Session 1 - Montefiore

Box 8 Effects of residential areas pricing on urban sprawl in Tallinn
The impacts of urban sprawl
An inventory of the new residential areas (minimum 5 houses or doors in limits of 200 m from each other)
in the Tallinn metropolitan area was carried out during January 2006 (Ahas et al., 2006; Tammaru et al.,
2006). The construction of the new residential areas has grown exponentially in 1991–2005. One third
of all the households living in the suburbs of Tallinn live in the houses that were completed in 2005. The
171 settlements under study consist of 3 400 dwellings housing 5 600 families and 17 200 inhabitants. It
becomes evident that 46 % of settlements consist of single-family houses, but only 20 % of the households
live in them. New housing is concentrated very close to the capital city, in limits of 10–15 km from city
centre. New settlement areas are spatially more scattered into the new small settlements, mainly on the
previous farmlands. The majority of new residential areas are located not far from the existing social
infrastructure, but they are poorly equipped with it themselves. The local populations living in the city are
beginning to realise new opportunities to sell their inner city apartments at higher prices and purchase new
housing outside the city. These houses are located in scattered developments approximately 10–15 km
from the centre of Tallinn typically on former farmlands. The majority of these new residential areas are
located adjacent to the existing social infrastructures but have nonetheless poor social provision.
Figure Tallinn average price of a two-room apartment (EEK/m 2 )
30 000
25 000
20 000
15 000
10 000
5 000
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Source: Estonian Statistical Office, 2006.
Map New settlements in Tallinn metropolitan area, 2006
20 Km
EEK/m 2
KEILA
SAUE
Source: Tammaru et al., 2006.
TALLINN
MAARDU
Houses built
1991–1995
Houses built
1996–2000
Houses built
2000–2006
Settlement area
in 1991
Urban sprawl in Europe 37