As of Tuesday, the national spatial plan is on public display, outlining the directions for Estonia's spatial development for the next couple of decades.

Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Liina Vahtras noted that at a time when development is increasingly concentrated around the capital, thoughtful spatial decisions are needed to support a more balanced distribution of settlement across regions.

The keywords of the national plan are balance and compactness, said Ivan Sergejev, deputy secretary general for planning at the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

"We want people to have the opportunity to thrive anywhere in Estonia without necessarily having to move to Tallinn. Regional centers should be strong enough to offer both living and working opportunities. That would be balanced development," Sergejev said.

"The second keyword is compactness, because compact development is more sustainable — both from a budget perspective, since you don't need to build new infrastructure but can use what already exists, and from the perspective of service accessibility and the environment," he added.

Simply put, the goal is to encourage people to live closer to services. This does not mean everyone must live in cities, Sergejev emphasized.

"When municipalities consider how to develop, they should aim for density rather than sprawl. Sprawl automatically means building new infrastructure — new schools, kindergartens, and so on — and we wouldn't be able to reuse what already exists," Sergejev explained.

"But the idea is not to push people into cities. Services are already available at multiple levels. Some services are accessible in almost every small settlement, while others only in regional centers. The system works, but it could be more thoughtfully structured."

The Association of Cities and Municipalities generally agrees that development should move toward compactness, said deputy director Heiki Hepner.

"We agree that high‑quality natural land should be used last. All other options should be exhausted first," Hepner said.

Municipalities also stress the importance of autonomy in spatial planning. Initially, the plan envisioned ten regional centers, but after pressure from municipalities, the number has been increased to 15, Hepner noted.

"In that sense, the plan has moved in the right direction — we now have 15 regional towns across all counties that deserve development, plus a separate cluster of four towns in Northeast Estonia," Hepner said.

Hepner added that while the plan sets priorities and directions, the state must follow up with concrete actions.

"The state must take steps in funding and public services — whether at county centers or smaller hubs — and public transport is crucial. Rail transport is highlighted, but we know Rail Baltic is currently on hold, the Haapsalu line is incomplete, and we cannot yet move quickly toward Tartu. These are bottlenecks. A practical action plan is needed to show how all this will actually be implemented," Hepner said.

The national spatial plan can be viewed at riigiplaneering.ee, and feedback is invited until 4 November.

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