Modelling time: tools for process-oriented urban planning

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

Time and change are integral parts of urban landscape: geomorphological processes shape the ground we build on at different speeds, cycles of seasons and of succession follow each other, new uses take over old spaces... A city is constantly evolving, physically and ideologically. Yet, in the context of urban planning in Finland, a project-based thinking with predetermined outcomes prevails over process-oriented approaches. What, then, if the projected growth never happens or political priorities shift, when habitats and species start migrating or changing weather patterns force us to live with extreme highs and lows of precipitation? At the core of this PhD thesis is the dialectical relationship between design tools and design thinking, between the models and modelling used in urban planning and the approaches professionals adopt when they are called to solve future issues. I argue that to embrace the unfinished, to prepare for challenges by leaving room for responding to them, we need planning tools that allow us to engage with different temporal dimensions of the urban landscape. Unfortunately, 3D city models that in the recent decade have become commonplace generalist tools in Finnish municipalities continue struggle with this. Fortunately, new types of models focussed on time are emerging. I start with a literature review to contextualise the model as design tool and modelling as a practice aimed at understanding and shaping the world. This is followed by state-of-the-art-reviews on multi-temporal modelling and process-oriented planning. A case study on Espoo Master Plan 2060 will provide insight into planning as (design) practice and allow me to identify places where adjustments could be made. Finally, this knowledge is integrated in a practice-based research that builds on my experience in landscape architecture and urban design to demonstrate how multi-temporal modelling and process-oriented planning can be applied in Finland’s second most populated city.