The district, partly located on the eastern lands of the former Gräsa manor, started developing along with the rest of southern Espoo in the 1930s when the street Jorvaksentie (now known as the Länsiväylä highway) was completed.

The first significant construction phase of Niittykumpu happened during the 1960s and 1970s, when a large number of terraced houses were built in the area because of rapid growth of the city of Espoo.

Niittykumpu is served by the Länsimetro line belonging to the trunk routes of the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority, and the Niittykumpu metro station is located in connection with the metro centre located in southern part of the district and the shopping centre Niitty.

Niittykumpu is bordered by Mankkaa in the north, Olari to the west, Tapiola and Pohjois-Tapiola to the east and Haukilahti and Westend to the south.

[1] The medieval village of Gräsa was located on both sides of the Gräsanoja stream in the Olarinluoma area around the current Olari church.

The old lot and the buildings of the Gräsa manor were located on a hill to the east of the Gräsanoja stream, which was still suitable for water transport at the time, at the site of the current Olari church.

Landowners in Espoo founded many new croft houses on their lands in the 18th century, which were supported by tax relief.

Still in the 1960s the address to the houses in southern Tontunmäki was Matinkylä, Gräsa, Itäpää ("eastern end").

Travel to Helsinki from the Niittykumpu area was by train or bus, but as the area was not near any major traffic hub, people first had to go along local streets to the train station in Kauniainen or to the bus stop along the Turuntie road in Kilo, and from there onwards to Helsinki.

[3]: 13–14 The Gräsagård village also grew in population: according to a 1865 census there were 61 inhabitants, but in 1920 the number of permanent residents had grown to 145.

Parcel lot activity increased in the 1930s as transport connections in the area improved significantly as the street Jorvaksentie (now known as the Länsiväylä highway) was completed.

New road connections coupled southern Espoo better to the centre of Helsinki and allowed it to develop further.

[3]: 13–14 Together with the rest of Espoo, construction in the Niittykumpu area increased rapidly in the decades after the war.

The first significant phase of construction happened in the 1960s and 1970s,[5] when many new terraced houses were built in the area because of rapid growth of Espoo.

[9] Construction of the metro centre started in March 2014,[10] and it was opened to the public three years later in June 2017.

[12] The old shopping centre Niittytori was dismantled in late summer 2017, and a new apartment building block was built in its place.

[17] The automobile dealerships Länsi-Auto, Toyota Espoo and Delta will also be moved out of the way of the new apartment buildings.