Browsing by discipline "Regionvetenskap"

Tourism destinations tend to attract mainly those tourists who choose the location as the main or only destination of their trip, although the share of those tourists who choose it as a secondary or through destination is greater than have been initially thought. Most tourism destinations have the ability to take advantage of the potential offered by transit tourists, as the necessary infrastructure and services already exist - they just need to be directed into new markets. Finland is a secondary tourist destination that acts as stop-over point on the way to primary destinations. Transit tourists form a significant amount in the flow of tourists to Finland and the volumes of Asian transit tourists arriving to Helsinki-Vantaa have increased. Many of the most important factors of tourism destinations for Asian tourists are present in Finland, and interest toward the country among Asians have grown in recent years. However, in stopover tourism the challenge lies in encountering the diverse interests of many different parties and tourists, the combination of which is needed for stopover tourism development. This master's thesis aims to identify changes in stopover tourism and predict the future development in the Helsinki metropolitan area by the year 2025. The study examines the impact of the Helsinki metropolitan area starting points, and how changes in lack of opportunities and lack of interest among tourists affect the development of stopover tourism. The study utilizes the Delphi method used in future research, in which persons classified as experts act as predictors of the future development of the studied phenomenon. Unlike in the traditional multi-stage Delphi, rounds were limited to only one round of interviews. Twelve experts (n = 12) took part in this study's Delphi panel, representing companies and organizations operating in the tourism sector. The snowball method is used for the selection of the expert panel, where a few key experts are first identified and then asked to name other experts for the panel. The interview material is analysed by coding and thematising in order to highlight both the converging and diverging points of views. The results show that the major opportunities for stopover tourism development in Helsinki metropolitan area are related to the accessibility and competitiveness of Finnair's Asian route network. The Helsinki metropolitan area is able to offer a new kind of appeal for Asian tourists compared to other well-known European destinations, even though it does not have any tourist attractions recognised on a global level. The metropolitan's compact size and the focusing of tourism service offerings in a relatively small area provide a framework for stopover tourism. The challenge, however, is whether the development of the tourism service offerings can become attractive enough for the tourists to stop in the Helsinki metropolitan area when flying between Europe and Asia. There will not be any significant changes in the roles of the Helsinki metropolitan area's tourism operators in the future, while Finnair will continue playing the key role. Since most of the stopovers made in Helsinki metropolitan area are pre-designed and tourists are leisure tourists, the travel time to and from Helsinki-Vantaa does not have an impact on whether or not to stop in Helsinki. Similarly, visa requirements do not reduce the attractiveness of the Helsinki metropolitan area as some of the visitors will need a visa to travel to Europe in any case. In the future provision of tourist services in the Helsinki metropolitan area, the importance of individuality is emphasized, as well as the need for accessibility and availability of tourism services improvement. Since the Helsinki metropolitan area cannot compete in terms of tourist attractions, the attractiveness should be based on its existing nature potential. Based on the study, the lack of interest affects stopover tourism development in the Helsinki metropolitan area more than the lack of opportunity. Growth of appeal arising from awareness and development in tourism service will increase the attractiveness of the Helsinki metropolitan area. As a result, the number of Asian tourists in the Helsinki metropolitan area will increase significantly by 2025, as more transit tourists arriving to Helsinki-Vantaa will stop in the metropolitan area. Despite the challenges, the study shows that the interests of the tourism sector and tourists can be seen to meet better during the next ten years in stopover tourism.

TIIVISTELMÄ Myllypuro on modernin suunnitteluideologian mukainen metsäinen ja kallioinen lähiö Itä-Helsingissä. Myllypuro on 1990-luvun lamasta lähtien kärsinyt koko Helsingin keskiarvoa korkeammasta työttömyysasteesta ja huonosta maineesta. Myllypuroon onkin kohdistettu huomattava määrä erilaisia kehittämistoimenpiteitä niin kaupungin, valtion kuin Euroopan unioninkin toimesta. Kehittämistoimenpiteiden myötä asuinrakennuksien varustetasoa on parannettu, julkisia tiloja on remontoitu ja alueen julkiset palvelut ovat täydentyneet mediakirjastolla, terveysasemalla ja liikuntapalveluilla. Kokonaan uusia asuinalueita on rakennettu. Alueen vanha ostoskeskus on purettu kokonaan ja tilalle on rakennettu uusi keskustakortteli. Tässä tutkimuksessa tutkitaan Myllypuroon kohdistuneiden kehittämistoimenpiteiden vaikutuksia alueen asuntojen hintakehitykseen. Kiinnostuksenkohteena on erityisesti Myllypuron vanha 1960-luvulla rakennettu metsälähiöosa, jonka hintakehitystä verrataan kolmen muun helsinkiläisen metsälähiön hintakehitykseen 2000- ja 2010-luvuilla. Aineistona on Kiinteistövälitysalan Keskusliiton kauppahintatilasto-tietokanta, jota analysoitiin kvantitatiivisin metodein. Aineisto sisältää yli 136 000 raportoitua kauppaa Helsingistä, joista yli 1400 on Myllypurosta. Tulokset osoittavat, että Myllypuron 1960-luvun asuinrakennuskannan myyntihinnat ovat nousseet enemmän, kuin 1960-luvun asuinrakennuskannan hinnat Kontulassa, Pihlajamäessä tai Vuosaaressa vuosina 2005–2016. Myllypuron asuntojen hinnoissa tapahtuu selkeä hyppy vuoden 2012 jälkeen, jolloin Myllypuron uusi keskustakortteli valmistui. Kehittämistoimenpiteillä vaikuttaa siis olleen Myllypuron asuntojen hintoja nostava vaikutus. Asuntojen hintojen nousu indikoi Myllypuron metsälähiöosan arvostuksen nousua ja siten myös onnistuneita kehittämistoimenpiteitä. Alueen arvonnousun myötä lähiöitä uhkaava negatiivinen kehityskierre vaikuttaa Myllypuron osalta katkenneen. Toisaalta tämä tutkimus osoittaa myös sen, että vaikka julkisten kehittämistoimenpiteiden tarkoituksena ei olisi asumisen hinnan nostaminen, voivat asuntojen hinnat silti nousta kehittämistoimenpiteiden myötä – tämä puolestaan voi johtaa gentrifikaatioon, jossa alueen huonotuloisimmat asukkaat korvautuvat varakkaammilla. ABSTRACT Myllypuro is a modern Finnish suburb located in East-Helsinki. It represents the modern Finnish urban planning ideologies and values about healthy living environments. Since the economic recession in 1990s Myllypuro has been struggling with high rates of unemployment and a reputation of a low-profile neighborhood. Therefore, several public development programs, carried out by the city, state and EU, have been applied in Myllypuro, leading to urban renewal. The old building stocks have been renovated and public spaces have been maintained. Whole new neighborhoods have been built. The old 1960s shopping mall has been completely dismantled and replaced by a new urban center block, which comprises both public and commercial services and brand-new apartments. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the urban renewal has affected on the local housing prices in Myllypuro. The focus is on the response of the so called forest-suburb part of Myllypuro formed in 1960s. This is examined by comparing the development of housing prices of Myllypuro’s forest-suburb during the past two decades to the development of housing prices of similar, same price range forest-suburbs in Helsinki. The research is conducted by using quantitative methods and the real estate data from the 1999 to 2016, collected by the official real estate agents. The data consist of over 136 000 reported sales in Helsinki, of which over 1400 are in Myllypuro. The results show that the housing prices of the building stock dating to 1960s in Myllypuro have increased more than housing prices of the same age building stocks in comparable suburbs of Kontula, Pihlajamäki and Vuosaari during 2005–2016. There was a significant increase in Myllypuro’s housing prices right after the completion of the new urban center block in the year 2012. Therefore, it appears that the urban renewal has had an impact on the housing prices of Myllypuro. The purpose of the urban renewal in Myllypuro was to upgrade the profile of the area. On the basis of the increased housing prices this goal seems to be achieved. Anyhow, the increased housing costs on the low-income neighbourhood might force some residents with lower income to move away and be replaced by new, wealthier residents. This kind of gentrification phenomenon is rarely the purpose of urban renewal, although it tends to be a result of increased housing prices. The case of Myllypuro shows that even though the purpose of urban renewal would not have been to increase the housing prices, the prices may still be augmented.

The study is on the human dimension of animal-based tourism. There is a growing interest in nature and wildlife tourism but also a dire need for more research, especially of tourist experiences and expectations. Animal-based tourism is a little studied subject and a rarely used term. Animal-based tourism, unlike wildlife tourism, includes the use of domesticated animals and also other types of encounters than watching. Wildlife, nature and adventure tourism literature is used for defining animal-based tourism. Experiencing is another substantial sector of tourism business nowadays, alongside nature and wildlife tourism. Instead of services and products, the tourists are seeking experiences. Experience is a complex and diverse concept that is comprised of many different elements. The main object of the study is to understand the phenomenon of animal-based tourism, to interpret the experiences animal-based tourism creates and the elements in the animal encounters that contribute to creating them. The study draws from humanistic geography and uses the hermeneutic understanding of the world in the interpretation of tourists' experiences. Travel magazine Matkalehti's destination descriptions and travel stories are used as data. The research includes altogether 419 different articles in 111 magazines over 16 years of time. The articles are studied with content analysis, by looking for the typical characteristics of animal-based tourism (presented in the background chapter) and finding the various experiences and the elements that cause them (defined in the theoretical framework). The study is deductive, leaning strongly on the experience theories and frameworks presented in animal-based tourism literature. It was found that the animal-based tourism presented in the magazines was quite substantial and it reflected the definitions presented in the tourism literature. However, some variations were found: riding as an encounter had a far greater role than was expected. In Finland, alongside fishing, it was almost as important as watching animals. Abroad, watching was clearly the most popular encounter type. The destinations of animal-based tourism in the magazines varied greatly and they reflected the destinations typically of importance for Finns. However, clear focus points were seen. For example safaris (on land) typically took place in Sub-Saharan Africa, and whales and dolphins were watched in Iceland, Norway, Canary islands and the Azores, etc. Animals were encountered in many different settings but between captive- and wild-settings there was not a big difference, both occurred equally often. Captive-settings were usually located near cities or available areas for attracting bigger user groups, when wild-settings demanded more effort from the tourists. Species of animals reflected the findings in similar studies, and it was noticed that specific types of animals were preferred over others. Watching animals in captive-settings and in shows did not seem to evoke as many or as strong experiences as meeting them in the wild. Rare and endangered species as well as exotic and strange ones were preferred over others almost in every case. Some species were found to be icons for certain areas and were always mentioned with the same destinations. With certain species like dolphins, close interaction was sought after, and domesticated animals were found interesting only if there was a chance for touching and feeding them. Especially in fishing, riding and diving the settings and the beauty of the surroundings were important, but also the intensity of the activity. Education and conservation, which are a part of animal-based tourism according to literature, were not mentioned as often as was expected. The naturalness of the settings, the well-being of animals and the engaging nature of the encounters were the most crucial elements for creating experiences in animal-based tourism. Experiences of animal-based tourism were multiple as were the elements creating them.

Tutkielman aiheen valintaan vaikutti tekijän vapaaehtoistyökokemus slummeissa asuvien naisten ja lasten parissa toimivassa kenialaisjärjestössä, joka mahdollisti tutkimusaineiston hankkimisen. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on valottaa kehittyvien maiden urbaanien slummiympäristöjen naisten pelon maantiedettä kenialaisen case-esimerkin kautta. Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on selvittää, miten kenialaiset, aktiiviset, eli lapsistaan huolta pitävät, äidit elävät arkeaan slummissa, miten he käyttävät asuinympäristönsä tilaa, sekä miten he suhtautuvat rikollisuuteen ja millaisia seurauksia mahdollisella pelolla on heidän tilankäyttöönsä. Tutkielman aiheeseen liittyy kiinteästi aiemman tutkimustiedon osalta naisten pelon maantiede kaupunkitiloissa, kehittyvien maiden urbanisoituminen ja siihen liittyvä köyhyys ja slummien muodostuminen, sekä afrikkalaisen naisen eri tavoin kokema sukupuolten välinen epätasa-arvo. Nämä teemat sijoitetaan tutkielmassa kehittyvän maan slummiympäristöön. Aineisto käsittää 17 puolistrukturoitua teemahaastattelua, jotka tehtiin neljänä päivänä maaliskuussa 2010. Osallistuneet nuoret ja keski-ikäiset naiset valikoituivat järjestön toiminnan parista, jolloin aineisto käsittää vain niin kutsuttuja 'aktiivisia äitejä', ja sulkee pois muiden slummin ihmisryhmien näkökulmat: äitiyteen kykenemättömät eli 'passiiviset äidit', miehet, vanhukset ja lapset. Vääristymä on kuitenkin perusteltu, sillä tarkoitus on tutkia 'keskivertoäidin' pelkoa ja sen seurauksia. Haastatteluaineiston analysoinnissa käytettiin teemoittelua ja sen pohjalta hahmoteltiin James Garofalon rikoksen pelon mallia vastaava yksinkertaistettu versio. Tulosten perusteella slummissa asuvien 'aktiivisten äitien' asema sosiaalisessa tilassa on heikko johtuen fyysisestä haavoittuvuudesta miehiin nähden, asuinympäristön turvattomuudesta ja huonoista vaikutteista, joita he välttelevät ja joiden perusteella valitsevat seuransa, kulkureittinsä ja -aikansa. Pimeys sekä ahtaat ja autiot paikat koetaan vaarallisina. Kokemuksellisesti ja kuulopuheina leviää tieto rikollisuudesta, jota harjoittavat tyypillisesti työttömät nuoret miehet. Rikoksenpelko on usein voimakasta ja aiheuttaa syrjäytymistä julkisista tiloista, joskin sukulaisten tai viranomaisten läheisyys saattaa lieventää pelkoa. Urbanisoituvissa kehittyvissä maissa suuri osa väestöstä sijoittuu slummeihin. Naisten vastuu perheen toimeentulosta ja lasten hyvinvoinnista on usein erittäin suuri. Vaikka kyseessä onkin case-tutkimus, tutkielman aihe koskettaa suurta osaa maailman nykyisestä ja tulevasta urbaanista väestöstä: slummien naisia ja heidän lapsiaan. Erilaisten ympäristöön ja ilmastoon liittyvien resurssikiistojen ja heikkojen yhteiskunnallisten rakenteiden johdosta kehittyvien maiden kaupungistumisessa esiintyy köyhyyttä, rikollisuutta ja muita negatiivisia lieveilmiöitä, jotka voivat aiheuttaa pelkoa ja sen seurauksena heikentää naisten mahdollisuuksia osallistua julkisissa tiloissa ja työpaikoilla tapahtuviin toimintoihin, jotka voisivat hyvin toimivina johtaa yhteiskuntien kehittämiseen. Tilat, paikat ja ajat, jotka ovat sosiaalisesti rakentuneita aiheuttamaan pelon tunteita, ovat esteenä paitsi yksilöiden tilankäytölle, myös heikentävät kokonaisten yhteisöjen toimintaa.

This research is aimed at investigating the possibility of implementing ecological sanitation technologies in the Taita Hills in south-eastern Kenya, therefore contributing to a sustainable local development approach. The approach taken to this aim is that of a description and analysis of social and cultural preferences regarding sanitation and the idea of reusing human excreta in agricultural production. Poor sanitation circumstances, with the range of problems that they give rise to, is a widely acknowledged and researched issue in the field of human development which is underlined by the inclusion of sanitation in both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the upcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition to putting a burden of disease on affected populations, lack of proper sanitation facilities are identified as both a cause and a consequence of poverty. Sanitation solutions also play a notable role in the interaction between settlements and the natural environment. Ecological sanitation includes a wide range of technologies and other solutions with the aim of improving sanitation in a given community and simultaneously diminishing the waste that is allowed to pollute the environment, most notably water bodies. A remarkable aspect of ecological sanitation solutions in agricultural areas is the possibility of treating human waste in order to produce fertilizers suitable for usage in local farming. This would enable communities to close the cycle of nutrient flows as nutrients withdrawn from the soil in the form of agricultural produce would be returned as fertilizer. In addition, local, low-cost production of fertilizers is assumed to be a sustainable way of weakening dependence of international fertilizer markets, thereby improving rural livelihoods. The possibility of improved access to suitable fertilizers is also a key aspect of improved food security. Understanding local perceptions and attitudes regarding sanitation is crucial in finding socially and culturally applicable, acceptable and sustainable ecological sanitation solutions. This study will use semi-structured stakeholder interviews and expert interviews to investigate those attitudes, as well as to gain insights on current sanitation and farming practices. Involvement of the local views in the research process is enhanced by the use of participatory ranking exercises, thereby enabling local views and preferences to find practical and specific expression. Current sanitation solutions and their connection to the environment are also included in the interview framework. The results of the fieldwork are investigated with a qualitative content analysis to present a comprehensive picture of the current sanitation situation in relation to local livelihoods, to describe local attitudes towards different sanitation solutions and to describe how ecological sanitation solutions might be implemented that improves local livelihoods and food security. Through this, a framework will be produced that can be used for further work on ecological sanitation in the Taita Hills area. The ultimate objective of the study is to assess the feasibility and potential of using ecological sanitation to improve both food security and sanitation in the study area. The results of this study point to the conclusion that reusing human waste cannot be considered as a taboo in the Taita Hills but could be promoted through locally designed solutions as well as education and training regarding ecological sanitation.

Pääkaupunkiseudulla on viime vuosikymmeninä ollut havaittavissa uudenlaista alueellista eriytymistä. Seudun itä- ja koillisosiin on alkanut muodostua eri mittareilla mitaten pieniä pistemäisiä huono-osaistuvia alueita, joiden pelätään tulevaisuudessa laajenevan ja kasvavan. Pääkaupunkiseudun kehityksen tutkimiseen on viime vuosikymmeninä kiinnitetty huomiota, mutta asuinalueiden maineiden vaikutusta tähän kehitykseen on tutkittu hyvin vähän. Tarkoituksenani on pro gradu-tutkielmassani tarkastella asuinalueen mainetta ja sen vaikutusta lapsiperheiden asumisvalintoihin. Pyrkimykseni on selvittää, onko asuinalueen maineella vaikutusta pääkaupunkiseudun alueelliseen erilaistumiskehitykseen. Tutkielmani tavoite on pyrkiä selittämään, millä erilaisilla tavoilla asuinalueen maine määräytyy ja kuinka paljon sillä on merkitystä silloin, kun lapsiperheet tekevät asumisvalintojaan. Tavoitteenani on myös selvittää, mitkä maineen osatekijät vaikuttavat eniten asuinalueen maineen muodostumiseen. Tutkimusmetodi on pro gradu-tutkielmassani kvalitatiivinen. Haastattelin kesän 2012 aikana 30 pääkaupunkiseudulla asuvaa lapsiperhettä heidän asumisvalinnoistaan. Haastattelut olivat sekoitus teema- ja syvähaastatteluista. Tarkoituksenani on peilata haastatteluiden antia aikaisempaan, lähinnä kansainvälisesti tuotettuun, tutkimuskirjallisuuteen. Aikaisempaa kotimaista tutkimuskirjallisuutta asuinalueiden maineista on hyvin niukasti ja sen vuoksi tämän kaltaiselle tutkimukselle on mielestäni tällä hetkellä tarvetta. Olen käyttänyt tutkielmassani tutkimuskirjallisuutta, joka on tuotettu lähinnä Euroopassa. Asuinalueiden maineita on tutkittu kattavasti ainakin Tanskassa, Norjassa, Hollannissa ja jonkun verran myös Iso-Britanniassa ja teoreettisessa taustoituksessa käsittelen esimerkkejä lähinnä näistä maista. Haastattelujen perusteella voi sanoa, että asuinalueen maineeseen voimakkaimmin vaikuttavat vuokratalo- ja kerrostalokeskittymät, jotka viestivät alueen sosioekonomisen rakenteen heikkoudesta. Myös maahanmuuttajien runsas määrä alueella viestii heikommasta sosiekonomisesta rakenteesta ja näin ollen asuinalueen huonommasta maineesta. Lapsiperheitä tarkastellessa voimakkaasti nousi esiin koulujen maineen vaikutus asuinalueen valinnassa. Maahanmuuttajarunsaille asuinalueille ei mielellään muuteta, koska pelätään, että lapset eivät tällöin saa parasta mahdollista opetusta kouluissa, joissa on oppilaina runsaasti maahanmuuttajia. Aikaisemmasta tutkimuskirjallisuudesta hieman poiketen asuinalueen status merkitsi haastateltaville hyvin vähän. Muutenkin on havaittavissa, että asuinalueiden maineisiin suhtaudutaan melko kriittisesti. Tärkeänä pidetään asukkaan omia havaintoja alueesta sekä asuinalueen sisäisen maineen vaikutusta. Asuinalueen ulkoisella maineella on merkitystä vain silloin, kun kyseessä on huonomaineisimmat ja seudun asukkaille tuntemattomammat sekä kaukaisemmat asuinalueet. Asuinalueen maineella tuntuu tällöin olevan suuri merkitys asumisvalintoja tehtäessä. Jos asia on näin, on sillä suuri vaikutus pääkaupunkiseudun erilaistumiskehitykseen, koska tällöin heikompien asuinalueiden asukasrakenne on vaarassa heikentyä entisestään.

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.

The Housing markets are going through a change. The financial recession and the segregation of housing markets are creating pressure to themes of housing. On the other hand, the ageing of the population is one important factor in housing markets in the future. In Finland, the ageing of the population will reach its highest level at 2020-2030 when the baby boomers are retired. Then one fourth of the Finnish population is over 64 years old. The ageing and lengthening of lifespan are influencing the housing markets for example by reducing household sizes. According to previous studies, the reducing sizes of households leads to rising demand for smaller apartments. In addition, the rising proportion of elderly people is affecting the structure of the housing markets by emphasizing their role. The aim of this study is to examine what kind of impact the population change will have on the housing markets. In addition, this study examines how these changes should be taken into consideration in housing production. The empirical section of the study constructs of the report of housing markets in the city of Oulu and the structure of Oulu's current population. Furthermore, the study concludes regional forecast for the year 2030, and how the ageing people will be spatially distributed in the city region. The research material consists mainly of free data from Statistics Finland, GIS data of Ruututietokanta 2013 and YKR- GIS data of the housing stock of Oulu. The study methods are both quantitative and qualitative and the main methods are graphical analysis and GIS methods. According to this study, in the year 2030 the elderly people are living mainly outside of the city center in suburbanized areas. The proportion of elderly people is also high in the regions of scattered settlement. The ageing and spatial accumulation of elderly people are affecting the future housing markets in many ways. First of all, the majority of elderly households are one person or two people's households. That increases the demand for smaller apartments. Secondly, the elderly households are mainly living in one-family houses where large cleaning areas as well as the problems with two storeys are factors that are pushing elderly people into a move. As per the previous studies elderly people appreciate in housing the quality of the apartment and accessibility of services. Because of this the elderly peoples housing demand focuses on the newish apartment buildings nearby the center and its services. Based on this study between the times period 2030-2035 in the city of Oulu will be released over 2 500 one-family houses when the elderly people are moving towards the center's urban areas. Almost half of these houses will be released in areas of consolidation of municipalities where the housing demand is anyway lower. Due to ageing, the supply of one-family houses will increase and at the same time the housing demand is focusing on the apartment buildings nearby the city center. On the other hand, other age groups and their preferences are affecting the future housing markets. The portion of people in their late 20es and early 30es who are likely to start a family, is decreasing which affects the demand of one-family houses. Because of these structural changes the demand of one-family houses is decreasing while the supply increases. Therefore, we can detect that the ageing of the population is causing a temporal state of imbalance in the housing markets. For the sake of the housing production the changes of population demography should be anticipated in early stages so the needed changes can be made. According to this study the city of Oulu should reduce the production of one-house family plots for the sake that the supply of the one-family houses would not increase too high in future. At the same time the housing production should be concentrated in apartment buildings where the housing demand is focused now and in the future.

This Planning Geography master's thesis studies the planned boulevardizations in Helsinki in the context of city-regionalism and land-use conflicts between municipalities. Interest conflicts inside regional growth machines are typical and the examination of these interest conflicts and their effects on the city-region and its growth dynamics is the corner stone of this thesis. The first objective was to examine how the planned boulevardizations can affect the local growth dynamics of Greater Helsinki Region in the context of sustainable development. The secondary objective was to examine what kinds of conflict types can be detected from the boulevardization induced interest conflicts and do they produce any positive outcomes. Boulevardizations have been implemented for various reasons. However, the new general plan in Helsinki aims to utilize the exclusion areas of highways to densify the urban structure and expand the urban core outwards. By turning urban freeways to boulevards, the exclusion areas can be built into residential areas that fulfil the need to densify the urban structure and cater to the need to produce housing into an urban environment. The research was carried out as a qualitative case study. The primary data was gathered from thirteen expert interviews. The interviewees were planning officials from the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Porvoo, Kerava, Hyvinkää and Lahti, and from the municipalities of Kirkkonummi, Sipoo, Tuusula and Vihti. The main theoretical background in this thesis rely on the neoliberalization of land-use and the growth machine theory, which were used to examine the inter-municipal land-use conflicts in the context of city-regionalism and sustainable development. The research shows that the Greater Helsinki city-region functions as a growth machine and the planned boulevardizations can affect its growth dynamics and can have an influence on where and how the regional growth will occur. The boulevardizations could also affect the growth dynamics between the surrounding municipalities. Infact, some of the municipalities can gain from the boulevardizations directly, when the first boulevardizations are implemented. The order in which urban freeways are turned into boulevards is a significant issue regarding the municipalities surrounding Helsinki and creates an interesting temporal aspect to the boulevardizations, which can induce conflicts and tensions in city-regionalism. The research revealed set of different conflict types that were categorized as interest, informational and value conflicts. The location of future growth in the Greater Helsinki region is the most obvious interest conflict in the process. Also, freeway infrastructure is seen as common property, which was a cause of conflicts. Experienced lack of participation is a source of informational conflicts. In this case municipalities were participated in the planning process in some extent, but the level of participation varied. Direct interaction and participation in the future could make a difference and brought a more substantial feeling of participation and regionalism. A significant reason behind land-use conflicts between officials seems to be a paradigm shift, that has occurred as planning in Helsinki has become more inclined to carbon neutrality and walkability, in other words, sustainable development. Also, the change of generation can lessen the probability of successful communication between officials as well. The planned boulevardizations have strengthened the communication between municipalities and legitimized existing organizations for cooperation, which can be seen as a positive outcome.

Human-elephant conflicts (HECs) pose a threat for both the survival of elephant populations and for the wellbeing of the rural people who live adjacent to wildlife. Problems are common especially in those rural areas where human settlements and agriculture have expanded on elephant ranges and where agricultural villages border the remaining elephant habitats. Sri Lanka is one of the countries where human and elephant territories commonly overlap and where the presence of elephants causes serious challenges for the rural communities. This paper presents a study of human-elephant conflict at Bogahapalassa forest reserve in south-central Sri Lanka. Instead of studying HEC as a hindrance to elephant conservation I was interested of its impact on the local communities. The aim was to find out where, when and how this conflict takes place. The study focuses on areal differences in HEC’s prevalence, on the challenges of the used mitigation strategies, and examines the perceived causes and solutions for the elephant issue. The study area comprised 28 agrarian villages that are located adjacent to protected areas. The research was conducted using qualitative methods. We carried out group interviews with the inhabitants of the studied villages and individual interviews with different key informants. The collected data was later analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that human-elephant conflict takes place in all the studied villages without clear areal differences. Elephants cause problems around the year but especially during the dry season. The villagers suffer of various direct and indirect hindrances. The major cost of the conflict comes from crop losses that were commonly perceived as serious hindrance for livelihoods. The HEC has its roots in the shrinkage and deterioration of the forest areas that have been under continuous pressure from human activities. An invasive flowering species called Lantana is also spreading in the forests replacing native eatable grasses, therefore further decreasing the available food sources for elephants. It was also commonly believed that elephants are becoming increasingly used to crop raiding and to the deterrent methods that villagers use and thus the situation is worsening. There are various mitigation strategies being used to tackle the issues with elephants. Most of these seemed to be losing their effectiveness which must party contribute to the strong support of electric fencing that is now the main official strategy for HEC mitigation in this area. The villages that already have the electric fence from the Department of Wildlife Conservation reported various deficiencies in the fence. It is clear that the mitigation strategies that are currently being used are not sufficient to solve or effectively reduce the issues with elephants. Thus, other multi-pronged strategies need to be tested and implemented to sustainably mitigate the HEC.