Browsing by master's degree program "Kaupunkitutkimuksen ja suunnittelun maisteriohjelma"

This master’s thesis explores spatial and aesthetic experiences and placemaking in two public spaces in Malmi and Malminkartano in Helsinki. It focuses on two case studies through ethnographic fieldwork in order to evaluate the added value of placemaking in the urban planning practices of the City of Helsinki from the citizens’ perspective. The case studies shed light on the possibilities and risks of placemaking, especially in the context of Helsinki neighbourhoods that are subject to densification and suburban regeneration projects. This research was commissioned by the Strategic Urban Planning Department of the Urban Environment Division of the City of Helsinki. This thesis explores three research questions. It aims to understand how the observed placemaking projects affected the spatial and aesthetic experiences in the public spaces in question. It also examines what kind of attitudes arose among informants regarding public space, placemaking, densification and urban planning in the context of the studied neighbourhoods. Lastly, it assesses the potential of placemaking to improve the spatial and aesthetic experience of public spaces in neighbourhoods undergoing suburban regeneration projects. The theoretical framework of this research utilises theories and viewpoints of human geography and philosophy of urban aesthetics. Building on the study of place and space, it employs the concepts of spatial and aesthetic experience to examine sensory perceptions in public spaces. Additionally, it continues the culture and tradition of qualitative urban planning research. The data was gathered through ethnographic fieldwork during the span of the studied placemaking projects between July and October 2021. The fieldwork entailed participant observation, informal interviews and conversations with informants and autoethnographic observations of sensory, spatial and aesthetic experiences in public space. In addition to the ethnographic data, placemaking theory was utilised to formulate the analyses and results. Based on the data, the observed placemaking case studies had a moderate effect on the spatial and aesthetic experiences in the public spaces in question. However, they raised valuable discussions about local viewpoints and provided important place-based knowledge for urban planners. The ethnographic process revealed both accepting and antagonistic narratives within the local communities regarding densification and the urban planning practices of the City of Helsinki. The latter attitudes did not, however, seem to negatively affect the informants’ conceptions of the studied projects or placemaking generally. Instead, place-driven attempts at making public spaces greener, livelier and more engaging were almost unanimously accepted and welcomed. Consequently, placemaking is proposed here as a viable method to develop and improve the experience of public spaces among citizens in neighbourhoods undergoing suburban regeneration projects. Based on the gathered data and theoretical reasoning, this thesis argues that placemaking is an urban development approach, method and philosophy that can create added value to conventional urban planning practices in Helsinki. Placemaking can improve the experience of public space by vitalising its experiential and sensory qualities, and thus complement technocratic urban planning and construction processes. Placemaking can provide planners with place-based knowledge about local conditions and aspirations that is useful for long-term planning goals. Placemaking can be utilised as a participation method that gives citizens more agency and shows faster impact than other means of participation, further empowering them to reclaim public spaces for communal uses. Placemaking can make public spaces safer and more pluralistic by broadening their usership and increasing vulnerable groups’ presence. By engaging in community-driven placemaking, the City of Helsinki can improve its public spaces in multiple ways and develop its current participatory and urban design practices in alignment with its strategic goals of enhancing the quality of life for its citizens.

Tämä tutkielma käsittelee suomalaisten kaupunkien tekemää yhteisö- ja osallisuustyötä. Kaupungit ovat toteuttaneet jo useiden vuosikymmenien ajan erilaisia asukkaiden aktivoimiseen ja yhteisöllisyyden lisäämiseen tähtääviä projekteja, ja yhteisöllisyyden edistäminen on yleinen tavoite kaupunkien strategioissa. Strategiatasolla yhteisön ja yhteisöllisyyden käsitteet esiintyvät kuitenkin heikosti konkretisoituina. Lisäksi yhteisöllisyys oletetaan usein yksiselitteisen myönteiseksi ilmiöksi, vaikka alueellisen yhteisöllisyyden kääntöpuolena saattaa esiintyä esimerkiksi paikallista kontrollia, leimaamista ja syrjimistä. Kaupunkien yhteisöhankkeiden tavoitteiksi on määritelty mm. asuinalueen sosiaalisen koheesion edistäminen sekä asukkaiden mielialan kohentaminen erilaisten tapahtumien ja projektien kautta. Aiemmissa tutkimuksissa yhteisöhankkeita on kuitenkin tutkittu myös poliittisemmasta näkökulmasta. Yhteisöhankkeissa on nähty kiinnekohtia mm. kommunitarismia suosineeseen ”kolmannen tien” politiikkaan. Kommunitarismille ja kolmannen tien periaatteille tyypillisiä piirteitä ovat esim. puhtaasti valtiollisten ratkaisumallien sivuuttaminen ja moraalisesti vastuullisten paikallisyhteisöjen ennallistaminen. Kriittisen näkökulmasta paikallisyhteisöjen aktivointi on tulkittu yhteiskuntapoliittiseksi keinoksi, jolla on arvostelijoiden mukaan pyritty korvaamaan valtiollista sosiaalipoliittista järjestelmää. Tutkielmassa on analysoitu kaupunkien yhteisö- ja osallisuustyöstä vastaavien hankeasiantuntijoiden ajatuksia yhteisöllisyydestä ja sen mahdollisuuksista. Tutkimuskysymykseni ovat :1) Miten yhteisöllisyyttä nähdään syntyvän ja 2) millaisia vaikutuksia yhteisö- ja osallisuustyöllä halutaan tuottaa? Avaan työssäni sitä, mitä yhteisöllisyys haastatelluille hankeasiantuntijoille merkitsee, minkälaisiin ongelmiin yhteisöllisyyden pitäisi toimia ratkaisuna ja millä tavalla yhteisöllisyys nämä ongelmat ratkaisisi. Aineisto koostuu viidelle eri suomalaiskaupungille työskentelevien hankeasiantuntijoiden puolistrukturoiduista teemahaastatteluista (n=8), jotka on analysoitu teoriaohjaavalla sisällönanalyysillä. Analyysi nojaa affektiivisen kansalaisuuden (affective citizenship) käsitteeseen, joka kuvaa sitä tapaa, miten affektit ja kansalaisuus yhdistyvät biovaltaan ja hallinnallisuuteen. Kansalaisia saatetaan esimerkiksi rohkaista tuntemaan kiitollisuutta ja uskollisuutta kansakuntaa kohtaan ja toisten tunteiden oikeutus saatetaan tunnustaa enemmän kuin toisten. Analyysin tukena on käytetty myös yhteisön ja sosiaaliseen pääoman käsitteisiin liittyviä teorianäkökulmia sekä Mark Granovetterin (1973) heikkojen siteiden teoriaa. Tutkimustulosten mukaan kaupunkien yhteisö- ja osallisuustyötä voi tulkita affektiivisen kansalaisuuden näkökulmasta. Hankkeilla tavoitellun yhteisöllisyyden kautta toivotaan tietynlaista kansalaisuutta, jossa hankealueiden asukkaat huomioisivat yhteisön paremmin omassa käytöksessään ja toiminnassaan. Yhteisöllisyyden ajatellaan tuottavan alueille turvallisuuden tunnetta, sosiaalista kontrollia ja luottamusta asukkaiden kesken. Luottamuksen lisäämistä voidaan tulkita myös sosiaalisen pääoman ja asukkaiden välisien heikkojen siteiden lisäämisenä. Yhteisöllisyyden ajatellaan johtavan parempiin väestösuhteisiin ja sujuvampaan kanssakäymiseen paikallisesti. Lisäksi yhteisöllisyyden ajatellaan lisäävän asukkaiden omistajuutta alueisiinsa. Omistajuus puolestaan ilmenisi aktiivisena osallistumista alueen asioiden hoitoon ja haluna pitää alueesta huolta. Yhteisöllisyydellä pyritään siis aktiivisemman ja alueeseensa sitoutuneemman kansalaisuuden edistämiseen. Tutkimustulosten perusteella kaupunkien yhteisöhankkeilla ei nähdä edellytyksiä rakenteellisten ongelmien korjaamiseen, mutta yhteisöllisyydellä nähdään haastatteluaineiston perusteella mahdolliseksi lisätä rakenteellisten ongelmien seurauksista kärsivien asukkaiden psykososiaalista hyvinvointia. Tutkimustulokset tekevät näkyväksi yhteisötyön suunnitteluun vaikuttavia premissejä, mikä mahdollistaa kaupunkien yhteisö- ja osallisuustyötä ohjaavien taustaolettamien kriittisen arvioinnin.

Many people consider housing estates unaesthetic and/or socio-economically problematic places. However, as Hess et. al. (2018) point out, a more differentiated approach is required as there are differences between housing estates, originating from their local contexts. The thesis adopts this viewpoint and aims to provide a differentiated analysis regarding socio-economic differences in three peripheral housing estates in the city of Várpalota (Hungary), while also attempting to identify the root causes of these differences. The thesis relies heavily on the use of primary sources. Census data are essential for the analysis of socio-economic conditions (e. g. unemployment, educational attainment), and are featured extensively in the research. In addition, urban development documents add important layers to the understanding of the local context and municipal attitudes towards the housing estates, both during and after the communist regime. Scientific literature in English and Hungarian is employed to create sufficient contextualization and to interpret the contents of primary sources. The research considers the location of the housing estate, the economic context, the quality of the built environment, and rehabilitation projects as the main potential root causes for socio-economic differences. All these factors are scrutinized in the thesis, and the analysis of the relationship between the conditions portrayed by census data and the rehabilitation projects outlined in urban development programmes (or their absence) is fundamental in the research. The thesis argues that the rehabilitation projects taking place in Várpalota, while consisting of some beneficial elements, have not offered all-encompassing solutions to the socio-economic issues in some locations, due to several factors (their length, the timing of the intervention, the contents of the project etc.). Even though the focus of the research is on the three peripheral housing estates in Várpalota, other broader themes are also touched upon. The thesis proposes the modification of the criteria for a location to be categorized as a ’housing estate’ in Hungary. Furthermore, broader considerations regarding contemporary Hungarian urban planning and transportation planning are also made in the thesis.

As inequality has increased globally, so has its spatial expression, socio-economic segregation. Traditionally Finland has been considered an egalitarian social welfare state where inequality and segregation are low. While inequality decreased until the 1990s, it has since started to grow and so has socio-economic segregation. In Helsinki Metropolitan Area this development is seen in the growing welfare differentiation between neighbourhoods. As policies to prevent segregation have proven inadequate, the role of spatial accessibility in connecting people with opportunities has grown increasingly important. Using data on travel times and population statistics on a 250m x 250m grid this thesis tries to answer two questions; (1) to what extent does spatial accessibility differ for different socio-economic groups in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and (2) how has spatial accessibility developed from 2013 to 2018 and how have different socio-economic groups been affected. Spatial accessibility was defined by calculating the average travel time by public transport and by car between every 250m x 250m grid cell in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area using Helsinki Region Travel Time Matrix. To identify advantaged and disadvantaged grid cells in the area, an index of disadvantage was calculated using Statistic’s Finland’s Population Grid Database. Data from these two sources were combined to assess whether there is a difference in spatial accessibility between the least and most disadvantaged quintiles in Helsinki Metropolitan Area. While the main focus of the thesis is on public transport, spatial accessibility by car is also of interest, especially in relation to public transport. This thesis finds that there is a difference between spatial accessibility from the least and most disadvantaged grid cells in favour of the most disadvantaged, though the results are statistically significant only for public transport. Furthermore, the difference in spatial accessibility by public transport has increased from 2013 to 2018 in the area in favour of the disadvantaged grid cells while spatial accessibility by car has decreased. Furthermore, spatial accessibility is far better by car than by public transport and despite two major investments in public transport in the area during the study period, spatial accessibility by public transport as defined by average travel time has decreased.

This thesis is an exploration of food delivery couriers’ everyday experiences, practices and sensemaking processes through a posthumanist and sociomaterial approach that highlights the idea that technology and society are mutually shaping one another, and that considers the agency of non-human entities such as algorithms, transcendental. Moreover, by adopting a sociomaterial perspective, we can have a better understanding of how social and technological systems, as well as human and non-human beings, are interrelated, how they shape, and are shaped by one another. This work’s aims are threefold: First, it explores couriers’ experiences at work and describes their daily practices in order to understand the enactment of agency from a sociomaterial and post-humanist philosophical tradition. Second, it explores the material implications of algorithmic management in couriers’ lives, and finally, it explores the way couriers perform their work in context, both through the tethered geographical elements of the city, and amidst the platform’s multiple entanglements and spatiotemporal arrangements. The research design of this thesis has a strong qualitative research methodology, including methods such as walk-along interviews, semi-structured interviews, ethnographic reporting techniques, and the author’s 3-month work experience as a food delivery courier. The findings of this work suggest that we should acknowledge the platform as a constant becoming entity where couriers’ sensemaking processes are produced at the intersection of their experience of the city and their relationship with the managing algorithms of the platform. A performative sociomaterial practice that constantly produces knowledge that is used by couriers to negotiate their participation in the platform. This thesis expands previous understandings of digital workers’ experiences of algorithmic management by incorporating a sociomaterial and performative approach in the analysis of couriers’ sensemaking processes. Furthermore, by considering the relationships and interactions between human and nonhuman agencies in the food delivery platform industry, this work contributes not only to the understanding of agency within digital platforms but also to a broader understanding of agency in our increasingly digitally mediated societies.

The past decades have seen the emergence of the shrinkage phenomenon throughout cities leaving urban planners, communities and their administrations perplexed as to what to do next. The phenomenon encompasses complex, interconnected processes which are embedded in economic, demographic and structural changes. However, it is the population decline aspect that is often one of the telltale signs synonymous with shrinkage. Whilst shrinking cities are not something new, it has been gaining widespread attention as it becomes more prominent in urban areas and is no longer just an issue associated with rural areas. With Finland’s population forecast expected to decline in the coming decades, the relevance of the phenomenon and its urban planning implications will only become more prominent. Historically and still widely today, a city’s success has been connected to its ability to grow, resulting in the ideal that only growing cities are deemed to be successful. Urban planning transpired from the need to spatially manage growth and therefore, has its origins in facilitating for growth. Given the negative implications associated with the phenomenon and its impact on demographics, economy and the built environment of cities, it is often stigmatised and portrayed in a negative light. This research contributes to the knowledge on the shrinkage phenomenon in the context of Finnish urban planning. The study aims to explore the negative portrayal of the phenomenon through understanding the social and structural implications for cities and examining the implications this has on the actions that are being taken by cities to adapt to shrinkage. Specifically, the study involved interviews with urban planners, researchers and other relevant experts across Finland with knowledge on the shrinkage phenomenon and/or urban planning. The results of the study demonstrated that the negative connotation has led to many cities unwilling to openly accept the phenomenon. In turn, this has resulted in denial and the constant desire to strive for growth which has compromised the opportunities available to appropriately plan for the future. The influence of the political realm has shown to be a contributing factor to the stigma surrounding the phenomenon and further reinforced growth aspirations that are not reasonable for many shrinking cities. The prominence of the phenomenon has further fuelled the debate of whether old and current urban planning practices supporting and emphasising growth is the way forward and if existing planning systems are able to (un)plan for shrinkage. Ensuring the importance of quality of life indicators for residents within shrinking cities and the obligation for urban planners to accept shrinkage and plan the future of cities accordingly are key takeaways from the research.

In current city policies, cultural events take part in urban, social and economic development contributing in place making and city branding. This master thesis examines the role of the forthcoming Helsinki contemporary art biennial within the city strategies to fulfill social, economic and environmentally sustainable development. The vision of the city of Helsinki is to be the world’s most functional city, creating the best conditions for residents and visitors as well as an attractive knowledge hub for companies and individuals. The potential of achieving some of the strategies’ objectives through the contemporary art biennial is analyzed through interviews with experts of Helsinki Art Museum and benchmarking the city of Helsinki with other long-term biennial cities, specifically, Venice, Berlin and Liverpool. For the benchmarking, it has been used data provided by the European Commission’s on line platform “Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor”. Helsinki biennial takes part in the place-making, city branding as well as in the strategic plan for the city. Overall, the event is efficiently related to most of the objectives of the city strategies, of which the maritime strategy, the project for youth social inclusion, exercise and mobility, health and welfare promotion. The convergent outputs of the analysis of Helsinki provided positive scenarios on the creation of new jobs within the creative economy and revealed that human capital and education sectors might undertake a significant increase. Yet, a broad overview on the strategies for the city of Helsinki 2017-2021 revealed contrasting aspects within the sustainable development principles. The new jobs created through the maritime strategy seem not completely fulfill the ambitious aims of the city strategies to create new captivating jobs through new companies and startups. Furthermore, in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change, environmentally sustainable alternatives for the Biennial in the island of Vallisaari should be carefully considered.

Julkinen tila on kaupungissa keskeinen tekijä ja tori on julkisista tiloista leimallisin. Historiallisesti torien merkitys kaupungissa on suuri ja vaihdellut historian aikana. Tori on mielenkiintoinen keskus kaupungissa: dynaaminen ja eläväinen torikaupan aikoina, hiljainen ja autio niiden ulkopuolella. Julkisten tilojen monipuolistuminen on asettanut torit asemaan, jossa ne eivät enää ole ensisijainen kokoontumispaikka. Tori elää kaupungin mukana ja saa kehityksen tuloksena uusia funktioita. Tutkimus selvittää näitä käyttötarkoitusten muutoksia käyttäen tapausesimerkkinä Porvoon toria 1832–2021. Tutkimus on saanut alkunsa Porvoon kaupungin keskustakehittämishankkeesta, johon liittyen tutkimuksen tekijä laati toriympäristön historiaselvityksen vuonna 2020. Tutkimuksen metodina on temaattinen tarkastelu, joka torin historiallisia vaiheita vertaamalla ja yhteiskunnalliseen kontekstiin asettamalla vastaa kysymykseen, kuinka torin muuttuvat funktiot ovat vaikuttaneet sen rooliin kaupungissa. Lähdeaineisto koostuu arkistolähteistä, valokuvista, sanomalehtijulkaisuista täydennettynä toriyrittäjien haastatteluilla. Kirjallisuus hyödyntää erityisesti julkisen tilan piirteitä sekä Porvoon historiaa selvittäneitä teoksia. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys soveltaa Lefebvren tilan tuotannon teoriaa korostamalla ihmisen oikeutta kaupunkiin ja toria kaupunkilaisten arjen tilana. Teoria tarjoaa perustan kaupunkisuunnittelun historiassa tehtyjen arvovalintojen tutkimiseen. Tutkimus teoretisoi myös tilaa suhteellisena käsitteenä ja tarkastelee paikan merkitystä kaupungissa siihen liitettyjen mielikuvien avulla. Tutkimus jakaa torin neljään toiminnalliseen funktioon, jotka ovat tulleet torille eri aikoina, mutta ovat kaikki läsnä nykyisin. Ensimmäinen funktio, torikauppa, on pitkään hiipuneenakin yhä elävä torin käyttötarkoitus. Toinen funktio on torin symbolisesti merkittävä edustusrooli. Se näkyy paitsi torin varrelle sijoittuneissa instituutioissa myös torin ajoittain korostuvassa roolissa kansalaisaktivismin näyttämönä. Kolmas funktio on kaupungin keskeisenä liikennealueena toimiminen. Keskeinen sijainti on tuonut torille linja-auto- ja taksiasemat, jotka ovat merkittävästi muokanneet torikuvaa 1930-luvulta tähän päivään. Neljäs funktio on tapahtumapaikka, joka liittyy kaupunkikeskustojen kehittämisen trendiin. Tori tarjoaa puitteet niin perinteisten kuin uusien kaupunkitapahtumien paikkana. Lisäksi tutkimus vertaa Porvoon toria kolmeen muuhun suomalaiskaupungin samanikäiseen toriin ja niiden historiaan. Torien taustojen analysointi selvittää, miksi ne ovat kehittyneet eri tavoin ja asettaa Porvoon torin historian laajempaan yhteiskunnalliseen kontekstiin.

The themes of this thesis are alternative, informal, and uncommercial cultural spaces, the scenes using the spaces, and the individual scene participants. The study’s frame is Helsinki between 2000–2019. The study combines relevant theoretical discussion from subculture research tradition and urbanism. The key concepts of the thesis are ‘scenes,’ a cultural definition of ‘subculture,’ ‘alternative cultural spaces,’ ‘DIY culture’ (‘do it yourself’), and ‘enclaves.’ The thesis presents Helsinki’s ‘DIY landscape’ to consist of interconnected actors—scene participants—who are part of a network that revolves around making, performing and facilitating music in a specific urban infrastructure—the city, Helsinki—and in which the alternative cultural spaces create physical ‘hubs’ for the scene. The data has been collected online via a combination of oral history recollections and qualitative surveying. The data was collected in collaboration between Helsinki City Museum and Music Archive Finland in fall 2019. The data consist of 70 individual responses. The data is treated through the epistemology of qualitative research and oral history, and therefore is seen to include both ‘factual’ information and the informant’s subjective interpretations, their experience. On a practical level, the analysis has been conducted mainly via qualitative content analysis (QCA), but also geographic information system (GIS) has been used. The study aims to explicate a widely recognized but poorly known cultural phenomenon. The study’s key results are as follows. Four types of alternative cultural spaces have existed: dedicated buildings, rooms, outdoor venues, and even a ship. All of the study’s 34 spaces have hosted live music events and a variety of other cultural, political, and social activities. The spaces have been acquired for use by renting, squatting, and asking permission, and in two cases are owned by the facilitator. With some exceptions, they are located in the fringe areas of Helsinki’s city center, have a relatively short lifespan (maximum of five years in a set location) and share ‘aesthetics of necessity’ that roots meager or non-existent funding and the use of subcultural symbols and art. The spaces follow certain ‘DIY operating principles’ that aim to create an encouraging and inclusive atmosphere for DIY participation. The spaces, and their users, have faced a variety of challenges, setbacks, and problems. These are rooted in funding, the deficits of the buildings and their facilities, and to other citizens, the police, and the City of Helsinki. The City’s role emerges from the data as ambivalent—a constrainer and enabler. According to the responder’s experience, the City does not have a uniform policy towards the use of vacant urban space, and DIY culture overall is not recognized. For the scenes, the alternative cultural spaces function as platforms where cherish—often ‘marginal’—music and subcultures. Some of the participants connect political and societal ideals to the spaces and DIY activities. DIY activities emerged as—sometimes self-purposefully—social and communal by their nature. In the spaces between scene participants take place socio-cultural ‘cross-fertilization,’ which sometimes leads to new organizational groups and even scenes forming. These might relocate their practices elsewhere, and thus DIY culture spreads to new locations in the urban infrastructure. For the individual scene participants, crossing with the scene represents an important part of finding a social reference group. Some of the responders described going through a ‘DIY phase,’ which is a several yearlong period in their youth when life orientations and identity are intensively connected to DIY culture. The meaningfulness of scene participation lasts to later life, even if the participant’s active years are foregone. For some, the skills and knowledge acquired in the scene creates a basis for a more professional career in cultural production. As the reasons for the diminish or end of the DIY participation are given the closure of an alternative cultural space focal for the participant, challenges in activities, and major life events. In the discussion, the thesis suggests the concept of ‘urban DIY enclaves’ in the toolboxes of urban planners and designers. The DIY enclaves differentiate from the broader urban landscape by their condition, aesthetics, political messages, and subcultural symbols. Socially they have been constructed to advance DIY culture and cherish the creative lifestyle associated with it. The concept is suggested as a device for acknowledging the existence of DIY culture; in other words, its need for space, and its participants’ eagerness to participate in the construction of the urban and cultural landscape.

The Master´s thesis examines the conceived value patterns the city officials use in the context of land-use regulation of small forest fragments. As a theoretical framework, the study utilises Boltanski and Thévenot´s theory on the common worlds with complementary literature, such as Thévenot’s cognitive formats and engagements. In light of extensive scientific research, urban greenspaces have multiple positive impacts to both urban structure and wellbeing of the residents. Small greenspaces, so-called forest fragments with no appointed recreational activities are, nevertheless, often presented as potential sites for infill construction. This appears especially in cities where strong population growth causes pressure for urban development. This Master´s thesis complements existing research in this regard by revealing the diversity of valuation that form the basis to differing interests, perspectives and decisions that direct urban land-use policy in these forest fragments. The empirical phase has been conducted among city officials in the City of Espoo (FI), who represent different operative units and positions. The analysis was conducted through an exploratory and semiquantitative Q methodology. In the study, the respondents (N=27) validated statements (Q=35) related to planning decisions on small forest fragments. The factor extraction was conducted by principal component analysis. The seven analysed factors form consistent value patterns, which may be used when describing and interpreting the justification of urban planning regulation in forest fragments. In each individual value pattern, either valuation of the local landscape, public good or personal advantage is emphasised. From the common worlds, argumentation based on the industrial or the market worlds highlight personal affinity, whereas, for instance, the civic or the domestic world form a basis for argumentation on social values and the common good. Human-centred biophilia is the most explanatory of the value patterns. Based on the valuation, forest fragments are seen as an integral part of the urban structure especially due to their cultural ecosystem services, such as recreational possibilities, effect on residents´ environmental consciousness and stability of the local landscape.