Lapset kaupunkisuunnittelukysymyksenä 1950–1970-lukujen Helsingissä

This dissertation examines the shaping of childhood as an urban planning issue in Helsinki. It focuses on the most intense decades of urbanization, the 1950s to the 1970s, when urban planning discussions about children, along with legislation on and standardization of children's environments, increased. These discussions have had far-reaching consequences, contributing to the foundation of the contemporary understanding of children's needs and their role in urban environments. The research material consists of a large collection of reports and planning instructions dealing with urban childhood, as well as written memoirs from the capital region. Theoretical tools used in the work include concepts such as independent mobility, affordances, and the spatial politics of children's geographies. The concept of modern childhood is also a key focus of the work. This multidisciplinary research is primarily anchored within two fields. Firstly, the work contributes to the field of urban planning history by focusing on children's perspectives. It examines children's urban spaces, including yards, streets, urban nature, and particularly built playgrounds. Additionally, the study of child-specific norms represents a novel approach within the context of Finnish planning history research and contributes to the wider historical and societal discussions on standardization in urban planning. In the field of the history of childhood, the main contribution of this work is to show that the modern childhood of the 20th century was also constructed through urban planning. Building instructions related to children in the city, as well as the discussions that preceded and followed them, influenced where children spent their time. They also shaped perceptions of suitable and unsuitable environments for children. The study presents five key findings. First of all, in the 20th century, known as the century of the child, 1) children shifted from being a relatively overlooked group to an important focus in urban planning. In addition, 2) the issue of children as an urban planning concern took shape as a result of multi-professional negotiations. Helsinki's childhood as a planning issue is also 3) a history of redirection. This means that children were typically not considered to be in suitable places where they already were, such as courtyards, streets, or other areas in which they found themselves. Childhood as an urban planning issue also developed 4) as a part of suburban development. Additionally, 5) children as an urban planning issue took shape subordinated to the development of a car-centric transport system.