In the 1990s co-operation of the public and private sectors became more common. In this thesis, the Public Private Partnership (PPP) co-operation and its manifestation in contemporary Finnish urban planning are studied. Suurpelto area in Espoo (Finland) is applied as an illustrative case.
Research questions are approached in the light of three aspects: partnership (PPP), participation and areal development based on land use agreement. Regarding partnership, the characteristics of the PPP and ways recent changes in municipal economics have advanced the public and private sectors' co-operation are introduced. Attention is paid to land use agreements following the Land Use and Building Act. These agreements demonstrate well the public private co-operation. Participation is discussed in regard to partnership process. Land use that follows the civil law and this particular use's functional part in communicative partnership planning are especially examined. In addition, participation is approached through theoretical and legislative dimensions. Already in the 1960s and 1970s early forms of public and private sectors' co-operation appeared within some extensive areal development projects. In this thesis, the PPP co-operation is compared to the earlier forms of areal development based on land use agreement.
This study represents qualitative research. Research data consists of ten expert interviews and relevant documentation. Both public and private sector agents of the Suurpelto project were included in the interviewee selection. The interviews were accomplished in May and June 2014. Fact analysis was applied to the research data. The goal was to comprehend how the project between the public and private sector was composed in Suurpelto and what role participation had in this process. Through the Suupelto planning project some similarities and differences between the old and new areal development could be identified. To explain how the power, that planning essentially grants, was divided between the two sectors, was also among the main research objectives.
Within Suurpelto project, the public private co-operation manifested on two different levels. The operational co-operation concentrated in action and strove to produce the public services which were needed in the area. On the level of supervision, the focus was in the communication and governance. At the early stages of the Suurpelto project, private sector agents activated in regard to formalizing the planning settlement and realizing participation. When building begun, the public sector took a more central role.
At the beginning of 2000, resident participation was ambitiously sought in Suurpelto. The fact that participation was executed in a project form clearly indicates this. This resident participation, however, did not substantially affect the formalization of the planning settlement. At the end its significance was minor. Yet it can be said that the realization of the resident participation in project form was an advanced attempt at that time.
Suurpelto's land use agreements emphasized that the parties were committed to the larger vision regarding this area. In addition, within these agreements a schedule for different objects and procedures regarding the development plans were defined, for example. In respect to quality control and scheduling, the Suurpelto project crucially differs from older areal development based on land use agreement.
