The city's largest unified area of small houses loses its most central characteristic and turns from an area of small houses into one dominated by small houses.
Small house dwellers In the guard village (HS Opinion 3.2.) and Puistola (HS Opinion 6.2.) have surprised the land use director of Helsinki Rikhard Manninen (HS Opinion 30.1.) claims, according to which the city has no intentions of converting small-house areas into apartment-building areas.
In fireweed as a resident, it is unfortunately easy to join in the wonderment. On December 19, 2023, the Urban Environment Board decided to submit to the city council the approval of the site plan change allowing Paloheinä's first apartment buildings. As city officials state in their plans, the first will not be the last. In this way, the city's largest unified area of small houses loses its most central characteristic and turns from an area of small houses into one dominated by small houses.
In his most recent writing (HS Opinion 9.2.) Manninen explained the city's actions as the Soviet Union once occupied Czechoslovakia: we didn't force ourselves, we only came when asked. Like Puistola, Paloheinä is a matter of the initiative of a few plot owners, which the city eagerly takes up. So eager to completely ignore the will of the vast majority of residents who expressed their opinion on the matter.
Manninen the much-needed dialogue with the city's planners falls on deaf ears: the city doesn't back down from its plans, not even a drawing.
The actions of the City of Helsinki seem incomprehensible. Leading officials make public claims that they themselves know to be baseless. Politicians are worried about the decline in residents' participation, but wipe the table with appeals from citizens who participate and defend their home region. The city strategy's beautiful ideas about developing areas “in cooperation with residents, taking into account the nature and characteristics of the area” have nothing to do with reality.
Antti Kylliäinen
Helsinki
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