Urban Planning Tour with Leo Kosonen

I had the honor and pleasure of spending Wednesday morning with Leo Kosonen, former Director of Planning for the city of Kuopio, Finland.  For a sample of his work and thinking you can check out a presentation he gave in 2011:  NVF Meeting in Kuopio 26.5.2011.  I learned a great deal from my few hours with Mr. Kosonen, and it will take me a while to synthesize it all.  We visited and discussed many of his projects.  We also compared and contrasted land policy in Finland, Kuopio specifically, and the U.S.  There were many striking similarities and differences.  I intend to spend many of the dark hours ahead of me (our days are already getting pretty short) to sort all of this out into meaningful case studies and synthesized ideas.  For now, I share a draft mind-map in progress (inspired by my fourth grader's recent presentation on Sugar Gliders), and images of projects with nuggets of ideas in captions.

Projects:

Leo Kosonen and his "Bus Bridge."  It is not just a bridge for buses.  It is a bus-bridge.  The distinction is important and allows transportation planners and engineers to embrace the difference.  They must ignore the standards for a bridge that carries buses and help to create new standards for a new thing - a Bus Bridge. The Bus Bridge really is just for buses and individuals walking or biking.  The "bike" lane is as wide as the bus lane, though, and quite welcoming as a result.  

The bridge is closed to all traffic expect for public buses, pedestrians, skiers, and bicycles.  Light posts serve as gateways and, along with signage and paving changes, indicate to automobiles and all passersby that this bridge is different.  The bridge serves as a short-cut for people to travel to Keskusta (city center). Approximately 30% of households on the far-side of the bridge are carless.

Saaristokatu - "The Street of Islands," began in 1989 as a sketch of traditional road with straight-line bridges across the center of extant islands.  By the time the connection was completed in 2007, the Bus Bridge project had been deemed a success and the traditional road had become a "Landscape Street."  This new typology demanded new standards.  The speed limit was reduced, strict environmental considerations were in play, and pedestrians and bicycles were favored.

Light posts created a gateway to this new "landscape street," as they did for the "bus bridge."

Rocks from the islands and timbers used to recall the logging history of Kuopio, were used in place of gabion structures to create the sound barriers between the auto lanes and the the pedestrian/bike lane.

Saaristokatu managed to touch land only along the north side of most of the islands in the chain, thus preserving the southern sides for recreation and habitat/biodiversity.  In sub-arctic areas such as Kuopio, it is important to consider the preservation of south-facing landscapes for people, plants, and animals.

Lehtoniemi, Kuopio, is connected to Keskusta (City Center) via Saaristokatu (The Street of Islands).  What once was a distant neighborhood that required a car (or boat) was now connected to the city.  Buses, cars, pedestrians, bicyclists, and skiers could now make the trip easily.  Lehtoniemi is the site of much housing development - a primary area for the approximately 500-1000 new residents of Kuopio that arrive every year.

The intentionally low, unobtrusive bridges of Saaristokatu required that a canal be built to maintain shipping lanes. Despite current lack of use, Kuopio remains connected to the Baltic Sea via an extensive series of canals.  Geology and topography dictated that a new canal and high bridge be built in Lehtoniemi.  The results are beautiful and awe-inspiring.

The planners and design team made every effort to create a comfortable place for people under the bridge along the canal.  A call for public art proposals and polling in the local newspaper led to the creation of the artwork below.

My tour with Mr. Kosonen included another Civil Defense Shelter, and more details on the reconfiguration of Keskusta streets to encourage a pedestrian environment.  I will save those topics for another blog.

"Kiitos," Leo for all of your help!

Reference: The Routledge Handbook of Planning for Health and Well-Being pp. 521 - 539

Kite & Cameras at Kallavesi

I made it down to the public swimming beach near our apartment for some Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) yesterday.  I made use of both my Richo WG-4 and my Polaroid XS100i WiFi with my FLED.  The low winds near the ground were enough for the FLED to get aloft, but the upper level winds were almost too much for it.  I'm pleased that my modifactions for travel held and the flight went smoothly.

Here's a link to my flight location on  Google Maps.

 That's me down there, and yes those are power lines.  

 Puijon Torni, Puijonlaakso (our neighborhood), and in the distance to the right the University of Eastern Finland

Note the windmill on the right side in the lawn area.

A visit from Nana!

We've just had a wonderful visit with Nana (a.k.a. Ellen Bertone).  Though cloudy for the duration of her visit, we managed to show her around our little corner of Finland and introduce her to the way we are living here.

We walked a lot and made good use of the busses.  Nana definitely regularly exceeded her goal of 6000 steps each day!

We went to the Harbor and enjoyed the pedal Merry-Go-Round on the way.

We went up the Puijon Torni on a cloudy day and walked back to our apartment down some 400 + steps.

We enjoyed some time building puzzles, and Liz and I had the treat of going out for drinks one afternoon while Nana stayed with the kids.

We were all sad to see her go this morning, but we managed to get her to the airport for her 8:55 AM departure (by leaving our apartment by bus at 6:20 AM).  

Kiitos, Nana! Moi moi!

Trip to Turku, Rovaniemi, and points North

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Turku, Rovaniemi, and points North.  We travelled by train and a rental car.  Our first leg was a daytime train in a "family compartment."

Long train rides aren't ALWAYS fun, but we did pretty well.

Chief among the highlights was watching Liz and her fellow Fulbright folks present at the American Voices seminar at the University of Turku.  We were all proud Bertone-Johnsons!

James sat through all ten hours of presentations and had a ball!

While in Turku we enjoyed the sites and a few nice meals.

 Turku Cathedral

 Stormwater & Pavers around the 12th Century Cathedral

One of the oldest buildings in Finland!

From Turku we took the Night Train to Roveniemi!  None of us had been in sleeper cars before.  It was great fun for the whole family.

 Sunrise from the train in Oulu.

 James had a favorite perch.  He took hundreds of photos of train yards!

We rented a car and stayed in the Santa Clause Holiday Village in Roveniemi - just a short walk to the Arctic Circle.  In addition to seeing the REAL Santa Clause (we're all pretty sure), we enjoyed local museums.

We also saw Reindeer, and Huskies!

For an added bonus, we drove into Sweden for a lunch so that Reid, James, and Anna could all add it to the list of countries we've visited.  Liz had been there already, but we all enjoyed the adventure.

We spent one day about 80km south of Roveniemi in Rauna.  We had a wonderful time at Ranua Wildlife Park - a truly spectacular zoo and the "furthest North zoo in the world."

 An incredible array of owls

 Swans

 Wild Boar

 Polar Bear

 Grizzly

Wolverine

Oh, and they had a killer playground!

After three nights in Roveniemi, we headed even further North to the Inari region.  We stayed in Nellim, about 8km from the border with Russia.  We took advantage of the dark and a clear night to see the Northern Lights (though I didn't get a good photo).  We enjoyed staying at a lodge with a central building for drinks before dinner and our new routine of "coloring" in coloring books before dinner as a family.

We took a day to go to SIIDA in Inari, and we enjoyed the exhibits on Saami culture and the ecosystems of Lapland.

Modern Saami 

Saami Bear Trap

On our way back to Roveniemi, my family tolerated a stop on a rise above treeline for me to fly my camera for a bit.  

And, once we were back in Roveniemi we went back to the Artikum for a few more photos and a failed attempt at kite flying.

Our travels had to end sometime.  We made it back to the train station in Roveniemi for our 7 hour daytime trip back to Kuopio.  We all did our best - despite a lack of promised WiFi!

The Bertone-Johnson's returned to Kuopio feeling like they were coming home.

A #6 bus took us back to our apartment by 8:30pm.  Now - to do the laundry.