Research topics
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We focus on the accessibility to green and water areas within suburbs and their socio-economic variation between suburbs, as well as their role in supporting wellbeing.
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The comfort factors experienced by the residents and identified by the urban planners, as well as information about possible conflicts in these, can be used in the development of suburbs.
The HYVIÖ project uses mixed-methods approach to analyze the current state and development needs of the suburbs together with citizens, urban planners and experts. Our research focuses on the accessibility to and role of green and water areas in supporting wellbeing, and on the socio-economic variation in accessibility to and quality of green and water areas between suburbs. Our project examines the livability of the suburbs and the wellbeing of the residents from both the urban planners’ and residents’ view point. The project utilizes a multi-valuation tool (StrateGIS) developed by Syke and an environmental health survey previously collected by THL. We will further collect data through expert workshops, resident surveys and interviews. The project provides information on the health effects related to living environment green and water areas and their socio-economic distribution. In addition, we compare the urban planners’ views of a good living environment with the residents’ experiences. Information about residents’ experiences of a comfortable environment and possible conflicts with the comfort factors identified by urban planners can be used directly in the development plans of the suburbs under study. In the longer term, good planning and a restorative living environment can be reflected in financial savings, for example, in the city's health care costs.
Results
- Tiitu, M., Nyberg, E., Halonen, J. I., Pasanen, T., Viinikka, A., Lehtimäki, J., Lanki, T. & Vierikko, K. (2024). Comparing city practitioners’ and residents’ perceptions of a liveable neighbourhood in Finland. European Planning Studies, 32(5), 1118–1145. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2023.2263053
- Viinikka, A., Tiitu, M., Heikinheimo V., Halonen, J. I., Nyberg, E. & Vierikko, K. (2023). Associations of neighborhood-level socioeconomic status, accessibility, and quality of green spaces in Finnish urban regions. Applied Geography 157, 102973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2023.102973
- Heikinheimo, V., Tiitu, M. & Viinikka, A. (2023). Data on different types of green spaces and their accessibility in the seven largest urban regions in Finland. Data in Brief 50: 109458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2023.109458
Further information
Kati Vierikko
Group manager, Finnish Environment Institute (Syke)
firstname.lastnamei@syke.fi