Browsing by Subject "urban planning"
Now showing items 1-8 of 8
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(2023)This thesis is an ethnographic exploration into co-production evaluation. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate outcomes of a knowledge co-production workshop in the context of Finnish urban planning using a co-production evaluation framework. For the context of the research, the status of allotment gardens in urban planning was studied. Central concepts also include participation and the status of knowledge in the urban planning context. I collected my research data by participating in the workshop process as a co-facilitator and co-producer in a garden workshop held in Pähkinärinne allotment plots in June 2022. I carried out the research using qualitative research methods, participatory observation. Field notes and the material and data the garden workshop produced are the main body of data. The results show that the workshop did produce a tangible outcome, a usable concept for the Pähkinärinne allotment gardens. When situated in the Finnish urban planning context, analysis shows that implementation may be difficult due to institutional and governance barriers. Intangible impacts were produced in the form of social learning. This entailed the identification of existing social networks in and outside of the allotment plots and their development through social capital. These effects fare better in the Finnish context through self-governance and self-organization. As a conclusion, it can be said that the knowledge co-production process was a successful process but in the Finnish urban planning context bottom-up initiatives can be difficult to implement due to institutional barriers and city-led planning and participation.
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(Helsingin yliopistoUniversity of HelsinkiHelsingfors universitet, 2005)The urban development of Helsinki Region is characterized by both centralization and decentralization. Concern has recently been expressed in political debate regarding the effects of urban decentralization. Current housing policy has lead to a situation where single-family houses – which are also preferred by wealthy taxpayers – are mainly built in the surrounding municipalities. The growth on the periphery of the region is shaping the city toward a more decentralized, multi-nuclei form. Community structure is organized in region composed of functionally differentiated spaces that are no longer extensions of the traditional city. A functionally differentiated city is suggested to be a new form of urban morphology. These polynucleated areas are not dominated by any central city. Traditional core-periphery relations are replaced by periphery-periphery connections. It has been stated that this emergence of new postsuburban areas has also created a new postsuburban way of life. This research studies urban transformation processes at the periphery of the Helsinki Region. Transformation of urban space is studied through the locations where local residents work, go shopping, make social contacts and concentrate on their hobbies. The study areas are newly built single-family house neighbourhoods Sundsberg in Kirkkonummi and Landbo in Sipoo. The chosen areas are similar for their locational factors but different in their characteristics and thus ideal for a comparative study. The main information presented in this study was obtained from interviews completed in study areas. The data is analysed using quantifying qualitative analysis and presented as maps. Residents’ travel paths seem to follow postsuburban lifestyle patterns closely in both areas, which can be related to urban decentralization. According to this study, if postsuburban neighbourhoods described above become more common, citizens’ moving patterns will change accordingly. Policy on controlling urban decentralization will greatly affect the future of Helsinki Region.
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(2023)Maisterintutkielma käsittelee pääkaupunkiseudun lähiöiden täydennysrakentamiseen ja asuinviihtyvyyteen liittyviä näkemyksiä mielipidekirjoituksissa. Työssä tarkastellaan millaisia mielipiteitä täydennysrakentamisesta nostetaan esille asuinympäristön viihtyvyyteen liittyen. Työ pyrkii myös kartoittamaan sitä, millaisista täydennysrakentamisen puolista kumpuaa positiivisia ja millaisista negatiivisia näkökulmia asuinympäristön viihtyvyyttä ajatellen. Lisäksi työssä selvitetään millaisia tahoja voidaan tunnistaa osallisiksi täydennysrakentamiseen ja asuinviihtyvyyteen liittyvissä mielipidekirjoituksissa. Mielipidekirjoitusten analysoinnin menetelmänä toimii sisällönanalyysi. Tutkimuksen empiirisenä aineistona toimivat Helsingin Sanomien sähköisen arkiston mielipidekirjoitukset vuosilta 2018–2022. Hakutulosten alkuseulonnan päätteeksi sisällönanalyysia suoritettiin lopulta yhteensä 87 mielipidekirjoituksen pohjalta. Analyysissä tarkasteltiin mielipidekirjoituksen esiin tuomia näkökulmia täydennysrakentamiseen ja asuinviihtyvyyteen liittyen, toisaalta myös mielipidekirjoituksen yleistä sävyä sekä mielipidekirjoittajan taustatietoja. Analysoituja mielipidekirjoituksia ryhmiteltiin teemoihin niistä esiin tulleiden näkökulmien ja aihepiirien pohjalta. Jaottelua tehtiin myös sillä perusteella, millaisia tahoja voitiin tunnistaa mielipidekirjoitusten taustoilta. Aineistosta suoritetusta sisällönanalyysistä selvisi, että mielipidekirjoituksissa nousi esiin tunnistettavina teemaryhminä kaupunkivihreä, kaupunkikuvan esteettinen olemus, historialliset arvot ja identiteetti sekä täydennysrakentamisen vaikutus terveyteen. Mielipidekirjoitusten vallitsevaksi sävyksi voitiin tunnistaa varauksellisuus ja negatiivisuus täydennysrakentamista kohtaan, varsinkin jos se tapahtui kirjoittajataholle itselleen merkityksellä alueella, kuten omalla asuinalueella. Toisaalta vähemmissä määrin mielipidekirjoituksissa tuotiin esiin myös positiivista puolta täydennysrakentamisen tarjoamista mahdollisuuksista kaupunkiympäristölle. Mielipidekirjoittajiksi voitiin valtaosassa mielipidekirjoituksia tunnistaa yksityishenkilö, joskin mielipidekirjoitusten taustoilta pystyttiin havaitsemaan myös paljon kaupunkiympäristön suunnittelijoita, akateemikkoja kuin kunnallispolitiikan toimijoitakin. Tutkimuksen pohjalta vaikuttaakin siltä, että tehokas täydennysrakentaminen koetaan monilta osin haasteelliseksi asuinympäristöjen viihtyvyydelle mielipidekirjoitusten kontekstissa.
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(2024)Informal settlements have been widely seen as a challenge to sustainable development programmes in the Global South. Due to their dense informal waterfront settlements with comparable and associated issues of environmental, economic, and social sustainability/justice that surround urban redevelopment and planning, the cities of Lagos and Manila were selected as the study areas. In both cities, the ways of addressing the problems of the informal settlements have remained fragmented. To enhance redevelopment, various planning strategies have been adopted but largely with the same result of forceful eviction and displacement of people, despite differences in how the problems are approached. This thesis utilizes eight (8) published scientific papers relating to urban redevelopment and planning strategies in Lagos’ and Manila’s informal waterfront settlements. The research findings reveal that Lagos and Manila authorities moved to redevelop the waterfront area to ensure environmental protection and reduce natural hazards. These cities adopted public-private partnership to enhance redevelopment and modernize the waterfronts to promote investment, and prevent loss of life and properties. The findings reveal that the top-down planning approach adopted pushed the informal settlers into bad living conditions which is worse than the fear of natural disaster outbreak along the coastline, which the government cited for redevelopment. This generated new ways of politics and democracy where social movements have challenged and protested against the government. The social groups mediate for justice and call on the stakeholders to embrace community-led planning approaches. This thesis concludes that there is a need to have win-win relationships among the stakeholders to have a better planning process. It recommends more research on informal waterfront settlements as it uncovers a wide gap in the literature. In addition, sea level rise was only mentioned without in-depth discussion in Amakihe’s article, to justify the reason for waterfront settlers’ eviction. I recommend future studies to look into the sea level rise as part of the discussion on informal waterfront redevelopment.
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(2021)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.
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(2022)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.
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(2021)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.
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(2024)Kaupungistuminen on nopea ilmiö maailmanlaajuisesti. Kaupungistuminen johtaa myös muutoksiin maankäytössä, mikä usein näkyy kaupunkien tiivistymisenä viherrakenteen kustannuksella. Viherrakenteen ilmalaatuun liittyvistä vaikutuksista on tehty paljon tutkimusta, mutta tutkimuksien tulokset aiheesta ovat ristiriitaisia. Maisterintutkielma käsittelee viherrakenteen vaikutuksia ilmanlaatuun kaupungeissa. Työ pyrkii kartoittamaan mitkä taustalla olevat tekijät vaikuttavat viherrakenteen ilmanlaadullisiin seurauksiin. Lisäksi työ tarkastelee voiko tuloksia soveltaa suomalaiseen kaupunkisuunnitteluun ja jos voi niin millä tavoin. Tutkielma suoritetaan käyttäen systemaattista kirjallisuuskatsausta, joka tiivistää ja arvioi jo valmiina olevaa tutkimusaineistoa sekä kartoittaa epävarmuusalueita. Kokoavan tutkimuksen avulla voidaan selvittää ovatko tutkimusten tulokset esimerkiksi yhteneviä sen osalta, että viherrakennetta kannattaa integroida kaupunkeihin ilmaa puhdistavan vaikutuksen takia Tutkielman aineistona toimii hakulausein sekä sisäänotto- ja poissulkukriteerein huolellisesti ja kriittisesti valitut tieteelliset tutkimukset. Tutkielmaan valikoitui 51 alkuperäistutkimusta. Aineiston analyysissä käytettiin sisällönanalyysiä, joka tarjoaa mahdollisuuden tarkastella asioiden välisiä yhteyksiä, yhtäläisyyksiä ja eroavaisuuksia. Valikoidut tutkimukset koottiin tiivistetysti taulukkoon tutkimuksen läpinäkyvyyden lisäämiseksi. Aineiston sisällönanalyysin perusteella käy ilmi, että viherrakenteen vaikutus kaupunkien ilmanlaatuun on pääosin positiivinen. Neljännes tutkimuksista viittaa siihen, että sillä voi olla myös ilmanlaatua heikentäviä vaikutuksia. Erityisesti viherseinillä ja -katoilla havaitaan eniten ilmanlaatua parantavia ominaisuuksia. Toiseksi tulevat puut, pensaat ja nurmi, ja kolmanneksi suuremmat viheralueet kuten metsät ja puistot. Viherseinät ja -katot aiheuttavat vähiten haitallisia vaikutuksia, kun taas suurimmat haitat liittyvät puihin, pensaisiin ja nurmikkoon. Tulosten vaihtelevuus johtuu erilaisista tutkimusmenetelmistä, tutkimusajankohdista, ilmastollisista olosuhteista, vuodenaikojen vaihtelusta, ilmansaastepitoisuuksista alueella, vuorokaudenajoista, kasvuston sijainnista, viherrakennetyypistä sekä kasvilajeista. Tulosten soveltaminen suomalaiseen viherrakentamiseen on haastavaa, sillä tutkimusten ilmasto-olosuhteet eroavat merkittävästi Suomen oloista. Samankaltaisiin suomalaisiin olosuhteisiin valikoitujen tutkimusten mukaan viherkattojen ja puistojen suosiminen kaupunkirakenteessa, metsien säilyttäminen vilkkaampien teiden varrella ja viherseinien hyödyntäminen katujen varsilla voivat osittain parantaa ilmanlaatua.
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