Although I was born in Germany, Helsinki has been my home since I was six months old. I grew up and visited extended family in the Helsinki districts of Kallio, Herttoniemi and Pakila.

Helsinki has been a good home, but it is not perfect.

The Keskuspuisto Central Park spanning the city is in effect the lungs of Helsinki. The city’s forest land and green areas must be preserved. Any further development must be carried out with careful consideration of the environment; city districts can be supplemented and made more compact with infill development.

The community structure of the Helsinki region is breaking up as it succumbs to urban sprawl. The merging of cities and regional administration must be steadfastly promoted, as this brings great benefit to both residents and commerce by instigating better land use and seamless public transportation.

In many ways Helsinki is a smaller version of Finland, although social distinctions in the capital city area are even greater than those found in the rest of the country. Sustainable urban development is only possible with prudent city policy that prohibits differences between the various districts from growing too great. Helsinki seeks to reduce segregation, but current efforts to mix rental and ownership housing and fairly distribute money aren’t enough. Expenses that are unique to large cities must be better considered as grounds for increased state support.

Helsinki’s biggest difficulty is its inflexible administration. This persistent problem diverts precious resources from vital areas, namely the provision of high-quality services. Competition among municipal employers for skilled labour will only increase as our older generation moves towards well-earned retirement. Only those organisations that can foster employee participation and responsibility and cut useless layers of management will succeed.

Cities are born because humans are communal by nature. Helsinki’s parks and playgrounds, day care centres, libraries and schools located as near as possible to people’s homes are not only an investment in future generations, but also provide an incentive for people to live in more compact areas, near all of the services they require. Helsinki will grow and change as new inhabitants add valuable input. Newcomers will bring challenges that are both good and bad, just as our generation and the ones before. A healthy city can meld the old and new in an alliance: a contemporary city that is at once resolute and accommodating, a place where we all have room to breathe.