A nice urban mini meadow has sprung up at the entrance to Jätkäsaari district in Helsinki. There is surprisingly rich flora growing in the barren soil between the sidewalk and a bike path. It’s really nice to see at least a glimpse of wild nature in the concrete jungle of Jätkäsaari. Hopefully the city will let the mini meadow flourish.
We visited Jätkäsaari to see how the recently vacated cargo port of Helsinki turns into a neighborhood for 17 000 residents and 6 000 jobs. The construction will go on until 2025, but already Jätkäsaari was well on the way.
Living amidst a huge construction site can be painful. Mieluisa collected some complaint rants about living in Jätkäsaari, a new district of Helsinki that will be under construction for years to come. “The sidewalks and pedestrian crossings are not in use, how am I supposed to get home? The street is a puddle of dirt and holes! Why is there no green space?” and so on. The rants evolved into a humorous collection of poems (in Finnish) called Jätkäsaari Blues. How do you like your neighborhood?
