Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

D2.5 Renovation & New ConstructionNot unlike the rest of the world, the Finnish construction industryhas been under considerable pressure from the economic crisis. Volumestrended down strongly in 2009, but renovation is set to grow in 2010 due inpart to government subsidies.Percentage Change of Construction VolumeNumber of Dwellings (1 000's)10405BuildingRenovation &Modernisation35300-5-10Civil EngineeringConstructionBuildingConstruction252015HousingStartsPrivatelyFinanced-15105StateSubsidized-200||||||||20062007200820092006200720082009SourceConstruction Indicators 2006-2010Statistics Finland,Ministryof Labour,ARA, Bank ofFinland, RTHousing has remained relatively stable through the crisis; volume isbolstered by state subsidised construction. Housing demand in Finlandbegan to rise in the 1990's and but declined during the mid-decade recession.As Finland began to return to economic prosperity, household incomeoutpaced new housing starts, leading to a rise in prices that continues today.Pricing increases and demand tends to be concentrated in Finland'sexpanding cities. But, the number of growth centres is Finland is diminishingas the population migrates toward jobs. Over the past two decades,much of this growth has been concentrated in the Helsinki Metropolitanarea, Turku, Tampere, Jyväskylä and Oulu.Single-family housing continues to outpace the construction of apartments.Almost 307,000 detached houses were built between 1980 and 2008,while only about 11,500 apartment buildings were constructed.D2.6 Physical DensityFinland's overall density is among the lowest in Europe. As statedabove, a majority share (over 80%) lives in built-up urban areas and thisfigure is projected to rise.The density of these areas is on average seven hundred inhabitants/km 2 , but this number has been on the decline since the 1990's as the suburbanperiphery has grown in population. The Ministry of the Environment​231