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Good practice Imported

Helsinki's Green Factor Tool — Scoring Vegetation and Stormwater Elements into Every New Plot Plan

Finland · Helsinki · See the Finland profile · See the Helsinki profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 63% 40/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Helsinki's Green Factor tool scores 43 vegetation, stormwater and permeable-surface elements against plot area and has been mandatory in all new detailed plans since 2020; a peer-reviewed study found it works well but flagged weak monitoring of results.

43
Green elements scored by the tool
6
Cities piloting the adapted tool (EU iWater project, 2015–2018)
Helsinki's Green Factor Tool — Scoring Vegetation and Stormwater Elements into Every New Plot Plan

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
City of Helsinki (Urban Environment Division, with the EU iWater project)
Period
2014–present
Region (NUTS)
FI1B
Keywords
urban planning, zoning tool, stormwater management, green infrastructure

Context

Helsinki's Green Factor tool is an Excel-based scoring method weighting 43 green and stormwater elements against lot area; it has been mandatory in all new local detailed plans in Helsinki since 2020.

Results

Through the EU's iWater project (2015–2018) the method was piloted in six other northern European cities (Riga, Jelgava, Tartu, Gävle, Söderhamn, Turku); a peer-reviewed case study found the tool 'functions well' for shaping design intent, but identified weak monitoring of whether built outcomes actually reach their scored targets.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years)
Staffing & skills
City of Helsinki planning department

Conditions for success

  • Flexible scoring lets designers choose among elements to meet a location-specific minimum target

Common failure modes

  • Built-outcome monitoring against scored targets remains weak; ambitious targets can be undercut by other regulations

Commonly funded by

Interreg (European Territorial Cooperation) National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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