Tartu City Government Press Release – 9 May 2022
A survey of the residents of the 9-storey apartment buildings located within the pilot area in Annelinn has revealed that the already renovated apartment buildings in Annelinn have led area residents to think about renovating their own building. Nearly 60 percent of survey respondents want a complete renovation of their own building.
The survey was conducted by the City of Tartu, in cooperation with the University of Tartu and TalTech, to examine the attitudes of the residents of Annelinn towards their living environment, apartment building, public space in the neighbourhood, and the renovation of their building.
The poll revealed that nearly 60 percent of residents want, or rather want the comprehensive renovation of their buildings, but a quarter of residents are not willing to pay extra for it. The most commonly desired upgrade is to the ventilation system (70 percent consider it very or rather important); energy-saving lighting fittings (64 percent); replacement of plumbing and radiators (63 percent); building insulation (60 percent); organising the area around the building (60 percent); and the installation of smart meters and control panels in apartments (57 percent).
For many respondents, dissatisfaction is caused by the current heating bills for their residence, with which 28 percent of respondents are not satisfied at all, and 35 percent are doubtful.
Broadly speaking, residents are satisfied with their apartments: they may be too hot in summer, but residents are rather or very satisfied with the size of the apartment, the spatial planning, and the general condition. Residents are most dissatisfied with the condition of the balconies and the external appearance of the building, and more than half of survey respondents are unhappy with the condition of the basement.
Most of the respondents enjoy living in Annelinn, being most satisfied with the location and the surroundings of their apartment building, the variety of shops and services, public transport links, playgrounds and athletic fields, and outdoor gyms and pavements. Dissatisfaction with parking facilities was the most frequently expressed.
A total of 507 people responded to the survey of residents of 9-storey apartment buildings in Annelinn, 67 per cent of whom speak Estonian as their mother tongue and 30 per cent who speak Russian. The survey was conducted at the end of last year.
The survey lays the ground work for the activities of the oPEN Lab project Annelinn+, funded by the European Commission, which is to refurbish three 9-storey residential buildings in Annelinn into near zero-energy buildings and design a modern living environment around the buildings.
The partners in the project include the Institute of Baltic Studies, Tartu Regional Energy Agency, University of Tartu, TalTech, Gren Tartu, and Eesti Energia.
The project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 101037080. Also participating in the project are the cities of Pamplona, in Spain, and Genk, in Belgium.
You can take a closer look at the results of the survey here: www.tartu.ee/en/annelinnpluss
