City boats, a public sauna and a waterbus service are examples of the improvements brought to Helsinki this summer through participatory budgeting. Residents’ proposals will bring many other new features to residents, ranging from a summer snowboard slope to youth centres.
People in Helsinki love the sea and the great outdoors. This is evident in the proposals they have put forward and voted to implement as part of the City’s participatory budgeting initiative, OmaStadi. In OmaStadi, residents can have a say in the City’s development and how the City allocates funds.
This summer, thanks to OmaStadi, residents of Helsinki will be able to use rowing boats in Hietaniemi, Kasinonranta in Lauttasaari, Mustikkamaa and Töölönlahti free of charge by booking them on the itameri.info website. You can hire a rowing boat for ten euros from the Aurinkolahti beach and the Natura Viva canoeing centre in Kallahti.
From Vattuniemi in Lauttasaari, you can board a water bus for the western archipelago route, as the jetty was extended using OmaStadi funding.
Participatory budgeting also has an impact on the eastern archipelago route, which runs between Meritullintori and Vuosaari. The future of the route was secured after residents voted in favour of a waterbus service suitable for island-hopping. The proposal was based on an idea by Ville Saukkonen and was allocated a budget of 200,000 euros.
“The route allows people to explore several islands in a single day, as they are quite close to one another. The route serves both residents and tourists, and the more they use the archipelago’s services, the more of them there will be. For many people, the nearby islands would otherwise be difficult to reach. It seems that two similar ideas were combined with my proposal," Saukkonen says.
He reveals that he has had proposals accepted by OmaStadi before, namely the installation of bicycle pumps and repair points in library courtyards.
“This shows that even a single resident can make a difference. I like the democratic nature of OmaStadi and the opportunity it offers to have a very tangible impact on my local neighbourhood.”
I like the democratic nature of OmaStadi and the opportunity it offers to have a very tangible impact on my local neighbourhood.
Among this summer’s new attractions is the Kotiluoto sauna, which reopened in early July following a refurbishment funded by OmaStadi. Similarly, the beaches in Pakila and Tapaninvainio have been refurbished, and outdoor gyms will be added there at a later date.
"It is the outdoor gyms in particular that have been a firm favourite with residents right from the start," says Senior Planning Officer Oleg Jauhonen responsible for OmaStadi’s outdoor recreation services.
“The latest outdoor gyms to be installed through the OmaStadi initiative are in Meripuisto, Eira and Pitäjänmäki. The extensions to the outdoor gyms in Paloheinä and Aurinkolahti are also quite recent, as are the fitness steps in Aino Actén puisto park. In addition to this, Finland’s first summer snowboard slope is due to be completed in Paloheinä in late summer, funded through OmaStadi. A snowboard club will be maintaining the slope," says Jauhonen.
Residents have repeatedly suggested that public saunas and winter swimming spots should also be built using OmaStadi funds, and such facilities have indeed been completed across the city. An impressive five sauna projects were voted through in the fourth round of the ongoing OmaStadi initiative. Among other things, a public sauna is to be built in southern Helsinki, although the details of the project are yet to be finalised.
Residents will be involved in the planning. They can share their views e.g. on the planned swimming pool at Saukonpaadenranta in Jätkäsaari via the ‘Voice your opinion’ survey this autumn. The swimming pool, to be built using OmaStadi funds, is intended to be 25 metres long and 16 metres wide, situated entirely in the sea and open all year round. A public sauna is planned to be built next to the swimming area.
According to Omastadi’s Head of Development Kirsi Verkka, the current fourth round of OmaStadi has clearly highlighted the local residents’ need for a sense of community.
“Helsinki residents suggested more events, shared activities and community spaces than ever before,” Verkka says.
Many of these proposals were voted through, meaning that we can look forward to a music and city festival in Herttoniemi, an open-air cinema in Oulunkylä and a performance stage at the Käpylä canopy kiosk, to name a few highlights.
Projects aimed at young people also received a great deal of support. A night café for young people will open in East Helsinki, and outreach youth work will be introduced in Herttoniemi. In addition to this, a substance-free meeting place for young people will be set up in Ala-Malmi, and a youth centre will be built in the Vartiokylä-Puotila area. In the west, training sessions on combating bullying and racism will be organised, while learning support will be provided in the north.
The residents of Helsinki suggested more events, shared activities and community spaces than ever before.
The aim of OmaStadi is to highlight the wishes of residents regarding the reforms they would like the City to implement. Helsinki allocates funds for each OmaStadi round and distributes them among the seven major districts in proportion to the districts’ population. The City will implement the proposals that receive the most votes, provided that they fit within the budget for each area.
Ten million euros has been earmarked for projects during the ongoing two-year OmaStadi round. In total, 218 projects have been voted through for OmaStadi implementation, with a combined value of 32 million euros.
“OmaStadi has a significant impact on the cityscape and on services, events, community spirit and democracy. For example, the City has provided more maritime, outdoor recreation and sports services than it would otherwise have done as part of its core activities. In this way, residents have had a say in how funds are allocated and have helped shape the city in their own image," says Kirsi Verkka.
Kirsi Verkka points out that it can take some time for a resident’s proposal to be turned into a completed project. When residents are involved in the various stages of planning, they can see the amount of work and time required for large-scale projects.
“Few people have experience of things like construction or organising large-scale events, and therefore an understanding of the workload and costs involved,” notes Verkka, and explains:
“Construction projects involve many stages, starting with the design phase, the application for building permits and the tendering process. Before anything is actually built, the site has been prepared and new infrastructure, such as water mains and electricity connections, has been installed. The changing seasons also impact construction.”
Residents submitted a record number of proposals – over 1,700 – during the ongoing OmaStadi round. Of these, 640 proposals were revised to meet the OmaStadi criteria. For example, similar proposals were grouped together, and those proposals which fell outside the City’s remit or were too costly to implement were eliminated.
Residents voted for their favourites in March. All residents of Helsinki aged 13 or over were eligible to vote. Each voter was able to vote for a maximum of five proposals in a single major district.
Following the vote, local residents and City staff worked together to draw up more detailed plans for the OmaStadi projects that are to be implemented. This co-development phase is still ongoing in some of the projects.
A significant proportion of the projects from the previous third round have already been completed, but the largest construction projects, for example, are still ongoing. Further information about OmaStadi, as well as the projects being carried out and their progress, can be found at omastadi.hel.fi.
