Browsing by discipline "Regional Studies"

This study researches the perceived sense of security in the neighbourhoods of La Floresta and La Ronda in Quito. The principal aim of the research is to find out how the sense of security in a neighbourhood can be improved, especially by the residents themselves. The argumentation is built on three main questions: How is the current perception of security in the neighbourhood? How can the community influence it? How do public policies assist the progress? The thesis is designed as a qualitative research, with the main method employed being semi-structured interviews. Eight interviews were carried out in two different neighbourhoods. The interviewees are citizens, who actively take part in their communities' activities, mostly through neighbourhood associations. The interviews were processed in state-of-the-art content analysis software. Both neighbourhoods were experienced as relatively safe compared to the rest of the city. This was found to be caused by a positive community spirit, but was also attributed to a high police presence. The overall improved security in the country, and the decrease of corruption over the last years further influence the perceived safety. The primary causes for feeling unsafe are theft and to some extent drug- trafficking. The citizens of both research areas felt that they were able to influence the matters of their own neighbourhood. For instance, safety patrols have been arranged, and workshops on neighbourhood safety held. In general, the communities aim to improve safety using both 'soft' and 'hard' methods: for example, on the one hand enhancing community spirit, on the other hand increasing video surveillance. People voiced their dissatisfaction with public policies. The core criticism addresses the disperse and diffuse organisation of the national and city level public administration, and their inefficient cooperation. While the communities see themselves as in principle capable of influencing local decisions, finding the responsible authority within the notoriously inflexible bureaucracy proves to be laborious. Additionally, corruption of officials continues to reinforce and preserve inequalities. In summary, this research reinforces the view that planning safer environments should not be done only through crime prevention or technical approaches on their own. Rather, neighbourhood safety should be seen as a broader concept which reflects the problems of the society as a whole. We need comprehensive solutions and a better understanding from the side of the administration and the community.

Tourism in the 21st century has become versatile and spending time in just one destination area is not the dominant idea anymore. Environmental issues and concerns about Co2 and other greenhouse gas emissions have reached the global consciousness within tourism industry, and alternative forms of travel for mass tourism have been created. One alternative conceptualised among tourism studies has been slow travel, in which choosing low-carbon transport and spending long time away from home are the core ideas. This thesis examines a long distance bicycle trip as a form of slow travel. The aim is to consider characteristics of a long distance bicycle trip, factors that make it possible, motives that lead to accomplish it and finally consider the significance politics of such a trip. Therefore a long distance bicycle trip has been divided to four dimensions and around for each one there is theory combined. For the characteristics the key theory is the theory of slow travel. Sufficient leisure time and finance for the bicycle trip are the key factors when examining the factors that make travelling possible. Considering travel motivation there are various theories from different fields of studies – in the thesis theories from tourism geography, sociology and psychology are combined. The significance politics of a long distance bicycle trip are examined by the means of uniting identity factors and lifestyle political choices of bicycle travellers. Data used in the thesis is divided in three different types. Firstly, theme interviews have been conducted with eight people who have made a long distance bicycle trip. Secondly, an examination have been made for narrations written about the bicycle trips. Thirdly, electronic data – narrations in blogs and audio-visual material in the form of documentaries have been considered. Content analysis has been elaborated in the thesis – first the answers of the interviewees and data have been thematised, then data has been coded and last the data has been interpreted. Results of the research reveal that travelling slow with a bicycle is a most important determinant characteristic of a long distance bicycle trip. Travel routes are in the significant role in a long distance bicycle trip – they become the destination of the trip intrinsically. Nature and culture experiences in the peripheral areas are essential. Bicycle trip is an independent form of travel In which spontaneous choices and flexibility are constantly present. Enough leisure time is essential to elaborate a long distance bicycle trip. One can accomplish a trip without spending a significant amount of money each day, but if the trip is extended for a long period of time, sufficient finance is still needed. Physiological motives include strengthening physical condition, but on the other hand, relaxation is a goal also. Some bicycle travellers considered binding new social relationships as an important aspiration. Among bicycle travellers challenging him or herself as a mean of achieving a feeling of winning him or herself is a significant motivation factor. By doing so, one acquire a sensation of developing him or herself. One goal has also been an inspiration for others. Feeling of freedom is a prominent aspiration. Collective identity among bicycle travellers is related with feeling of not being in a hurry, feelings of being independent, experiences in the periphery and a long time spent away from the conventional environment. Bicycle travellers construct their significance politics of their bicycle trip around these collective identity ideas. Further research could be conducted related to the compound of the freedom feeling experienced while long distance bicycle trip. Also it would be interesting to examine relations between a long distance bicycle trip and pilgrimage or a lifestyle of modern nomadism.

Community-led local development is constantly strengthening and partly a new dimension in regional development. It has been seen as a bottom-up parallel regional development activity, where local actors such as area businesses, residents and organisations are closely involved. Community-led local development can be carried out using different methods, and it has been found to be effective and important in the development activities of municipalities and neighborhoods. Community-led local development has received attention at the international and national arenas. It has come up especially in the debate of the future of the European Union cohesion policy, and the Commission has brought it one of the most important questions in the future program period. At the national level, the importance of community-led local development has been seen to rise, especially when the municipalities are merged into larger units. In Finland, large part of the regional planning is in the responsibility of municipalities, and they are seen to be the key actors in community-led local development. This study examines the views of municipalities in community-led local development - at their own points of view. The purpose is to find out what kind of activities the municipalities will see as community-led local development, what kind of impacts community-led local development has had to the municipalities, and how the community-led local development has worked in municipalities. In addition, the aim is to find out what kind of role the municipalities see themselves in community-led local development, and how important they see community-led local development in securing their own vitality. Research data of this study consists of the electronic questionnaire and the interviews focused to the persons responsible of development issues of the municipalities. Research data shows that the Finnish municipalities see community-led local development working well, and that it is very important to the development of the municipality. Community-led local development was generally seen as an action, which aims to improve the municipality and it's surrounding region's vitality, competitiveness, and business operating conditions. Municipalities saw the community-led local development very important and significant in securing their vitality, and it's importance was seen to remain in the future. In smaller municipalities, it's importance was even seen to grow in the future, in the municipal reform, when municipalities are merged to larger units. Municipalities saw the community-led local development for the most part the same way all over the Finland, despite of their size. Finnish municipalities don't see community-led local development only as a bottom-up parallel regional development activity, where local actors such as areas businesses, residents and organizations are closely involved. It was seen more as a physical development of the area in which the participation of local actors and partnerships were as a complement. Among Finnish municipalities can be identified two different dimensions of community-led local development: an actor-oriented dimension, as well as a specific regions development -oriented dimension.

Saudi Arabia has been an important ‘silent’ actor in the Middle East for decades. Despite this, the kingdom is active in the background of politics in the Middle East where it has traditionally striven to influence indirectly. During the last couple of years, the role of Saudi Arabia has been brought up by the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. This relates to more direct action from the kingdom itself but also to the changes caused by the Arab spring and the succession of the new king. The geopolitical rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has dominated the events of the Middle East in the 21st century, whereby the region is divided into camps managed by the two countries. The partial withdrawal of the United States and the strengthening of Iran's position have forced Saudi Arabia to switch from a background to a more active role in protecting its interests. In my master’s thesis I will do a literature review of Saudi Arabia’s view on the geopolitics of the Middle East and its role in the area’s conflicts after the Cold War. I will also analyse the country’s comprehension of the society of states in the Middle East. The theoretical framework consists of geopolitics and the English school which is also known as the theory of international society. The main conflicts to be investigated are the Gulf War, the Iraq War and the Syrian conflict. I will also include the Arab spring and the Yemeni civil war in my analysis since they have an important role in the geopolitics of Saudi Arabia. The geopolitics of Saudi Arabia has two important objectives: to ensure the survival of the Al Saud dynasty and to control the influence of Iran. Saudi Arabia strives for its goals by maintaining a prevailing order or at least curbing the effects of change. The role of Saudi Arabia in the conflicts in the Middle East has developed from a silent and cautious oil diplomacy to an active and militaristic foreign policy. Before the Arab Spring, the geopolitics of Saudi Arabia were strongly diplomatic, as the kingdom wanted to avoid the crises escalating into full-scale wars in the neighbouring countries. The actual direct military action has been less common although during the last years, the threshold for its use has decreased. However, Saudi Arabia favours proxies as the main promoters of its interests. Saudi Arabia has two significant ways to influence geopolitics in the Middle East: the economic capacity to support its proxies and allies, as well as the ideological influence through which it seeks to become a defender and leader of the Sunnah world. Sectarianism has been one of the most important pillars of Saudi Arabia's 21st century geopolitics, where it politicizes religious identities to promote its own interests. Many of the conflicts in the Middle East have become sectarianized, as a result of the actions of both Saudi Arabia and Iran. However, this policy has significant disadvantages as the sectarianisation of conflicts will lengthen their duration. At the regional level the success of the Saudi Arabian geopolitics has been somewhat ambiguous: for the moment it has ensured its regime’s survival indefinitely while on the other hand it has not been able to curb the growing Iranian influence in the Middle East. The actions of Saudi Arabia in the conflicts around the Middle East have varied as the backgrounds and causes of the conflicts differ. It is possible to recognize three simplified phases from its actions. The first phase is diplomacy and dialogue through which it is also possible to justify later harsher actions. The second phase is the use of proxies and/or military intervention. The third phase depends on whether or not the conflict is in favour of Saudi Arabia. The examined major conflicts have not been as beneficial to Saudi Arabia as they have been to its worst competitor, Iran. As a result to this, the third phase is the maintaining of the mayhem in the conflict area. However, there is no interest in maintaining the disorder if the conflict is resolved in the favour of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia sees the Middle East as a pluralist state community where the dimension of realism is always present. According to this idea, states recognize each other as members of the community and obey the rules that are presumed by the current state of the international relations. However, violations of the sovereignty of other states pose a threat to the community. At present, solidarity emanating from Saudi Arabia remains impossible as the current geopolitics prevent the kingdom from leaving its strategic calculations. At the moment, there is nothing suggesting the fact that this situation would change in the near future.

The topic of this Master's thesis (Pro Gradu) is the housing of families with children and their moving desires in the inner city. The objective of this thesis is to find out which factors would explain the increased number of children living in Helsinki inner city in the recent years. In national discussions, it has been considered why families with children stay in the inner city: is it a consequence of the global popularity of urban housing or is it due to the economic recession? In this thesis, these factors are examined through structural and cultural values. The effects of financial resources of families with children as well as the significance of the area's location and services are categorised as structural factors. The values of families with children related to housing and attitudes towards it, relationship with the neighbourhood as well as culture and recreation are counted as cultural factors. This thesis brings up the hopes and wishes of families with children concerning good living environment as well as ideas on what kind of living environment would best meet the children's needs and how it could be implemented through planning and design. Arabianranta is a new residential area favoured by families with children in the eastern inner city. The residents of Arabianranta are middle-class and have higher education. This thesis examines the housing selections, housing satisfaction and moving aspirations of 17 families with children living in Arabianranta through thematic interviews. Families are attracted to Arabianranta residential area by the new, affordable family apartments and the surrounding nature as well as the child-friendly environment of the area. Based on this thesis, families with children are happy with living in Arabianranta. The families who participated in the thesis were divided into three groups based on the research results: Urban residents living in self-owned apartments (47%), urban residents living in rental apartments (36%) and people planning to move elsewhere (17%). Urban families (83%) want to continue living in the inner city. They are willing to make compromises on the apartment's size rather than its location. Based on the research results, it can be stated that urban families feel that smooth day-to-day life and short commute are the most important reasons for living near the city centre. It is important to them that the children's days at day care do not become too long and that the family has time together in the evenings. Based on this thesis, the most significant reasons for the increasing amount of families with children in the inner city are the attractiveness of inner city areas and the popularity of urban way of living. Families with children see the inner city as a very attractive option, and people do not want to move away, if it is financially possible for them to remain in the area.

Accessibility has become widely researched topic in the fields of urban planning and urban geography. Along with these studies different kind of accessibility analyses have played an essential role in practical planning. Accessibility analyses offer a tool to investigate service networks. Investigating service networks is considered necessary for example because of economical sustainability of municipalities. Population growth and limited resources of the municipality are creating challenges for future Helsinki. Therefore it is important to investigate service networks and accessibility in a long term. The aim of this study is to explain how the accessibility of chosen sports facilities changes in the long term in Helsinki. The study can be divided into two different parts that are 1) location-allocation analyses to define optimal locations for new sports facilities in 2040 and 2) accessibility calculations where population growth, changes of the public transport network and changes in service network of each type of sports facility are taken into account. This study focuses on five different facility types that are sports park, gymnastics hall, neighborhood sports site, artificial ice rink and swimming facility including swimming halls and outdoor pools. Location-allocation analyses are carried out in ArcGIS with Network Analysis extension using Minimize Impedance tool that is based on solving P-Median problem. The population is based on a population scenario of year 2040. Swimming facilities were examined by minimizing the travel time in car driver’s network and a pedestrian street network was applied in other facility types. The accessibility analyses are carried out by calculating travel times from inhabited statistical grid cells to the nearest sports facilities in 2016 and in 2040. Depending on a sports facility type the accessibility is measured by car, public transport and/or walking. The travel time calculations by car were based on a tool and a dataset working in ArcMap software and developed by Digital Geography Lab -research group. Travel time calculations by public transport were calculated with MetropAccess-Reititin tool and the calculations for walking were conducted in OC-Cost-Matrix tool in ArcMap software. The analyses indicate that the accessibility of sports facilities is relatively good for all the inspected modes of transports. By car the average travel time is between 10-15 minutes and 12-20 minutes by public transport depending on the type of sports facility. By walking the average travel time is between 18-39 minutes. By 2040 the average travel times are increasing but still the accessibility is rather good especially by car and public transport. However there seems to be regional differences in accessibility that are not visible without taking a look at accessibility maps. Areas with poor accessibility differ depending on the type of sports facility. Changing service network with new facilities affects positively to accessibility especially by walking and public transport. However by car the changes are not that significant because the accessibility is very good to begin with. The population growth and changes in service network seem to have more affect to accessibility in the long term compared to the changes of public transportation.

Tourism is considered as one of the engines for regional development because of its economic impacts. Nature-based tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism segments in the world. At the same time, visits to National Parks have increased significantly. National Parks have become attractions that have appeal also at the international level. Visitor centers present the natural attractions of Finland. They serve tourist and educational purposes. The tourism function has grown in importance along with the development of the tourist destinations and regions of northern Finland. This study examines the significance and success factors of visitor centers in three case study areas from the tourism point of view. The aim of the study is to create a comprehensive picture of the role and significance of the chosen visitor centers. Also the study aims to understand how the visitor centers have integrated into the tourist region by the collaboration networks and their location and to form an understanding about the key success factors. The theoretical framework is based on the literature concerning nature-based tourism and science of commerce. Above all, the focus is on research that concern National Park tourism, visitor centers and success factors. A model for analysing the operational environment is constructed based on the literature review. The three visitor centers chosen for the case study are Ukko, Oulanka and Kellokas. All are successful considering their visitor numbers, but their operations and operational environment differ from each other. All are located near popular National Parks and tourist destinations. Typical of the case study method, the study combines different types of methods and material. The semi-structured interviews were carried out to get first-hand knowledge. The results of the visitor surveys conducted in National Parks and visitor centers and a development plan for the visitor center network were used in the study. One of the purposes of this study is to offer information for the long-term development of the visitor centers. The subject of the study is agreed with the Natural Heritage Services of Metsähallitus. According to the case studies, the visitor centers are considered by the stakeholders as important parts of the service offering of the tourist destinations. Their significance is emphasized by the National Parks because they operate as gates to National Park both by their location and offering. The visitor centers have an important role in passing information on natural environment both to tourists and locals. The importance of individual customer service is pronounced. The visitor centers are venues for local events and they are creating positive image of Metsähallitus. According to the case studies, the key success factors are the location near a popular National Park, in or near a popular tourist destination and in ideal location considering the flow of tourists, the accessibility, diverse collaboration with the actors of the region, established role, profiling through the region's strenghts and the services surrounding the National Park. The visitor centers are part of the National Park's services. They reach a vast amount of people and because of that they play a role in promoting sustainable nature tourism. In tourist regions, the visitor centers also play a role as one component of the regional competitiveness by the increasing National Park tourism.

Immigration is a topical and greatly controversial phenomenon. Migration in general is a natural behavior for humankind, something that we have done throughout the history. There is a clear universal consensus about the fact that migration is every man's right and distressed people should get help. Nonetheless immigration is still sometimes being seen as problematic for the receiving societies. This is a discursive turn where originally oppressed people are now being presented as a threat. This research concerns how immigrants are presented as a threat in the Finnish newspapers. My research methods are qualitative. By using discourse analysis, I want to analyze the threats that show up in the Finnish context and also how their existence is explained. I want to discover which agents produce and maintain the threat discourse of immigrants in my data. By rhetorical analysis I will show which intentional strategies and rhetorics are used aiming for convincing the audience about the threat of immigrants for Finland. This research includes also literature review about threat of immigration in the West, which I will compare to the Finnish context to see what similarities and differences there are in this discourse. This research is based on critical theory which works here as a meta theory. I suppose here that immigrants are oppressed in this threat-discourse which is produced and maintained by Finnish media - here the newspapers. This process is about creation of discourses, in which desired image is created by using of power. The actual theory in this research is securitization theory, which is specifically focused on how some phenomenon is created as security issue by intentional choices. As a material I have here newspaper data. It consists of 70 piece of news where immigration is depicted somehow as a threat or challenge. News are from four largest newspapers in Finland which are Helsingin Sanomat, Aamulehti, Turun Sanomat and Kaleva. I have searched the news by using words as "immigrants", "asylum seekers" and "foreigners". I have went through every news before accepting them as a part of the data. With this I have guaranteed that every single piece of news will somehow affect to the results. According to my results, it seems that in Finland immigrants as a threat -discourse follows the one of the West in general. There come up the growing threat of terrorism, criminality in its different forms, unemployment, financial costs and the alienation of the immigrants. It is also essential to notice how much different threats are connected to each other. Many of them are both reasons for and outcomes of each other. In the news about immigrants writers use a lot of quantification. Arguments performed are mainly from specialists hence it is really common to use speaker categories to justify the arguments. In the news it is also common to use a lot of specific details and narratives. To underline the seriousness of many threats, using of different future scenarios is also common. The results of this research support the fact, that also in Finland in the 2010's, immigration has genuinely become a security issue. Certain (even political) actors have targeted it and try to use immigration as an explanatory actor for many societal problems. Some people even consider it as a single greatest threat for Finland. Therefore immigration fits also in Finland very well to the idea of securitization theory.

MAL-sopimukset ovat Helsingin, Tampereen, Turun ja Oulun kaupunkiseutujen ja valtion välille solmittuja sopimuksia, jolla pyritään edistämään kaupunkiseututasoista strategista suunnittelua ja osapuolien välistä yhteistyötä. MAL-sopimuksiin on liitetty myös erilaisia valtion rahoituksia ja avustuksia liikenneinvestointeihin ja asunnontuotantoon liittyen. Ainoa täysin suoraan MAL-sopimuksesta tuleva rahoitus on MAL-raha, joka on leikattu suoraan perusväylänpidon määrärahasta. MAL-rahalla rahoitetaan pieniä kustannustehokkaita liikennehankkeita, joiden vaikutusten on tarkoitus olla tehokkaita ja laaja-alaisia seudullisten tavoitteita edistäviä. Tutkielma käsittelee maankäytön, asumisen ja liikenteen eli MAL–sopimusmenettelyn ja sopimuksiin liittyvien hankkeiden vaikuttavuutta. Tarkastelu keskittyy erityisesti sopimuskauteen 2016-2019.Pyrin muodostamaan kokonaiskuva siitä, miten MAL-sopimukset ja MAL-sopimuksiin liittyvät hankkeet edistävät kaupunkiseutujen kehitystä kohti tavoitteita ja toimivat yhteistyön työkaluna. Lisäksi tarkastelun huomio kiinnittyy erityisesti pienien kustannustehokkaiden liikennehankkeiden vaikuttavuuden arviointiin. Tämän tutkielman tulokset osoittavat, että MAL-sopimusmenettely on todettu toimivaksi kaupunkiseututasoisen suunnittelun edistäjäksi antaen vahvistusta aihepiirin aiemmalle tutkimukselle. Sopimusmenettely on kuitenkin varsin uusi työkalu seudullisessa suunnittelussa ja kehitystarpeita on vielä runsaasti. Tunnistettuja kehitystarpeita ovat muun muassa yhteisymmärrys tavoitteita edistävistä toimenpiteistä, osapuolien aito sitoutuminen ja sopimusmenettelyn jatkumisen turvaaminen. Haastateltujen asiantuntijoiden mukaan MAL-sopimuksiin liittyvien hankkeiden tulee olla vaikuttavuudeltaan sellaisia, jotka edistävät seudullisia tavoitteita. Isot valtion avustamat liikenneinvestoinnit nähtiin tärkeäksi seutujen kehittymisen kannalta ja niiden kirjaamista sopimuksiin pidetään tärkeänä. Suuremmat investoinnit ovat merkittävä osa strategista seudullista kuvaa, sillä niillä on myös suuri merkitys seudun muun maankäytön kehittymisen kannalta. Pienten kustannustehokkaiden liikennehankkeiden vaikutus seudullisiin tavoitteisiin on koettu vähäiseksi, eikä hankekokonaisuutta pidetty varsinaisena työkaluna tavoitteiden edistämiselle. Jotta rahoituksen käyttö ei olisi perusteetonta, MAL-raha tulee suunnata kuitenkin sellaisiin hankkeisiin, mitkä vievät oikeaan suuntaan. Tärkeimpänä MAL-rahan ominaisuutena pidettiin sitä, että se sitouttaa osapuolet yhteistyöhön. Se, että rahoitus tulee suoraan perusväylänpidon määrärahasta, syö hankkeilta vaikuttavuutta. Vaikuttavuuden kannalta olisi tärkeää pystyä suuntamaan MAL-rahoitusta myös kuntien katuverkolle. Toisaalta voidaan vain hyväksyä olemassa olevat reunaehdot ja pyrkiä mahdollisimman suureen vaikuttavuuteen niiden puitteissa. Tällöin MAL-rahan ensisijaisena tarkoituksena voidaan pitää osapuolien sitouttamista yhteistyöhön.

The west metro project has been one of the most controversial traffic issues in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The extension of the metro line to Espoo has been on the table ever since the metro was introduced in Helsinki. The first part of the Helsinki metro was completed in 1982 and the line has been expanded various times since. However, plans to expand the metro line westward Espoo didn’t realised until 2006 when the traffic system decision was made by Espoo city council. The building of the west metro began in 2010. The aim of this master's thesis has been to study what kind of challenge has the west metro been in a regional land use and transport planning context. In addition, the objective of the research is to demonstrate what sort of development possibilities the west metro creates in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. West metro represents a case study that enables us to understand the complex interaction between transport and land use. The research method was based on analysis of qualitative data including literacy and theme interviews. The main objective of the theme interviews has been to demonstrate the difference of perception between Helsinki and Espoo in connection with the west metro. Moreover, the objective of the interviews has also been to sum up the strategic goals in local and regional context. Five interviews were performed which involved altogether seven persons. In addition, there were two professionals who sent their answers by email. According to the interviews and literature study it can be noted that the problematic of the west metro springs from different targets of city politics and urban planning between Helsinki and Espoo. Helsinki has preferred regional cooperation in favour of prosperous metropolitan area whereas Espoo has valued its independence and autonomy. The public transport in Espoo has been carried preferably by bus traffic. Metro, causing the notable intensification of land use, has seen undesirable in Espoo. Lack of political will and unclarity in state's portion to be financed for metro's building costs have also delayed the development of west metro. West metro is an important traffic project for the competitiveness of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. West metro promotes competition of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and facilitates to control competition disadvantages caused by growth. West metro is linked to many development targets of land use, housing and transport: densifying land-use, intensifying housebuilding, enabling better accessibility to services and jobs, strengthen of business, improving public transport and reducing car traffic. West metro can be viewed as an example of the improvement in the regional co-operation between municipalities as well as an example of vulnerability of the cooperation based on voluntariness. In a symbolic way west metro can be seen as a sign of metropolis thinking which at its best ties different players to share a common target.