50 years old | Johanna Lehtonen was in the right place at the right time – Now thousands and thousands of Helsinki residents live on the streets she names unknowingly

Employees flows at a slow pace to the lunch restaurant of the Helsinki City Environment House. If normal times were to be lived, the new office building would employ up to 1,500 engineers, architects and many other professionals on the city’s payroll.

The only nomenclature designer in the capital is also among them Johanna Lehtonen. In 2003, Helsinki established a position for which a master’s degree in Finnish was elected. He is responsible for the ideation and design of the names of the streets and parks in the new town plans.

“In my studies, I became acquainted with the research of place names. Gradunik also dealt with the subject, but even in my biggest dreams I could not have imagined that I would end up working full-time on names. There are not many of these tasks in Finland. ”

Lehtonen there are colleagues only in the city of Espoo. The city of Vantaa ended a similar task at the turn of the millennium. “It would be great if even the fast-growing Vantaa had its own nomenclature expert.”

He says he has always been interested in different languages ​​and names.

“I remember how in the first Swedish lesson of the third grade of the primary school in Puistola, the teacher gave a homework look at what the name of the home street is in Swedish on the street name plate. I had never paid attention to such a thing. ”

“It could have been shocking, because after that I looked at the world with new eyes.”

Formula names are the result of conscious and long-term planning, Lehtonen reminds. As an inventory designer, he has to do a lot of complex research and information retrieval.

“My training as a librarian and my general interest in things around the world will definitely help. I am constantly learning new things, which is wonderful! ”

Nomenclature planning is part of urban planning and begins as soon as formulas begin to be prepared. “I coordinate the name’s journey from the layout plan forward and work out the problem areas so that the name is correct everywhere on the maps, signs, and addresses.”

Lehtonen has had years of full cooperation with the zoners. Of the large project areas, it was Jätkäsaari, then Kalasatama, Kruunuvuorenranta, Verkkosaari and Kyläsaari.

“Pilkkikatu, Jääkairankuja and Verkkoneula, for example, have already come into force on Verkkosaari, as Vanhankaupunginlahti has always been a popular ice fishing spot.”

In the best years, the Nomenclature Committee has processed a couple hundred new street and alley names. Now the pace is slower because the design focuses on complementary construction in old areas where street signs are already in place. There is now time, for example, for improving the quality of information and development projects.

In Helsinki street names are planned from the beginning in two languages. Before that, the history of the area and the old names of the places are studied. For example, in the area of ​​Malmi Airport and its surroundings, almost 170 Swedish place names were found on old maps, but only a few Finnish names for the meadows, such as Paha Haara, Paska Nitu and Hirviholms Äng. It was not until the 20th century that names began to change into Finnish.

In the vicinity of the field’s buildings, the nomenclature has again been conceived on the basis of the cities from which Malmi once received flights. Brommankatu, Kastrupinkatu, Tempelhofinkatu, Pulkovonkuja and Spilvenkuja have been proposed for Malmi. “These are not yet official, that is, have not entered into force.”

On behalf of preserves layers of local history, information about the stages of the place, the landscape and the people. For example, Veijo Meren Park came to Tammisalo this spring at the suggestion of the Tammisalo Society. The author lived in a maritime district for decades.

According to Lehtonen, ideas and name proposals for anonymous places are welcome from district associations and residents. The correct address is the City of Helsinki’s feedback channel.

“The ideas and suggestions received will be stored in the name bank. They cannot always be implemented immediately, but they can be highlighted as needed. ”

Equally important is getting information about missing street signs. During the Korona period, Lehtonen would like to thank the street walkers who actively toured the city for information about deficiencies in signs and errors on maps. He rejoices that the enthusiasm for “alphabetical walking” grew and the popularity of the nomenclature grew even more.

Nomenclature Designer himself is passionate about music. He was initially enthusiastic about Eurovision in the early 1980s precisely because he heard many languages ​​there in addition to music. “The arrival of the original Radio City in 1985 also greatly expanded Helsinki’s worldview,” says Lehtonen.

“Fortunately, after the peak years, there is an opportunity to sing in two groups of songs. My brother and I are sharing new music discoveries and going to gigs. And under Christmas, there are plenty of concerts every night. Without a daily dose of music, I would definitely be unhappy. ”