Kaupinlaakso will be built around the future eastern tram line, and housing development in this area will be reconciled with its nature values. The resident numbers and building rights in the local detailed plan for Kaupinlaakso are exceptionally large. The district will be built gradually over the years and decades to come.
When completed, the district will have approx. 9,200 residents. The first part of the local detailed plan (Kaupinlaakso I) that foresees approx. 2,500 residents is already legally valid, and the first tramway section from Kauppi campus towards Linnainmaa up to Ruotula tennis centre is under construction.
Kaupinlaakso II plan area is delimited by Toimelankatu in the west; the proposed boundaries of Tampere National Urban Park located in Kauppi-Niihama urban forest areas in the north; the shores of Lake Alasjärvi and the proposed boundary of Lahnakallio nature reserve in the east; and the traffic area of Teiskontie in the south.
The plan area is about 110 hectares in size and mostly owned by the City of Tampere. Other plot owners and operators have been engaged in the planning.
Kauppi-Niihama recreational and urban forests in the north will be preserved as a large, united area, and the western shores of Lake Alasjärvi will be designated as a protected green area. The extension of the tramway will improve access to the recreational area and sports facilities from all parts of the city. The ribbon-like new urban structure has been carefully reconciled with nature values, feasibility of construction and landscape.
The residents of the developing district will have unique opportunities for outdoor exercise and enjoying nature. The large recreational and nature areas of Kauppi-Niihama extending to around 900 hectares and key sports facilities are nearby. Frisbee golf will remain in the area, and a new area for golfing is planned in Nurmi.
The objective of the local detailed plan was to create a colourful and welcoming block structure with diverse functions and a varying cityscape. One of the goals is to promote high-quality timber construction. The planned block structure and traffic environment will support public transport, walking and cycling and consequently help attain the city's climate change mitigation targets.
The local detailed plan reconciles the space needs and interfaces of nature, recreation and sports areas as well as streets and residential blocks. The block structure has also been influenced by the need for ecological corridors and access to recreation, stormwater management and ground conditions that affect the feasibility of construction, space needs of the service network, parking system, and abatement of traffic noise from Teiskontie.
The residential blocks and their local services will be placed compactly along Kaupinlaakso boulevard near tram stops. Kaupinlaakso tram stop will mark the central point of the district. In the vicinity of the tram stop, a school and day-care centre building, youth centre and library as well as small squares associated with grocery trade with their brick-and-mortar premises will make up the centre of the area. The centre is to contain buildings that are higher than the surrounding area.
The local detailed plan solution permits different types of housing environments. The residential buildings will have 2 to 12 floors. The compact residential blocks along the tramway will become more spaced out and their floor numbers will decrease northwards.
The residential blocks north of the tramway and smaller-scale housing development will be located around Kaupinlaakso Central Park. In the north, the blocks will border on the current forest areas. A rainwater park extending from east to west, in which versatile functions will be located, will be a key part of the Central Park.
The parking system of the local detailed plan, which is mainly based on multi-storey car parks, will allow for the building of large, pleasant and car-free courtyards in the residential blocks. The general appearance of Kaupinlaakso will be green and include a large number of trees to be planted along the boulevard that passes through the district.
In the plan proposal, Kaupinlaakso boulevard will be connected to Teiskontie at the current traffic light controlled junctions of Jaakonmäenkatu and Irjalankatu. The local detailed plan foresees two new underpasses on Teiskontie for pedestrians and cyclists.
While drawing up the local detailed plan, the city has also worked on tram timetables for Kaupinlaakso boulevard and Rahjukoski tram bridge together with the Pirkkala-Linnainmaa Alliance of Tampere Tramway. General plans have additionally been drawn up for other streets in the area and for Ruotula underpass.
The feedback received in the kick-off and preparation phases of the local detailed plan concerned, in particular, issues related to tramway stops and routes, cycling routes, nature values, landscape and cityscape. Such as needs to supplement the reports were brought up in comments received from the authorities. The reports were supplemented and the local detailed plan was developed further in the proposal phase.
While the work on the local detailed plan was in progress, various surveys and reports were produced, including nature surveys, transport network reports and street plans, a reference plan for green spaces and green factor calculations, reports on feasibility of construction, preliminary site investigations and harmful substances in soil, a stormwater report and management plan, a report on noise, vibration and ground-borne noise, a commercial report and a carbon footprint calculation. The local detailed plan is also supplemented by the Quality and construction method guideline that illustrates it and guides further planning.
Street plan proposals related to the tramway extension in the relevant area will be made available simultaneously with the detailed plan documents on 12 February 2026.
The set of plans for Kaupinlaakso will be presented at a public event on Thursday 19 February 2026 between 17:00 and 19:00 in Arvo building on Kauppi campus. The documents will be available for public review from 16:30. A progress report on the construction of Pirkkala-Linnainmaa tramway will also be provided at this event.
