The built environment information system
In the Ryhti project, the most important information of the built environment will be collected and made available in one place. The aim is to lighten and clarify information management: The data is created only once, in the agreed format, in the shared national data system, where they are up to date and reliably available to all systems. This will make the work of data users easier. Usability has an important role in the construction of the information system.
The implementation consists of two information resources, one of which is for construction information and the other for zoning needs.
The Finnish Environment Institute SYKE in responsible for the system’s development and, with the Ministry of the Environment, the system’s definition work. The minimum requirements and specifications of functionalities were set in 2021. In 2022 a main developer will be obtained for the data system to implement a minimum viable product. Programming of the information system will start in the same year.
What information will the new system have?
The platform being developed will provide controlled and easy-to-use access to information concerning land use and construction. At the first stage, the information will be the kind the public administration uses in its statutory operations. The reformed Land Use and Building Act defines the information that must be available in a digital format in the future.
According to the current preparations, the information to be added to the built environment information system includes the following:
For land use planning
- Information on the drafting stage of the town plan
- Town plan proposal as a data model
- Approved town plan as a data model
- Legally valid town plan as a data model
- Town plan report
- Information on a building ban
- Information on a building restriction
- Information on a measure restriction
- Site layout plan
- Public area plans
- Building regulations
- Urban area plan
- Municipality’s land policy programme and summary of municipality’s land policy
For building permits
- Building permit decision
- Landscaping permit decision
- Demolition permit decision
- Exceptional planning permit decision
- Plan data model of the construction site
- Implementation data model of the construction site
- Use and maintenance instructions for the object of the building permit
Who will use the information system?
Information is saved in several systems, especially in relation to municipal zoning and processing of building permits. In future, manual processing of information will decrease.
Through the platform, different operators can get the necessary land use and construction information in a current and reliable form, for example:
- Decision-makers get more accurate information for evaluation and prediction which controls the use of areas and properties.
- Municipalities receive information with which things such as the need for repairs in the municipality properties’ near future can be assessed.
- Building owners receive the core information of their site (such as the planning permission and the zoning for the surrounding area) and can maintain a repairs record related to the building’s renovations, for example.
- Rescue services receive information about a site’s special features, such as conservation decisions.
- Tax authorities receive current information for the taxation of property, for example.
- Companies receive information for service development.
Will the new system replace existing information systems?
The aim is that state organisations request information only once. The new information system will supplement the state’s overall information management solution which consists of entities such as property, population and company information systems. The system will be designed so that it is compatible with other systems and they can retrieve information from each other. Municipalities will get land use and building information in a defined standardised form, either directly to the national system or so that one state operator retrieves the municipality’s information from a compatible interface.
The so-called core information of land use and buildings (such as purpose, planning permission) would in future be only available in the new system from which other state information systems or other organisations needing information would retrieve the information. Correspondingly, the new system will use things such as property, apartment, owner, road and infrastructure information available in other systems.