Browsing by master's degree program "Magisterprogrammet i geografi"
Now showing items 81-100 of 165
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(2022)In public debate, peripheral areas have become accustomed to dealing with through the problems that are related to them. Declining populations, poor physical accessibility, decaying services and disappearing jobs are typical ways of describing rural and remote areas. Also, comparing to cities and growth centers is a typical part of the style of conversation. The peripheral regions and their decision-makers have had to come up with new ways of discussing and engaging their residents as part of a more positive aspect of regional development and a more solution-oriented discussion style. The objective of inclusive regional development activities that arise from this need is to involve the residents of the area in planning so that development is more likely to be oriented in the right and desired direction from the perspective of the actual inhabitants of the places. The relationship of young people with and living in peripheral areas has been complex over time and, despite their attempts, their perspective does not seem to be able to be considered when developing services and activities in peripheral areas. On the other hand, young people attach importance to many features of remote areas, such as proximity to nature and tranquility, and are able to use remote and empty space innovatively. However, at the same time, they miss opportunities for recreational possibilities familiar from cities, such as cafes and diverse recreational opportunities, as well as greater physical accessibility. The lack of a continuum traditionally drives young people from remote areas to move away from home to growth centres in order to pursue work and study, but in the absence of these opportunities in the region, a return move is not even dared or wanted to dream of. However, today's Finland has been awakened to recognise the fact that the places of the future will be built for today's young people, so making their voice heard is the key in the development of the regions. My research focuses on examining young people's views on desired regional developments through the texts of the Upper Savo of My Dreams 2030 - writing contest. The writing competition was organised in spring 2020 by the Ylä-Savon Veturi ry, which is part of the European Union's Leader Network. The competition was aimed at collecting the ideas of young people living in Upper Savo municipalities about the desired developments in their own places of residence. The data for the study consists of 54 participating works, 51 of which are in text and 3 in video format. Participants in the competition are students in the 9th grade of elementary schools, as well as 2nd year students at upper secondary schools. Based on the results of the study, young people in the region share a wide range of common views on the need to improve the accessibility of the area, to safeguard access to basic services and to maintain a close relationship with nature. In addition, young people have plenty of concrete ideas for developing services that concern them, such as pastimes, events, and educational services. The future images of young people in the region are also tinged with a kind of acceptance of scarcity, as young people in the upper Savo perceive the resource realities of their home municipalities well and see many shortcomings as opportunities. At the same time, the acceptance of scarcity acquires familiar aspects of public discourse, contributing to perhaps nitrotting young people's ability to imagine future images that are different from norms and generally accepted ideas. Overall, young people in the region have an uncomplicated approach to combining the features of rural and urban areas, and young people wish for some of the services and features that are familiar from urban areas to improve their playing field as well.
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(2020)The Arctic is warming with an increased pace, and it can affect ecosystems, infrastructure and communities. By studying periglacial landforms and processes, and using improved methods, more knowledge on these changing environmental conditions and their impacts can be obtained. The aim of this thesis is to map studied landforms and predict their probability of occurrence in the circumpolar region utilizing different modelling methods. Periglacial environments occur in high latitudes and other cold regions. These environments host permafrost, which is frozen ground and responds effectively to climate warming, and underlays areas that host many landform types. Therefore, landform monitoring and modelling in permafrost regions under changing climate can provide information about the ongoing changes in the Arctic and landform distributions. Here four landform/process types were mapped and studied: patterned ground, pingos, thermokarst activity and solifluction. The study consisted of 10 study areas across the circumpolar Arctic that were mapped for their landforms. The study utilized GLM, GAM and GBM analyses in determining landform occurrences in the Arctic based on environmental variables. Model calibration utilized logit link function, and evaluation explained the deviance value. Data was sampled to evaluation and calibration sets to assess prediction abilities. The predictive accuracy of the models was assessed using ROC/AUC values. Thermokarst activity proved to be most abundant in studied areas, whereas solifluction activity was most scarce. Pingos were discovered evenly throughout studied areas, and patterned ground activity was absent in some areas but rich in others. Climate variables and mean annual ground temperature had the biggest influence in explaining landform occurrence throughout the circumpolar region. GBM proved to be the most accurate and had the best predictive performance. The results show that mapping and modelling in mesoscale is possible, and in the future, similar studies could be utilized in monitoring efforts regarding global change and in studying environmental and periglacial landform/process interactions.
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(2020)Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas with a great impact on global climate. In the soil, it is produced in anoxic and consumed in oxic conditions by microbes. Together with different methane transport mechanisms, methane production and consumption directly regulate the resulting soil methane flux. Boreal upland forests are generally considered to act as methane sinks due to high methane consumption. However, some studies have shown a boreal upland forest soil turning from a methane sink to a source after long-term abundant precipitation. This study aimed to examine the effects of soil moisture on CH4 flux from simulated increase in rainfall in a northern boreal upland forest soil, and how simultaneous soil temperature increase, organic litter addition and organic litter and root exclusion affect the temporal changes in flux. The study was conducted in Kenttärova forest in Kittilä, Finland in summer 2018. Split-plot design was used in the experiment with soil moisture being the main treatment variable and soil warming (T), organic litter addition (A) and organic litter and root exclusion (E) subtreatment variables. The design included two main plots: irrigation (I) and control (C), within which each subtreatment was replicated three times. In addition to the T, A and E manipulations, plots without additional manipulations (O) were included for the assessment of the effect of only soil moisture increase, and were replicated four times within both main plots. Methane flux was measured at least once a week using chamber method. Soil moisture and temperature were also continuously measured. The treatment effects were analysed using both autoregressive heterogeneous and autoregressive two-way analyses of variance, TukeyHSD method, variable correlations and Generalized Linear Models. The soil did not turn into a methane source but the results showed significant differences between the irrigation and control site, indicating a strong decreasing effect of soil moisture on soil CH4 sink in all treatment levels. All treatments had lowest uptake rates in August, possibly as a result from highest soil moisture levels. IA treatment was the most effective in producing low uptake rates possibly due to the reduction in gas diffusion. E treatments had contrasting results, IE showing increases in uptake rate by increases in soil moisture but the causes remained unsolved and the results were highly uncertain. T treatment had no effect on uptake likely due to a failure to create soil temperature differences and thus the interactions were not reliably analysed. The results suggest that the changes may have been more related to changes in methane consumption than production. Further research is needed especially for examining the combined effect of litter addition, soil moisture and soil temperature increase on methane flux with multiple temporal replications of the experiment.
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(2020)In recent decades there has been a revival of customs and traditions among several indigenous Amazonian peoples, one feature of which is the strengthening of many shamanic practices repressed and partially abandoned under colonial rule. For the Yawanawa people of Acre, Brazil, annual cultural festivals have become a prominent symbol of cultural revitalization. Festivals enable an international audience to experience a live tradition in the form of song, dance, games, art and crafts as well as shamanic rituals and substances. In the context of shamanic ritual, the terms medicine and healing are some of the prominent discourses through which shamanic networks connect and alliances are created between visitors and the Yawanawa. The present study looks at the understandings of health and wellbeing of non-indigenous persons participating in contemporary shamanic networks in Amazonia. The aim of the study is to describe how knowledge of Yawanawa shamanic practices affects understandings of health, sickness and healing. My research questions are: 1) What are the meanings assigned to health and illness in Amazonian sociophilosophies and those of the Yawanawa people? 2) How do Western people practicing Amazonian shamanism perceive health and illness, and how do their understandings relate to those present in Yawanawa shamanism? 3) What constitute the main elements of healing in Yawanawa shamanism? My primary research data consists of six thematic interviews with non-indigenous people practicing and studying Yawanawa shamanism. I will employ two theoretical approaches to frame the analysis. The study locates in medical anthropology which examines concepts around health, illness and healing and their cultural and social diversity. I will refer to the framework of subjective theories of health by Schmid (2010, 2011) to view individual health-related understandings as subjective meaning-making frameworks that resemble but are not reduced to scientific medical theories. Indigenous relational philosophies of health comprise the second theoretical framework, through which the Yawanawa medical system and shamanism will be understood as consisting of the creation and management of harmonious relationships with both human and nonhuman actors. Literature review represents Amazonian shamanism as an interconnected world with a visible and invisible side. Health for indigenous peoples is based on a relational cosmovision where principles of right relationship and reciprocity are recreated at social, ecological and cosmological levels. Wellbeing is a co-created, shared resource as well as the result of successful negotiation with nonhuman beings with potentially conflicting interests. For the Yawanawa, health is defined through the balanced relations of bodies and souls that constitute a human person, as well as creating a distinct Yawanawa identity through embodied means. Traditional Yawanawa shamanism equally relies on the transformation of the body and its different capacities through removal and adding of substances. More recently, the changes occurring in Amazonian shamanic practices have been characterized by increased interconnectedness and exchange on a global level with an increase in shamanic tourism and neo-shamanic movements alongside the practice of indigenous shamanism. Non-local neo-shamanic activities, such as the ritual consumption of ayahuasca for self-healing, have been criticized as reflecting a western, individualistic worldview that does not recognize the relational, intersubjective dimensions of shamanism. Similarly, the elements of Amazonian shamanism undergo a translation that includes the medicalization and commercialization of ayahuasca as well as a tendency to psychologize shamanic experiences with nonhumans. Analysis of the interview data shows that the understandings of health of shamanic practitioners reflect a relational worldview that shares several elements with indigenous socio-philosophies of health. For the study participants, shamanism offers an alternative worldview and framework for understanding wellbeing compared to that of biomedicine characterized by scientific reductionism. A central effect of maintaining relational conceptions of health can be seen in an expanded view of the determinants of health. Individual wellbeing is defined holistically as the balance between the physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of a person. At the same time consideration of elements and actors affecting health is spread horizontally to include relations between individual and their social and intergenerational ties, as well as ecological ties to the nonhuman world which includes other species as well as invisible beings of the spirit world. There is an individualistic orientation present whereby individual responsibility and autonomy are considered as important determinants of wellbeing. Interviewees also recognize some differences between their views and those of the Yawanawa regarding the agency of nonhuman beings. However, the study concludes that practicing and studying shamanism is not merely an egoistic pursuit for the study participants, but increased understanding of the principles of Amazonian shamanism and worldviews shows in an expanded awareness of relational ties in both shamanic cosmology as well as in interpersonal ties with the Yawanawa and Amazonian peoples. This is also reflected in the way the elements of healing in shamanism are understood as containing both subjective and intersubjective elements.
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(2023)Bioklimaattinen mallinnus on keskeinen biogeografinen menetelmä, jolla tutkitaan lajilevinneisyyden ja ilmaston välistä yhteyttä. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin, kuinka hyvin lämpö- ja kosteusolosuhteita kuvaavat bioklimaattiset muuttujat selittivät tundran putkilokasvilajien levinneisyyttä kahdella mittakaavatasolla ja mitkä muuttujat olivat suhteellisesti tärkeimpiä eri lajeille. Lisäksi tarkasteltiin muuttujien alueellista vaihtelua. Biogeografinen tutkimus on erityisen tärkeää tundralla – esimerkiksi Suomen tunturipaljakan putkilokasvilajeista 16 % on uhanalaisia, ja tämän luvun odotetaan kasvavan ilmaston lämpenemisen myötä. Tutkimus sijoittui Mallatuntureiden ja Ailakkavaaran alueille Luoteis-Lappiin. Mallinnettavia putkilokasvilajeja oli 26, joista kahdeksan on arktis-alpiinisia ja muut boreaalisia. Bioklimaattisia muuttujia johdettiin kahdesta ilmastoaineistoista: hienon mittakaavan mikroilmastoaineistosta sekä mesomittakaavan sääasemien mittauksista interpoloidusta aineistosta, joka kuvaa makroilmastollisia olosuhteita. Bioklimaattisten muuttujien alueellista vaihtelua tutkittiin karttatarkastelun avulla ja aineistojen erojen tilastollista merkitsevyyttä arvioitiin tilastollisin tunnusluvuin. Malleja rakennettiin kolmella menetelmällä: yleistetyt lineaariset ja addittiviset mallit sekä yleistetyt luokittelupuut. Mikroilmastomallien muuttujia olivat kasvukauden lämpöolosuhteita kuvaava tehoisa lämpösumma, talven olosuhteita kuvaava helmikuun minimilämpötila ja kesän kosteusolosuhteita kuvaava heinäkuun maaperän kosteus. Makroilmastomalleissa oli muuttujina lämpösumma, helmikuun minimilämpötila ja kesän sademäärä. Mallien suorituskykyä arvioitiin AUC-arvojen avulla ja muuttujien tärkeydet selvitettiin yleistetyt luokittelupuut -menetelmällä. Hienon mittakaavan bioklimaattiset muuttujat kuvasivat selkeästi tarkemmin lämpö- ja kosteusolosuhteiden alueellista vaihtelua lyhyillä etäisyyksillä kuin karkeamman mittakaavan muuttujat. Eri mittakaavojen muuttujien erot olivat myös tilastollisesti merkitseviä. Vaikka bioklimaattisten mallien suorituskyky oli keskimäärin heikko, mikroilmastomallien AUC 0,69 oli korkeampi kuin makroilmastomallien AUC 0,63. Ero suorituskyvyssä oli siis tilastollisesti merkitsevä. Mikroilmastomallit selittivät paremmin yksittäisten putkilokasvilajien levinneisyyttä kuin makroilmastomallit, sillä suorituskyvyltään hyviä tai erinomaisia malleja oli enemmän. Alle puolelle lajeista suhteellisesti tärkein bioklimaattinen muuttuja oli sama eri mittakaavoilla. Tehoisa lämpösumma oli tärkein muuttuja useimmille arktis-alpiinisille ja boreaalisille lajeille karkeammassa mittakaavassa, kun taas heinäkuun keskimääräinen maaperän kosteus oli tärkein muuttuja useimmille arktis-alpiinisille lajeille hienossa mittakaavassa. Tehoisa lämpösumma oli tärkein muuttuja useimmille boreaalisille lajeille myös hienossa mittakaavassa. Tutkimuksen perusteella tundran mikro- ja makroilmastolliset lämpö- ja kosteusolosuhteet eroavat merkittävästi toisistaan, millä on merkitystä esimerkiksi lajien suojelusuunnittelua kehitettäessä ilmaston lämmetessä. On tärkeää huomioida, millaisia ilmasto-olosuhteita bioklimaattisten mallien aineistot kuvaavat, kun tutkitaan tundran putkilokasvilajien suhdetta ympäristöönsä hienossa mittakaavassa.
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(2023)Migration, which can be characterized as a temporal or permanent movement of individuals or groups of people from one geographic location to another, is old as humanity itself. As a part of polyethnic states and as a polyethnic state itself, Ukrainians have had strong connections across the borders and migration has been an integral part of life and in present-day Europe, Ukrainians form one of the largest migrant groups around Europe. The main type of migration changed from economic migration to forced migration when the Russian Federation launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine on 24th of February 2022 which caused a massive influx of migrants to European countries. In this master’s thesis, I studied the effect of existing social networks on refugees’ destination choices, and the aim was to examine how the migration of Ukrainians to Europe after the outbreak of full-scale war is linked to the existing Ukrainian minority population in Europe and to the spatial distribution of Ukrainian social interactions with European countries. In addition to this, the aim was also to evaluate the use of novel big data sources, such as Twitter and Meta, and assess how they can provide new insights into studying migration. The first part of the analysis explored the strength of the relationship between existing Ukrainian minorities in EU countries and social connectedness. The second part of the analysis explored further the strength of the relationship over time between the number of refugees in the EU, social connectedness, and distance from Ukraine, and also the spatial distribution of Ukrainian refugees within the EU area. Third, the strength of the relationship was explored over time between social connectedness and the number of Ukrainian Twitter users in Europe. Last, Twitter data was analyzed to get insights into the Twitter use of Ukrainians and how the change in language use is connected to the refugee movement. Results show that high social connectedness values between Ukraine and other European countries are the result of an existing Ukrainian minority in countries. When analyzing the relationship between the refugee movement in 2022 and social connectedness, results suggest that the migration movement is connected to the existing social networks which can be demonstrated by the social connectedness index. The social connectedness index proves to predict quite accurately the mobility of Ukrainians. User information from Twitter data didn’t perform that well in analyses at least on the country level. However, on the regional level, the relationship between Twitter users and the social connectedness index yielded some better results with a moderate relationship in some months. Insights about overall Twitter usage also showed patterns of increased Twitter activity of Ukrainians in the EU and decreased Twitter activity in Ukraine after the invasion. However, in addition to the location of the users and overall activity, language use analyzed from Twitter data also provided insights about linguistic change from Russian to Ukrainian and the use of Ukrainian, Russian, and English in European countries. However, language use analysis didn’t provide significant support for assessing the dependencies between the number of refugees and language use. This thesis explored further the capabilities of the use of the social connectedness index in migration studies and also showed some of the weaknesses of social media-based big data in mobility-related studies.
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(2021)Eutrophication and climate change are considered to be the worst threats to the Baltic Sea ecosystem. The goal of this work is to understand, what are the consequences of environmental change to the distribution of Fucus spp., one of the key species of the Baltic Sea. Of particular interest here is to find the role of light and water turbidity in defining Fucus spp. distribution since scenario models of the effect of water turbidity defining the distribution has yet remained less studied. Nemo-SCOBI model of physical and biogeochemical conditions of the Baltic Sea calibrated according to different eutrophication and climate change scenarios were used in species distribution modelling (SDM) to predict future distribution of Fucus spp. The SDM method that was used was a regression-tree-based machine-learning generalized boosting method (GBM). In the modelling over 30 000 species presence and absence observations and six environmental variables (temperature, salinity, light attenuation, depth attenuated wave exposition and two seafloor types) were used. Water turbidity decreased in all scenarios in the areas where Fucus spp. occur but the BSAP was more beneficial scenario than the worst case scenario. Salinity decreased more and temperature increased less in the RCP8.5 scenario than in the RCP4.5 scenario. On top of that temperature decreased in the west coast of Finland in the RCP8.5 scenario. Suitable area for Fucus spp. declined in all scenarios so that the average occurrence probability decreased 11–30 percentage points. If no climate and eutrophication objectives (the Baltic Sea Action Plan and the RCP4.5) were met the average occurrence probability declined 25 percentage points. The situation for Fucus spp. is quite alarming because even if all the objectives would be achieved the suitable environment will nevertheless decline. If no actions will be taken in order to reduce nutrients the average occurrence probability declines 11–25 percentage points. Temperature decline in the RCP8.5 scenarios is thought to be caused by increasing upwelling events in the future, which may increase nutrient amounts in the coastal waters. The weak response to light and temperature and strong response to salinity and the fact that salinity decreased in all scenarios may explain why suitable areas decreased in all scenarios. There were some inconsistencies between the results and literature since the most optimistic scenario was the RCP4.5 & worst case, where BSAP goals are not achieved. This can be due to lack of species observations in the whole environmental gradients. The prediction results in the areas where water will be clearer in the future are not reliable and presumably more positive than these results show. While the BSAP scenarios may be too pessimistic the results of worst case scenarios are more reliable.
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(2024)Grass biomass has many important and diverse roles for ecosystems functioning, the carbon cycle, rangeland productivity and local livelihoods. Quantifying and understanding grass biomass in dynamic savanna ecosystems during dry season is important for sustainable land management and monitoring grazing pressures, especially amidst climate change. Traditional ground-based methods to assess vegetation are subjective and time consuming, while remote sensing provides efficiency in monitoring grass biomass at large scales. Grass biomass assessments using remote sensing data have been extensively conducted worldwide, but such research in African savannas remains rare. This study aimed to study connections between dry season grass biomass measured in savanna rangelands and airborne hyperspectral imagery data obtained simultaneously in LUMO Conservancy area of South-Eastern Kenya. Two modelling techniques were compared: averaged plot values (n=24) and individual sample values (n=96). Three vegetation indices (RSI, NDSI, RDSI) were computed and Generalised Additive Models (GAM) were applied to portray the relationship between measured grass biomass and VIs. The highest explanatory power for both modelling techniques was found with RSI and NDSI indices with averaged plot level values having the highest performance (D2 = 0.79, RMSE = 40.15 g/m2), with the band combination of B78 and B43 (908 nm / 667 nm). The best performing vegetation index (RSI) was used to predict grass biomass in the study area, which indicated a biomass range of 0 to 2894 g/m2. The study highlights the potential of using hyperspectral imagery to assess grass biomass in the savanna environments. However, challenges and limitations were faced related to the heterogeneous nature of savannas, varying weather conditions affected by rainfall, the temporal limits of the study, and disturbances in spectral information caused by heavily grazed areas, dead material, and preprocessing techniques. It is suggested that future research considers these factors by incorporating a broader set of variables, extending the duration of the study, exploring various preprocessing techniques, increasing the sample size, and employing additional data sources, such as active sensors and hyperspectral satellite imagery, to enhance model performance and improve accuracy.
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(2020)Fires in residential buildings can lead to significant personal injury and property damage, especially in cities. Fire incidence has been found to have a strong connection with the characteristics of neighbourhoods and their inhabitants, such as with socioeconomic status and the features of households and buildings. However, the influencing factors are complex and often interconnected, which has made it difficult to make accurate predictions. Risk modelling and spatial data analysis provide effective and practical means of studying the phenomenon, especially from the point of view of accident prevention and preparedness. To date, knowledge of the spatial risk factors affecting residential fire incidence is yet limited in Helsinki. Thus, this study has sought to bring new empirical evidence on the matter. This study analysed residential fires in Helsinki from 2014 to 2018 at a 250 x 250 m grid level. The spatial dependence of fires was investigated by observing statistically significant clusters of fires. In this study, a risk model was created that sought to identify the underlying structural, socioeconomic, and household characteristics of neighbourhoods that affect the likelihood of residential fire incidence. The methods used were linear regression and the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR), which takes spatial heterogeneity into account. The results showed that residential fires are spatially clustered in Helsinki. A significant large concentration of fires was found in the inner-city area and smaller concentrations in eastern Helsinki. The results indicate that the structural features of the neighbourhoods, socioeconomic status, and household circumstances have an impact on the likelihood of residential fire incidence by both increasing and decreasing the risk of fire. At the neighbourhood level, statistically significant explanatory variables that increased fire risk were population density, low education, unemployment, occupancy rate of dwellings, and home ownership. A negative relationship with fire risk was found with residential building density, age of the buildings, high education, as well as home ownership. Overall, in the study area, these eight variables explained about half of the variance of residential fire incidence. In a comparison between the models, the explanatory power of the GWR was better than linear regression, and it was also able to identify significant local variations in the effects of explanatory variables on fire risk. A comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing residential fire risk at local levels is important for rescue services, especially in terms of planning response readiness and efficient allocation of resources. In the future, more precise models should be developed in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of fire risk and the factors affecting it. Particular attention should be paid to the use of more precise and diverse data and methods in modelling, as well as to the temporal dimension and the consequences of fires.
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(2023)Monipaikkaisuus on ollut ilmiönä olemassa jo pitkään, mutta se on noussut keskusteluun Covid-19-pandemian seurauksena. Monipaikkaisuudella ei ole yhtenäistä teoreettista kehystä, mutta yksinkertaisuudessaan monipaikkaisuus on yksilön elinpiirin ulottumista kahteen tai useampaan paikkaan. Monipaikkaisuus on herättänyt keskustelua erityisesti kuntakentällä, sillä yksilöiden ja organisaatioiden liikkuvuuden dynamiikan vaikutukset esimerkiksi kuntatalouteen ovat olleet epäselviä. Kuntakentän monipaikkaisuuskeskustelu kiinnittyy erityisesti kuntatalouteen, verotukseen ja elinvoimaan, mutta myös sosiaalinen kestävyys ja osallisuus yhdistyvät kunnan monipaikkaisuustyöhön. Tutkielmassani tarkastelin Iitin viranhaltijoiden näkemyksiä kunnan monipaikkaisuudesta. Tarkoituksenani oli selvittää, minkälaisen merkityksen kunnan strategia antaa monipaikkaisuudelle, ja minkälaisena tämä merkitys siirtyy viranhaltijoiden tulkinnan kautta konkretiaan. Aineistona tutkielmassa käytin Iitin vuosien 2022-2025 kuntastrategiaa sekä kolmen viranhaltijan kanssa tehtyjä puolistrukturoituja teemahaastatteluja. Lähestymistapana käytin tulkitsevaa diskurssianalyysiä, jossa pyrin pääsemään tekstin semanttisten merkitysten ohi tekstin eri osien tarkasteluun, jotta pääsisin tulkitsemaan tekstistä erilaisten sosiaalisten todellisuuksien rakentumista. Tulkitsin aineistostani kaksi diskurssia: monipaikkaisuus kunnan resurssina sekä monipakkaisuus yksilön vapautena. Diskurssit lähestyvät monipaikkaisuutta eri näkökulmista. Monipaikkaisuus kunnan resurssina -diskurssi näkee monipaikkaisuuden kasvun työkaluna, kun monipaikkaisuus yksilön vapautena -diskurssi taas näkee monipaikkaisuuden liberalistisena ideologiana. Diskurssit ovat rinnakkaisia, mutta niissä on niin keskeisiä kuin sisäisiä ristiriitoja, jotka syntyvät erityisesti monipaikkaisten positioinnin kautta. Keskustelua käymällä ja kuntakentän monipaikkaisuuden tietoa tuottamalla monipaikkaisuustyötä voidaan kuitenkin suunnata vahvemmin elinvoimatyön tukemiseen.
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(2023)Tropical montane forests are important environmental factors globally as they preserve biodiversity, carbon, and moisture. That is why it is necessary to have knowledge on the distribution and condition of these forests. Acknowledging what kind of changes happen and in what timescale, assist in forest management and planning. Remote sensing based change detection is one of the ways of investigating these changes. In this study change detection is conducted with multitemporal airborne laser scanning (ALS) data from the years 2014/2015 and 2022. ALS produces three-dimensional point data which can be further processed into different elevation models and canopy height model (CHM). This study focuses on observing changes in tropical montane forests in the Taita Hills, in Kenya. The study area included two peaks, Yale and Ngangao, which are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, which is a bigger mountain chain stretching from Tanzania to Kenya. Both forest areas include native montane and exotic vegetation. Both positive and negative canopy height changes (i.e., tree height growth and tree loss) between these different forest segments were studied. The forest segmentation used in this study is based on earlier mapping in the area, but it was updated with the help of field observations, orthophotos acquired in January 2022 and CHM. In addition, the effects of point density on canopy height metrics were studied. The results indicate that overall trend in the forests has been positive height change. The canopy height changes show that tree growth in the forests differ between the forest segments. Areas with exotic tree species grow faster than the areas with native montane vegetation. When comparing the different tree species, eucalyptus seems to grow fastest, followed by pine and then cypress. Furthermore, some spatial differences were also noted, as similar forest types had grown more in the southern parts of Ngangao forest. Also, negative changes were observed in the data and treefall gaps were identified from the CHM. Results indicate that there is no distinctive pattern between the different forest segments and tree species in treefall. Falling of a tree can be a result of many things. It can be done purposely, or it may happen due to natural causes. Inspections of the effects of point density proved that the attributes do affect canopy height metrics derived from the data. Higher point density differences between the data resulted in larger difference values in the canopy height difference models. In accordance with other studies, it could then be concluded that high point densities create overestimations and lower point densities create underestimations of vegetation heights. Point density differences are one of the issues that should be considered when working with multitemporal data. In addition, variations in the data acquisition create uncertainties to accurate comparison between the data. This thesis provides valuable information about the changes happening in tropical montane forests in the Taita Hills. As the results demonstrate that different forest types have different growth speeds, the information can be further applied in practises that recognise forest type segments. This is crucial in determining montane forest segments. These results are suitable for further analysis and research. When considering the environmental effects tropical montane forests have and how their changes effect the local and global climate, it is useful to know how different species grow and survive in different environments. As the results show, eucalyptus seems to thrive in the area but the effects of exotic species to the biodiversity should be noted as well. In the case of eucalyptus, it uses a lot of water resources to grow, and the undergrowth might not be as rich as in native montane tree species areas.
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(2022)Diatoms (Bacillariophyta) are unicellular microalgae inhabiting nearly all aquatic environments on Earth. Some taxa are endemic to certain regions, whereas some are widely spread or even cosmopolitan. Diatoms’ species diversity and habitat selection support their use as bioindicators, and traditional water quality indices are based on species composition and index species. However, trait-based indices have gained interest in recent years and researchers believe that traits could potentially act as a useful tool in environmental assessment. Traits refers to the morphological, physiological and phenological properties of species, and they are closely linked to the species’ capacity to grow and reproduce in certain circumstances. Morphological variation in diatoms varies significantly between taxa and species. The possibilities of a diatom to adapt into changing habitat is a result of its capacity to alter its morphological properties. Urban and agricultural land use affect water resources negatively, and climate change acts as a reinforcing factor creating complex and mixed effects on aquatic environments. Global warming is and will proceed to be strongest near the poles and its unique and harsh habitats. Climate change by anthropogenic activities and environmental pollution has affected and will affect microbial communities and primary producers everywhere. Diatoms have a central role in global productivity and biogeochemical cycle, and changes in microbial cell size could have severe implications for food webs and energy transition of energy in the trophic system. The aim of this thesis was to monitor the morphological properties, including the size, shape and striae density, of G. parvulum and its link to different combinations two stressors: nutrient solution (PO4 and NO3) and limited light availability. Shading treatment had a clear effect on average cell width, but average cell length did not correlate with shading. Nutrient treatment did not alter the cell length but had some effect on striae density. However, it was concluded that striae count or head shape are not most suitable for indicator purposes, as they are affected by cell size. In conclusion, no clear variation patterns according to the nutrient or shading treatment were detected, but result suggest that the increased availability of light could alter the size of G. parvulum. Results could be blurred by the small sample size or the presence of cryptic or semi-cryptic species.
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(2022)Multi-local living is a complex social phenomenon that is tightly connected to human mobility. In previous research, the phenomenon has been mainly researched with official statistics that fail to capture the dynamic nature of people’s mobilities and dwelling. This thesis approaches multi-locality in Finland and in the county South Savo from the perspective of second homes with novel data sources like mobile phone data and electricity consumption data. These spatially and temporally accurate big data sources can be used to ensure sufficient coverage of population and geographic area. I approach multi-local living by analyzing the spatiotemporal changes in people’s presence with mobile phone data, and by examining how the changes relate to second homes in different areas separately for workdays and weekends. This is examined both for the whole country and by comparing different counties. In the thesis, mobile phone data is utilized as the ground truth to assess the performance of household occupancy detection methods for electricity consumption, and to examine how electricity consumption data captures the spatiotemporal dynamics of second home users in South Savo. The results indicate that people are generally more mobile during the summer, and the seasonal growth in people’s presence correlates strongly with second homes. This shows a prominent seasonal effect for multi-local living in Finland. Additionally, it is shown that the results vary spatially as there is variation in the results both between counties and within South Savo. The best performing second home occupancy detection method is revealed by correlation analyses between mobile phone data and electricity consumption data. Moreover, it is shown that electricity data correlates better with mobile phone data during the summer, and that the data captures the monthly dynamics of second home users well. This further highlights the seasonal effect of multi-local living. The thesis provides valuable insight into how the seasonal variation of population in different areas is connected to multi-local living in Finland. Furthermore, it is shown that novel data sources can capture the changes in people’s presence at multiple spatial levels with high temporal accuracy, and that they can be utilized to study multi-local living.
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(2019)During the last decades, Helsinki and many other cities have begun to restrict parking supply in the city center and in transit-oriented developments, in order to minimize the negative impacts of parking and to restrain growth in housing prices. However, residential parking supply should only be reduced in areas that are well served by public transportation. In last years, novel data sources have been created to simulate the transportation network and land-use distribution in the future. By using computer-processing capacity to combine the travel time and land-use data sources, potential accessibility in the future can be modelled. The aim of this thesis is to provide information on future accessibility by sustainable travel modes, by taking into account the different distance friction characteristics of different land-use opportunities and to estimate car ownership in Helsinki in the year 2030. This thesis has been done as an assignment for the traffic and street planning unit of the City of Helsinki. Methods of this work include distance-based potential accessibility measures, which were computed by combining travel time matrices and land-use data using Python scripts and a geographic information system (GIS). In this work, travel time was used as the transport element of accessibility. For choosing the distance decay functions for the accessibility measures in this thesis, empirical travel data from the Helsinki region travel survey was used, which consists of travel times and trip purposes of the residents’ daily journeys in the Helsinki region in 2012. Travel time and land use estimations for the years 2017 and 2030 from the Helsinki region traffic forecasting system (HELMET) as well as geographic information data from the SeutuCD registers were used as input data for the accessibility analyses. In addition, factors affecting car ownership in the Helsinki region were analyzed and linear regression models were created to estimate future parking demand in Helsinki using accessibility and population density variables. According to the results, potential accessibility measures model the mobility patterns more realistically than cumulative opportunity measures as they weight each feature according to the distance from the origin zone. By comparing potential accessibility results by different means of transport, it can be stated that sustainable transport accessibility in 2030 is, compared to the car still very low. According to the car ownership correlation analysis, the independent variable with the highest correlation coefficient is the percentage of gross floor area of blocks of flats of the entire gross floor area of residential buildings in the zone. The independent accessibility variable with the highest correlation coefficient is the percentage of potential job accessibility by public transport in relation to car, which has a strong negative effect on car ownership (R ≈ -0.8). The highest R-squared value of the multiple linear regression models predicting car ownership is 0.66, meaning that 66 percent of the variation of car ownership can be explained by the independent variables. Thus, the predicting model can be used in estimating future car ownership, if the relationships between car ownership and the predictive variables are assumed to be constant over time.
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(2024)Tässä maisterintutkielmassa tarkastellaan mediayhtiö BBC:n uutisartikkeleissa muodostettua representaatiota afgaaninaisesta konfliktitilanteessa vuoden 2021 loppupuoliskolla. Uutisointi Afganistanin konfliktista saavutti huippukohtansa elokuussa 2021 Talibanin astuttua jälleen valtaan. Kansainvälinen yleisö tuntee konfliktin pitkälle median esitystapojen kautta. Afgaaninaisen tila mediassa on rajattua. Naisten mahdollisuudet mediassa esiintymiseen riippuu aiheen viestinnällisen kysynnän lisäksi myös erilaisista poliittisista ja kulttuurisista rajoitteista. Olemassa olevan mediatilan luonteeseen vaikuttavat osittain viestimen arvot ja tavoitteet. Uhriuden tila muodostuu usein kehittyvien valtioiden naisia kuvaavaksi viitekehykseksi konfliktien yhteydessä, mikä kieltää heidän toimijuuttaan ja monipuolisen naiskuvan esittämisen. Konfliktien naiskuvia on hyödynnetty erilaisten symbolisten ja poliittisten merkitysten viestimiseksi yleisölle. Afgaaninaisen mediatilaan astumisen taustoja ja mahdollisuuksia arvioidaan kirjallisuuden avulla, joka tarjoaa näkökulmia median yhteiskunnallisen aseman, sukupuolen voimadynamiikan ja afgaaninaisen kohtaaman eriarvoisuuden ymmärtämiseksi. Aineistoon valituille BBC:n artikkelien teksti- ja kuvaosuuksille suoritetaan laadullinen sisällönanalyysi tarkastelemaan ja analysoimaan uutisoinnin luonnetta ja afgaaninaisen representaatioita tarkemmin. Tutkimuksen aineisto on rajattu koskemaan uutisointia konfliktin puhkeamistilanteesta ja siitä viisi kuukautta eteenpäin. Uutisointi afgaaninaisista valitun ajanjakson sisällä keskittyy näiden ruumiillisuuteen ja kokemuksiin tilassa, joka on tiukasti rajoittunutta ja valvonnan alaista. Vaikka ajallisesti suppean aineiston voidaan nähdä edustavan hyvin rajallista uutisointia konfliktin puhkeamisen jälkeisestä tilanteesta maassa ja naisen representaatiosta, voi siinä nähdä merkkejä pyrkimyksistä monipuolisen naiskuvan rakentamiselle. Artikkeleissa esiintyneet naiset ovat erilaisista taustoista ja erityyppisiä toimijoita. Aineiston ja teorian pohjalta muodostuu lopulta viisi eri teemakokonaisuutta, jotka nimetään vallan, kehojen ja transnationaalisiksi tiloiksi sekä toiseuttamiseksi ja vastarinnaksi. Teemaluokissa tiivistyvät ne aihepiirit, joiden mukaan afgaaninaista tavallisesti käsitellään mediassa. Samalla muodostuu kuva siitä tilallisesta todellisuudesta, jossa afgaaninainen pääsee osallistumaan mediaan. Monipuolisen naiskuvan ja konfliktisensitiivisen uutisraportoinnin muodostamisen yhteydessä käsillä on mielenkiintoinen poliittinen tasapainottelu, jonka yhtenä merkityksenä voidaan nähdä myös aikaisemmista stereotypioista irtaantuminen. Median uutisointityyleihin liittyy kuitenkin vahvasti se, miten asioita on käsitelty aikaisemmin. Representaatioiden laajempaa merkitystä pohdittaessa voidaan esittää kysymys siitä, mikä on kyllin hyvä representaatio ja onko sitä mahdollista luoda, jos siihen liittyy edes osittain toisen puolesta puhuminen.
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(2020)A warming trend of annual average surface temperatures since pre-industrial times has been observed globally. High-arctic area of Svalbard, Norway is undergoing amplified change of annual average temperatures when compared to the global average. Decline of glaciers in western Svalbard has been ongoing for several decades, and in the recent past, rapid biological successions have taken place. These changes have likely had effect on regional scale carbon dynamics at Svalbard’s moss tundra areas. Possibly indicating onset of paludification process of these areas. However, palaeoecological studies from the area are scarce, and the response of high-latitude moss tundra areas to past or ongoing climate change, are still not fully understood. This thesis aimed to bring forward information of changes in recent organic matter and carbon accumulation rates at Svalbard, Norway. Soil profiles were collected from four moss tundra sites, located on coastal areas and fjords descending towards Isfjorden, on the western side of Spitsbergen island. Radiocarbon (14C) and lead (210Pb) dating methods with novel age-depth modelling and soil property analyses, were used to reconstruct recent organic matter and carbon accumulation histories from 1900 AD to 2018 AD. Accumulation histories were supported by meteorological measurements from the area. In addition, annual maximum value Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices for 1985 AD till 2018 AD period were produced, to study vegetation succession in the recent past. Lastly, possibility to predict spatiotemporal variation of soil carbon accumulation with satellite derived vegetation indices was assessed. Development from predominantly mineral soils to organic soils was distinguishable within multiple soil profiles, pointing to potential paludification. Recent apparent carbon accumulation rates showed an increasing trend. Supporting meteorological data and literature suggest that regional abiotic and biotic factors in synergy with weather and climate are contributing to this observed trend. Vegetation indices pointed to major changes in vegetation composition and productivity. However, investigation of relationship between recent carbon accumulation rates and vegetation indices did not produce reliable results. Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of carbon soil-atmosphere fluxes presently imposes large challenges for such modelling. To alleviate this problem, efforts for more efficient synergetic use of field sampling and remote sensing -based material should be undertaken, to improve modelling results.
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(2024)The Maasai, an Indigenous ethnic group of East Africa, have long been intertwined with the landscapes of northern Tanzania. Their traditional pastoralist lifestyle has shaped the region's ecology and cultural heritage. However, the Maasai communities often find themselves marginalized in decision-making processes, where state-led policies and agendas are dominating. In recent decades, Tanzania's wildlife policies, largely adopted from the colonial era, have frequently clashed with the traditional land use practices of the Maasai. Central to these policies have been forced relocations and marginalization policies of Maasai communities from areas designated as protected areas. Through a literature review drawing from political ecology, this thesis aims to contribute to the broader discourse on conservation, governance, and social environmental justice. The Ngorongoro area is known for its biodiversity and natural significance, making it a focal point to examining the Maasai-state relations in Tanzania and shedding light to broader academic understanding of environmental justice in Sub-Saharan Africa. By analyzing the historical context, evolution of conservation policies, and the negotiation strategies of the Maasai, especially in relation to their land rights, this research aims to shed light on how power operates within conservation and development, and the ways in which it has shaped the lives and futures of the Maasai in Ngorongoro area. The conservation policies in Tanzania have been shaped by many historical and contemporary political dynamics. The making of the modern postcolonial state, growing hegemony of neoliberal economic policies, rising of the sustainable development agenda and the general state of civic space and democracy in the country have shaped the evolution of conservation policies in Tanzania, especially in relation to Maasai, who are Indigenous inhabitants of many biodiversity rich areas. The Maasai have experienced decades of long marginalization and dispossession by national politics, ultimately resulting in forced relocations from their ancestral lands. However, the Indigenous group has created various negotiation strategies through which they have actively advocated their rights on local, national and global scales.
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(2023)Pro gradu -tutkielmassani perehdyn ilmapiirikokemukseen peruskoulun 8-luokan oppilaiden keskuudessa. Ilmapiirin parantaminen voidaan nähdä yhtenä koulujen merkittävimmistä haasteista, ja aiempien tutkimusten perusteella ilmapiirin kehittämiselle on Suomessa tarvetta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, millaisia kokemuksia oppilailla on heidän luokkansa ilmapiiristä, mitkä tekijät ovat keskeisiä ilmapiirin parantamisessa ja heikentämisessä, sekä millaisilla tekijöillä avoimen ilmapiirin muodostumista voitaisiin edesauttaa. Tarkoituksenani on täten nuorten omia kokemuksia ja ajatuksia kuunnellen lisätä ymmärrystä koululuokkien ilmapiirin merkityksestä heidän hyvinvoinnilleen. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys perustuu kahteen näkökulmaan: sosiaalis-kognitiiviseen teoriaan ilmapiiriin vaikuttavista sisäisistä ja ulkoisista tekijöistä, sekä maantieteelliseen teoriaan, jossa oppimisympäristön fyysiset ominaisuudet nähdään ilmapiirin sosiaalis-kognitiivisen teorian tekijöihin vaikuttajana. Tutkimusstrategiana tutkimuksessa käytetään osallistavaa tutkimusstrategiaa, ja tutkimusmenetelmänä käytän kvalitatiivisia ja kvantitatiivisia menetelmiä yhdistävää tutkimusta. Kvalitatiivisena menetelmänä tutkimuksessa on kaksivaiheinen oppituntien havainnointiosuus ja puolistrukturoitu teemahaastattelu. Kvantitatiivisena menetelmänä tutkimuksessa ovat oppilaille jaettavat kyselylomakkeet. Havaintoaineiston, haastattelut ja kyselylomakkeet analysoin laadullisella aineistolähtöisellä sisällönanalyysillä, minkä lisäksi hyödynsin kyselylomakeaineiston analyysissä tilastollisten tunnuslukujen kuvaamista. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, että luokkatila toimi ilmapiiriä tukevana tekijänä ja keskimääräinen kokemus luokan ilmapiiristä koetiin hyväksi. Tulokset kuitenkin osoittivat myös, ettei ilmapiiri ole välttämättä sitä, miltä se ulospäin näyttää, sillä ilmapiirikokemus vaihteli merkittävästi yksittäisten oppilaiden läsnäolosta riippuen. Merkittävimmäksi yksittäiseksi ilmapiirin rakentajaksi nousikin yksittäisten oppilaiden ongelmakäyttäytymisen vaikutus. Luokan hyvä ilmapiiri määrittyi tulosten perusteella yhdistelmäksi sosiaaliseen vuorovaikutukseen ja yhteishenkeen perustuvia hyväksyviä ja ystävällisiä suhteita, yhteistä tekemistä sekä oppimisvirettä edistävää työrauhaa ja järjestyksen säilymistä. Tärkeimmiksi ilmapiiriä tukeviksi tekijöiksi nousivat edellä mainittuihin seikkoihin liittyvät keinot, kuten luokan sosiaalisen rakenteen tukeminen yhteisillä aktiviteeteilla ja oppilassuhteita parantamalla, työrauhan ja oppimisvireen varmistaminen tiukemmalla kurilla ja luokkajärjestelyn muokkaamisella, sekä tasa-arvoisuuden tukeminen niin opettajan, kuin myös oppilaiden tasolta. Kokonaisuudessaan tutkimus vahvisti näkemystä siitä, että ilmapiiriin vaikuttavat monet eri tekijät. Jaetussa tilassa se muodostuu vuorovaikutuksessa toisten kanssa, mutta on toisaalta myös jokaisen henkilökohtainen kokemus. Se riippuu sekä oppilaiden että luokan sisäisistä ja ulkoisista tekijöistä, eikä sen ymmärtämisessä riitä ainoastaan tiettyjen tekijöiden huomioiminen. Hyvän ilmapiirin saavuttamiseksi eivät riitä vain luokkatilaan, sosiaaliseen rakenteeseen tai opettaja-oppilassuhteeseen vaikuttaminen, vaan hyvässä ilmapiirissä tulee huomioida myös oppilaiden yksilölliset piirteet, tarpeet ja oikeudet. Tässä tarvitaan kokonaisvaltaisia ratkaisuja, joiden kehittämisessä ja toteutuksessa tarvitaan ymmärrystä ja yhteistyötä niin oppilaiden ja vanhempien, kuin myös koulujen ja poliittisten päättäjien puolelta.
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(2022)Tässä maisteritutkielmassa olen pohtinut maantieteen opetuksen mahdollisuuksia tukea nuorten osallisuutta ja vaikuttamista kaupunkitiloissa. Tarkastelemalla opiskelijoiden kanssa kaupungin julkisten tilojen saavutettavuutta, voidaan lisätä nuorten ymmärrystä omista oikeuksista olla osana kaupunkia. Tutkielmaa varten luotiin opintokäynti yhdessä helsinkiläisen lukion ja Helsingin yliopiston geotieteiden ja maantieteen osaston tiedeluokan, Geopisteen, kanssa. Opintokäynnillä opiskelijat piirsivät itselleen tärkeän julkisen paikan. Piirretyn paikan avulla havainnoitiin tiloihin pääsyä eli saavutettavuutta ja näihin paikkoihin vaikuttamista. Opiskelijoiden tekemiä havaintoja käytiin tunnilla keskustellen läpi yhdessä oppien. Aineistona tutkielmassa ovat opintokäynnin suunnitelma, piirretyt kuvat, niihin liitetyt muistiinpanot ja tunnilla käydyt keskustelut. Opintokäynnillä ymmärrys paikkojen ja ihmisten vuorovaikutuksesta syvenee ja samalla tiedot ja taidot omista osallistumis- ja vaikuttamismahdollisuuksista lisääntyvät. Opintokäynti on suunniteltu vastaamaan useisiin opetussuunnitelmien tavoitteisiin, mutta ennen kaikkea tuomaan opiskelijoiden omia elämismaailmoja, arjen maantiedettä, osaksi opetusta. Kaupunkiympäristöt ovat merkittävä osa nuorten kasvuympäristöä ja siksi niiden tarkasteleminen on tärkeää myös kouluissa. Nuorten halua pitää huolta ympäristöstään ja kehittää sitä paremmaksi voidaan edistää lisäämällä nuorten osallisuuden kokemusta ja paikkaan kiinnittymistä. Ennen opintokäyntiä opiskelijat katsoivat aihetta taustoittavan videoluennon. Lisäksi luennon sisältöjä kerrattiin opintokäynnin aluksi. Saavutettavuuden ja vaikuttamisen käsitteitä avattiin myös esimerkein. Opettajan merkitys oppimisen ohjaajana on työskentelyssä suuri, sillä käsitteet ja tapa tarkastella tilaa ovat opiskelijoille uusia. Monet opiskelijoista piirsivät esimerkeissä annettuja paikkoja ja havainnoivat myös niiden saavutettavuutta annettujen esimerkkien pohjalta. Opiskelijoiden tuottamissa piirroksissa ja muistiinpanoissa on suurta vaihtelua. Joistain ei voi tehdä päätelmiä, mutta osan opiskelijoiden tuottamista piirroksista ja muistiinpanoista huomaa aiheen laajempaa ymmärrystä, sillä saavutettavuutta on ajateltu hyvin monipuolisesti. Yhdessä tunnilla käytyjen keskustelujen perusteella voi myös olettaa tapahtuneen oppimista. Opiskelijoilla oli jo valmiiksi hyvät tiedot vaikutusmahdollisuuksistaan. Opiskelijat toivat keskusteluun monipuolisesti erilaisia tapoja ja toiminnan muotoja, joilla ympäröivään maailmaan voi hakea muutosta. Opintokäynti oli kokeilu, jonka perusteella olen pohtinut työskentelyn toimivuutta. Tekemieni havaintojen perusteella olen pohtinut lyhyesti myös muita tapoja toteuttaa samankaltaista työskentelyä. Jokaisen opetusryhmän ollessa erilainen on tärkeää, että työskentelytavat ovat muokattavissa ryhmälle sopivaksi. Opettaja, joka tuntee ryhmänsä, voi ohjata työskentelyä heille sopivaksi ja painottaa ryhmän kannalta tärkeiksi kokemiaan sisältöjä.
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(2022)This master’s thesis examines citizens’ opinions and experiences about the City of Helsinki’s participatory budgeting program OmaStadi. OmaStadi is based on a digital platform, where citizens get to propose, discuss and vote for ideas for the city to implement within the program’s budget. OmaStadi was created in 2017 as a part of the City of Helsinki’s new participation and interaction model. Until now, there have been two OmaStadi rounds, the first one in 2018-2019 and the second one in 2020-2021. Governments worldwide have started to implement new citizen participation programs in order to keep citizens engaged in decision-making processes, because the interest towards traditional representative democracy has decreased. Vulnerable groups of people have often been left in the margins in traditional politics, which also calls for new forms of citizen participation. However, previous studies have shown that issues with inclusivity can also occur in modern participation processes and therefore these processes must be planned carefully in order to achieve the desired outcomes. OmaStadi is a relatively new program, and it is important to examine how it could be developed for future rounds. The aim of this research is to identify what could be improved in the OmaStadi process from the citizens’ point of view. I examine how active citizens feel about OmaStadi and their opportunities to impact decision-making through it. I also consider the role of locality and communities in the process and question why some themes and groups of people are underrepresented in OmaStadi. This research was conducted using three qualitative methods, which were semi-structured interviews, participatory observations and social media observations. The interviewees were seven citizens who had actively participated in the OmaStadi process, either by making proposals, campaigning for them or both. The participatory observations and social media observations focused on OmaStadi related events and social media discussions. The findings of this study show that OmaStadi should be made more understandable and accessible for the citizens in order to get more people to participate in it. Vulnerable groups should be better engaged in the process. The lack of resources, such as social networks and digital skills and devices hinders the participation of some groups of people. Strong communities and local campaigning are important factors behind many OmaStadi proposals’ success. Themes addressed in OmaStadi proposals are not as diverse as they could be. Proposals concerning small infrastructural things are strongly represented, while social and cultural themes are downplayed. Involving a more diverse base of citizens in OmaStadi could result to more diversity in the proposals as well. Some active citizens feel that the limitations OmaStadi has for proposals are not clear and the whole process is too long and requires lots of work. For future rounds, OmaStadi could be improved by informing citizens better about the program, making the process clearer and paying more attention to the participation opportunities of different groups of people.
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