MyyrYork – rejuvenating a housing estate neighborhood for the next generation of residents

Gentrification is seldom connected with suburban housing estate neighbourhoods built in the 1960s and 1970s. Nonetheless, as many have experienced socio-economic decline since the 1980s, these areas have often been at the core of top-down improvement initiatives in Finland. This chapter, however, explores the bottom-up role of activist and street art initiatives in the regeneration of the Myyrmäki neighborhood in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Building on stakeholder and resident interviews, on-site observation and photographs, literature, newspaper articles and planning documents, the chapter demonstrates that this upgrading of the neighborhood is perceived as positive by both city planners and real-estate investors in the area. Moreover, while new developments are increasing housing prices and rents in the neighborhood, displacement is not inevitable. This is due to the region’s social mixing policy and generous governmental housing allowances. However, while activists, real-estate investors and city planning clearly also target more affluent users (Hackworth 2002), the absence of the concept of gentrification in planning documents and in the discourse of planners is notable.