Partnerships in sustainable urban development : experiences from Sweden and Finland

This thesis examines partnerships in sustainable urban development projects. Achievement of urban development requires the involvement of several parties. The cooperation of the actors of sustainable urban development is achieved by forming partnerships. The purpose of this study is to find solutions and best practices for the management of partnerships in sustainable residential development projects by examining partnerships and their success factors in sustainable urban development. The impact of the roles, responsibilities and interactions of actors taking part in the processes of creating sustainable urban development in outcomes of these development projects and thus on the overall success of accomplishing sustainable development raises the question of how to manage these collaborations. In order to be able to find the best ways of organizing sustainable urban development projects, it is crucial to have the knowledge of how the interactions between all the parties involved in the development can be managed successfully to give the best outcomes. The main research question of this study is: What are the characteristics of successful partnerships in sustainable urban development projects? In order to answer this question, the success factors in partnerships between actors of sustainable urban development are analyzed. In addition, challenges related to these partnerships are examined to get a more comprehensive view of the features of these collaborative ventures and the obstacles that have to be overcome to ensure the successfulness of cooperation. The research approach is multiple case study comprising four cases. The empirical data has been gathered through theme interviews from four different sustainable residential district projects in Sweden and Finland. A comparative analysis of the cases is performed, based on which seven success factors of partnerships in sustainable urban development supported by the prevailing theories are formulated. In addition, challenges faced by projects regarding the partnerships are discussed.

Hakunilan Kultsa/Urban II hanke : pohdintaa yhteisöteatterin merkityksestä alueelle

This thesis analyses what local community theatre activity means to an area and its residents, and whether this kind of activity is meaningful. The objective was to explore whether and how community art can help urban areas to move in the direction of sustainable development: whether art can be part of regional policy development work. Hakunilan Kultsa was founded in 2003. It is an Urban II, European Union project and part of the Community Iniative Programme 2001-2006, financed by the EU. Hakunilan Kultsa is also a co-operation between Vantaa city council's culture and youth services. The project encourages Hakunila residents of different ages to take part in versatile art and cultural intrests in the Hakunila youth centre. People have the opportunity to participate in theatre, expression, arts, dance, performing arts and writing groups. One of the main aims is to found a sustainable community theatre in the area. The thesis examines what effects Hakunilan Kultsa has had so far. Inquiry form and thematical interviews have been used as research methods. Interviews and questionnaires were gathered between Autumn 2004 and Spring 2005. The whole process lasted from Spring 2004 until Spring 2006. The author also made participatory observations during the research process which in turn affected the conclusions. The thesis also deals with associated topics such as urban programmes, sustainable development, Hakunila as a suburban area, resident stimulation, and community thetare work. Hakunilan Kultsa has proved its importance. Based on the enquiries and interviews, the project has effectively presented the possibility for art forms to become hobbies. There is no cultural, age or economical discrimination. The easily accessible site and the low threshold principle make it easy for people to participate. The community theatre has improved the area's public image, increased participation and initiative, and given a voice to the community.

Kaupungin ja maaseudun vuorovaikutus alueellisessa kehittämispolitiikassa

In Finland, European Union membership and economic globalisation have changed the position of regions from closed territorial systems to nodes of open international networks. The increasing complexity of cities as globalised knowledge centres and functionally specialised and diversified rural areas, and on the other hand growing disparities between prosperous urban cores and lagging peripheral areas are also essential features in contemporary regional development. These trends have produced new needs to promote mutual dialogue between cities and the countryside in western market economies. Urban-rural interaction is an idea which was developed in the late 1990s within regional policy to pull together these new challenges to regional development and handle cities and the countryside as a whole. The aim of my study is to conceptualise the idea of urban-rural interaction, explain the phenomenon theoretically, clarify past and present urban and rural development and analyse regional policies from the interaction angle. The ultimate purpose is to illustrate the existence and nature of particular interaction policy in a globalising society. The general method is discourse analysis, which I use in three cases: Central Finland, South-Ostrobothnia and South-West Finland. Theoretically I have a two-dimensional approach. On the first hand I use World-System theory to explain how the global economy is moulding urban and rural structures at the regional level. On the other hand I use regime theory to explain local political actions and practises between cities and the countryside under the overlapping pressures deriving from reformulated regional structures and policies.

Adaptation to globalisation in Finland has been carried out by strengthening urban centres. The stress in regional policy has been in urban development. The development of the countryside has mostly been implemented by a separate rural policy. At the end of the 1990s and early 2000s Finnish cities have actually shown themselves to be competitive in global markets. The drawbacks of the new growth centre policy have been the sparse network of prosperous cities and their weak spreading effects, which have hindered comprehensive regional development. Tensions between urban and rural areas have also deepened. In this situation the interaction policy is used as a way of balancing development and moderate conflicts within the regions. From this point of view urban-rural interaction can be seen as a way of tackling the challenges of globalisation.

On the other hand the results emphasise that actors involved in regional development still believe, although the hegemonic discourse is on urban policy, that there are opportunities to stimulate progress in the countryside as well. In the situation where regional authorities control development resources, rural development can be successful only if rural actors manage to establish fruitful relationships with their urban partners. This is also the weakness of the programme-based regional policy. If rural municipalities or other actors are for any reason incapable of building development regimes with cities, the offers of interaction policy will be useless.

The problem of the interaction policy is that the focus and methods of it have so far been rather underdeveloped. In order to improve the efficiency of the interaction policy, further research should concentrate on the social processes which define the position of cities and the countryside as partners of interaction, and practises which promote or prohibit the possibilities of developing the interaction policy. The efforts to define different contents of urban-rural interaction or promote interaction projects should not have such an important role in the future as they have had so far. Instead, the focus of interaction policy should be on questions such as how to manage the political tensions between town and country and how to create a positive atmosphere for regional policy where the needs of urban and rural development are promoted equally.

Rajankäyntiä : asukaslähtöiset kehittämishankkeet Helsingissä

Abstract: Demarcating: inhabitant-oriented urban development projects in Helsinki