What is 6Aika?
The six largest cities in Finland share the same challenges of urbanisation. In the Six City Strategy, Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Turku and Oulu tackle those challenges together and develop better services.
Smarter, more open cities
The Six City Strategy and its projects have done extensive work for the good of Finnish urban development. The projects also support the climate goals of the cities.
New business
In the Six City Strategy projects, companies test products and services in urban environments. The advantage is that they get feedback from real users and can develop even better services.
A showcase for Finnish urban development
The Six City Strategy attracts international attention. Such extensive cooperation across different cities, organisations and sectors is rare. We are the benchmark for customer-centered, sustainable urban development.
Smart Cities Work Together
The Six City Strategy is based on co-operation, which includes cities, residents, companies and research organisations. The co-operation between cities is close and practical, since all Six City Strategy projects involve operators from at least two of the Six Cities.
Co-operation requires openness. In the Six City Strategy projects, information and experiences are shared among cities and other project partners. Shared experiences and learning strengthen trust. The Six City Strategy started in 2014, and it has now created a developer network consisting of hundreds of experts.
In the Six City Strategy, openness also means a new positioning of the cities. The cities have opened up so that companies get to test their products and services with real users in authentic urban environments, such as schools, shopping centres, hospitals, nursing homes and neighbourhoods. We call these physical, virtual and functional spaces for co-creation ‘innovation platforms’.
Projects are the engine of the Six City Strategy. The themes of the projects range from smart mobility to learning and from health and well-being to circular economy and energy efficiency. The Six City Strategy also involves projects related to employment and competence building. The basis of the Strategy was built in three large-scale spearhead projects: Open data and interfaces, Open innovation platforms and Open participation and customership. They have pushed forward the Finnish smart city model: customer-centered cocreation, opening and utilising data and developing services in real urban environments.
The cross-sectoral Six City Strategy offers a unique framework for smart and sustainable urban development. Our goal is to create new business, new jobs and new competences. Our goal is to create a better Finland.
The Six City Strategy – Open and Smart Services 2014–2020 is part of Finland’s structural fund programme for sustainable growth and jobs 2014–2020. The strategy and its projects are funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), the Finnish Government, the participating cities and project partners. Helsinki Uusimaa Regional Council is the authority responsible for ERDF funding and Häme Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment is the authority responsible for ESF funding. The budget amounts to 100 million euros, approximately.