Is Helsinki (Espoo or Vantaa) a Just City? Why?

Master’s programme in Urban Studies and Planning, in partnership with Aalto University, University of Helsinki and the Newcastle University invites all bachelor and master level students as well as doctoral researchers to participate in a blog post competition on the topic of just city.

The competition is part of the Global Partnership Building project which includes joint workshops in Newcastle and Helsinki. A parallel competition is launched by Newcastle University on the same theme but a different city. 

Topic of the blog: We are looking for a blog of maximum 800 words engaging with the question:  Is Helsinki a just city? Why? You can also focus on Espoo, Vantaa, or the Helsinki capital region as a whole. You can tackle this question from any angles you wish and draw on your own research, knowledge, and experiences. If relevant, you can also add one (copyright-free) illustration / photo. For overviews of academic discussion on the topic, see e.g., chapters 1 & 14 in Davoudi, S. and Bell, D. (eds.)  2016. Justice and Fairness in the City, Policy Press & Davoudi, S. and Brooks, E. 2014. When does unequal become unfair? Judging claims of environmental injustice, Environment and Planning A, 46: 2686-2702

Deadline: Please send your blog to Mikko Posti by 4pm on Friday 16 February 2024. The winners will be announced by the end of March.

Criteria: The blogs will be assessed by a panel of juries looking for blogs that are engaging, coherent, well argued, clearly structured, and written in a style that is accessible to a wide audience.        

Prizes: The top three blogs will be posted on and disseminated widely through the Institutes social media. The winners will have the opportunity to present their blogs (online) in the next Newcastle-Helsinki “Just City” workshop in Spring 2024.  They will also receive 100€ prize each.

Questions: If you have any questions, please . We look forward to reading your blogs.

University lecturer Jani Vuolteenaho, Department of Geosciences and geography & Faculty of Social Sciences (University of Helsinki)                

University lecturer Hossam Hewidy, Department of Architecture (Aalto University)