Everything is starting again, starting all over again. Those song lyrics came to mind when I read the proposals by regional policy experts. Recognized experts in the field came forward with several proposals, but Garri Raagmaa can correct me if I am wrong: he has been making these proposals, with minor adjustments, at fairly regular intervals for perhaps a couple of decades now.

In short, the main points of the proposed reboot are as follows: We need a national plan — in other words, a planned economy —, success is measured by how much financial support is paid to businesses and the distribution of that support should involve — that is, provide work and remuneration for — expert advisory institutions.

For example, the experts point out that while rural areas are home to low-value-added activities, the more productive service economy in the capital region received the largest share of research, development and innovation funding. The comparison is not based on profits, revenue or exports, but on how much support was received. And the solution to this entire situation is seen as county-level development programs involving expert advice.

I know that, as a local government leader with relatively little experience, I run the risk of charging through several open doors with both feet in my mouth. It is possible that there is something important I do not know or have failed to notice, but to put it briefly and based on my many years of work as a senior executive in the public sector: I am not buying this reboot plan.

There are things in it that I agree with, such as the need for modern housing in rural areas. But instead of staffing a complicated system of advice and financial support, we could agree on a couple of concrete goals that are understandable regardless of where someone lives or their level of education, that we can start working toward immediately and whose results could be seen in the near future — tangible results that people can see and touch.

What particularly stood out to me was that the regional experts do not have a single proposal or even a complete sentence about education and culture.

I will offer a few ideas. Nothing original — these are also issues that have been discussed for a couple of decades but have so far remained relatively peripheral for regional development experts. It is time to shift the focus and put education, culture and the living environment at the heart of regional policy.

They can be put in a different order, too, but changing the order of the terms does not change the sum. With these three pillars as the foundation, other areas will follow, including business and jobs.

Estonia's competitiveness rests on hardworking and educated people

Educated people help drive the economy, create added value and are productive members of their communities and society. Let us ensure that children in grades 1–6 can attend school close to home. High-quality basic schools and upper secondary schools can be farther away.

I know what I am talking about. As mayor of Lääneranna Municipality, I am very familiar with what can happen when the school network is dismantled hastily. Beyond the cost of litigation, worse still are the damage to the sense of unity and the distrust created toward both local and central government.

At the same time, I see how a successful small school can bring communities together and encourage parents to move to the countryside or remain there. Metsküla Primary School, which has been at the center of legal battles, has built a strong reputation and served as a magnet for young families moving to the countryside, while its enrollment has been on a long-term upward trend. Additional state funding for small schools helps keep them open and means children starting school do not have to be brought together in the municipal center.

To strengthen the network of basic and upper secondary schools, the state could support the establishment of student dormitories and pay higher salaries to more highly qualified teachers in rural areas. The transition to Estonian-language education provides a good example to follow. It was an issue debated for decades, but once there was a clear and understandable goal and action plan, along with additional pay for teachers in Ida-Viru County, things finally began to move. Teachers began moving there as well.

Time to systematically contribute to living environment

Former Mulgi Municipality mayor Andres Rõigas concluded in his doctoral dissertation, defended at the University of Tartu, that people's decisions to move to the countryside are influenced most by the particular place, its environment and its people. He also found that many people who move to rural areas bring their jobs with them, so to speak, in their laptops.

The days when local governments used subsidies to build industrial parks should be behind us. Typically, this meant that a tire repair shop, auto glass shop or auto repair shop got new premises on the edge of a settlement. These are all necessary businesses, but do they really need to be clustered in one place with state support?

Let us invest in repurposing existing historic buildings. This also helps meet green objectives; new buildings should be constructed only when absolutely necessary. And when people move to the countryside, or already live there, they generally look for a home with some distinctive character. A Soviet-era prefabricated apartment building is rarely their first choice.

There is reason for optimism in the national spatial plan currently being drafted, which establishes the principle that historic built heritage should remain in active use and that historic town centers should be vibrant and diverse. A strong center does not have to be a large center. A strong center is a place where people can live well.

Investment must also be directed toward supporting the plan. There are promising signs. The government recently approved a proposal for the allocation of EU funding for 2028 and beyond, which included a reform proposed by the Ministry of Culture aimed at developing town centers with renovated buildings and diverse architecture that drive local life and economic activity.

I would not limit this to town centers. In some villages, a community center that includes a library, a stand selling local products, a remote-work space and a meeting room can be just as important to the local area as the Telliskivi Creative City has been in driving the development of Põhja-Tallinn. Even support for the construction of rental housing would be a very useful place to start.

A good living environment also means well-maintained roads. I am not dreaming of shuttle buses that depart several times a day. In a sparsely populated municipality with 3.7 people per square kilometer, that simply is not realistic. But there are currently roads that buses do not even dare travel on at certain times of the year. Let us build more hard-surfaced roads. They also require less maintenance and the results are visible and easy to measure. How many kilometers will we get done this year?

Culture and communities

People generally need other people around them. During my career as a civil servant, I have seen and experienced campaigns aimed at moving government agencies out of Tallinn. Jobs can certainly be relocated and doing so has some impact, but if the broader environment does not support it, the result is simply commuting.

Schools and hobby schools are important and we should not underestimate the value of being able to go to the theater, movies or an exhibition or to sing in a choir, play sports or take part in folk dancing. In today's crisis-filled world, shared cultural activities are also one of the best ways to strengthen communities. They create social groups and networks that keep people connected and help them cope with difficult times.

Regional cultural events also have a direct impact on local businesses. The Viljandi Folk Music Festival, Seto Kingdom Day, Matsalu Nature Film Festival, summer theater productions and concerts and cultural heritage tourism sites are all examples. Their visitors all need places to eat and stay and want to experience local life. In other words, the formula that every euro invested generates several euros in return works both internationally and domestically.

Finally

There are examples in Estonian and world history of factories giving rise to entire towns or neighborhoods, complete with everything that went along with them. Sindi and Kreenholm in Narva are examples. But that was more than a century ago.

It is time for Estonia's regional policy to move beyond this dream and start tackling the problem from the other end: Let us help create places where people want to live. Places where children can get a good education in reasonably sized schools. Where children have opportunities to take part in extracurricular activities and play sports indoors and outdoors. Where towns and villages have pleasant, human-scale centers. Where people can enjoy cultural life together or take part in it themselves. And all of this is framed by Estonia's beautiful natural environment.

Does that sound like a sermon or a cover of "The Watchtower"? In fact, it is entirely achievable.

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