Questions and answers concerning the built environment information system

The built environment continuously creates valuable information with which we can influence how functional, healthy and environmentally conscious our living environment is. The built environment is connected to information that is important for the entire society and which owners, residents, users, business life and decision-makers need.

Currently, comprehensive and important information on the built environment can only be accessed with difficulty in different systems and is not nationally consistent. Using information between different operators and nationally is difficult, because the information and systems are not compatible. The information is also incomplete or it is not up to date.

Society’s requirements for information have changed: Information must be more up-to-date than before, consistent and securely accessible to everyone who need it. The availability of reliable information improves democracy and citizens’ influencing opportunities. Both the private and public sector can develop new services when they can use information as the foundation. Current information saves lives when security authorities’ or rescue services’ capability to act right in different situations improves.

A new, more consistent way of managing, using and utilising the built environment information is necessary.  

The reform will improve the usability, quality and availability of information. It will also decrease the burden of data management and the required resources. The reform will eliminate recording of overlapping information, ensure that information is up to date and improve information’s interoperability. Users get the information they need more easily than before. 

The solution prepared by the Ryhti project is a big step towards a digital built environment. The aim of digitalisation is not only to achieve cost savings but also to provide users with increasingly better services. When information is available in a compatible form in shared national information resources, its value increases and both reliability and data security are improved. Current information supports planning and makes everyday life easier in many ways.

A new national information system and data platform create a lot of opportunities and benefits for different parties.

Building owners and users

• Up-to-date information enhances the systematic use and maintenance of buildings. Our understanding of how a building has been implemented will improve. A change or repair record will provide the owner, buyer or financier with a better understanding of the site’s quality and value.
• The building’s owner will get the core information of their site (such as the planning permission and the zoning for the surrounding area) and can, if they want, maintain a repairs record related to the building’s renovations, for example.
• The availability and usability of information concerning your own environment will improve. Municipality residents’ opportunities to influence and participate will improve. For example, a resident can be sent an electronic notification when there are plans being made concerning their environment.
• Services related to the built environment are based on current and reliable information (such as insurance, taxation of property, property deals, etc.).

Companies

• Companies will be able to build better services that competitive and are based on current information.
• Companies will no longer have to search for information important for their operations from different places or adjust the information or check how up to date and correct the information is.
• Managing their own sites or those of their customers becomes easier and maintenance options increase.

Municipalities

• The national information management processes, responsibilities and roles of the built environment will become clearer.
• Separate data transfer obligations for different operators can be abandoned when the built environment information can be managed in one national system. For example, a municipality will need to make information related to zoning and construction available to state authorities only once, which frees up resources for other work.
• Municipalities get access to state decisions concerning land use easier than before (for example, the Natura areas).
• Information about current construction data flows two ways between state authorities and municipalities.
• Data exchange between regions and municipalities will become lighter and manual conversion of data for things such as regional planning or MAL monitoring will be needed less.
• A municipality’s INSPIRE obligations can be realised easier and in a concentrated manner.
• Compatible information and consistent practices support municipalities’ system procurements when less tailoring is needed.
• More resources can be allocated to digital security and data protection in a centralised system than in a decentralised one.
• Land use monitoring can be replaced with situation pictures, predicting and strategic planning.
• Rescue department can easily access information about a site’s special features.  

Central government

• The overall picture of planning and construction improves when information is available across municipality borders and in a machine-readable form in one place.
• Current and reliable information can be used in decision-making, and more accurate statistics, prognoses and simulations can be complied about them. The currently used tools that take up resources can be abandoned (for example, a monitoring form for zoning).
• Authority processes will become enhanced when automatic and standard-based data transfer decreases the manual transfer and conversion of data.
• Information about current construction data flows two ways between state authorities and municipalities.
• Tax authorities will get current information for the taxation of property, for example.

Environment and climate

• The data reform of the built environment also supports Finland transforming into a carbon neutral society by 2035 in many ways.
• The carbon footprint of community planning and construction can be assessed and monitored easier than before. Information about buildings’ features can be used to calculate the carbon footprint and carbon handprint for the entire lifecycle.
• In connection to the reform, things such as the national emissions database of construction materials (the SYKE rakDB project) will be developed.
• The circular economy market of construction products and waste will evolve. The materials of a building being dismantled that can be reused will be identified in advance.