Organisational changes made in the Tallinn Urban Planning Department over the past two years have significantly accelerated planning procedures. In the first quarter of this year, the City of Tallinn made decisions on 20 detailed plans — twice as many as in the same period in 2024 and four times more than in 2023.

Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning Madle Lippus noted that the city aims to maintain this new pace of approximately 20 planning decisions per quarter. “For the past two years, one of our key priorities has been to improve the efficiency of the planning process. But this does not mean compromising on the quality of the living environment or reducing community engagement — quite the opposite. We are now able to provide a better and faster service to all stakeholders,” said Lippus.

Last year, the Urban Planning Department continued to streamline the detailed planning process by introducing new procedural guidelines. A new regulation on internal procedures is currently under review. All planning information has been consolidated into a central digital dashboard, which provides an up-to-date overview of all plans in progress.

Planning in Tallinn is increasingly data-driven. A spatial planning tool for kindergartens was completed last year, followed by a similar tool to assess the need for school places. This year, the city will map the need for sports facilities. These tools help the department anticipate residents’ future needs and plan space use more effectively. A key upcoming initiative is the preparation for updating the city’s comprehensive plan, based on the most recent review report.

Development has also started on a new Tallinn Planning Register, which is expected to launch within a year. Meanwhile, work continues to simplify planning procedures. For example, the city aims to ensure that decisions on new planning applications are made within legally mandated timelines.

In the first quarter of 2025, Tallinn made decisions on 20 detailed plans: nine were initiated, seven were adopted, and four were enacted. By comparison, 11 decisions were made in the same period in 2024 and five in 2023. Additionally, nearly 50 inactive planning cases were closed in the first quarter of 2025.