Julkijuominen, julkisten tilojen sääntely ja Karhupuiston käytöskukat

Abstract

This paper contributes to recent discussions on urban regeneration, drinking and community involvement in public space management by drawing on empirical evidence from a case study in the Kallio neighbourhood, central Helsinki. It examines the origins, processes and impacts of regeneration of an urban park, Karhupuisto (the Bear Park), and explores the varying meanings that the participants involved attributed to the project. It outlines a critique of the security-driven approach to policing incivilities and suggests that, instead, imagining ways of inviting the wider public to use spaces that have come to be considered problematic may help local communities juggle the differing needs of the individual with everybody’s right to access public spaces. This balancing act is continuous, as the case study well exemplifies, and unveils the ever-evolving nature of public spaces.