Revealing the landscape of the compact city – designed and co-created landscape architecture of Matinkylä suburb in the 1970s-80s

Authors

• Ranja Hautamäki Aalto university
• Julia Donner Aalto university
• Aada Taipale Aalto university

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33357/ys.128925

Keywords:

compact city, landscape architecture, suburb, Matinkylä

Abstract

The compact city of the 1970s is often depicted as an era of concrete prefabricated element buildings, failed urban ideals and incomplete milieus. Our article presents an alternative perspective by focusing on suburban landscape architecture and its two dimensions: designed and co-created landscape. With the case study of Matinkylä, Espoo, we demonstrate that the suburban landscape of the compact city was a carefully designed hybrid of forest and compact cities, combining different ideals of nature and urbanity. We also illuminate that landscape was co-created by resident activism which helped turn the newly built suburb into a home with specific characteristics.