Publications
Green Visions: Greenspace Planning and Design for Nordic Cities
Green Visions explores and evaluates the historical pathways, contemporary development, and future outlook for planning, design, and policy-making of green and recreational cities in the Nordic Region. Landscape architects, planners, policymakers, and active citizens will learn from practitioners who share decades of knowledge regarding the aesthetics, functionality, and significance of urban greenspaces throughout Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Readers within the Nordic Region and abroad will find an in-depth exploration of urban greenspace that will inspire and incite curiosity over the future of urban greenspaces.
The Vision for the Old Town of Turku was prepared in support of Turku’s environmental targets to become a sustainable and human-centred city. The project calls for the revitalisation of the Old Town and consolidation of Turku’s most important sites and parks: The Old Market Square, Turku Cathedral Square and adjacent parks to create a dynamic and integrated people-centric space with potential to generate the highest positive impact on city and community. The Vision considers Finland’s most significant cultural centre in appreciation for Turku’s past and as foundation for an economically and culturally dynamic future.
Our experience of life on Earth is shaped by our environment. As development continues to grow increasingly urban, access to green areas continue to become central to human health and to ensure quality of life. The integrated design of green areas in planning is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary process that requires a combination of approaches namely, a network design approach, functionality, scalability, and sustainability management approach to help cities and communities deal with the unprecedented challenges of the century. This study calls attention to the need for more quality, access and adequate distribution of green areas in urban cores. Focusing on the city center districts of the city of Turku, this report addresses the need for more development in the design and holistic planning of green areas as providers of human health and attractive urban life.
This report has been prepared in the frame of the Green-In-TURKU Project; Towards a Greener Urban Future: Investigating Innovative Solutions to Increase Livability in the Inner City-Perspectives for the City of Turku to provide Turku’s city officials with a state-of-the-art update on global greening strategies across European cities and abroad. The report introduces fresh perspectives for how cities are promoting the value in green capital to find solutions to local challenges and it is the first of three reports scheduled for this project. A second report A Study of Green And Open Spaces in Turku has been prepared as part of an in-depth investigation of Turku’s urban structure including past and present developments in the green front, and it will be integrated into the project’s final report and spatial analysis with recommendations for increasing urban vibrancy and livability in the city center of Turku.
This e-Book was published in the frame of the Turku City Centre 2050 Vision led by Markku Wilenius, Professor of Futures Studies at the Turku School of Economics. The report provides a holistic proposition for the future of the city centre expected to grow spatially, visually and functionally. According to the vision group that studied the future of the centre, it is very well possible for Turku to become a word-class city widely recognised for its exceptional archipelago and nature resources. New infrastructure developments will create the prerequisites for a comfortable city life and a vibrant cultural and economic environment.
