Triin Talk: How to Save Tallinn's Old Town – Prioritize Residents, Not Tourists
PhD student Triin Talk argues against tearing down Tallinn's Old Town, advocating for resident-focused development akin to Amsterdam's tourism restrictions, which protect local quality of life.
Tallinn's Old Town can only be revived as a vibrant city center if city policy prioritizes local residents, services, and businesses over unchecked tourism, writes PhD student Triin Talk in response to Janek Mäggi's opinion piece.
Talk partially agrees with Mäggi that Tallinn's Old Town is dead, but disagrees with his proposal to demolish it. She points to Amsterdam's Old City Center as a model, where the city government has long been pushing back against overtourism with forceful policies.
Amsterdam's measures include banning new tourist shops, hotels, and attractions in the center, closing some hotels to create housing and office space, and regulating short-term rentals like Airbnb. The city actively manages commercial spaces to favor local businesses and restricts home purchases as investments, requiring buyers to live in the property for at least four years.
To revive Tallinn's Old Town, Talk suggests several steps. First, city and state institutions such as schools, ministries, and cultural venues should remain in the area to attract local residents year-round. Second, the city should introduce selection criteria for renting municipal spaces, prioritizing businesses that serve local residents. Third, the spread of short-term rentals must be curbed so residential buildings return to being homes.
Talk emphasizes that the solution is not expanding infrastructure like bus parking or cruise quays, which would worsen problems. Instead, the focus should be on supporting diverse uses of space to maintain a permanent population and workplaces.
