Factors such as self-reliance, proactivity and neighbourliness contribute to the transformation of the summer house area Mähe for residential use. While the scarce involvement of the municipalities in planning and supervision is problematic for inhabitants of new built residential areas in the metropolitan area of Tallinn, the residents of former summer house areas benefit from the existing building and infrastructure stock. The use of former summer house areas in the process of suburbanisation can therefore be seen as a potential in dealing with the difficulties of post-soviet planning and its spatial consequences. Today, Mähe consists of a particularly dense form of suburban dwelling that counteracts the uncontrolled urban sprawl in Tallinn’s metropolitan area.