Mayor Timo Koivisto

It’s my great pleasure to welcome you to the City of Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä is one of the most popular places in Finland to move to. The population of Jyväskylä is 146 000 and it's growing by 1 000 every year. Jyväskylä offers everything needed for quality living and successful business.

New initiatives in the city’s business policy

Business policy is a central aspect of my work as a mayor. The city’s business development unit brings together the main business policy projects and employment related issues. The city offers more business meetups, smooth permit processes, attractive urban development platforms for company partnerships, commercial areas and networks, as well as company location services and active marketing.
Handling the employment situation and the city’s business and trade policy are central focus areas of the city’s management. A significant decrease in unemployment requires, above all, the creation of new jobs in private enterprises. As a city, we cannot make any decisions concerning them, but we can create the prerequisites for them.

Jyväskylä is the Capital of Sport in Finland

Jyväskylä is a hub of expertise in exercise and top-level sports. We are ideally placed to offer everything from teaching and research to coaching. We are also proud of our lähiliikuntaohjelma, a policy for driving sports and recreation opportunities locally, which is the most ambitious in Finland. 

Our sports clubs get huge numbers of residents moving and have a track record for producing some of the world’s most talented athletes. Every year, the city serves as the setting for a huge variety of sporting competitons and other sports related events. 

When completed, Hippos, Jyväskylä’s new urban centre for sports, exercise and wellbeing will be the largest of its kind in the Nordic countries. It will not only provide a world class venue for sporting events but also act as a big boost for public health.

“Jyväskylä On the Move” represents what and where we want to be

Jyväskylä is a youthful city; we refuse to leave things as they are – we are constantly on the lookout for new trends in city development.

Jyväskylä University has the only faculty of sport and health sciences in Finland. Every summer, one of the rallies of the World Rally Championship is held, bringing close to 150,000 spectators, rally teams and representatives of the media to the city.

Jyväskylä is also on the move for new sustainable and smart solutions especially in bioeconomy and wise use of resources. Jyväskylä is the City of Light, investing in energy-efficient lighting solutions and beautiful light installations.

One of the Jyväskylä's most important development project is “Kangas”. Together with partners and citizens, we are building a new residential area in the old paper mill area in the heart of Jyväskylä. The Kangas area will become an innovative hub for companies and jobs. The project innovatively combines new technologies, for example, cybersecurity in housing for the elderly.

In the city strategy, our central values include cooperation and participation. This guideline is reflected in the increased openness of preparation work and decision-making, as well as the involvement of citizens at an early phase before any decisions are made. In this spirit, I also encourage city residents to be in contact with me.

Jyväskylä is known for its innovative development profile

At the moment there are about 60,000 jobs and around 9,000 companies in Jyväskylä. Jyväskylä's areas of expertise include ICT and security solutions, machines and equipment, energy and environmental technologies, as well as education exports. In addition, Jyväskylä is the Finnish hub for expertise in cybersecurity.

Jyväskylä is the city of the world famous architect Alvar Aalto. The city has some thirty buildings designed by him, more than any other city in the world.

I encourage you to try all kind of outdoor activities and take part in some of the many cultural events organized here, as well as of course, enjoy nature, people, food and good company. By following my advice, I’m almost certain you will enjoy Jyväskylä the most.