Timo Hämäläinen

Business-led association to bring Helsinki city centre to life The anchor companies in Helsinki city centre have launched an association in cooperation with the City of Helsinki to improve the attractiveness of the city centre. The model is inspired by the ‘City i Samverkan’ scheme in Stockholm.

Great news! A new business-led city center association is an important new step for Helsinki’s city center. Together with two other new city center platforms launched this year, it lays the foundation for stronger vitality, cooperation and long-term renewal. www.hel.fi/en/news/busi...

New Study Shows How Paris Pedaled Its Way to a Cycling Revolution Cycling through central Paris meant weaving between buses and scooters—a bold choice reserved for the fearless few.

New Paris study reveals that cycling traffic has increased by 240% between 2018 and 2023.

"The lesson is clear: change is possible when policy, infrastructure, and public space all point in the same direction."

momentummag.com/new-study-pa...

The effect was measured symmetrically both ways.

Stretch of Ste-Catherine Street East to become pedestrian-only year-round | CBC News The City of Montreal announced Friday their "ambitious" plans to transform a portion of Ste-Catherine Street East into a pedestrian road year-round, with redevelopment work starting in fall 2026.

NEW: 1km of Montreal’s Ste-Catherine Street will become permanently “pedestrian only” (less than perfect term since it will be a people-place for a LOT more than walking). 225+ new trees, vegetation-covered pits for rain drainage, more seating, illuminated canopy, financial help for businesses, etc.

Natural experiment: Walkable places boost physical activity Nationwide cell phone data analysis reveals that walkable places cause diverse people to walk more. The authors of a study published in Nature believe that the built environment could yield widespread...

The obvious is official: walkable neighborhoods increase walking. An American large cellphone data study across 1,609 cities shows that moving to a walkable city can increase your daily steps by over 1000.

www.cnu.org/publicsquare...

Välähdyksiä Kallion kesäkatujen varrelta 👇 #Helsinki #Kallio

Kallion Luuppi on herännyt eloon! ❤️‍

Taannoin hahmottui visio reitistä, joka toisi Kallioon enemmän pysähtymisen paikkoja ja yhteisöllisyyttä. Nyt Kallion kesäkadut tekevät ideasta totta, ja kaupunkilaiset näyttävät, miten se toimii käytännössä.

👉 Lue lisää: urbanfinland.com/2025/08/16/k...

Kallion kesäkadut Helsingissä saavat jatkoa ensi vuonna – kaupunkilainen: ”Tämä voisi olla vielä astetta laajempi” Kaupungin mukaan suuria muutoksia toteutukseen ei ole ensi vuonna luvassa, mutta tästä kesästä otetaan oppia.

YLE uutisoi kokemuksia Kallion kesäkaduista. Tavoitteet elämänlaadun parantamisesta ja vireyden kasvattamisesta vaikuttavat lupaavasti toteutuvan. yle.fi/a/74-20173565

Leon Krier's principles for creating high-quality neighborhoods.

www.cnu.org/publicsquare...

Congestion Pricing Is Cutting Traffic Jams In New York AND New Jersey: Research - Streetsblog New York City Travelers in Manhattan's central business district — and even those far beyond it — have gotten back tens of thousands of hours thanks to fewer traffic jams.

"Contrary to pessimistic expectations, the congestion pricing program isn't causing traffic to be diverted outside the Congestion Relief Zone."

Instead, as more people choose transit, there is less car traffic all around the region.

nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/06/18/c...

Shops and restaurants returning to Helsinki city centre Helsinki’s city centre has shown signs of recovery, with increased numbers of shops and restaurants, reduced vacancy rates, and visitor levels nearing pre-pandemic figures, according to a 2025 vitalit...

Positive notes for Helsinki's city center: pedestrian activity, travel, number of shops & restaurants are all on the rise.

“The centre is evolving. Businesses and the city are working together to make it more vibrant and experience-driven"

www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finl...

Kallio summer streets plan ready, construction to begin soon Helsinki will be expanding the walking and recreational areas on the streets of Kallio and Alppiharju in the coming summer. The summer streets in Kallio have been designed in cooperation with local re...

The Kallio Summer Streets are nearly here! It’s been a joy to help make this happen — both as part of the project team and as a local. Can’t wait to see our streets bloom with greenery, art, events, and new spaces to relax. www.hel.fi/en/news/kall...

Five years of free public transport: 6 million people took the tram in 2019, 31 million in 2024 On Saturday 1 March 2025, Luxembourg celebrates five years of free public transport.

"On Saturday 1 March 2025, Luxembourg celebrates five years of free public transport."

The initiative has had a huge impact on tram use. Annual ridership has grown from 6 million to 31 million.

today.rtl.lu/news/luxembo...

Bad Weather Proved It: New Housing Helps All Renters, German Study Shows "A 1% increase in housing supply cuts rents by 0.19% — and the benefits reach far beyond luxury apartments

Based on a large dataset in Germany, building more homes (unsurprisingly) keeps the housing market more affordable: "A 1% increase in new housing supply reduces average rents by 0.19%" www.population.fyi/p/bad-weathe...

Kytkintä nostava nikotiinipussi-Timo lataa suorat sanat hallitukselle Suomalaisen nikotiinipussiyrityksen toimitusjohtaja suomii kovin sanoin hallituksen lakiesitystä, josta saatiin torstaina viimein aikaan sopu.

Tässä tapauksessa kyseessä on nikotiinipussitehtailija, joten siirtymisen konteksti on aika niche: www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/3d...

The root cause of congestion in London is the excessive number of private cars + the inefficiency of travelling in a vehicle that is, on average, 1.8 m wide x 4 m long, statistically transporting 1 adult 60% of the time

It's not cycle lanes
It's not 20 mph zones
It's not LTNs

Rest in peace, Professor Shoup (1938-2025)
We will keep up the good work.

Share your stories and thoughts with the parking reform community here: parkingreform.org/donald-shoup

Rakennammeko nykyään vähemmän luontoon kuin 15 vuotta sitten? Rakennettujen alueiden myötä poistuvasta kasvillisuudesta seuraava hiilinielun väheneminen on pienentynyt 60% huippuvuodesta 2011.

Syitä olisi kiinnostavaa tutkia. Näkyykö tässä esimerkiksi kaupunkien tiivistyvän maankäytön vaikutus?

T24 | Viking Linella kova suunnitelma 2030-luvulle Ensi vuosikymmenellä Tallinnan risteilyn voi tehdä todennäköisesti jo täysin päästöttömällä sähkölaivalla.

Viime aikoina on keskusteltu ja esitetty ideoita Länsisataman logististesta tulevaisuudesta. Tämä juttu pistää ajattelemaan, että mikä onkaan laivaliikenteen ja rahdin tulevaisuus Helsingissä. Olemmeko analysoineet tarpeeksi satamatunnelin relevanssia? www.helsinginuutiset.fi/paikalliset/...

ULEZ expansion hasn’t hurt high street spending - Centre for Cities Large scale credit card transaction data shows that the expansion of ULEZ in 2023 did not reduce demand for high street goods and services.

Take note, city center policy makers:

In London, "large scale credit card transaction data shows that the expansion of ULEZ (ultra low emission zone) in 2023 did not reduce demand for high street goods and services."

www.centreforcities.org/blog/ulez-ex...