Activities

Professor Bernd Belina is giving his talk on "Policing urban space - On the productivity of false abstractions" 7.6.2023

Bernd Belina is full professor of Human Geography at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany. He has published in both English and German on issues of policing, criminalization and space in geographical, Urban Studies and criminological contexts. Currently, he is visiting professor at the University of Helsinki.

The public examination of Ilppo Soininvaara’s (at right) doctoral dissertation 25.5 2022. Opponent Raine Mäntysalo (at left), Custos Sami Moisio (in the middle).

Creative economy in the aftermath of the pandemic, 29.3. 2022. A workshop to discuss the effects of the COVID19 pandemic on the creative economy and cultural fields of cities. The workshop was jointly organized by the Spatial politics, policy and planning research group of the Department of Geosciences and Geography at the University of Helsinki, the University of King's College London and the Gran Sasso Institute of Social Sciences in Italy and is part of a joint project between the three universities.

Pia Bäcklund: How to conceptualize 'public administration' as an agent? Viewpoints for studies of citizen participation. Presentation in DECARBON-HOME research seminar series 24.1. 2022.

Johanna Tuomisaari ja Pia Bäcklund: Governing seismic risk of geothermal energy in an institutionally ambiguous setting. Seeking Solutions to Carbon Neutrality through Transdisciplinary Research across Social Sciences and Humanities. Maantieteen päivät 4.–5.11. 2021.

Giacomo Botta ja Pia Bäcklund: The Urban Imaginaries of the Helsinki Region MAL-Agreements. Maantieteen päivät 4-5.11. 2021.

Johanna Tuomisaari ja Pia Bäcklund: Seismisen riskin hallinnan haasteet eri toimijoiden näkökulmasta. SEISMIC-RISK hankkeen ohjausryhmä. 13.10. 2021

Pia Bäcklund ja Johanna Tuomisaari: Miten ja keiden toimesta seismistä riskiä pitäisi hallita? SEISMIC-RISK open seminar (speaker). 12.10. 2021

Working seminar with Ted Schatzki / University of Kentucky. Pia Bäcklund (organizer) 29.9. 2021

Keynote Ted Schatzki / University of Kentucky, Pia Bäcklund (organizer). 29.9. 2021

Johanna Tuomisaari ja Pia Bäcklund: Miten ja keiden toimesta seismistä riskiä pitäisi hallita? SEISMIC RISK project, meeting with cities. 28.9.2021

Scientific advisory board /DECARBON-HOME. Pia Bäcklund (chair). 1.9.2021

Helsinki Inequality research seminar. Pia Bäcklund (speaker). 16.6.2021

Junno, N., Bäcklund, P., Tuomisaari, J., Oinonen, K., Veikkolainen, T., Korja, A., and Working Group, S. R. (2021). , EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-2732.

Heikki Sirviö features in the Hanken School of Economics podcast series "Sustainability unwrapped": , together with Hanna Lempinen and host Martin Fougère, published 30.11 2020.

Pia Bäcklund, ", article in Tutkijan ääni, published 12.11 2020.

Interview with Assistant Professor Noora Pyyry: "", published 9.11 2020.

Tomas Hanell acts as a Guest editor for Special Issue on "Geographies of Well-being and Quality of Life", together with Teemu Makkonen and Daniel Rauhut from the University of Eastern Finland.

Professor Sami Moisio has been nominated as External Faculty Board Member to the Gran Sasso Science Institute: School of Advanced Studies (Italy). The institute is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. For more information on the institute, see: https:///

Tomas Hanell features in the popular science podcast series "Vetskap", on the theme urbanisation (58 minutes), produced by Hbl and Svenska litteratursällskapet, published 27.10 2020.

Tomas Hanell, in Vasabladet 28.9 2020.

Tomas Hanell, by YLE, 23.9 2020.

Pia Bäcklund, chair of the

Pia Bäcklund, interview in Helsingin uutiset, 8.9 2020.

Pia Bäcklund, interwiev in Yliopisto-lehti 2.9 2020.

Tomas Hanell, interview in

Regional Studies Association with Prof. Sami Moisio.

University of Helsinki,

, Professor, Department of Geosciences and Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki: Planning as an Investment and Politics of Regional Inequity.

• Time: Wednesday 29 January 2020 at 14:15-15:45 hours.
• Venue: Porth­ania P545 (5th floor), Yliop­is­tonkatu 3

University of Helsinki,

, Department of Geosciences and Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki: Geographies of Quality of Life in the EU. A Quantitative Assessment of Territorial Inequality in Human Capabilities.

• Time: Wednesday 18 December 2019 at 14:15-15:45 hours.
• Venue: Porth­ania P545 (5th floor), Yliop­is­tonkatu 3

Human geography lecture series

Organizers: / .

, Norwegian University of Life Sciences:

• Time: Monday, Novem­ber 4 at 2 pm
• Venue: Porth­ania P219 Le­ht­is­ali (2nd floor), Yliop­is­tonkatu 3

Peer-to-peer ser­vice plat­forms in tour­ism: di­gital cap­it­al­ism, new urban tour­ism, and gov­ernance

Conference session in : Sustainable Geography – Geographies of Sustainability. Description of the session is available .

• Organizers: &
• Time: June 18, 2019
• Venue: NTNU, Trondheim, Norway

Human geography lecture series

Organizers: / . More information is available .

Lecture 1: : Contradictions, economic imaginaries and spatial governance

• Time: Thursday May 23, 14.00 - 15.30
• Venue: Porthania P219 Lehtisali (2nd floor)
• The event is also available on .

Lecture 2: : Experiential knowledge on forced migration: principles of policy relevance research

• Time: June 12, 12.00 - 13.30
• Venue: Porthania P219 Lehtisali (2nd floor)

Strategic Spatial Planning and City-Regional Development

Seminar series with Kristian Olesen, Aalborg University. See programme .

• Organizers: Research groups , Aalto University & Spatial Policy, Politics and Planning, Helsinki University and the
• Time: May 10 & May 13, 2019
• Venue: Y347, Otakaari 1, Aalto University, Espoo

Joint PhD Workshop with the Goethe University

• Organizers: Sami Moisio, Susanne Heeg & Bernd Belina
• Time: March 18-19, 2019
• Venue: Goethe University, Frankfurt

Scientific workshop on state territories/territoriality. See description .

• Organizers: & , , , University of Helsinki
• Time: December 10–11, 2018
• Venue: University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 3, Porthania

Justification for agreement-based approaches in Nordic spatial planning: Towards situational direct democracy?

Kick-off workshop of the Academy of Finland funded project. See the programme [in Finnish].

• Organizers:
• Time: November 1, 2018 at 9:30–13
• Venue: University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 3, , Urbarium

The Annual Meeting of Finnish Geographies 2018

• Time: October 25–26, 2018
• Venue: University of Helsinki, City Centre Campus
• and served as part of the organizing committee. In addition, the SPPP research group organized the following sessions:
  • Perspectives on territory: the state, the people, and democracy. Chairs: &
  • Changing concepts and emerging spaces of spatial planning: how to define planning in a complex, multiactor world? Chairs: & Pia Bäcklund
  • The geographies of well-being, quality of life and development. Chairs: & Tomas Hanell
  • Spatial justices and rights: past, present and future spaces. Chairs: Jukka Keski-Filppula, Juho Luukkonen & Eija Meriläinen
  • Interpretations of relationships between people, environment and areas. Chairs: Meri Norola, Pia Bäcklund & Arttu Paarlahti
• For more information visit the conference and conference .

Nordic City Challenge

Intensive course and competition on sustainable urban development. More information .

• Time: October 7–10, 2018.
• Venue: Schaeffergarden, Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Organizers: Jonna Similä & Janne Wikström, HanaAcademy, – the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre; Meeri Karvinen, & (NSCN), , University of Helsinki & ; Katri-Liisa Pulkkinen, .

Urbanicide: reflections on urban/rural dynamics in modern conflicts

Lecture by , Ph.D , University of Helsinki. More information .

• Organizers: , the Aleksanteri Institute, and , University of Helsinki
• Time: September 21, 2018 at 14:00–15:30
• Venue: Lehtisali P219 (2nd floor, ), Yliopistonkatu 3, Helsinki
• Click to see the event on Facebook.

Contested Planning, Persuasive Storytelling

Seminar with

• Organizers: Raine Mäntysalo, Helena Leino, Vesa Kanninen, , project (Strategic spatial planning with momentum gaining scenario storytelling: legitimacy contested?)
• Speakers: Jim Throgmorton, Lieven Ameel, , Kaisa Granqvist, Mikko Kyrönviita, Antti Wallin
• Time: August 15, 2018
• Venue: Töölö Campus, Aalto University, Helsinki