A public opinion poll conducted in June showed that Vilnius residents have the most favorable opinion of the Pavilnis, Santariškės and Jeruzalė districts. However, Tomas Žiaugra, director of the development department of Eika Development, which commissioned the survey, points out that the largest number of housing units were sold in Naujamiestis, Žirmūnai and Lazdynai in the first half of this year. At the same time, the chief architect of Vilnius City Municipality Laura Kairienė reveals that currently the municipality’s priorities for infrastructure development are directed to three priority zones, but they do not coincide with those named by residents..
“These are priority development areas in which the municipality undertakes to create all types of infrastructure. They are distinguished taking into account the city budget and the aim of ensuring rational use of territories. We have 3 priority zones of integrated functional development areas: the Pašilaičiai / Tarandė zone, covering Pašilaičiai, Pavilionis, Bajori, Tarandė; the Pilaitė zone, covering Salotė, Varnė, Smalinė, Zujūni and the Minsk highway zone, covering Kalnėni, Nemėžis,” the chief architect said.
L. Kairienė said that priority directions are chosen taking into account the distribution and growth of the population in the district. According to her, the aim is to ensure that the infrastructure of the districts meets the needs of the residents as accurately as possible.
Infrastructure and transportation are the most important things for residents
At the same time, public opinion poll data shows that when evaluating the most attractive districts, residents pay most attention to the speed of communication, developed parking infrastructure, the suitability of the district for families with children, and the amount of green spaces and recreation areas. T. Žiaugra assures that these criteria are also reflected in housing sales.
“In order for the district to become popular, joint work between housing developers and the municipality is needed. It is important that, in addition to new construction projects, the necessary social and transportation infrastructure is also brought to the district: kindergartens, schools, various institutions and parks, bicycle and pedestrian paths,” said T. Žiaugra.
Pavilnys, which is favorably rated by residents for its suitability for families with children, received 4.83 points out of 5. Residents rated the district’s accessibility by car with the same result and gave slightly lower points to the parking infrastructure. Santariškės, which is in second place, received favor from residents due to the tranquility of the district and the abundance of green areas. Residents gave the district 4.33 and 4.29 points, respectively, according to these criteria. At the same time, Jeruzalė, in addition to the positively rated green spaces and the tranquility of the district, received a high score of 4.52 for easy access by public transport.
Residents noted in the survey that the best-rated neighborhoods usually do not have many shortcomings. They noted that housing prices in these areas seem affordable, schools and kindergartens are relatively easy to reach, and services are of high quality.
The worst-rated districts have potential for growth
The districts with the lowest ratings are Visoriai, Naujininkai and Bajorai. In Visoriai, residents complained about poor accessibility to educational institutions – this criterion scored just 2.33 points out of 5. Also, both Visoriai and Bajorai were rated below average in terms of infrastructure adaptation to parking, and were criticized for the excessively high housing prices in the area.
At that time, Naujininkai, which was on the worst list, was positively evaluated for its public transport connections (4.08 points), but received low ratings for the prestige of the district (2.25 points), lack of green spaces, and cleanliness and order.
Nevertheless, T. Žiaugra is convinced that it is Naujininkai that has the most potential in Vilnius, if it is developed consistently.
“The district borders the Old Town, and the municipality is planning a number of investments in public and engineering infrastructure, for example: Vilnius Connect, an extreme sports center, an ice arena, Naujininkai Community Square, and Pelesos Street Square,” he says.
In turn, the city’s chief architect assures that Naujininkai is indeed among the districts where it is planned to renovate the Soviet infrastructure. Next to them are Naujoji Vilnia and the northern part of Žirmūnai. In further stages, it is planned to renovate more Soviet-era heritage, including: Šnipiškės, Vilkpėdė, Naujamiestis, later – Baltupiai, Grigiškės and the southern part of Žirmūnai. It is stated that even later the renovations will reach the districts of Fabijoniškės, Santariškės, Antakalnis, Karoliniškės, Viršuliškės, Lazdynai, Šeškinės, Justiniškės, the southern part of Pilaitė and Pašilaičiai.
Seeks to reshape the city structure
A survey of residents showed that if their choice were not limited by any circumstances, Vilnius residents would gladly choose to live in the Žvėrynas, Senamiestis, and Antakalnis neighborhoods, while they would be least interested in Paneriai, Viršuliškės, and Vilkpėdė.
At the time, L. Kairienė noted that the city’s long-term goal is, one might say, the opposite. According to her, the aim is to reduce the load on the districts located in and around the center by creating a polycentric urban system.
“Vilnius is one of the largest cities in Europe by area – as much as 400 km², but most of the city’s life is still concentrated in the Old Town, the New Town and the central part. This causes many inconveniences: morning and evening traffic jams, infrastructure overload, uneven concentration of investment flows,” said the city’s chief architect.
“The strategic goal of Vilnius’ development is to become polycentric. This model reduces dependence on the main city center and promotes the resilience and independence of different parts of the city throughout the metropolitan area. The aim is to distribute the city’s functions so that each district has not only residential housing, but also workplaces, schools, kindergartens, cultural and sports infrastructure,” she added.
The survey was conducted online (CAWI – Computer Assisted Web Interview) on June 18-28, 2025. 523 Vilnius city residents aged 18-74 participated in it and were representatively selected according to gender and age distribution..
Šaltinis: ELTA. Autorius: Ieva Kniukštienė.