TURKU as an Organism

The project “Turku as an organism” analyzed the different green types of the city. The work also studied the ecosystem services provided by the Green Infrastructure of Turku. The work was developed moving further from traditional approaches and considering both nature- and human-centric ecosystem services.

The quality of green was measured by studying ecosystem services together with the quality and quantity of the green infrastructure. A green strategy was developed based on the analysis and findings. This strategy was structured in 2 levels: The whole city and partial strategies for each prototypical urban fabric (suburbs, city center, industrial areas, infrastructural corridors, etc.).

To be a sustainable and resilient organism, the city must work both in its different parts and as a whole. The aim of the green strategy was to improve or extend the existing green infrastructure using new urban spaces and constructing green networks at all the urban scales. As a consequence of the proposed actions, the amount of provided ecosystem services and the contribution of urban nature to the sustainable metabolism of the city would be increased. The main and partial strategies are showed in action in the selected pilot site. These solutions will make Turku a better place for people and nature to live and be.