This was an article for the Estonian cultural newspaper Sirp. The brief was to review a re-photographic project by Aare Olander at the Estonian Architecture Museum. Beyond some knowledge of long-gone buildings, what struck me was the more varied use of streets before planning for the car.
You can read the article here (in Estonian).
This was an academic article written as part of my PhD thesis about the planning of Rail Baltic. The article title is: Delayed arrival: planning, competition and conflict
in the Rail Baltic terminal project in Tallinn, Estonia. It was published in European Planning Studies in September, 2022.
Abstract:
This article is an account of a planning process that is distributed and difficult to follow. By performing a thorough analysis of the design competition of the future Rail Baltic terminal in Tallinn, Estonia, it makes visible and critiques the decisions and dynamics enabled by the often-opaque processes of megaproject infrastructure planning and landmark design competitions. For this, the study first outlines a historiology of expectations for development created by new urban rail terminals. Then it relates the discourses of design, megaprojects and design competitions as trait-making processes with the potential to materialize future visions of society. The case study relies on expansive discourse analysis and in-depth expert interviews to trace key planning decisions, design strategies and stakeholder motivation impacting the planning of the Rail Baltic terminal and its role in the wider public realm of Tallinn. The study finds that the interlinked processes of megaproject planning and design competitions have inherent democratic deficiencies which can be counterproductive to benefitting the public realm. The results also suggest the need for a more socially responsible approach to planning infrastructure megaprojects.
This was an article for the Estonian architectural review MAJA about key development in Tallinn. It outlines how the Rotermanni quarter developed, its significance, and some of its ails supported by interviews. The key finding is that while groundbreaking in Estonia in terms of its car-free planning aspirations and renovation strategies, it lacks the kind of variety of uses a true district can have (as it is a single developer project).
The review (in Estonian and English) can be bought here and in some time it will also be made publicly available for free.
This is an illustrated article on the changing Estonian countryside commissioned by the Nordic and Baltic Sea region research and design think tank LABLAB. It was a welcome challenge to consider the “rural” in addition to my habitual “urban”.
The article can be read and seen in full on the LABLAB website.
This was an article for the Estonian cultural newspaper Sirp. The brief was to attend a public hearing regarding the planning of a key tram link in Tallinn, Estonia. Whereas the discussion displayed some willingness for participative planning from the side of the municipality, there is still a way to go to seriously involving public opinion.
You can read the article here (in Estonian).
This was an article for Estonian cultural newspaper SIRP. The aim was to discuss the book “Soft Cities” with author David Sim. I tried to understand the similarities and differences with Jan Gehl’s work on “Cities for People” – especially as Sim has previously worked in Gehl’s practice.
This was a photographic essay produced for the Nordic and Baltic Sea region research and design think tank LABLAB. The results were exhibited in Stockholm in the autumn of 2021. To see the images and the accompanying text please see the LABLAB website.
This was an article for the Estonian cultural newspaper Sirp. The brief was to write about a pop-up car free day happening in Tallinn. As it was just before the elections, there were many questionable projects taking place across the city which had not been adequately planned or implemented. A few, like the new cycling lanes, were in fact incredibly dangerous as a result. This “car free day” was a step in the right direction for the city, but also lacked inspiration.
You can read the article here (in Estonian).
This was an article for the Estonian cultural newspaper Sirp. The brief was to write about the newly opened cruise terminal in Tallinn from the point of view of public space. In general I write about the successful example of creating a place to be and spend time for tallinners in addition to the transit function of the building. However, I also touch upon the creep of semi-public or privately owned public space in the city.
You can read the article here (in Estonian).
This was an article for Estonian cultural newspaper SIRP. The aim was to analyse the developments in the Tallinn harbour from the point of view of quality public space. I end with questioning how bad the situation for planning public space is in Tallinn, if citizens search for good examples from the private sector, rather than local government itself.