VOLTA BLOG I How to create an urban space that promotes healthy and active lifestyle?

VOLTA BLOG I Endover creates an urban space that promotes healthy and active lifestyle

An active lifestyle is an important part of taking care of both the physical and mental health, but if the gym or a nature trail is far from home or work, there may not always be time for that. Here, the city and developers can come to the rescue with the task of designing people’s living environment in such a way that there are plenty of various opportunities for being active near their work and home.

A 15-minute city gets you moving

In order for a person to be able to exercise regularly in addition to their home and work life, the commute from work or home to exercise should be as convenient and short as possible. If, for example, a sports club or a park are just a few minutes away from the office, people can work out even before the start or at the end of their workday or perhaps even during their lunch break. But if the nearest training grounds require contending with rush hour traffic, people may not have time to do so.

Cities have started to change and, in the future, the entire life, i.e. the homes, offices, entertainment and business, will no longer be concentrated in the city centre but will instead branch out into other parts of the city. North-Tallinn will be the first district in the capital where residents will have everything they need within a 5–10 min walk. Volta Quarter will become a 15-minute city where leisure facilities, convenience stores, a food street and various lifestyle stores are planned alongside homes and office spaces. In addition, a kindergarten and a private medical practice for medical care are planned to be established in the Quarter.

This means that there are also many excellent opportunities for sports in the district – the plan is to build a park in the Quarter and several playgrounds and sports grounds for different age groups as well as ping pong tables, a parkour, pétanque and ball courts. It gives residents the opportunity to walk out the door and play ping pong for half an hour with family or neighbours, go to a gym a couple minutes away, workout outdoors in fresh air in the new park to be built in centre of the Quarter, walk or jog to the Kalamaja Park a couple hundred meters away, or run along the beach promenade or the Kalaranna cycle and pedestrian track.

Several thousand new residents will be moving to North-Tallinn in the coming years and expectations for new sports clubs are high. With the restoration of the historic industrial quarter, there is a good opportunity for this – former industrial buildings with open plan and high ceilings are ideal for creating a gym.

Several residential spaces in the quarter are planned so that workouts can also be done in the comfort of your home. For example, the Volta Gallery Lofts come with a 20-square meter terrace and 60-square meter courtyard where you can set up your own outdoor gym or just a yoga mat for the summer.

Võimalus elada la dolce vita ehk kuidas oma rõdust või terrassist sel suvel maksimumi võtta?
You can also work out in your own backyard or on the terrace

A car or 10,000 steps?

In terms of health, it is also worth noting that a car is not a necessity in Volta Quarter. If you have to drive a car or take the public transport elsewhere every day to get to work, kindergarten, working out or restaurant, all the important errands can be done quickly and conveniently on foot, by bike or a scooter in Volta. The city centre is 10 minutes from the Quarter.

This gives people the opportunity to easily complete the recommended 6,000–10,000 steps every day by simply walking to work, lunch, to the store and back home. This is a good way to contribute to promoting the health of the population, encourage movement and reduce the negative impact of motorisation on the environment.

The streets in the Quarter have been designed in such a way that they are convenient for pedestrians and cyclists, and all parking has been moved underground. A vehicle may be left for longer drives outside the city or to the countryside.

Volta kvartal
Volta Quarter will become a 15-minute city! Photos: Kaupo Kalda

What are the opportunities? 

North-Tallinn is one of the most special parts of Tallinn – there is a long seaside, several bathing beaches, an ecological reserve, a bird watching area, a limestone bluff, hiking trails, and more parks and green areas that in some other districts combined. North-Tallinn is ideal for anyone who prefers to move and exercise outdoors. The constantly changing fresh sear air and quiet parks and nature trails are ideal for speed walking, Nordic walking, running or just walking.

There are several parks and running tracks in the district: Kalamaja Park, a new park to be built in Volta Quarter, Kopli Cemetery Park, Kase Park, Süsta Park and Stroomi forest grove where you can find both a nice running track and several outdoor gyms and campuses. Health trails and fitness campuses are also maintained in the winter so those interested could workout outdoors even in snow and cold. Ski tracks are laid in parks and Stroomi Forest for winter months and a skating rink is built on the Stroomi basketball court.

You can also find several outdoor gyms in the district, for example in Kase Park near the Kopli Lines, Pikakari Beach in Paljassaare, Stroomi Beach and Karjamaa Park. Several fitness campuses offer the opportunity to train with real weights and perform many of the same exercises available in indoor gyms.

Of course, there are several sports clubs in the district – Sõle Sports Centre, Baltic Station MyFitness, and Staapli Studio at Noblessner. The Volta Quarter is also waiting for a new tenant in its premises in the form of a sports club.

All exercise opportunities in the district can be found here.

You can follow the progress on the Volta Quarter by visiting the Quarter website.