also systematically develop those areas where the economy of the future is being created. If we want people not only to visit Tallinn, but also to stay here, we must invest not only in the city\u2019s most visible parts, but in the quality of urban space as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because in the end, companies and talent do not choose only an address. They choose an environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This opinion piece was published in \u00c4rip\u00e4ev on 21 April 2026 (in Estonian). When discussing Tallinn\u2019s development, the focus tends to return again and again to the city centre, the seaside, and areas that create a polished first impression of the city. That is understandable, because these are the places visitors see first; this is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":165830,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[184],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200406"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":200407,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200406\/revisions\/200407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}