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One of the reasons why people are flocking again to the cities here are that they are quite different from the old downtowns in France. Much greener, less dense and tbh, much more bike-friendly as well. All that matters to people.
I just took a street on random in Lyon, and I definitely know people in some areas live a lot denser in poor conditions with terrible insulation and soundproofing. I love city life, but can't take it if some moron is having an argument every night so that I can't sleep.
The streets in Finland are definitely spacier and more airy, but I don't see them as being significantly greener. A tree here and there maybe but that's basically it. When I zoom out of the Lyon shot there are large, significant green areas not that far away. The area you picked is the old densely-developed island that is the heart of the city. Most of Lyon is not like this I gather.
Canada is a good country, and I have always got on well with Canadians, they seem more like the Brits/Irish, Australians and Kiwis in their outlook and are also far more European in many ways than most of the rest of the North America
Please don't lump the Irish in with the English or Canadians. I prefer most Americans and their openess.
Could some inner suburbs be a good compromise for families?
Not really. The people who have lived all their lives in cities want to stay in the cities (but with both greenery and close to services). The biggest problem is the commie-block suburbs that don't attract anyone anymore and nobody knows what to do with them. And despite everything being more and more digitalised, commuting time is taken into more consideration than it was in the 90's with fax and old-fashioned phones. And considering that I'm living in the 3rd largest urban area in the country with just 300,000 people, the inner suburbs can't be much of an stretch, as it's close to the city anyway.
I don't know why this is, something just... happened. In my city the areas within the original grid plan are the most expensive, only rivalling those few locations that are on the coast. Maybe people want more people around them, want to be more ecological, want to feel being a part of the community they couldn't create in the suburbs. I don't know. But the truth is that all major cities in Finland have been growing since the late 90's while the whole suburbanism reached its peak in the 80's.
The city planners are quite amazed by the sudden rush back to the cities, and nobody knows why that is. The cities are doing their best of doing the cities more liveable again after a 30-year-loss of population. And I know some circles of our city planning department are terrified by this opportunity. What do the city offer and what do we have to offer them?
I don't know why this is, something just... happened. In my city the areas within the original grid plan are the most expensive, only rivalling those few locations that are on the coast. Maybe people want more people around them, want to be more ecological, want to feel being a part of the community they couldn't create in the suburbs. I don't know. But the truth is that all major cities in Finland have been growing since the late 90's while the whole suburbanism reached its peak in the 80's.
The city planners are quite amazed by the sudden rush back to the cities, and nobody knows why that is. The cities are doing their best of doing the cities more liveable again after a 30-year-loss of population. And I know some circles of our city planning department are terrified by this opportunity. What do the city offer and what do we have to offer them?
Are cities in Finland building new housing to keep up? With smaller household size, even constant population is hard to pull off. It's hard to squeeze in new housing in an old, built out city. Where does the growth go?
Are cities in Finland building new housing to keep up? With smaller household size, even constant population is hard to pull off. It's hard to squeeze in new housing in an old, built out city. Where does the growth go?
Can't speak for Turku or Finland in general, but here in Vienna they recently extended one of the metro lines by four stations and are now building a completely new district where a dysfunctional airport used to be.
Ok, great! So what are you using the rooms for, if there's just you and your life partner and the dog? Can you approximately define how big the kitchen, dining room (what the hell is that, we don't have those here ) and the living room are? Just for comparison.
Personally, I think the traditionally more cramped living conditions in Europe has left a stain on how homes should be like, and people with families don't even want to have more space than they really need. My mother and stepfather are very comfortably upper middle-class, but when we moved to that house some 20 years ago, it was all we needed. My room (which is now my brother's), is just a 140 sq ft small room, but it did the trick, and I never craved for more space. And neither does my brother until he decides to fly away. Anyway, we lingered around in the kitchen, the living room or the yard in summer.
Couples that move together and aren't planning on getting kids in the near future usually buy or rent one-bedroom homes that are in the range of around 540-650 sq ft. And this is for all income levels. Most Finnish cities had an average minimum housing restriction of 810 sq ft an apartment, known as the infamous 75 m2 rule, but that was dropped some 5 years ago, as single people and couples wanted smaller apartments, and simply people don't want to pay for more space that they need.
Interesting. Yeah, to be honest I don't use the dining room much as my kitchen is a nice size and is eat-in but the dining room is pretty much connected to the living room with just an archway separating the two rooms. I live with my sister so we each have our own bedroom; the third bedroom I have rented out to friends in the past but is currently used as a music room/library and guests often stay there.
I do like the "extra space" for guests and it has been great for several travelling couchsurfers (from Poland, Ukraine, US, Sweden). Most suburban Americans would think I live in a tiny home but I don't need any more space-maybe land to grow things though.
Are cities in Finland building new housing to keep up? With smaller household size, even constant population is hard to pull off. It's hard to squeeze in new housing in an old, built out city. Where does the growth go?
All cities with more than 100,000 people within city limits are. Helsinki is planning to build housing for some 150,000 people in the next 15 years, which would make it the the largest growing European city after London and Stockholm. In the optimistic estimations Helsinki can grow unto 950,000 people in 2050 without changing any municipal boundaries, and that would beat all cities in the Western European world. (Possibly not London if keeping up with the ever-growing trend)
My city Turku, is preparing for housing 15,000 new inhabitants in the next 15 years only within the 2 mile x 1.25 mile centre area, so the parking lots just have to go, no matter what the nimbys say.
A dining room is for entertaining dinner guests, for those who have never seen one. It's for relatively formal occasions, when one might hire a cook and invite the boss from work, and work colleagues (this used to be one way people advanced in their careers), or relatives for a holiday dinner, or one's friends for a special occasion. The family also might use the dining room for ... you guessed it, dining, while the kitchen would be used for breakfast and lunch.
As life has become more informal in the US, formal dining rooms are disappearing, or have been downsized to a corner of the living room. Kitchens, for that matter, are also being downsized to a corner of the living room. I hate this trend. Some of the kitchens are so small, they're difficult to use.
Please don't lump the Irish in with the English or Canadians. I prefer most Americans and their openess.
What are you going on about, Ireland is only 12 miles away from the mainland at the narrowest point and only a short flight away by plane, and contrary to many peoples warped view of the world the English and Irish don't hate each other. Indeed many English people have Irish ancestry with one in three individuals in places such as Manchester claiming Irish ancestry and cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, London, Birmingham, Newcastle etc all having substantial Irish communities. The fact being that more first generation Irish people live in England than any other country on earth.
Well I'm not a European, but I am a American, I guess I could point out a thing or two I love about Europe
Everywhere you step you are looking at history...literally
The cities are BEAUTIFUL, they have the historic feeling to it, the cities in Spain, Italy and other coastal countries are even more beautiful then the ones a bit up north.
Free healthcare, but I try to keep in mind they are still technically paying for it, its just a choice for americans and not for Europeans
Better transportation
Better location
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) and the living room are? Just for comparison.