Browsing by Author "Railo, Ilmari"

The urban greenery of Helsinki plays an important role in enabling nature access for city dwellers but as the city develops greenery can be lost under buildings. However, people value their local greenery, which can manifest itself in opposition to development projects. Historical documents can provide insights into how childhood experiences influence the appreciation of urban greenery. This thesis explores how childhood experiences in suburban areas shape perceptions of urban greenery and unbuilt spaces. The research material consists of an oral history collection called "Lapsuus lähiössä", which is stored in the Finnish Literature Society's and gathered between the years 2016 and 2017. The research methodology of the thesis utilizes qualitative content analysis conducted by thematic coding. Theoretically, the thesis draws on oral history research and the study of historical experience. The post-war decades marked an era of various societal change processes, during which Finland can be said to have modernized. The construction of the so-called forest-suburbs was a central process in this modernization. Given their location outside the city centre, suburbs offer an interesting angle for investigating the relationship between urban residents and their environment. Due to their remote locations suburban environments contained a lot of undeveloped space and greenery. Based on the results of the analysis, it can be argued that different natural environments in the vicinity of the neighbourhood played an important experiential role for those who spent their childhood in suburbs. Additionally, spaces left outside urban planning, often referred to as wastelands, have facilitated important experiences related to freedom and adventure, for example.