METREX Spring conference in Helsinki

Registrations close on 25 May!

Possible early evening pre-programme for early comers in the city centre.
Pre-registration required.  

Registrations close on 25 May!

Main venue: Urban Environment Building, City of Helsinki 
Address: Työpajankatu 8 / Verkstadsgatan 8, 00580 Helsinki

Expected schedule: 09:00 -16:00 working sessions | 17:00 – 21:00 social events

The first day of the conference is dedicated to the work of the METREX Expert and Network Groups. In the evening, the City of Helsinki kindly hosts a reception for conference participants at the beautiful City Hall by the Market Square. The reception is followed by an archipelago cruise, offering a maritime perspective on Helsinki and an introduction to its evolving waterfront areas.​

Schedule

08:30 – 09:00 | Registration and Welcome Coffee 
09:00 – 09:15 | Welcome and Instructions for the day   

09:30 -12:30 | NORDIC BALTIC NETWORK (tbc)
09:15 – 10:45 EET / 8:15 – 09:45 CET| Round 1   

Format: multiple rounds of parallel sessions open to the membership with short, spot-on presentations / Q&A / illustration of what the group’s work has produced so far and what the ambitions, plans, and objectives are for the future.

MAPPING METREX (in person and hybrid)
The session includes: 
– Introduction on the group’s state of the art by Mariana Faver, Provice South Holland, EG coordinator.
– and an inspiring presentation from the local context: Mapping the Helsinki Metropolitan Region by Senior Specialist Miliza Ryöti, PhD, from the Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY.  

Miliza will share experiences in mapping metropolitan dynamics and phenomena, drawing on insights from an agreement-based city-regional planning process. With a particular focus on data — including a deeper dive into housing-related data — the presentation aims to explore how information, knowledge, and data practices can support and even shape both planning processes and their outcomes.
The meeting will end with a collective work preparing the afternoon session. 

ECONOMETREX 2.0 (in person and hybrid) 
Europe’s metropolitan regions face significant spatial-economic challenges. We see this as a timely opportunity to come together—sharing concerns, exchanging ideas and best practices, and collaborating on a White Paper to inform policy at the European, national, and regional levels. 
The programme will follow. 

Spatial Planning for Circular Economy (in person and hybrid)
As a follow-up to the ASSET Interreg project, we continue our discussion about the spatial demands of a Circular Built Environment and a Circular Economy with insights of best practices from Amsterdam and others. 

METREX 2049: Foresight EG (tbc)

10.45 – 11.00 | Break

11:00 – 12:30 / 10:00 – 11:30 CET | Round 2 

EURODELTA ALLIANCE Network Group (in person and hybrid)
Megaregions, cross-border regions and city-regions: How do soft spaces matter in territorial governance?
Speaker: Eva Purkarthofer, Aalto University 

The presentation builds on the following papers:
Purkarthofer, E. (2018). Diminishing borders and conflating spaces: A storyline to promote soft planning scales. European Planning Studies, 26(5), 1008–1027. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2018.1430750 

Purkarthofer, E., & Granqvist, K. (2021). Soft spaces as a traveling planning idea: Uncovering the origin and development of an academic concept on the rise. Journal of Planning Literature, 36(3), 312–327. https://doi.org/10.1177/0885412221992287 

Purkarthofer, E., Sielker, F., & Stead, D. (2022). Soft planning in macro-regions and megaregions: Creating toothless spatial imaginaries or new forces for change? International Planning Studies, 27(2), 120–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563475.2021.1972796 

FROM ROADS TO STREETS 2.0 
METROPOLITAN CLIMATE CHALLENGE EG (in person and hybrid)
METROPOLITAN GOVERNANCE EG (tbc)
SAH Sustainable & Affordable Housing EG (tbc) 

12:00 –13:30 | Lunch break (Pop-in Buffet Lunch) 

13:30 – 13:45 |  Launch of the New Expert Group ‘Spatial Planning for Circular Economy’
Room: Auditorium

13:45 – 13:50 | Introduction to the Parallel Workshops/Thematic Sessions 
Room: Auditorium

13:50 – 15:30 | (Parallel) Workshops
Interactive exchange between hosting partners and expert groups along the following themes:

Workshop 1: Green Transition Handbook 
‘Green transition handbook’ best practices presented. Discussion on implementation.

Presenters/facilitators:
Ilona Mansikka, Head of Regional planning, Helsinki Uusimaa Region
Alpo Tani, Climate Change mitigation specialist, City of Helsinki
Petra Ståhl, Mayor, City of Lohja 

The session will focus on the newly completed Green Transition Handbook, developed by the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council through two years of collaboration with stakeholders across the region, from business and industry to nature conservation. The handbook examines how regional spatial planning can support the green transition in a rapidly growing metropolitan area by reconciling the land-use needs of green transition projects with other land uses and environmental values.
Featuring real-world practices, the session invites Metrex expert groups from European city regions to reflect, share insights, and co-create solutions. Through expert dialogue, the session explores how regional planning can accelerate the green transition, strengthen collaboration, and inspire more effective approaches. 

Workshop 2: Strategic urban planning of sustainable infrastructure. Case: Crown Bridges, Helsinki 

Presenters/facilitators:
Niko Setälä, Team Manager in public transport and transport system planning, City of  Helsinki Heikki Salmikivi, Head of unit in strategic planning, City of Helsinki 

The session will explain targets and long-term strategic commitment behind the recently completed Crown Bridge project in Helsinki. The new bridge connection is a major change in the urban structure of the city from several viewpoints, and those will be introduced in the presentation. Presentation will be followed by a discussion about the case and questions presented by Expert Group members. 

15:30 – 16:30 | Free time

15:30 – 16:30 | METREX MC meeting (MC members only)

16:45 | Arrival at the Reception’s venue
Please note: Registration for the reception is required.

17:00-18:00 | RECEPTION (kindly offered by the City of Helsinki)
Venue: Empire Hall (by the Senate Square)
Address: Aleksanterinkatu 20 / Aleksandersgatan 20, 00170 Helsinki 

Walk to the pier (about 5 min) 

18:30-21:00 | BOAT CRUISE, new seafront development areas
Meeting point: Meritullintori 6 / Sjötullstorget 6, 00170 Helsinki 

End of the Day.

Main venue: Maijansali, Oodi Central Library
Address: Töölönlahdenkatu 4, 00100 Helsinki

Expected schedule: 09:00 -16:00 working sessions | 17:00 – 23:00 social events

The second day is the conference day and takes place at the iconic Oodi Central Library (https://oodihelsinki.fi/en/), located in the heart of Helsinki.
Internationally known for its architecture and its role as a civic meeting place, Oodi provides an inspiring setting for a full day of discussions on holistic sustainability.
After the conference sessions, participants are invited to unwind at Uunisaari (https://uunisaari.fi/en/), a small island just off the city centre. The evening begins with a traditional Finnish sauna experience (optional) and an opportunity to take a refreshing dip in the Baltic Sea, before culminating in the conference dinner at Uunisaari Restaurant & Café

Schedule

9:00 | Registration and Welcome Coffee 

9.30 | Official Opening 

Marco Griguolo, METREX President 
Peter Agh, Secretary General

9:45 – 10:05 | Orientation to the Region and the City of Helsinki  

• Representative/s of Uusimaa Region
• Representative/s of City of Helsinki

10:05 | Regional data supporting sustainable regional and city planning
with Miliza Ryöti, Senior specialist, Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY  

Since 2012, HSY has supported integrated land use, housing, and transport planning by providing monitoring data for the Helsinki region’s MAL agreements. The presentation also highlights HSY’s environmental data—from air quality to greenhouse gas emissions and the circular economy—as well as geographic information on the built environment and land cover.

10:20 | Understanding the Polycrisis: Environmental Limits and the Sustainability Transition 
Keynote Ville Lähde, Senior researcher, BIOS Research Unit 

Ville Lähde is a Finnish environmental researcher and non‑fiction author whose work focuses on resource scarcity, environmental limits, and systemic change. As a senior researcher at the interdisciplinary BIOS Research Unit, he bridges philosophical analysis and sustainability research. In his keynote, Lähde explores the dynamics of the polycrisis and highlights the necessity of a deliberate, cross‑sectoral sustainability transition that enables societies to maintain well-being while operating within planetary boundaries. 

10:50 – 11:20 | short break

11:20 – 11:50 | Sustainable urban development in the City of Helsinki  
Keynote Speakers include:
Alpo Tani, Climate change mitigation specialist, City of Helsinki
Heidi Huvila, Senior sustainability specialist, City of Helsinki 

The City of Helsinki has been recognized as one of the sustainability benchmark cities. In Helsinki, climate emissions have been declining, and social sustainability has been considered as one key driver in the city’s operations. On the other hand, it is clear that the city is far from being ready with its sustainability work, and for that reason, the urban environment department has prepared a new strategic framework that takes better into account both planetary boundaries and the social foundation of good urban life.     

11:50 – 12:40 | Outcomes of Peer Review process on the Green Transition Regional Land Use Plan
Moderators: Ilona Mansikka, Heidi Koponen, Helsinki Uusimaa Regional Council

Participants include:

• Helsinki-Uusimaa Region (Finland),
• Gothenburg Regional Association (Sweden),
• Harjumaa Omavalitsuste Liit (Estonia),
• Oslo City Hall (Norway),
• Riga City Council (Latvia),
• and Stockholm Region (Sweden) 

This peer review session presents the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Land Use Plan draft “VISIO – Innovative Green Transition” through an interactive exchange with METREX colleagues from the Baltic Sea region. The session focuses particularly on assessing the plan’s cross-cutting themes, including climate resilience, security, fairness , and innovativeness, while exploring regional planning solutions for advancing the green transition. The aim is to encourage peer learning, share good practices and development challenges, inspire new approaches, and strengthen professional networks for more impactful regional planning across Europe. 

12:40 – 12:45 | short break
12:45 – 13:15 | Wrap-up panel discussion

Panelists include:
Pia Tynys, Chief of Sustainability at the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council
Dagmar Keim, City of Amsterdam
Capital City of Rome (tbc)
Kyiv (tbc)

13:15 – 14:15 | Lunch (with possibility to explore the building and the Park)

14:15 – 15:10 | Case examples and Discussions
Moderator: Peter Agh, Secretary General of METREX

with

• Wrocław, PL 
  The Polish city of Wrocław has been implementing its own, ambitious blue&green policies for nearly 10 years. And it has achieved many tangible results, in the fields of decarbonisation, reducing air pollution, or improving the water management system. How does a growing economy of a Central European, metropolitan city on the rise transform into strengthening resilience, greening the urban environment, and adapting for climate change? How does it use its strategies and structures to achieve such goals? What are its ambitions as a participant of the EU Mission of Neutral and Smart Cities?
   
• Metropolitan City of Milan, Facing Polycrisis Enriching Metropolitan Governance 
  The Metropolitan City of Milan presents a governance practice that addresses today’s polycrisis by linking sustainability, economic development and territorial resilience. Developed at metropolitan scale, the initiative uses data analysis, knowledge co-creation and dialogue with public and private stakeholders to improve decision-making and support local businesses. It promotes shared visions, identifies economic vulnerabilities, and valorises supra-municipal identities and territorial vocations. The practice is reinforced by the update of the 2006 OECD Territorial Review through an ongoing territorial scan aligned with existing planning frameworks. Universities and research centres support three working groups dedicated to analysis, steering, strategic projects and implementation.
• R-map EU project with Efstratios Stylianidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and R-map project coordinator (tbc) and José Ferreira, policy expert.
  Presentation (project’s goals and demonstration of the online data platform)

15:10 – 15:30 | Keynote speaker Martin Aarts, ‘The Transformation of Great European Cities’
Martin Aarts, former head of urban planning, devoted his professional life to the transformation of Rotterdam for over three decades. He participated in many European transurban networks, advised several European cities on their urban agenda, and teaches at the academies of architecture in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. His book ‘The Transformation of Great European Cities’. The birth of a new urban era’ will be presented and discussed from a political perspective. 

15:30 – 16:00 | Panel discussion
Moderator: Peter Agh, Secretary General of METREX

16:00 – 16:10 | Wrap-up and Close of the day 

17:00 – 23:00 | Evening Program with Dinner and Sauna Option
Venue: Uunisaari Island
Address: Pohjoinen Uunisaari 2, 00140 Helsinki
https://www.uunisaari.fi/en/island-of-uunisaari/#saapuminen 

Please note: Ferry to and from Uunisaari leaves non-stop between Kompassitori and Uunisaaren yhteysaluslaituri, last ferry to the mainland at 23.00. 

17:00 – 19:30 | Pre-Dinner Chill Out with Sauna Option in Uunisaari Island
https://www.uunisaari.fi/sauna/ 

On the Uunisaari Island, you are welcome to come to the island and just Chill after a long day. There is a terrace, an indoor space, a bar open, and beautiful maritime nature. You can just chill and enjoy atmospheric and relaxing moments away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre, in a maritime island setting.  

For those interested in trying out the Finnish Sauna, there are 2 saunas on the site. Sauna Instructions: 

Sauna Instructions:
– Pre-registration is required/preferred.
– There are two separate saunas available. Each sauna has a maximum capacity of 15-20 persons at a time. 
– Both saunas are booked for three-hour time slot to ensure that everyone who wishes to use the sauna has sufficient time to do so. (On average, one sauna session lasts approximately 30 –60min minutes per person.)
– Guests will wear a swimsuit (bring your own) in the sauna and in the showers. There is also an opportunity to swim in the sea. 

Guests who prefer not to use the sauna are welcome to relax on the terrace or in the bar and the restaurant , or walk freely around the island. There is also a nice beach. 

19:30 – 23:00 | Conference Dinner in Uunisaari Island 
Please arrive at the Island by 19.30 for dinner.
https://www.uunisaari.fi/en/restaurant-cafe/ 

Last ferry to mainland: 23.00 from Uunisaaren yhteysaluslaituri to Kompassitori. 

Main venue: Urban Environment Building, City of Helsinki 
Address: Työpajankatu 8, 00580 HelsinkiCity of Helsinki

Expected schedule: 09:00 -13:00 GA and working sessions | 13:00 – 15:30 excursions

The day opens with the METREX General Assembly, followed by a collective discussion on METREX’s future and lunch. Two optional excursions will close the day.

Schedule

09:00 – 10:00 | METREX General Assembly (Members only)
09:30 – 11:00 | Discussion on the future of METREX 

11:00 – 12:00 | Low Airspace planning / Drone logistics demo
Presenters:
Christina Suomi, Project Director of City Aviation, City of Helsinki
Jukka Keski-Jaskari, Senior Aviation Specialist, City of Helsinki 

Helsinki is preparing for the air traffic of the future with the City Aviation project (formerly known as the U-space project). This long-term development project aims to build a clear picture for the City of how the evolving aviation will affect the city’s structure, safety, environment, and services. The project will produce recommendations for planning urban air mobility and anticipating space needs. Welcome to the demo session in which principles of coming city aviation will be presented in a 3D environment. 

Venue: in Cave-room (in the Urban Environment Building, right next to the Auditorium)

12:00 –13:00 | Lunch
Venue: Restaurant Kellohalli, address Työpajankatu 2 / Verkstadsgatan 2 

13:00 – 15:30 | 2 Parallel Excursions 

Option 1: City Tour (urban walk)
Option 2: Bus Tour (regional sightseeing)
(This second option includes a stop by the airport) 

End of the Conference, but not the end of the Day!

Note: 12th June Helsinki Day! Lots of nice happenings around the city!
Link to the programme : https://helsinkipaiva.fi/en/

Helsinki Day is a city-wide festival for everyone! 

Helsinki’s birthday is traditionally marked on 12 June, when the city is packed with a wide range of free-of-charge events organised by various local associations, companies, clubs, organisations and active residents. Helsinki Day has been celebrated since 1959. 

The Helsinki Day programme includes big and small events, musical performances, the performing arts, guided tours, exhibitions, open doors, activities for kids and also fun for older people. Helsinki Day traditions include morning coffees with the mayor and the presentations of the City Slang Man and Woman of the Year, Sports Person of the Year and Helsinki Day Baby. Helsinki Day has become a major annual festival that residents eagerly look forward to and actively participate in. 

https://helsinkipaiva.fi/en/