A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä
ACTIVITIES IN PUBLIC SPACE IN THE 21ST CENTURY: THE CASE OF NARINKKA SQUARE IN HELSINKI, FINLAND
Tekijät: Žieda Tamašauskaitė
Kustantaja: Vytautas Magnus University
Kustannuspaikka: Kaunas
Julkaisuvuosi: 2020
Journal: Darbai ir dienos
Numero: 74
Aloitussivu: 53
Lopetussivu: 75
eISSN: 2335-8769
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7220/2335-8769.74.3
Verkko-osoite: https://ejournals.vdu.lt/index.php/DiD/article/view/2202
Rinnakkaistallenteen osoite: https://www.vdu.lt/cris/entities/publication/a32b7660-7870-4c90-ae07-894a93cb9425/details
Tiivistelmä
The scholarly literature is full of discussions about
changing public space. It is said that public space is being privatized, securitized,
retailized, thematized, gentrified, etc. Although many of the discussions seem
to be well-developed and well-grounded, what implications the various changes have
on the ways of using public space remain unclear. Assuming that public space continues
to be an important locus of public life in the 21st century marked
by changes, I turned to Narinkka Square, a public square in Helsinki, Finland, and
observed the activities that people undertake in this public space. What I have
found is that Narinkka Square offers much more than a paved ground to pass by
or through. Throughout the day, the square is used for carrying out a wide
range of activities, including passive being among other people, sheltering,
reading a book, playing sports, and participating in special events. Results
presented in the article reveal that regardless of their type, intensity, and
duration, all the activities are important, for they contribute to the variety
of activities and the overall activity level in Narinkka Square, thereby
producing and reproducing this public space, which is also social space. The
article suggests that as long as people undertake all kind of activities in
this public space, its role in the city shall not change.
