Vantaa to study whether capital region cities can merge

Vantaa will examine whether it should merge with Helsinki, Espoo and Kauniainen, after a city council initiative advanced to the city’s officials for preparation, Yle reports.

The proposal also calls for closer cooperation between the four cities. Its lead author is Vantaa City Council chair Sakari Rokkanen of the National Coalition Party. Seventeen councillors have signed the initiative, about a quarter of the council.

The signatories say municipal boundaries are holding back growth in the Helsinki region. Residents regularly cross city borders for work, studies, leisure and services, while decisions made by each city affect the functioning and competitiveness of the wider region. They argue that land use and service provision could be managed more effectively as a whole.

The idea has vocal opponents, particularly among councillors from the Centre Party and the Finns Party.

Earlier merger reviews have not advanced. Helsinki proposed a study of the benefits and drawbacks of merging with Vantaa in 2009, but Vantaa’s council voted against continuing the review in 2011. A wider government-led review covering several municipalities in the Uusimaa region began in 2013, but the process was rejected by Vantaa’s city board in 2015.

The initiative’s authors say the cities’ operating conditions and responsibilities have changed since those reviews, citing reforms to social and health services and employment services, as well as urban growth and a more diverse population. The city’s officials will prepare the matter, which is expected to reach Vantaa’s city board within about six months.