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94 per cent of residents are satisfied with Tallinn’s living environment, including 34 per cent who are very satisfied.

“Tallinners rate their living conditions highly – 94 per cent of the city’s residents are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the city. This is a very high figure and it has remained stable over the years. Satisfaction with the living environment in their own district has even slightly increased,” said Tallinn Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart. “More specifically, street lighting and urban maintenance merited the highest ratings. We have reason to be proud of the cleanliness of our urban space – it is noticed by our residents and our visitors alike.”

Residents’ overall satisfaction with the city’s living environment has remained stable in recent years: between 2015 and 2021, Tallinn’s living environment has been rated 3.2 or 3.3 on a four-point scale. According to the survey, residents have the highest opinion of the cleanliness of urban space, with a total of 87 per cent of respondents very or somewhat satisfied and 12 per cent not satisfied. Residents expressed high satisfaction with the condition of green areas, parks, public playgrounds as well as health and exercise trails: 88 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the condition of green areas and parks, and 76 per cent with the condition of public playgrounds and health and exercise trails.

“This is certainly not coincidental, as the city has highly prioritised investments in green areas and playgrounds over the last three years. I am glad that this has not gone unnoticed by the citizens,” said Kõlvart.

According to the survey, 93 per cent of the residents of Tallinn are satisfied with the living environment in their own district, and complete satisfaction with the living environment of one’s own district was expressed more often than with that of the city in general. Pirita residents are the most satisfied with their district, with 98 per cent expressing satisfaction with their living environment. Satisfaction with the living environment in the district was lowest in Kristiine, where 90 per cent of respondents were satisfied.

Satisfaction with the basic amenities in their district is quite high, with at least three quarters satisfied with almost all aspects. This includes a total of 88 per cent of all respondents who are satisfied with street lighting, the 83 per cent satisfied with air quality and the 82 per cent satisfied with the cleanliness of streets and roadsides. Respondents were most dissatisfied with the level of noise and dust in their neighbourhood, with 24 per cent dissatisfied with noise and 25 per cent with dust.

56 per cent of Tallinners usually reach their main destination, such as work or school, in 20 minutes or less on a weekday, and for 35 per cent of residents, it takes 20-45 minutes. For 22 per cent of respondents, reaching their main daily destination took 10 minutes or less. A year earlier, 50 per cent of those surveyed reported reaching their main destination in 20 minutes or less.

“There is certainly a positive trend that a large number of people are reaching their daily destinations faster. This means that we are gradually moving towards the goal that a majority of residents should be able to fulfil their daily activities and access services within 15 minutes, as set in the city’s development strategy for 2035,” said Kõlvart.

Of the people living in Tallinn, 38 per cent use their car as their main mode of transport to get to work, school or other main destinations during the working day, and 32 per cent use public transport. A total of 78 per cent of respondents are satisfied with the quality of public transport, 8 per cent are not satisfied and 14 per cent did not have an opinion.

“While in 2019 public transport was the main choice of transport for 44 per cent of people, from 2020 the leading choice has been a private car. After the onset of the pandemic in 2020, a large proportion of people started to prefer their car in order to reduce contacts, and the same trend continued in 2021. Despite this, however, people’s satisfaction with public transport has even increased from a very high past base,” explained Kõlvart. “However, there has been a significant and consistent increase in the share of daily walking, with 21 per cent of people walking daily to their main destination, compared to 12 per cent in 2018. This is certainly due to a variety of factors, such as the pandemic and people’s informed healthy lifestyle choices. For example, you can walk in the new Tondiraba Park or on the promenade along the Reidi tee. An overwhelming majority of 80 per cent of Tallinn residents consider the city to be pedestrian-friendly and this opinion has not changed over the years.”

According to the survey, 72 per cent of the residents surveyed think that the Tallinn City Government has performed well, compared to 67 per cent a year earlier. Satisfaction has increased with the opportunities to having a say in decisions affecting the city or their neighbourhood. While in 2020, 32 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the level of participation in key decisions offered by the city authorities, it rose significantly to 49 per cent.

“I express my gratitude to the citizens for their trust. This is a necessary signal for us that we are moving in the right direction, and it will certainly inspire our civil servants to find ways to provide even better services to the residents of Tallinn,” said Kõlvart.

In the Tallinn Satisfaction Survey among citizens, a total of 1,533 Tallinn residents aged 15 and over were interviewed via telephone by Turu-uuringute AS on behalf of the Tallinn Strategic Management Office in November and December last year. The assessment of Tallinn’s governance comes from a telephone survey conducted by the Estonian Research Centre, to which 800 Tallinn residents aged 15 and over responded in November and December last year.

The final reports of the surveys are available on the Tallinn website at https://uuringud.tallinn.ee/uuring/vaata/2021/Tallinlaste-rahulolukusitlus-2021-3 and https://uuringud.tallinn.ee/uuring/vaata/2021/Tallinlaste-rahulolukusitlus-2021-4