| Name: | Päivi Puntila |
| Year of birth: | 1969 |
| Municipality: |
Espoo |
| Town: | Mankkaa, Espoo |
| Title: | Business development director |
| Email: | paivi.puntila@gmail.com |
Member in:
Päivi
Puntila
Espoo
"Socially, ecologically and economically sustainable Espoo. Now and in the future."
- Business Development Director
- Espoo city councilor
- Mother of three children
- M.Sc., TAM, technical yo
I am Finnish-speaking, yet I chose RKP because its centre-right, liberal and humane values match my own.
I am very motivated to continue my councilor work for a better Espoo.
I am also running in the county elections
Visit the profile pageImportant political topics
Housing and Construction
In my Espoo, five city centers are enough. The residential areas that spread around them are all diverse and human-sized. There are homes for different life situations and income levels, and everyone has access to nearby nature from their doorstep. Comprehensive urban planning can prevent segregation in Espoo's areas.
Construction should be sustainable, practical and beautiful. Where did the beauty go? At the feet of construction developers' pursuit of profit?
In the council, I have spoken for urban townhouses, because they are beautiful and more climate-friendly than high-rise apartment buildings.
Municipal and urban vitality
Companies are the backbone of vitality. They create jobs, offer services and bring life to residential areas. Improving employment requires attracting new companies and supporting entrepreneurs.
Unemployment in Espoo is 10.9%. The transfer of employment services to the municipality enables the development of new concepts.
Immigrants must be included in our society. A sense of community creates holding power and prevents marginalization. Finnish neighbors are important. Children need to be enrolled in early childhood education so that they learn the language, make friends and find hobbies. Language-supported employment strengthens learning Finnish or Swedish. In the processes of integration, opportunities for the Swedish language must also be offered more actively.
Children, Youth, and Families
Hobbies are expensive in Espoo. Every child should have at least one favorite hobby. The pursuit of the dreams of talented athletes must be supported. Sports can also offer career paths.
In Finland, there is an exceptionally high rate of young people stopping sports during adolescence. We should develop new ways to support and motivate young athletes.
Espoo needs more secondary education places so that every young person has the opportunity to continue their favorite studies. The appreciation of vocational education must be increased.
Suomen Punainen Risti's Loneliness barometer is alarming. Determined actions together with young people are needed to reduce loneliness.
Supporting parents requires more attention. When young people's challenges are revealed, help must be found easily and quickly. A young person's symptoms can make the whole family sick. Parents also need preventive information and support for the upbringing of children and adolescents and problem situations.
Candidate's answers in election machine
1 / 14
We should build upwards rather than expand into new areas in Espoo.
We should build diverse and comfortable residential areas, where there are apartments for different life stages and income levels, both rented and owned. This way we can prevent inequality in the areas. I have spoken in the council in favor of urban townhouses, which would be more climate-friendly than high-rise buildings, but the efficiency of the block is on the level of highrise flats.
2 / 14
Espoo is a safe city to live in.
We need to manage integration well in the future, create a sense of community and increase employment.
3 / 14
Espoo provides sufficient services and support for young people.
There are many services, such as Ohjaamo, but information about them is poorly distributed. Young people\'s own channels should be better utilized for sharing.
4 / 14
Early childhood education should be free for everyone.
5 / 14
Schools should prioritize traditional textbooks over digital learning materials.
Of course, it depends on the level of education. In elementary schools, textbooks should be traditional, in middle school there may be something already digital, and in high school or vocational school there should be alternatives.
6 / 14
One of the municipality’s most important tasks is to invest in sports facilities and opportunities for exercise and recreation.
On the municipal side, there are many important areas such as schools and daycare, sports and culture, and Espoo is the integration of the most important areas, as well as enabling employment.
7 / 14
It is important to provide all residents with equal opportunities for cultural activities.
Equality means that all people have the same rights and opportunities, in this case for cultural activities. Of course, the activities must comply with the law and good practice
8 / 14
The municipality should introduce or improve opportunities for residents to influence how municipal funds are used through participatory budgeting.
It would be good to pilot more participatory budgeting in certain target groups.
9 / 14
The municipality should invest in public transportation.
The current slow and expensive public transport model does not encourage people to leave their cars behind. Direct bus lines to Helsinki are needed.
10 / 14
It should be possible to be a resident in more than one municipality, for example, through digital municipal citizenship.
Municipal citizenship could be particularly beneficial for older people who spend long periods of time in a second home in a different municipality. Implementation is challenging in terms of municipal taxation.
11 / 14
The municipality should better facilitate the expansion of renewable energy, such as solar and wind power.
It is challenging to get wind turbines in Espoo due to the dense population, and we do not want them in the forest or at sea. The life cycle of wind turbines is only 20 years and their steel parts cannot be recycled. On the other hand, Espoo\'s electricity production is already carbon neutral for Fortum\'s district heating, and electricity companies offer green electricity. Sun energy could be utilized better in private housing.
12 / 14
The municipality should mix more housing types in planning than is currently the case.
In Espoo, 95% of the buildings built in recent years have been high-rise and massive flats, instead of more diverse buildings. We have five city centers surrounded by residential areas. Each residential area should have apartments for different stages of life and different income levels. I have spoken in the council in favor of townhouses, which are more climate-friendly than high-rise apartment buildings, but have high density efficiency. This is the best way to prevent segregation.
13 / 14
The municipality should introduce anonymous recruitment.
The City of Espoo already uses anonymous recruitment at least in major recruitments.
14 / 14
If you could give a superpower to your future political leader, what would it be?
The decisions of one infinitely wise person are not enough when politics is about cooperation and compromise.