ABSTRACT
The development of the Kalasatama area is part of a grand overhaul of Helsinki’s post-industrial waterfront. Located due north-east of the Helsinki centre, this former container harbour is being redeveloped into a working and living environment for 10,000 jobs and 25,000 inhabitants. Some of the key challenges and opportunities are similar to those in Hamburg’s Hafencity, New York’s urban waterfront, the London Docklands, and other developing waterfronts: contaminated soils, the dereliction of underused post-industrial zones, questions of public access, and the promise of upscale housing close to an urban centre with ballooning housing prices. Links to international models were drawn quite explicitly by the city planners. The opening paragraphs of the commentary to the partial local master plan of the area are a case in point for how the “inaugural emplotment” of Kalasatama is carried out in planning documents.
