The city architect's job will be to create a main vision for Tallinn's urban space that fits the development and needs of the capital, "Aktuaalne kaamera. Nädal" reported on Sunday.

Deputy Mayor Madle Lippus (SDE) said while there may not have been an overarching design, general frameworks for development have been followed.

Former Tartu city architect Tõnis Arjus said the role requires a "strong integrator" who can work with many different interest groups.

"When we are talking about urban space, the parties are practically everyone – the districts and the different authorities. So this role of integrator is important. And I think that was also felt in Tallinn. When this role of integrator disappeared, the decision-making processes became more confused," he said.

Expectations for the city architect are very high.

"It is well known that Tallinn is the most segregated capital city in Europe, and it is precisely these tendencies that make it important for the city to have an urban architect to plan its spatial development accordingly," Lippus said.

However, Arjus, who worked as Tartu's architect for 11 years, stressed that one person cannot improve the entire system.

"The position of city architect is primarily concerned with the strategic and the larger plan. They must not deal with day-to-day garden-variety issues. And the big questions are, broadly speaking, where the citizen of Tallinn lives, where the citizen of Tallinn works, and what other cooperation with the surrounding districts there is," he explained.

A general plan for the capital's development must be drawn up first. Arjus said the current plan is "outdated" and unclear.

"Tallinn's master plan, which covers the whole city and applies to two other parts of the city – the city center and North Tallinn – dates from 2001," Lippus said.

Completing the work will be the city architect's task.

"For North Tallinn, it is already more or less ready. In the city center, it's in the process of being drawn up. /.../ But my clear direction is that it has to be done for both plans definitely within the next year," the deputy mayor said.

Previously shelved plans for Tallinn's main street may even be given a new lease of life. "Aktuaalne kaamera" asked what could be done to improve the city center.

Arjus said Tallinn is become more of a tourist and working zone, and fewer and fewer people are choosing to live there.

"Our wish, and I think it is the wish of Tallinn, is that the city center still functions as a city center," Lippus said. "Maybe it is still important that people can get through the city, that they can move around, that they can drive around, but these streets must also have a value, so to speak. Perhaps it must also be possible to be there, to talk, and there must be space for greenery, because all these streets are actually also people's homes."

The fastest developing districts also need attention, especially when it comes to public transport.

architect Kalle Vellevoog said: "Obviously Põhja Tallinn is going to be one of the serious trouble spots in the coming years because if we see new developments in Põhja Tallinn now, it is clear that it will also need a significantly greater public transport presence there. Otherwise, in the future, all these people will start to travel to the city center by car, and then at some point there will be so many bottlenecks that we won't be able to stop wondering."

"People can only prefer public transport if it gives them a time advantage, is comfortable, clean, works well," he added.

Another issue that needs to be dealt with is property segregation, where people on lower incomes are not pushed out. There are plenty of cities in Europe that Tallinn can learn from.

"Amsterdam and Copenhagen, for example, are certainly very nice cities to live in. It is important to bear in mind that their human-centred and human-dimensioned development started more than 50 years ago," Lippus said.

The deputy mayor said Tallinn is trying to make up for lost time with quick steps, but it is expensive and not everything happens quickly. Therefore, tactical urbanism techniques have been introduced. For example, portable temporary parks and color-coded level bike paths.

"The wish, of course, is that it will be much faster than the 50 years it has taken elsewhere to make this change," she said.

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