Concept: Social Sustainability
Social sustainability has traditionally not been taken into account as an element of urban planning, even though it is central to preventing segregation, Emma Savela points out.
Pros and Cons: Does Central Oulu Need High-Rises?
In the new column, architects take a stance on a topical issue.
Activism is a Way to Build Small Utopias
Urban activism has transformative potential – not least for the architects themselves.
Learning from Swedish Suburban Redevelopment
Immigrant entrepreneurs are often disregarded in the redevelopment of Finnish suburban neighbourhoods. Renewal projects in Sweden offer an example of a different approach.
Expertise in Urbanism Instead of Crime-Feeding Subculture – Rap Music Echoes with the Experiences of Young Members of Minorities Regarding Their Living Environments
Rap music echoes with the experiences of young members of minorities regarding their lives and living environments. Music linked to neighbourhoods may open up a local perspective on urban planning – provided that the planners recognize the potential to be found within the rap scene.
How to Plan Unplanned Encounters? A Formula Explains What to Take into Account When Designing Urban Blocks
In recent decades, the perimeter block has become the go-to urban typology in Finnish urban planning and a symbol of urban life. If you take a closer look at the form, however, it does not create life around it as such. The potential lies in more subtle design choices.
Forgotten Vision of Helsinki City
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Helsinki city centre became a utopian, American-inspired downtown. Now the buildings from that era are under threat of demolition.
Towards a Pattern of a Healthy City
Along with the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a growing interest in the impact of the living environment on health and wellbeing. A research consortium led by the University of Oulu is trying to find out how future epidemics can be tackled by means of urban planning.
Dressing Care in New Clothes
The 2010s started a construction boom in the Finnish social and healthcare service sector. What kind of architecture has it produced? We collected recently completed and ongoing projects.