Espoonlahti

An aerial view of Espoonlahti with Kivenlahti in the foreground, 2003.

Areas along the Bay of Espoonlahti as well as the shores and islands of the Gulf of Finland belong to the oldest inhabited parts of Espoo with traces of human presence reaching to the Bronze Age.[5][6] Certain pollens in sediment samples from Lake Hannusjärvi indicate permanent inhabitation and agriculture in and around the Bay of Finnoonlahti area about year 1000.[7] The oldest villages in Espoonlahti are those of Soukka and Kivenlahti. They were important enough to be marked by their Swedish names Sökö and Stensvik on maps as early as in 1540.[8] Espoonlahti Bay provided an important route for the Hanse trade ships and for those of the farmer salesmen from Espoo inland villages.[9] Like all Espoo this area was still a typical rural area in the 1860s - only seldom disturbed by any industrial activity.[10] The vast majority of changes that lead to modern Espoonlahti started with a great influx of new inhabitants after World War II.[11] Things started to move rapidly after the Soviet Union returned the neighbouring Porkkala in 1956.[9][10] The 1960s saw joined regional planning efforts between architects and housing companies who aimed to plan and build entire housing areas at one go.[11] Those for the Soukka - Kivenlahti area were drawn by Alvar Aalto in 1964,[12] while plans made for Laurinlahti by Espoo planners were successfully opposed by local residents assisted by the brothers Suomalainen.[10] The most northerly point of Espoonlahti on the Bay of Espoonlahti is Saunalahti (Bastvik), whose urbanisation started in 2001 with asphatisation old roads and was followed in 2002 by intensive construction work of mainly residential buildings.[13]

Shopping center Lippulaiva seen from Espoonlahdenkatu in 2014.

With more than 52 000 inhabitants Espoonlahti is today the second largest of Espoo urban centers.[14] It is a markedly residential area that in 2004 was able to employ 39% of its inhabitants.[15] Espoonlahti center is characterized by a tree lined shopping street Espoonlahdenkatu, where most of the services are found. Among them is the shopping center Lippulaiva built in 1994, the market place, several banks and some small restaurants. The swimming hall, health center and Espoonlahti Church are all found close by.[16] As Espoonlahden keskus is one of the stations of the western branch of the Helsinki metropolitan area underground (Länsimetro),[17] further urban development is ongoing there. It includes several residential buildings, facilities for cultural services and an addition to Lippulaiva, which lies in the vicinity of the underground station,[18] opened in 2022. There are five stations in the greater Espoonlahti area: Finnoo, Kaitaa, Soukka, Espoonlahti and Kivenlahti.

• Districts of Espoo

• "Espoonlahden alueellinen esteettömyyskartoitus" (in Finnish). Espoo, Tekninen keskus. December 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
• Kylä, keskiaika Itämeren rannalla. Espoon kaupunginmuseon tutkimuksia 10. Helsinki 2008. ISBN 978-951-857-9. (A village, Middle Ages on the shores of the Baltic Sea) In Finnish.
• Matti J. Lahti: Espoo maalaispitäjästä suurkauppalaksi. Espoo-sarja. Pieksämäki 1975. ISBN 9789519522401. In Finnish.
• Johanna Pekkanen - Virve Heininen: Kuninkaankartanosta kaupungiksi. Viisi vuosisataa espoolaiselämää. AtlasArt, Riga 2013. ISBN 978-952-5671-46-9. In Finnish.