PALJASSAARE IS FOR DREAMERS
PROJECT BY ANNA BÖHMOVÁ
The Paljassaare Peninsula is a multipurpose land in the capital of Estonia, Tallinn. It is widely known as a place of backyard functions - treating wastewater, processes around waste, but also social housing. In the early 2000s, a new aspect around Paljassaare appeared - land with the potential to build projects here. And not just projects, but big ones, in this work I call them megaprojects.
In my work, I investigated the realities and conditions around these projects, and how it is possible that some of them made it so far even though they go against some restrictions. I dived deep into the Estonian online media, which served me as a main source. Another important perspective was coming from the studio tutor, Keiti Kljavin, who works as an adviser in the Tallinn municipality. I decided to emphasize the speculativeness around the planned projects by making a projection on the site of the planned artificial islands. Even though all four big projects have common points, I decided to focus on the most significant one and communicate the findings mainly through the Casino Islands project. Many of my findings were bizarre and sometimes hard to believe. Therefore I decided to point that out in my video, and used funny visuals, to show the irony of the whole thing.
I began working on this project by thinking: How come Paljassaare attracts all the megaprojects? Being there, seeing all the backyard functions, and facing the conditions of the place, the idea that it would be a great place for development is really not on the top of my head.
In the context of Palassaare, there are currently four big projects in speculation, whether they will take place or not. Some of them have more realistic contours and are moving forward, and some are hanging in the air for 20 years.
I decided to find and map the conditions that allowed them to take place there. The conditions are: free and accessible land, price of the land, sea coast presence, no community in the area, and the fact that Paljassaare is “left out” from Tallinn – which makes it an ideal place to try utopian ideas and experiments – if they fail, they won’t be exposed to the public tooo much.
Once I clarified the conditions and understood why Paljasaare is a place for ambitious projects, I decided to look at the so-called Casino Islands, because I could not understand how such a peculiar project could get so far, and not be stopped in the very beginning.
WHO STANDS BEHIND IT?
The Artificial Islands project, spearheaded by Estonian politician and school director Märt Sults, has been in discussion for 16 years. Sults introduced the idea to the city in late 2007, and by early 2008 the Tallinn city government partially supported it. At the time, Tallinn was under a one-party administration—the Estonian Centre Party, of which Sults is a member. Coincidence?
GATHERING THE FINANCES
Wasting no time, Sults secured financial backing from 62 companies within the same year. A detailed plan took nine years to develop, but progress stalled as the city insisted on vetting companies for corruption links. Sults claims this was sabotage. The project, surrounded by controversy, consists of four islands: one for casinos, hotels, and shops; another for conferences; a third for families with an amusement park and art center; and the last for birds.
REUSING THE INCOME?
Sults asserts the projects aim to generate independent funding for Estonian schools, with casinos as the primary revenue source. He also argues that relocating gambling facilities to an island would "cleanse" Tallinn of social issues. However, doubts remain—does he genuinely seek to support education, or is it a self-serving venture? Is the cultural island a smokescreen for a casino hub?
THE STREET PARADOX
A major roadblock is the lack of infrastructure. The city won’t approve construction without a connecting road, but the road has no destination until the islands exist. The project also faces legal ambiguity, as Estonia lacks clear regulations for offshore construction. Yet, with 62 companies already committed, backing out seems impossible.
The uncertainty surrounding the Artificial Islands project is fascinating. No concrete updates exist, yet the islands remain in online maps—always lingering, neither fully alive nor abandoned.
Investors buy cheap land, betting on future profits through development or rising property values. This speculative process, known as the rent gap, mirrors casino gambling—risking capital for potential gains. As urban geographer Neil Smith explains in The New Urban Frontier:
“Under its present land use, a site or neighborhood is able to capitalize a certain quantity of ground rent. For reasons of location, usually, such an area may be able to capitalize higher quantities of ground rent under a different land use. Potential ground rent is the amount that could be capitalized under the land’s ‘highest and best use’ (in planners’ parlance)—or at least under a higher and better use.”
Paljassaare’s land game operates like a casino: investors bet on grandiose projects, hoping external developments will boost land value. But for now, these are just dreams, speculations, and utopias.
This case also raises broader questions about urban planning: layers of bureaucracy, ownership disputes, and legal ambiguities create a fog of uncertainty. Girem Ulener explores this in Complexity. A Dilemma for Urban Planning:
“The operational complexity of cities has been a recurrent handicap for urban planners because it complicates urban analysis and policy-making.”
Even with an understanding of urban complexity, some delays seem more opaque than procedural. Is it just bureaucracy, or something else?
Adding to the intrigue, much of my insight comes from my studio tutor, Keiti Kljavin, who coincidentally works in city government. Through my video projection, I explored these tangled dynamics—where irony, speculation, and bureaucratic absurdity collide. If you want more detailed information, don’t hesitate and play the video!
Despite trying one day before the presentation, the projector stopped working on the day of my presentation, so I had to improvise, and I showed the video on my laptop.
To support the whole speculativeness and irony, at the end of my act, I ceremonially hammered a street sign with the name of the planned street on a tree.
How much can you push through with the political power?
How big part of the process is the politics? And the money?
How come so often conflict of interest happens, and it is not a problem?
Why is there in a way randomness that decides how the project will end up?
Is this uncertainty and the coincidences the way, decisions are happening in our cities these days?
How big part of the process is the politics? And the money?
How come so often conflict of interest happens, and it is not a problem?
Why is there in a way randomness that decides how the project will end up?
Is this uncertainty and the coincidences the way, decisions are happening in our cities these days?
The key takeaway from this project for me is the need to think critically about the direction in which our cities are evolving and to actively engage in public discourse about it. It is disheartening to witness urban land being treated as a mere playground for wealthy developers who prioritize profit over the environment and the well-being of ordinary citizens. Such trends risk creating cities that are increasingly unaffordable, unlivable, and disconnected from the needs of the people who inhabit them.
As active citizens who care about the future of our environment and urban spaces, it is our responsibility to voice our concerns and challenge the actions of individuals and entities like Märt Sults, who may believe they can impose their visions unchecked. Cities are not vanity projects or playgrounds for the dreams of the rich and powerful; they are shared spaces that must be designed to serve everyone equitably.
A livable city should prioritize affordability, inclusivity, and sustainability, ensuring that every resident, regardless of their socioeconomic status, can thrive. Another important aspect is that contemporary cities must develop in the frame of the current climate crisis, and react to it. There is no point in building a mega project, if we don’t consider how it will be influenced by the current extreme natural and weather conditions. Public engagement, grassroots activism, and holding decision-makers accountable are essential tools for safeguarding these principles. By fostering a culture of critical thinking and collective action, we can resist the unchecked influence of developers and promote an urban future that is fair, sustainable, and centered around the needs of the many, not the few.
J. Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York, NY, USA: Random House, 1961.
N. Smith, The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist City. London, UK: Routledge, 1996.
I. Gulener, Complexity – A Dilemma for Planning: Research on Complexity Theory, Complexity in Planning Practice, and Emergent Manifolds. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden, 2023.
I. Ruudi, Tõnis Vint’s vision for Naissaar island: An extraterritorial utopia zone of the transition era, n.d., Retrieved from: https://ingridruudi.ee/research-articles/tonis-vint-s-vision-for-naissaar-island-an-extraterritorial-utopia-zone-of-the-transition-era
ERR, Paljassaare detailplaneering näeb ette hooneid, jahisadamat ja rannaparki, 2017, Retrieved from: https://www.err.ee/643969/paljassaare-detailplaneering-naeb-ette-hooneid-jahisadamat-ja-rannaparki
ERR, Businessman: State delay has doubled artificial island cost to €400 million, 2020, Retrieved from:
https://news.err.ee/1129012/businessman-state-delay-has-doubled-artificial-island-cost-to-400-million
J. Peetsalu, ERR, Every tenth Estonian suffering from gambling addiction,2024, Retrieved from: https://news.err.ee/1609374284/every-tenth-estonian-suffering-from-gambling-addiction
Postimees.ee, Sultsi tehissaarte juurde hakkab viima Liivamadala tänav, 2018, Retrieved from: https://www.postimees.ee/6409280/sultsi-tehissaarte-juurde-hakkab-viima-liivamadala-tanav
N. Soo, The Turn of the Tide, 2021, Retrieved from: https://paljassaaretimecapsules.cargo.site/The-Turn-of-the-Tide
M. Sults, Sults.ee, Märt Sults: Tehissaared Paljassaare lahes teeniks koolidele lisaraha, 2017, Retrieved from:
http://sults.ee/mart-sults-tehissaared-paljassaare-lahes-teeniks-koolidele-lisaraha/