A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
This article sketches out the emergence of an activist mode of design in the Finnish capital, Helsinki—a phenomenon that became particularly apparent during the city's year as World Design Capital in 2012. It gives examples of design activism, paying attention to their different political positionings in the contemporary landscape of urban change-making. It shows that design becomes entangled in problematic ways with official urban policy, even as it fuels an exciting and popular “urban vibe.” The article adopts an anthropological sensitivity to context, highlighting Finland's heritage of consensus politics and design's historical role in fostering national identity and supporting industry. In this light, the current embrace of activist design in Helsinki, from DIY culture to government policy, becomes both understandable and more open to critical reflection. The suggestion is that, as part of urban policy, alongside creativity, innovation, and participatory decision-making, design should also be subjected to deep and consequential critique.
This article sketches out the emergence of an activist mode of design in the Finnish capital, Helsinki—a phenomenon that became particularly apparent during the city's year as World Design Capital in 2012. It gives examples of design activism, paying attention to their different political positionings in the contemporary landscape of urban change-making. It shows that design becomes entangled in problematic ways with official urban policy, even as it fuels an exciting and popular “urban vibe.” The article adopts an anthropological sensitivity to context, highlighting Finland's heritage of consensus politics and design's historical role in fostering national identity and supporting industry. In this light, the current embrace of activist design in Helsinki, from DIY culture to government policy, becomes both understandable and more open to critical reflection. The suggestion is that, as part of urban policy, alongside creativity, innovation, and participatory decision-making, design should also be subjected to deep and consequential critique.
Design as Activism in Helsinki
Berglund, Eeva (author)
Design and Culture ; 5 ; 195-214
2013-07-01
20 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
EVENTS - HELSINKI, DESIGN CAPITAL
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