Including prospective tenants and homeowners in the urban development process in Finland

Abstract

The twofold purpose of this paper is to establish the prospective inhabitants as a part of the development process, and to provide an overview of participatory planning in the context of Finnish urban residential public–private partnerships (PPPs). This overview examines how the future inhabitants of new residential developments can contribute to informed decision-making within a PPP framework. Communicative planning theory serves as a framework to compare the urban development process from the point of view of future inhabitants. Finnish case studies are used to compare the traditional public-led processes with processes based on PPPs. This comparison is discussed within the context of PPPs and how they may evolve further and develop into a public–private-people partnership (4P) model. The examination of the case studies suggests that involving future inhabitants as stakeholders in the urban planning development process would lead to and require new methods of participation. These methods potentially impact the PPP process as a whole and on several levels. In the Finnish examples discussed here, these range from elements of general planning to individual house design. The research, whilst drawing on the broad field of PPP research, is based on Finnish case studies only. However, this research suggests that the 4P approach is a practical model which may fill the gap between international PPP theory and local, practical solutions for the planning of urban development, both in Finland and elsewhere. Future research can look at this model in other PPP jurisdictions and contexts. The 4P model can be used to establish new methods to plan and develop local infrastructure which meets the needs of future inhabitants. The findings of this paper emphasise the crucial role of future inhabitants in the PPP process. The conclusions points out the possibilities for broad and open participation in urban planning and development processes. The 4P model is found to be a potentially valuable theoretical and practical concept for use in PPP urban developments.