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Urbanization effects on hydrology and water quality on catchment area because of the land use change. Construction sites in catchment causes water quality problems. Waters from construction sites are usually led straight to watercourses without any purification actions. This has also been the practice at residential construction site in Suurpelto, Espoo. The aim of this study is to evaluate how discharge, water quality and loadings have changed during construction at Suurpelto. This research is the second part of the 'Kaupunkirakentamisen vaikutukset Lukupuron hydrologiaan ja veden laatuun' (LUPU) -project which is conducted by the University of Helsinki and city of Espoo. The observation period begins from the year 2006 and has divided into three sections. The first section represents time before construction. At the second section (Construction phase 1) construction work has started, and streets and municipal infrastructure are being built. During the third section (Construction phase 2) residential construction is very intensive and municipal infrastructure is expanding to new areas. The purpose of this study is to compare these sections with each other and report differences between water quality, discharge and loadings. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient is used to evaluate the dependences between water quality variables. Wilcoxon signed rank test is used to discover statistical significance in load variations. This study was carried out by analyzing 22 different variables: Discharge, electrical conductivity and pH was measured by automatic water quality probe. Suspended solids, nutrient concentrations (total phosphorus and total nitrogen) and dissolved substances including metals (total dissolved solids, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, fluoride, chloride, sulphate, chromium, iron, nickel, chopper, arsenic) were measured in laboratory. The hypothesis of this study is that water quality has changed statistically significantly as a result of land use change in the catchment. Another hypothesis is that loadings have increased. Results of this study indicate that loadings of suspended solids, total phosphorus and iron as well as discharge are statistically significantly increased because of construction works. However, electrical conductivity has decreased because of increased discharge. For instance suspended solid load has sixfold in a year, total phosphorus has fourfold and iron load has increased even 11 -fold, when comparing construction phase 2 and time before construction. The growth of discharge has been particularly large in construction phase 1. Between construction phases 1 and 2 the change has been minor and statistically insignificant. Hence, the most significant changes have occurred during construction phase 1 and for instance total phosphorus loading has decreased during construction phase 2. Effects of construction is depended on other human activity and natural causes such as dredging of the channel, fertilization of the fields, weather conditions and the soil type. If one want to decrease the negative effects that construction work causes to water quality, one have to consider new ways to process waters flowing from construction area. Possible new means have been already considered during the restore planning of Lukupuro in spring 2013. Dredging took place in the new part of the Lukupuro main channel and effects were very significant to water quality. Based on the knowledge we have now it is important to consider pros and cons of relocating the channel in the future.

Äitiyskuolleisuuden vähentäminen 75 prosentilla vuosien 1990 ja 2015 välisenä aikana on yksi YK:n vuosituhattavoitteista. Keskeinen keino tavoitteeseen pääsemiseksi on mahdollistaa kaikille raskaana oleville naisille pääsy hyvälaatuiseen äitiysterveydenhoitoon. Lounais-Afrikassa sijaitsevassa Namibiassa äitiyskuolleisuus on kasvanut viime vuosikymmeninä. Lisäksi köyhät ja maaseudulla asuvat namibialaisnaiset saavat heikommin äitiysterveydenhoitoa kuin kaupungissa asuvat varakkaammat naiset. Tässä pro gradu -tutkielmassa tarkastellaan asuinalueen mukaista vaihtelua äitiysterveydenhoidon saamisessa Namibiassa. Tavoitteena oli selvittää, millaisia eroja on hoidon saamisessa asuinalueiden välillä ja selittävätkö naisen sosiodemografiset tekijät tai naisen asemaan liittyvät naisen omat tai asuinalueen miesten ja naisten asenteet alueiden välistä eroa hoidon saamisessa. Taustamuuttujia olivat naisen koulutustaso, kotitalouden varallisuus, naisen siviilisääty, aiempien synnytysten määrä sekä naisen asenne naisiin kohdistuvaan väkivaltaan. Aluetason muuttujia olivat asuinalueen naisten ja miesten asenne naisiin kohdistuvaan väkivaltaan sekä alueen miesten asenne siihen, saako mies käyttää valtaa naista kohtaan sekä siihen, onko synnytys vain naisen huolenaihe. Aineistona tutkimuksessa käytettiin Namibia Demographic and Health Survey 2006–2007 -otantatutkimusta, jossa haastateltiin 13 719 henkilöä. Heistä 4029 oli synnyttäneitä naisia. Analyysi tehtiin logistisella regressioanalyysillä. Aineiston mutkikas otanta-asetelma huomioitiin logistisessa regressioanalyysissä käyttämällä asetelmaperustaista tilastollista analyysiä. Tutkimuksessa Namibian 13 hallinnollista aluetta jaettiin kolmeen ryhmään: pohjoiseen, pääkaupunkiin ja muuhun osaan maasta. Pohjoiseen kuuluivat Caprivin, Kavangon, Ohangwenan, Omusatin, Oshanan ja Oshikoton hallinnolliset alueet, pääkaupunkiin Khomas ja muu maa -alueeseen Erongo, Hardap, Karas, Omaheke ja Otjozundupa. Asuinalueiden välillä oli eroja äitiysterveydenhoidon saamisessa kaikissa hoidon osa-alueissa. Raskaudenaikaisista komplikaatioista annettavaa tietoa saivat heikoiten muu maa -alueella asuvat ja parhaiten pääkaupungissa asuvat, kun tiedon saamista tarkasteltiin vain asuinalueittain. Varallisuus sekä naisiin kohdistuvaan väkivaltaan liittyvät asenteet selittivät asuinalueen ja hoidon saamisen yhteyttä niin, että muuttujien vakioinnin jälkeen pohjoisessa sai parhaiten tietoa raskauteen liittyvistä komplikaatioista. Muu maa -alueella tiedon saaminen oli heikointa taustatekijöiden tai asenteiden vakioinnista huolimatta. Synnytyksen aikana ja sen jälkeen heikoiten hoitoa sai pohjoisessa ja parhaiten pääkaupungissa. Raskauden ja synnytyksen aikaisessa sekä synnytyksen jälkeisessä hoidossa varallisuus selitti asuinalueiden ja hoidon saamisen yhteyttä eniten. Kuitenkaan tarkastellut taustamuuttujat eivät selittäneet asuinalueiden ja hoidon saamisen yhteyttä kokonaan, vaan kaikkien muuttujien vakioimisen jälkeen hoitoa sai edelleen parhaiten pääkaupungissa ja heikoiten pohjoisessa. Alueen lisäksi sosiodemografisilla tekijöillä ja naisen asemaan liittyvillä asenteilla oli yhteys hoidon saamiseen. Kaikissa hoidon osa-alueissa koulutuksen kasvu lisäsi mahdollisuutta hoitoon, myös varallisuuden pienikin lisääntyminen oli yhteydessä parempaan hoidon saamiseen. Kaikissa hoidon osa-alueissa useat aiemmat synnytykset sekä naisiin kohdistuvan väkivallan hyväksyminen sen sijaan vaikeuttivat hoidon saamista. Synnytyksen aikaisessa ja synnytyksen jälkeisessä hoidossa myös miehen asenne siihen, että synnytys oli vain naisen huolenaihe, heikensi hoidon saamista. Tutkimuksen tulokset vahvistivat aiempaa tutkimustietoa siitä, että heikoiten äitiysterveydenhoitoa saavat pohjoisessa sekä maaseudulla asuvat köyhät ja kouluttamattomat naiset. Uutta tietoa tutkimus antoi asuinalueiden välisistä asenne-eroista Namibiassa sekä niiden yhteydestä hoidon saamiseen. Pohjoisessa naiseen kohdistuva väkivalta, naiseen kohdistuva vallankäyttö sekä se, että synnytys on vain naisen huolenaihe, oli muita alueita hyväksytympää. Namibia on sitoutunut YK:n vuosituhattavoitteiden mukaiseen äitiyskuolleisuuden laskuun, mutta sen on vaikeata saavuttaa tavoitteita, jolleivät pohjoisen köyhimmät naiset saa nykyistä paremmin äitiysterveydenhoitoa. Namibian olisi siten parannettava pohjoisessa asuvien naisten mahdollisuuksia saada terveydenhoitoa etenkin synnytyksen aikana sekä sen jälkeen.

Asuinalueelle muodostuu tietynlainen maine, jota on vaikea esittää tilastoina, numeroina ja faktoina. Kuitenkin maine on jotain, joka on yleisesti tunnistettavissa. Ihmiset pyrkivät hakeutumaan tietyntyyppisille alueille, jos on mahdollisuus valita eri alueiden välillä. Kokemuspohjaiset kertomukset paljastavat miten puhuja kokee kohtaamiaan asioita, jotka liittyvät johonkin alueeseen. Riippumatta siitä, kuinka todellisia tai aluetta kokonaisuudessaan edustavia yksittäiset väitteet alueesta ovat, ihmisten tapa kokea ne, on todellinen. Näin ollen voidaan tutkia mainetta sosiaalisena todellisuutena. Aineistona on internetissä keskustelupalstoilla pääkaupunkiseudulla asumista käsitteleviä keskusteluja ja vertailuaineistona keskusteluja Ruotsista. Ruotsalaiseen keskusteluun vertailun tarkoituksena on tuoda esiin, onko suomalaisessa lähiökeskustelussa mahdollisesti piirteitä, jotka heijastavat Suomen erityisiä oloja. Analysoitavat lähiökeskustelut on mahdollista sovittaa aktanttimalliin, jossa on erilaisia toimijoita: Kysyjä tavoittelee hyvällä alueella itselleen jotain. Vastaajat auttavat kysyjää. On olemassa alueelle muuttamista puoltavia ja vastustavia alueen ominaisuuksia. Keskusteluiden teemat liittyvät asioihin, joilla keskustelijat kuvaavat alueiden laatua. Muodostamalla vastaavat aktanttimallit suomalaisista ja ruotsalaisista keskusteluista, havainnollistuu teemojen osalta erot keskusteluissa molemmissa maissa. Suomessa rauhallisuuden kaipuu on erityinen piirre lähiöistä puhuttaessa. Ruotsalaisissa keskusteluissa hallitsee puhe rikollisuudesta, jengiytymisestä ja alueiden gettoutumisesta. Näissä turvallisuus kuvastaa rauhallisuuden käsitettä paremmin sitä mitä asuinalueelta toivotaan. Suomalaisissa keskusteluissa useimmat tärkeinä pidetyt alueen ominaisuudet edustavat rauhallisuutta ja ei toivotut ominaisuudet rikkovat rauhallisuutta. Maahanmuuttajat, alkoholistit, mustalaiset ja joskus myös työttömät mainitaan toistuvasti viesteissä, joissa kerrotaan aluetta huonontavista ominaisuuksista. Edellä mainittuja ihmisryhmiä ei kuitenkaan kirjoituksissa yhdistetä rikollisuuteen tai muihin konkreettisiin vaaroihin. Useassa viestissä päinvastoin sanotaan maahanmuuttajien ja alkoholistien olevan harmittomia, vaikka ovatkin alueen tasoa heikentävä seikka. Poikkeavuutta tarvitaan osoittamaan millaista on ei-poikkeava hyvä elämäntapa. Luettelemalla hyvien ja huonojen asuinalueiden ominaisuuksia, mukaan lukien minkälaisia ihmisiä alueella asuu tai ei pitäisi asua, ilmaisevat kertojat samalla ihanteistaan ja odotuksistaan siitä, millainen on hyvä alue ja edelleen, mitä hyvä elämä pitää sisällään. Hyvällä alueella ei ole alkoholisteja, ei kovin paljon maahanmuuttajia, luonto on lähellä, on hiljaista ja turvallista. Rauhallisuus on myös sitä, että saa olla rauhassa omissa oloissaan. Tämä on ennen kaikkea mielentila. Alueella asuvat alkoholistit ja maahanmuuttajat rikkovat tätä rauhallisuudeksi kutsuttavaa mielentilaa. Suomalaisten käymät keskustelut hyvistä ja huonoista alueista kertovat suomalaisten arvostuksista. Aluetta peilataan kulttuurissa olevia ihanteita vasten, mikä on yksi ulottuvuus maineen käsitteessä.

As the trend shifted from a socially balancing spatial composition to growing spatial differences in the Helsinki Metropolitan region, the fear of segregation was increased. The transition was brought by the 90’s recession associated with mass unemployment and an ICT-driven economic growth. Despite social mixing policies, social deprivation has been shown to accumulate into pockets of poverty without any spatial concentration. However, when measured by individual meters, the spatial differentiation and social polarisation of the Helsinki Metropolitan area is more detectable. The past urban studies and research of the Helsinki Metropolitan area have largely overlooked the internal socio-economic differences and changes within a single neighbourhood. The aim of the thesis is to examine the residential differentiation occurring in the Matinkylä area, which previous research has revealed to form a pocket of poverty within the region of southern Espoo, and also to locate the concentrations of deprivation and prosperity. Residential differentiation is approached not only from the viewpoint of the traditional urban theories, but also from the perspectives of national and local factors. Also discussion about the new spatial order of cities is covered. The regional perspective is approached by examining recent studies on spatial differentiation of the Helsinki Metropolitan region, which provides the framework for the research. The work also aims to take important factors, such as social changes, regional history and households preferences into a more detailed examination and study their effects on the social composition of Matinkylä’s neighbourhoods. The case study is carried out by examining individual indicators designed to reflect the structural and socio-economic distinctions between neighbourhoods and differences in the characteristics of the households, which are visualised into cartographic representations using statistical and GIS methods. Research reveals that Matinkylä as an area is significantly polarized between the deprived and the prosperous parts of population that are spatially segregated into their own neighbourhoods. A significant deprived part of population is concentrated in Matinmetsä’s and Tiistilä’s suburban apartment blocks built in 70’s and 80’s. This group is characterised by relatively low income and educational levels with higher rates of unemployment and proportional number of immigrants. The prosperous elite with high educational status is concentrated in Nuottaniemi, an affluent residential area constituted of single-family houses at the seashore of Matinkylä. Based on the study the building stock and form of tenure of the residential areas seem to have a strong influence on the formation of the social structure. Matinkylä’s regional differentiation seems to be resulting from differentiation of the elite from other socioeconomic groups rather than being a trend toward segregation as prosperity in Matinkylä is more clearly and strongly spatially concentrated than deprivation. This is also supported by the result that the share of socially underprivileged is not growing in absolute terms within any of the neighbourhood. However, dualistic features are clearly visible in the spatial distribution of different households, but the change that has occurred during the last decade indicates a trend toward socio-economic balancing between neighbourhoods at least by some measurements. From the perspective of the factors affecting regional differentiation examined in this work urban planning and housing policies seem to have an important effect on the spatial differentiation of Matinkylä as they create a specific and distinctive building and housing stocks, as well as housing tenures in different areas. It seems that Matinkylä’s regional structure, natural environment and neighbourhoods’ reputations have steered different kinds of households into different neighbourhoods according to their life phases, preferences and socio-economic status. Spatial distribution of the households has led to the emergence of social disparities between neighbourhoods and created the spatial differentiation of Matinkylä.

Residential differentiation has, for a long time now, been one of the most researched phenomena in urban and human geography. Most of the Finnish research, however, has focused mainly on the more negatively perceived dimensions of sosio-economic and ethnic segregation, while the dimension of demographic differentiation has not received as much attention. The demographic transition has caused changes in housing in Western countries for decades. The number of households and people living alone has increased, household types have diversified, and the age structure of the population has got older. Due to residential mobility and the diversification of living arrangements, the neighbourhoods have been predicted to start catering people in different life stages more and more, thus increasing the demographic segregation. On the other hand, different researches have pointed out the slow change of neighbourhood social structures, which also raises the question of spatial and temporal stability of demographic structures. This perspective of stability has often been overshadowed in the discussion on housing and the research on residential differentiation by the overwhelming emphasis on change. The aim of this research is to investigate the demographic segregation of the Helsinki region, especially from the perspective of life stages, but in addition to changes to also bring to the front the perspective of stability. The research examines how demographic segregation and its development appear in the Helsinki region and if there are demographic structures that seem to be temporally stable. The main materials are statistics and geographic information regarding the Greater Helsinki region, and they are analysed with cartographic presentations and charts. The analysis is focused especially on the structures of migration, population and households and the analyses will be executed on different scales on the Greater Helsinki region, Helsinki capital region and Helsinki. The results of the research suggest that the Greater Helsinki region is spatially differentiated by the life stage and that there are areas that seem to mainly cater people in certain life stages. However, the spatial differentiation has not seemed to become stronger, but instead the demographic development even seems to have evened out the level of differentiation. The effects of the demographic transition are visible in all the Greater Helsinki region via the aging population and the decrease in the household sizes. There are also demographic structures that show spatial and temporal stability. These structures, though, seem to depend on the neighbourhood and the restrictions caused by the physical qualities of the housing. In future research dealing with life stage, it would be important to focus on the classification of the continuously diversifying life stages.

In this study ecoefficiency of residential buildings is estimated with MIPSmethod. MIPSmethod focuses on the natural resource (so. material) use. Apart from the material efficiency also required energy and carbon dioxide emissions during the construction period and maintenance were also counted in this study. Under the maintenanceperiod only the energy flowed through the building cover was taken into account. The maintenance period was 50 years. The study covered 14 different buildings from which nine where single family houses and five blocks of flats. MIPSindicator is based on material flows. It uses them as criteria of ecoefficiency. The aim is to calculate the hidden material flows caused during the manufacturing of products. MIPSvalues can be calculated with MIfactors published by Wuppertalinstitute. MIPS is rough and simplifying method but on the other hand its advantage is a ability to illustrate one of the important areas of ecoefficiency. Most of the natural resources used by the residential building are related to foundations of buildings. For example more than half of natural resources use caused by wooden houses are related to foundations. Also the maintenance consumes natural resources across the energy use. With maintenance it takes decades to reach the level of construction period. When calculating the carbon dioxide emissions the maintenance is more significant. It takes only around ten years to reach the level of emissions caused by construction period. Wood as a construction material is the most ecoefficient choice. Block of flats is more ecoefficient than single family house with any indicator. According to this study, the wooden blocks of flats are the most ecoefficient choice.

The changing environment causes new needs and objectives for which new plans and strategies have to be created. The importance of the residents increases during these planning processes, and therefore utilizing different participatory methods comes more and more important. There are two parts in this research; the first part examines how the resident survey, from participatory methods, can be used in the strategical planning of the city’s forests’ use and management, and in the second part, the resident survey has been implemented to find out the opinions, wishes, and proposals of the residents concerning the city’s forests’ use and management in Vantaa. The first part of the research examines how the resident survey can be used in the achieving the objectives, what is the content that the resident survey is able to bring into the planning process, and to find out how and in which phase, or in which way, the resident survey can be used in the planning process. In this part, the qualitative methods were used, and the results are mainly based on the existing literature together with the implemented survey in the certain aspects. From the results, it is possible to find out that the resident survey may achieve very well the objectives of the municipality and the objectives relating residents’ local knowledge and possibilities to influence by certain criteria. The objectives related to the residents’ spiritual or psychological characteristics, like building the trust, are more difficult to achieve. On the other hand, the implemented resident survey cannot be used to achieve all the objectives of the international or institutional parts, like the objectives related to the Forest Act. It is possible to use the resident survey in every phase of the planning process, but according to the results of this research, it will not be able to bring all the objectives in every phase. The second part of the research was to implement the resident survey to find out the residents’ opinions, wishes, and proposals concerning the forests of Vantaa city. It enabled to gather the knowledge and the information about the meaning and the use of the forests, the acceptable forest management methods, the participatory in the forest management and planning, and the local information about the forests. Vantaa city was divided into the seven areas. The sample size was 2 100 – so 300 residents of the age 15 to 75 from each area. In total 950 answers were received with the respond rate 45 %. The results were created by using the quantitative methods. They show that the meaning of the forests for recreation and outdoor activities is remarkable; the most important characteristics are naturalness and feeling of the forest, calmness and silence, and the opportunities to outdoor activities and sport; the residents mostly use forests nearby home; and the most acceptable forest management methods cause less changes in the environment, like thinning, uneven-aged forest management, and harvesting. The participatory is quite unknown for most of the respondents, and the most of the residents think that this resident survey will not influence to the final decisions. Further studies about how the criteria, used in this research, could work with different resident surveys is needed, and if they can be used in the other phases of the planning process that have been found out in this research.

This study examines the interaction between inhabitants and urban planning. In addition to traditional methods of participation there can be seen an increasing need to find new channels and means to influence on one's environment. Hearing of inhabitants during planning is hoped to decrease the amount of claims and this way to speed up the planning process. Discussion that emphasizes competitiveness and innovativeness in planning has brought out the role of inhabitants as selective consumers and end users. This extension of civil perspective completes the thought of participation in city planning and adds the pressure on developing the interaction and user orientation. The aim of the study is to point out the present situation of inhabitant's participation and influencing in Helsinki. Helsinki City Planning Department opened a new information and exhibition hall called Laituri in 2008. Laituri provides the latest information about planning projects in Helsinki and temporary exhibitions as well as it operates as communication channel and information point for the department. In this study Laituri is examined as a case study of interaction between citizen and planner. The study is divided into two principal themes. The aim is to research action and interactivity at Laituri from the inhabitants' and planners 'point of view. The qualitative study has inquiries, interview surveys and observation as research methods. Empirical data of the study consists of three parts which complement each other: Laituri operational reseach, inquiry directed to the members of Laituri team and interviews of three experts. The aim is to find answers to questions like, does Laituri reach the citizens and will the opportunities to participate improve along Laituri. The study examines also how the local knowledge of inhabitants will come across to planners and further to planning. The study combines discussions of inhabitants' influencing in Finnish society and science community. Cornerstones of the study are inhabitant participation, interaction and local knowledge in urban planning. The theory behind the study is communicative planning theory. In addition the theory consists of key concepts. The study introduces a concept of Inhabitant's Helsinki, which reflects the inhabitant as customer-citizen who is an active product developer in participative urban planning. According to the research results the experts of Laituri and majority of inhabitants in Helsinki experience that the inhabitant's possibilities to participate will improve along Laituri. However half of the citizens in Helsinki believe that local knowledge and ideas will only have minor impact on the final plan. According to city dwellers the present practise used by Helsinki City Planning Department supports only partially adequate interaction. The experts of Laituri experience that the role of Laituri is first of all forum of communication and discussion channel instead of effective local data collector. Based on the results the study introduces a model of inhabitant's participation field. According to the model Laituri can be seen as phenomenom in Helsinki urban planning which has the elements of network municipality. The planner is more like diplomatic trend-setter and visionary. The inhabitant of Helsinki is an expert in city living and participative producer of local knowledge. Participation methods are increasingly segmented and tailored in every plan and project. The study argues that Inhabitant's Helsinki is a pluralistic milieu in constant pressure for change. Therefore reaching the everyday life experiencies of inhabintants should be at higher degree in Helsinki City Planning Department's operations.

In its broadest sense, urban planning is about controlling and modifying space. According to Henri Lefebvre, the space is socially constructed and it can be divided into three aspects. These aspects are conceived/conceptualised space or representations of space, perceived/routinized space or spatial practices, and lived space or representational space. In representational space the reality is covered by symbols linked to the social life. Spatial practices ensure certain order and continuity in society. Representations of space are abstract, spaces simplified in theories and abstracts. Representations of space are based on lived life, but their connection to the reality has deteriorated due to abstractions. Nevertheless, they are part of political and social practices and they direct strongly space and planning of space through different theories and ideologies. By that way representations of space also penetrate lived space and spatial practices. By means of these concepts, it is an intention to understand concepts of space of habitants and experts. Representations of space are abstract space of experts and representational spaces are lived space of habitants. Practices are linked to both experts and habitants' doings. City planning has a huge impact on space and experience of space. Who has the power over space, has the power over its developing and modifying, in other words, over construction of the space. Finnish law guarantees that every stakeholder has a chance of participation in the planning process, but not everyone is satisfied with this. Habitants feel that their opinions do not matter and experts feel like being a pawn in the political game. The purpose of this thesis, is to find how habitants and experts construct and observe space and find a key to better collaborative planning. Collaborative planning brings together stakeholders and tries to make them create common discourse. Its purpose is to make different people from different backgrounds create plans and discourses, where all of them can and want to engage. This is difficult, because even neighbours might share only spatial location. This study is case study, where by means of discourse analysis, reports about Laajasalo and new master plan of Helsinki, reports of interaction, comments of Yleiskaava-blog's Laajasalo related topics, two "citizen discussion nights" and the interview of active Laajasalo dweller and the interview of urban planner from Helsinki urban environment division are analysed. The intention is to find out if different forms of data have emphasized different things, and to find out possible differences between the concepts of space of habitants and experts. The research shows, that habitants see urban space through the concepts of nature, fluent everyday life and visuality. To experts's urban space politics are important as well as city's economic success. Usually these emphases overlap even though they are given different importances. For example to habitants the nature has aesthetical, healthy and recreational value. To the society, on the other hand, aesthetical aspects does not matter as much as nature's significance in promoting habitants' health and well-being. Helsinki's collaborative planning methods get more negative feedback from habitants than from experts. Mostly in interaction reports and in the interview of active Laajasalo dweller show critisism concerning new master plan of Helsinki city. Experts, on the other hand, thank habitants for participation, even though the active Laajasalo dweller says he does know, that not all the experts thank habitants for their input. Differences between different concepts of (urban) space seemed to link to person's age. Young urban citizens are more likely to travel by more sustainable means of communication and long for more compact cities. Elder part of the population, on the other hand, seems to emphasize the importance of nature and parks. The world, in where we born and grow up into, shapes our values through media, researches and social interaction. This is one probable explanation for our different kind of concepts of space. Abstract space penetrates in lived space and shapes it with its own concepts.

Discussion about public participation, interaction and citizen power has been on-going since the end of the 1960s. Resident's options for participation started to increase in the following decades after the communicative turn in urban theory. In Finland, the Land Use and Building Act of 2000, enhanced resident's possibilities for participation in urban planning. Finnish municipalities started to develop new participation methods, and the interaction between different parties and actors became more influential. According to previous research, the usability of empirical knowledge and integrating local knowledge into the public sector planning process are still significant challenges of urban planning. The aim of this study is to examine the usability of residents' empirical knowledge in urban planning and the effects of citizen participation on the process and the results of planning. This case study examines the role of citizen participation in the continuous master plan process in the city of Lahti. The research material mainly consists of two parts: the qualitative workshop material generated in the My Lahti citizen workshops and interviews with planning and service design professionals. The research material also includes relevant literature and previous studies concerning citizen participation in urban planning, GIS data, and planning documents of the city of Lahti. The methods used for the study are qualitative content analysis based on textual data and GIS research methods. The current challenges of citizen participation have been tackled in Lahti by using the continuous master plan process, which enables residents to participate more continuously and regularly in the process. In addition, My Lahti workshops arranged in spring 2014 have been used in order to enhance possibilities for participation and to improve the usability of local knowledge. My Lahti workshops were put together in collaboration with city planning staff and the service design team of Lahti University of Applied Sciences. Workshops were mainly based on two map exercises with themes of mobility and services in Lahti. In terms of transport, the development objectives especially raised as being most important were related to cycling, walking and public transport. Participants' comments regarding the living environment and services highlighted the importance of nature and recreational functions and areas of the city. Retaining and developing public and private services were also seen as important goals in terms of future planning. Participants' feedback on the workshops was very positive, but some were sceptical about their actual possibilities to influence on city development. The workshops were also seen as successful from the viewpoint of planning professionals, and a similar concept is intended to be utilised to allow public participation in the next cycle of the continuous planning process. According to this study, the city of Lahti gained valuable information about participants' opinions and ideas for a better city. This information has also been used quite successfully as part of the city's master planning process. Two concrete examples of utilising participants' knowledge are the city master plan map and more importantly, the plan commentary highlighting the ideas raised in workshops. My Lahti data has also been used as background information in other participatory methods and it still has potential for further use. However, there have been challenges in the usability of empirical knowledge, and they are mostly related to technical issues and slowly changing public processes and organisational culture. Communication about the results of participation has also been problematic, and residents may still be dubious about the effectiveness of their contribution. The continuous master plan process in Lahti offers a chance for regular participation and therefore enhances the visibility and awareness of participation possibilities from the residents' perspective. The continuous process also makes empirical local knowledge more visible for planners and provides better conditions for the change of working culture.