The city of Espoo’s SPARCS project had hosted  the visit of the representatives of Finland’s lighthouse cities from Vantaa and Tampere, and the city of Vaasa, that participated remotely. During the two-day meeting, the SPARCS demo sites in Lippulaiva and Kera were visited.

The visit to the lighthouse cities provided a valuable opportunity to share information and discuss best practices in urban development. Finland’s lighthouse cities form a community of five lighthouse cities and two follower cities from different projects. In these cities, new energy-efficient buildings are developed, the use of renewable energy is promoted, and sustainable mobility is invested.

During the visit, the focus was especially on sharing knowledge and know-how between the cities. The guests talked about their projects. Representatives of the SPARCS project presented the project and the goals and findings of its demo sites. The group went on a walking tour of both sites, which offered the participants the opportunity to get to see the demo sites on their own eyes.

The representatives of Finland’s lighthouse cities, on the other hand, shared their own experiences with their projects. During the visit, there was a lively discussion and new ideas were shared, and common ground was found. The participants highlighted the need for continuous networking and information exchange between the lighthouse cities. The city representatives identified common challenges and opportunities for inter-city discussion and exchange of ideas for the future meetings as well.