30.6.2021 https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ If you do not see this message properly, view in browser here. IN BRIEF By the Tallinn City Centre Government as part of the "Tallinn City Centre New Arrivals Project" Dear Tallinn Residents, May is here! This is the second edition of the “Tallinn in Brief” newsletter and we are excited to share the city news with over 1000 readers this time! We hope that you did not forget to congratulate your mothers on Mothers’ day on May 9th, and if for some reason you did forget, please take a moment to tell your mom “thank you” and “I love you” as soon as you can! In this newsletter you will read about community gardens spread throughout Tallinn, the construction progress of Tondiraba park, the bus stops retro exhibitions in Väike-Õismäe, and so much more. We wish you a beautiful spring! Photo by Xavier Mouton Photographie on Unsplash MELT Innovation Forum Tallinn: which economic model is https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ 1/10 30.6.2021 https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ the way forward? Photo by Mert Guller on Unsplash The MELT Innovation Forum, which was cancelled last spring due to the coronavirus pandemic, will take place virtually this year on the 12th of May. For the first time, the event will be free of charge for all participants. The forum can be followed online at www.melt.ee. This year, the focus is on innovation in cities and the colours of the economy: the blue, green and silver economies. Sustainability and circular economy will also be discussed, as well as the impact of the corona on both businesses and consumption patterns. The MELT Innovation Forum is organized by the Tallinn Business Centre, the Tallinn Creative Incubator and the Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol. Every year, MELT brings together fresh ideas and technologies for the future, enabling people to discover, learn and notice the opportunities for innovation around them. Community Gardens in Every District in Tallinn https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ 2/10 30.6.2021 https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ Photo by Janar Siniväli Community gardens created by citizens have become more and more popular in recent years. The city has decided to support this initiative because it promotes a healthy and active lifestyle as well as the diversification of urban nature. Last year, the city funded the creation of three community gardens in Kadriorg and Pirita. This year, five new gardens will be created: in Mustamäe, Haabertsi, Kristiine, City Centre and Nõmme. Growing vegetables and herbs in community gardens is now possible in every district in Tallinn. Initiatives of urban gardening will be funded according to the non-profit activities procedure of Tallinn, which states that applications connected to urban gardening must be submitted by February 1. Work and activities connected to urban gardens will be planned and executed according to the current COVID-19 restrictions. At the moment, until restrictions are relaxed, only preparations can be made. What you can do, however, is contact the leaders of the community gardens and let them know you are interested: www.tallinn.ee/est/keskkond/Kogukonnaaiad. Construction in Tondiraba park In March this year, construction work began in Tondiraba park and everything has gone according to plan. The aim of the project is to create a unique recreation area that supports ecological diversity, serves as an urban nature refuge and provides a space for healthy leisure activities for both children and adults. During the construction: Multiple big playgrounds, adventure and landscape trails, an extreme sport area and dog-walking areas will be created. In addition, comfortable bicycle infrastructure will be added as well as a skating rink which, in the summer, can be used to play all kinds of sports. https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ 3/10 30.6.2021 https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ 25,661 m2 of pavements and 10243 m2 of footpaths covered with mulch and granite gravel will be installed. To preserve biodiversity, about 40,000 m2 of different meadow and grass areas will be added. Raised walkways above small bodies of water will be built in the southern side of the park. New nature trails will open up parts of the park for the public that used to be inaccessible. In addition to landscaping, the utility network will be renewed and traffic signs, safety measures and street lighting installed. Tondiraba park will get two pump-tracks, one for kids and one for more experienced riders. A pump track is an exciting attraction where you can ride your scooter, bicycle, BMX bike, skateboard or roller skates on an asphalt track consisting of tiny hills. The extreme sport area will also have a skatepark with elements on different levels, arcs, ramps, pipes and edges. The total area of the skatepark will be 1700 m2. The spaces between the tracks will be fitted with platforms for gaining momentum and resting. Seabin the sea trash collector, begins its second season in Tallinn On May 3, the second season of the sea trash collector Seabin in the Old City Marina was opened. The Seabin arrived in Tallinn thanks to our collaboration with Helsinki. “Sea trash has become a real danger to the aquatic environment and our own Baltic Sea is one of the most affected by human activity,” says Kalle Klandorf, deputy mayor of https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ 4/10 30.6.2021 https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ Tallinn. “Tallinn wishes to be a green seaside city and reducing sea pollution is a key part of that.” The container of the trash collector will be emptied at regular intervals during the season. The trash will be sorted and weighed and the data will be forwarded to the international Seabin project. Last year’s study shows that in the course of the project, from July to October, 81% of the trash collected was plastic. Trash produced by humans consisted of cigarette butts (10%), bottles (7%) as well as tin cans (2%). You can see the sea trash collector at work here. Environmental education programs are conducted near the Seabin for Tallinn kindergartens and schools. The children get to see the sea trash collector at work and learn about the kind of trash that ends up in it, different types of garbage, the sorting and weighing process and, where the trash is finally taken. They also find out why trash in the sea is dangerous for the environment and how to care for the sea. The environmental education programs connected to the Tallinn Seabin are a partner event for the European Union’s Green Week 2021, as they highlight the danger trash poses to the aquatic environment. Tallinn to continue supporting start-ups in the space field Photo by NASA on Unsplash Tallinn City has decided to continue supporting the incubation of new space enterprises in the Tehnopol Science Park, contributing to the business incubator of the European Space Agency for the years 2022-2025. In the course of four years, the city will provide the incubator with a total of 200,000 euros. The Enterprise Estonia business incubator, started in 2017, is aimed at enterprises focused on developing space technology applications for use on Earth. The incubation https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ 5/10 30.6.2021 https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ service is provided by the Tehnopol Science Park in Tallinn. The incubation period for one enterprise can last up to two years. The aim of the project is to accept eight start-ups specialising in space technology or space data to the Enterprise Estonia’s business incubator in Tallinn over the course of the next four years. In addition to the city of Tallinn and Tehnopol, TalTech, the city of Tartu, Tartu science park, Tartu University, Tartu Observatory and KredEx as the starter loan provider are also part of the consortium of the project. The Tallinn business incubator has given wing to multiple promising companies: Hepta Airborne OÜ, which uses satellites, drones, helicopters and big data analysis to automate the management of power lines, took on 2 million euros this February to expand to foreign markets. At the moment, the company operates in Estonia, Germany, Portugal, Finland and Ukraine. Golbriak Space OÜ developed optical satellite telecommunication technology that made it into space aboard the rocket Vega launched in September 2020 from the French Guiana. Zubax Robotics OÜ has developed electric motor controllers that significantly raise the energy efficiency of the space industry. In July 2018 the company won the competition PowerUp! for Central and Eastern Europe. New retro exhibition in the bus stations of Väike-Õismäe Starting from today, you can see a throwback to the early years of Väike-Õismäe subdistrict in the bus stations of Väike-Õismäe. The exhibition of almost 40 photos will be open for everyone until 30 May. https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ 6/10 30.6.2021 https://kesklinn.sendsmaily.net/template/preview/id/9/ The subdistrict of Väike-Õismäe was planned in 1968 by Mart Port and Malle Meelak and built in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The subdistrict’s circle-shaped layout considers the city from a birds-eye view rather than a street-level view. Unlike Mustamäe and Lasnamäe, Väike-Õismäe (designed for 45 000 residents) was not designed with micro- districts – the whole residential area was centralised around a circular pond. The new development was named Väike-Õismäe on the map of Tallinn in the 1960s.