Authors

• Faehnle, Maija (University of Helsinki)
• Schulman, Harry (University of Helsinki. Department of Geosciences and Geography)
• Söderman, Tarja (Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE))
• Kopperoinen, Leena (Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE))
• Hirvensalo, Jenni (University of Helsinki. Department of Geosciences and Geography)

Keywords

conservation of nature, environment policy, environmental management, environmental planning, green belt areas, human environment, natural environment, parks, urban centers, urban environment

Abstract

The archived data consist of 25 interviews conducted to collect information for a nationwide guide on planning green areas in Finland. The interviewees were employees in the public, private, and third sector working in planning of urban nature. Interview themes included nature in cities, building of green spaces, and spatial planning. The data were gathered as a part of the Enhancing Sustainable Urban Development through Ecosystem Services (ENSURE) project, which aimed to produce interdiscplinary knowledge and tools for advancing sustainable development in urban areas. This part of the project was funded by Helsinki University Centre for Environment, HENVI (50%), and Finnish Environment Institute (50%).

The interviews mostly followed the interview frame which was sent to the interviewees before the interview. The questions dealt with urban nature in one's work, relationship between man and nature from the viewpoint of urban planning, possibilities that nature in cities offers to people, benefits of green areas in cities, and significance of nature in different parts of the city. Furthermore, the interviewees were asked about possible conflicts in urban planning, how these conflicts could be solved, information required for effective planning, and who should be responsible for preserving nature in cities. Finally, the interviewees were asked about issues that the guidebook for planning of green areas should contain.

The background information include the date and duration of the interviews, the number of interviewees, interviewee gender, education, organization, as well as organization location and working area.

This dataset is only available in Finnish.