Housing Estates in Finnish Studies on Housing Estates

Authors

• Sampo Ruoppila University of Turku
• Pirjo Turtiainen University of Turku

Keywords:

housing estates, literature review, societal discussion

Abstract

The article examines how housing estates have been approached in Finnish urban research, based on doctoral theses on housing estates up to 2022 (N=26). The review shows that both historical and built environment studies have treated housing estates as products of their time, taking into account the influence of structural factors on their development and perception. Social science and geographical studies published in the 2000s have tended to examine estates in terms of spatial segregation and relative concentrations of deprivation. There is little research on the diversity or potential of estates. The issue is of wider societal relevance in that problem-oriented research feeds into the problem-oriented debate on housing estates and adds emphasis to it.