Tampere asks residents to shape its digital future

Tampere is inviting residents to help co-design the city’s next generation of digital services as it moves into a new era of data-driven innovation.

The Finnish city has established itself as one of Europe’s leading testbeds for smart city development. Over the past decade, it has pioneered initiatives in connectivity, artificial intelligence, and data governance–from making Finland’s first 5G call with Nokia in 2018 to launching its first city-wide data strategy and exploring the metaverse as part of a “cityverse” vision.

Building on this foundation, Tampere is now asking citizens to take part in an open survey to share their experiences with digitalisation and suggest the kinds of tools and services they want next.

According to Maria Nikkilä, Executive Director, Digitalisation and ICT, City of Tampere, this new phase follows years of technological investment and international recognition through the Smart City for Citizens programme.

“Now that the technologies have matured and we’ve strengthened the city’s digital capabilities, it’s the right moment to listen to residents’ ideas for the next phase. Their feedback will give us valuable insights into how people experience digitalisation – and that’s what we’re building these smart solutions for: to improve everyday life.”

Jaakko Mustakallio, Deputy Mayor, City of Tampere, added that citizen dialogue is crucial to ensuring that digital progress translates into tangible benefits.

“These achievements are great milestones, but now we want to talk with Tampere residents about the tangible results of digital development–what it means in their daily lives, and most importantly, what they think about it.”

This citizen outreach comes as Tampere continues to expand its ecosystem of innovation. As Cities Today has previously reported, the city’s partnership with Nokia and Qualcomm is advancing 5G+ and extended reality (XR) capabilities, while work with Tampere University and Microsoft is driving research into the metaverse and next-generation connectivity.

At the same time, Tampere’s Data-Driven City for Citizens programme, led by Nikkilä, has laid the groundwork for a local “data economy”, ethical AI use, and proactive digital services that adapt to residents’ needs. Tools such as Tampereen Pulssi, which forecasts city centre visitor flows using AI, and the Tampere.Finland app, which provides real-time city information, demonstrate how data is already improving daily life.

To make these concepts more accessible, Tampere has launched a new children’s video series, Petra and Tamu Investigates, explaining how data, AI, and digital twins shape the city.

Outi Valkama, Programme Manager, City of Tampere, said the series aims to demystify technology.

“Smart city solutions and their terminology can sometimes sound distant, even though they’re really just about everyday services that make life easier. The series showcases current examples and helps residents imagine what smart city development could mean for them.”

Image: Gudvin05 | Dreamstime.com