Beyond the Blind Spot: Enhancing Polyphony Through City Planning Activism Using Public Participation GIS

A key advantage of public participation GIS (PPGIS) tools has been seen as increasing the polyphony of urban planning by reaching the wisdom of crowds. However, the challenge is to enable participation for those who do not have the skills or resources. This article describes participatory action research where the authors of the article collaborated with a local city planning activist at the Kontula Mall, Helsinki (Finland) to improve the participation of a group marginalized from the renewal process (i.e., immigrant entrepreneurs) using a PPGIS tool (Maptionnaire). The case study provided insights into the potential for city planning activism to bring out marginalized groups’ perspectives and use PPGIS. Moreover, the research also revealed barriers to polyphony in current planning practices. Nevertheless, planning activism can enable the participation of the marginalized by coming into contact with them, providing them with information, and bringing their perspectives to the collaboration. The PPGIS tool can serve as a platform to collect participatory data through different response modes. Local activism can also facilitate the questionnaire’s co-design, testing, and marketing. Therefore, a bottom-up approach can be a way to improve the impact of PPGIS and enhance polyphony in urban planning

Kansalaisten osallistuminen kaupunkisuojeluun Porvoon vanhan kaupungin ja Helsingin Puu-Käpylän tapauksissa

This thesis examines the themes of citizen participation and community co-production in the context of urban conservation. If we want to have more effective participatory processes, it is needed to identify how laymen can best supplement professional knowledge. The main research question “what can citizens offer to the process and decision-making related to urban conservation?” is approached through the qualitative research of two Finnish case studies: the Old Town of Porvoo and Helsinki’s Puu-Käpylä. For this purpose, a content analysis of selected newspaper articles was conducted. The results tell us that engaging with the media through writing opinion pieces is very popular, and the media plays overall a very important role in covering the whole conservation process. Strong and transparent democratic institutions remain vital for the fair participation of citizens, as the lobbying of decision-makers and filing official complaints are important ways for citizens to affect the process. Sometimes the conditions are favorable for an Urban Social Movement to form, which can have a strong impact. Overall, to ensure a fair and representative process, a variety of different ways and forums for citizens to participate needs to be offered. It was also noted that citizens can bring knowledge and perspectives to the conservation process that might not necessarily come to light in a purely professional assessment. It seems that contrary to popular belief, aesthetic values are important factors for laymen when evaluating their living environment, as are also historical and cultural significance. Citizens also hold valuable information on the user experience of a neighbourhood (related to e.g., the community feeling or “special character”) that cannot be assessed by an outsider alone. It was also found out that it is usually the same groups of people that take part in the public discussion around a conservation process: the local intellectual elite, civil organizations, and homeowners (as opposed to tenants or other users of the neighborhood). The voices of certain groups are usually left out, which poses a challenge to the representativeness of the discussion and thus to the democratic legitimacy of the whole decision-making process

World at visit in Meri- Rastila: perspectives on developing multi-culturally concentrated neighbourhoods

Vilma Aution diplomityö Maailma kylässä Meri-Rastilassa: näkökulmia monikulttuuristen asuinympäristöjen kehittämiseen on laadittu lukuvuoden 2014-2015 aikana Aalto-yliopiston arkkitehtuurin laitoksella yhdyskunta- ja kaupunkisuunnittelun oppituoliin. Työssä etsitään kaupunkisuunnittelun keinoja, joiden avulla Helsingin seudulla voidaan tulevaisuudessa mahdollistaa ja tukea entistä monikulttuurisempia elämisen tapoja. Diplomityön case study –kohteeksi on valittu Meri-Rastilan alue Itä-Helsingissä. Meri-Rastila valittiin työn kohdealueeksi monikulttuurisen väestöpohjansa ja tulevien täydennys- ja korjausrakentamistarpeidensa vuoksi. Meri-Rastilan kaupunkiuudistuksen mahdollisuuksia tutkitaan vuosien 2014-2016 aikana myös Helsingin Lähiöprojektin ja kaupunkisuunnitteluviraston toimesta. Diplomityön rakenne on jaettu teoriaosaan ja case study –tarkasteluun. Teoriaosion ensimmäisessä kappaleessa käsitellään kirjallisuuskatsauksen kautta Suomen monikulttuuristen lähiöiden profiilia ja maahanmuuttajien kokemuksia kotoutumista tukevista asuinympäristöistä. Toisessa kappaleessa tutkitaan kulttuurisidonnaisen tilakäsityksen elementtejä ja tilan käyttöä vallan välineenä. Kolmannessa kappaleessa tarkastellaan osallistavan suunnittelun keinoja osana monikulttuuristen yksilöiden ja yhteisöjen voimaannuttamista (eng. empowerment). Viimeiseen kappaleeseen sisältyvä Meri-Rastilan vuorovaikutus- ja suunnitteluprosessin kuvaus havainnollistaa aikaisemmissa kappaleissa esitettyjä löydöksiä. Suomea on perinteisesti pidetty kulttuurisesti homogeenisena maana. Erityisesti humanitäärisiin syihin perustuva maahanmuutto on yleistynyt maassamme vasta viimeisten vuosikymmenten aikana. Väestörakenteemme on muuttunut entistä monikulttuurisemmaksi luoden uudenlaisia haasteita yhteiskunnan eri sektoreille. Muuttuvien asukasprofiilien huomioiminen vaatii myös kaupunkisuunnittelijoilta uudenlaista, kulttuurisesti herkkää lähestymistapaa ja asukkaiden toiveiden entistä laajempaa kartoittamista muun muassa osallistavan suunnittelun keinoin. Meri-Rastilan tapausesimerkin yhteydessä alueen toimijoiden kokemuksia ja toiveita kartoitettiin vuorovaikutteisten suunnittelutyöpajojen kautta. Suunnittelutyöpajojen avulla on mahdollista muodostaa viittellinen käsitys siitä, minkälaiset alueen kehittämiseen liittyvät toiveet ovat yksilöllisiä tai kulttuurisidonnaisia ja mitkä taas kaikille alueen toimijoille yhteisiä. Suunnittelussa otetaan kantaa täydennys- ja korjausrakentamisen lisäksi myös alueen julkisten ulkotilojen ja palvelutilojen kehittämiseen. Suunnitteluratkaisut perustuvat vuorovaikutuksen aikana saavutettuihin päätelmiin. Meri-Rastilan kaupunkiuudistusta koskevan suunnitteluprosessin kuvaus havainnollistaa teoriaosiossa esitettyjä huomioita monikulttuuristen lähiöiden kehittämisestä osallistavan suunnittelun keinoin. Asukasprofiileiltaan ja kehityshistorialtaan toisistaan poikkeavien kaupunginosien tilallinen kehittäminen vaatii aina tapauskohtaista perehtymistä. Meri-Rastilan vuorovaikutusprosessin kuvaus ja sen pohjalta laadittu suunnitelma toimivat kuitenkin tapausesimerkkinä keinoista, joiden kautta suunnittelijat voivat lähestyä kulttuurillisesti rikkaiden lähiöiden alueellisia uudistamishankkeita.Vilma Autio’s Master’s Thesis World at Visit in Meri-Rastila: perspectives on developing multi-culturally concentrated neighbourhoods has been composed during semester 2014-2015 for the Chair of Urban and Town Planning in Aalto University’s Department of Architecture. The thesis examines future ways to enable and support multicultural lifestyles through deliberate urban design in the Greater Helsinki area. The neighbourhood of Meri-Rastila in Eastern Helsinki has been chosen as a case study area for the thesis. Meri-Rastila is targeted due to the area’s multicultural population and emerging need for restoration and infill development. The potential development areas of Meri-Rastila are investigated simultaneously by Helsinki City Planning Departemnt And Neighbourhood Project of The City of Helsinki during 2014-2016. The thesis consists of a theoretical section and a more detailed case study project. The first chapter of the theory section examines the current profile of multicultural neighbourhoods in Finland. The chapter also discusses immigrant’s recorded experiences about the daily living-environment’s role in the process of acculturation. The second chapter addresses the elements of a culturally bound experience of space and the relations between power and space. The third chapter concentrates on collaborative design as a tool for empowering individuals and communities with different cultural backgrounds. The findings from these first three chapters are then demonstrated in the conceptual development plan for Meri-Rastila. Finland has traditionally perceived itself as a culturally homogenous country, and immigration based on humanitarian reasons has become more common only in the recent decades. The profile of our population has become increasingly multi-cultural, which has caused new challenges for different sectors of the society. The emerging, diverse inhabitant base demands a new, culturally sensitive approach from designers and urban planners. The essential wishes of multicultural inhabitants need to be further investigated through inclusive planning. The needs and wishes of the inhabitants of Meri-Rastila have been mapped out through collaborative design workshops during the development of the conceptual plan for the case study. The design workshops have been able to provide some understanding about which spatial wishes are individually or culturally distinctive and which are universal to all the actors in the neighborhood. Design proposals have be made regarding revitalization and infill development of the neighborhood and improvement of the public spaces and service spaces of the area. The design solutions have been tailored according to the findings that were reached during the collaborative design phase. The description of the design process regarding the revitalization of Meri-Rastila functions as a way to illustrate the observations that were made in the theory section of the thesis. Spatial development of neighbourhoods that have different demographical and historical features always demands case-specific solutions. The descriptions of the collaborative design process and the conceptual plan function as a case example of design solutions, that designers can consider in projects regarding the areal revitalization of culturally rich neighbourhoods

The development and evaluation of a web-based well-being intervention, for inclusion within an existing health promotion programme, to support and encourage health related lifestyle behaviour change

Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours constitute a significant burden of disease, globally. Web-based interventions offer a means to support individuals in adopting and maintaining positive healthy lifestyle behaviours to address and reduce this issue. The health behaviour change literature offers several useful theoretical models which aim to explain or predict the likelihood of successful, individual level, lifestyle behaviour change. Indeed, research findings have shown that digital health interventions informed by these models are more likely to be effective. However, in practice adherence and engagement to web-delivered interventions is often critically low and is associated with reduced effectiveness and cost effectiveness. This thesis developed an emotional well-being intervention (ACTivate your Well-being), for inclusion within an existing lifestyle behaviour change programme ‘Champions for Health’. Thirty-eight anticipated end-users and six stakeholders contributed to a three-staged Participatory Design project which led to the development of a twelve-week intervention, based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and a new study website. Development was informed by two systematic literature reviews. Feasibility and acceptability were proven in a cluster randomised control trial (ISRCTN50074817) which recruited 142 participants. The majority (74%) enrolled on at least one lifestyle behaviour change module and health improvements were observed. Almost half (43%) of those randomised to the intervention arm enrolled onto the well-being intervention. Adherence was low (7%), no one completed the full 12-week programme. A randomised control trial (ISRCTN18190978) then evaluated impact on health behaviour change, adherence and engagement, and well-being. 182 participants were recruited. Adherence remained poor (4%) however some completed the full 12-week programme. Almost half (49%) enrolled on a lifestyle behaviour change module and health improvements were observed in three modules. COVID-19 limited evaluation. The ongoing relevance of the intervention and website is evidenced through its inclusion within the Well-being In work – In work support service, Swansea Bay University Health Board

The influence of social context on co-design practice between Indonesia and the UK

Co-design has its roots in the participatory design tradition in Scandinavia. The participatory root emphasises the active engagement of the user in the design process. The Scandinavian context and in general Western societies, especially with their democratic traditions, are deemed appropriate for the application of co-design methods. When co-design is applied outside the Western context, adjustments have to be done to respond to different contexts. Comparison between the context of Indonesia and the UK is employed as case studies in this study. Indonesia is considered to have a different context from the UK, where the value of democracy is still in the development stage, and the influence of the authoritarian regime is still strong. This study seeks to understand better how the influence of the different social contexts might inform the application of co-design. Furthermore, this study also uses those different characteristics of the co-design to develop recommendations for an alternative framework of co-design methods that are appropriate for the Indonesian context. The case study research was conducted on co-design projects both in Indonesia and the UK. In Indonesia, field research was conducted in Jakarta, Solo and Malang. While in the UK, field research was held in Lancaster, London and Worthing. The field research involved the member of the community, designers and other stakeholders involved in the co-design process. Field studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of co-design based on four criteria: decision-making power, collaboration, flexibility and outcome-focused. Furthermore, the study also seeks on how the influence of contextual factors on the effectiveness of the co-design process. This study found that the most influenced criterion by different context are decision-making power. The UK case studies have indicated the shifting of the designer's power in the decision-making process. In contrary, in Indonesia, the decision still led by the designer. Moreover, the findings of the other criteria in both contexts are equally effective. Even so, there are differences in contextual factors that influence the effectiveness of each of these criteria. Furthermore, from the comparative analysis of the two contexts, a co-design method framework for Indonesia was developed. The lesson learned process from the advantages and disadvantages of implementing co-design in both contexts resulted in an 8 point co-design framework recommendation