The so-called “golden ring” around the capital has almost 50% more people than nine years ago. Compared to the capital itself, this is a fivefold increase in population, writes Eesti Ekspress. While most people moving to the outskirts of the city work in Tallinn and, being happy with their lives, do not want to return, experts take a more critical view of the situation: as a result, settlements are growing that are not functionally connected to the surrounding environment. The process, when people working in the city move further and further from its center, is called chaotic urbanization. “It has long-term consequences and risks: it turns out that the well-being of some people causes others to suffer,” says Tõnis Arjus, a former Tartu architect and now a sustainability expert at Miltton.
