Easy, smooth and low-emission public transport – HSL Executive Board approved the MAL 2019 Framework Program

The Executive Board of HSL approved the new Land Use, Housing and Transport Framework Program, MAL 2019.

How will people live and travel in the Helsinki region in the coming decades? How do we get two million inhabitants and a million jobs to act together so that we can maximize the benefits of growth and the wellbeing of people?

On Tuesday 13 December, The Executive Board of HSL approved the Land Use, Housing and Transport or MAL 2019 Framework Program aimed at making everyday life in the Helsinki region easy and healthy and the travel in region safe and smooth. The MAL Framework Program defines how the next round of land use, housing and transport planning in the region will be carried out and what are the key themes. In addition, the framework program provides guidelines for reducing traffic emissions in the region. The EU emission reduction goal for sectors excluded from emissions trading, such as transport, is 39 percent from the 2005 level by 2030.

During the MAL 2019 planning round, a single coherent Helsinki region land use, housing and transport plan will be established. The MAL plan will also include the statutory Helsinki region transport system plan, for which HSL is responsible. The transport system plan determines how the transport system is improved and made more sustainable over the coming years and identifies the most important individual areas of development.

 “People do not stop at municipal boundaries: everyday life, work and leisure activities spread across the region. We want close cooperation in the region in order to create a region where it is easy to live and travel,” says HSL Director of Transport System Planning Department Sini Puntanen.

Next spring HSL will conduct an opinion poll to gauge residents’ and municipal politicians’ views on the development of the region. The results will be published in March/April.

The MAL Plan will be approved in spring 2019.

 “The region is growing rapidly. Sustainable development with as many benefits and as few adverse impacts as possible is the goal we all share. The growth in transport is directed to sustainable modes of transport, i.e. public transport, walking and cycling,” says HSL Executive Director Suvi Rihtniemi.