Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Chapter 4 143 Hanging out in Koivukylä and the youth - A study of social control Yu-Yi Huynh David Kerr Ella Stark Aino Suomalainen Juuda Tamminen & Daria Tarkhova Hanging out in Koivukylä USP / 2018 handled at the neighborhood level, among the Introduction neighbors in their everyday lives? Inspired by the earlier urban research, we decided to concentrate on one neighborhood. One of the dominant topics in contemporary Koivukylä, known as “Koivis” by the locals urban research in western countries is seg- - is a neighborhood in eastern Vantaa. Based regation (e.g. Musterd et al. 2015; Anders- on earlier research and on current popu- son et al. 2010). Since the beginning of the lation statistics, Koivukylä appears to be 21st century there has been active discus- one of the least socio-economically advan- sion on, and growing concerns about, segre- taged neighborhoods. Paradoxically, it has gation in the Helsinki metropolitan region. also been interesting to urban researchers Several notable pieces of research have been because of its conventionality as a typical conducted to understand the reasons behind Finnish suburb built in the 1970s, quickly this development (e.g. Kortteinen & Vaat- built from concrete, far away from the city tovaara 2000). Attention has been drawn to center, to respond to the needs of the mass the neighborhoods with accumulated socioeco- move (e.g. Kortteinen 1982). We have not nomic disadvantages, the so-called “pockets been strict when defining the borders of our of poverty” (Vaattovaara 1998) or “internal research area. First, we defined the area urban peripheries” (Musterd et al. 2015). In by using the postal code, which includes the Finnish context, these areas are most- both the Koivukylä and Havukoski districts. ly the old suburbs with a large number of We soon realized, however, that at a mental apartment buildings from the 1960s, 1970s level, the locals, such as our interviewees, and 1980s (Kortteinen & Vaattovaara 2000, refer to only Havukoski when talking about 144 120). Koivukylä. In other words, the neighborhood, as experienced by its residents, has borders Research on segregation is relatively that are more flexible than the administra- recent in Finland but the concern about the tive borders. suburbs, and about the people living there, has been present since the early history of Our study focuses on the local young peo- urban studies (e.g. Kortteinen 1982). Ear- ple. By “young people,” we refer to a social ly studies focused on the aftermath of the category based, generally, on their age. so-called “Great Move.” During the indus- This means that we do not specify the age trialization in Finland after the World War groups in our research, except in the parts II, large suburbs were built to accommodate of research that require quantitative data. the large population moving from the ru- Based on previous studies, we can assume ral areas to the cities (Gronow et al.1977, that socioeconomic inequality, and thus seg- 478). The frame of study has changed; the regation as its spatial manifestation, has problem is not about the rootless people of an especially strong effect on children’s the Great Move anymore, but is rather the and young people’s lives and social rela- socioeconomic inequality and the new urban tions (e.g. Hakovirta & Rantalaiho 2012). poverty, meaning social problems and disad- Furthermore, children are especially sen- vantages and poverty related to urban life, sitive to neighborhood effects because of which is framed as segregation. In any case, their ongoing social development process the geographical focus of the study remains (e.g. Bernelius 2011). One reason for this the same; the interest is still in the same is that young people tend to be more local- suburbs. Thus, in a way, our research is ized than adults. The main reason for this travelling to the roots of the early ways is the Finnish regional school principle, of studying a Finnish suburb and its social meaning that most children go to school in relations. As presented by Matti Korttein- the neighborhood they live in. en (1982) in Lähiö: Is there a problem with Our research questions are: (1) What is suburbia (lähiöongelma) and if so, what is the role of local actors in implementing so- this problem? Furthermore, how is the prob- cial control among young people in Koivuky- lem or how are the problems, presented and lä?; and (2) How is segregation reflected in Chapter 4 the experience of the neighborhood and in the behavior of the local youth? We are seeking to understand the different forms of social relations of the young people in the suburban context, pay- ing special attention to relations between young people and local authorities. These relations will be studied by using social control theo- ries, which are one way to explain society. Taking social control theory to urban space, by using the concept of “hanging out,” offers us an opportunity to look at the local reality as part of a larger phenomenon such as segregation. 145 Construction of Koivukylä-Havu- koski from the 1960's Koivukylä-Major Region The study area small regions (pienalueet), Havukoski and Koivukylä, are part of the Koivukylä major region (suuralue). The Koivuky- lä major region is located in eastern Vantaa, and is surrounded by the major regions of Korso, Tikkuri- Figure 1a–b. Small areas of la, Hakunila, and Aviapolis. Koivukylä major region and the There are five small regions study area of Koivukylä and Havu- in the Koivukylä district: koski highlighted with yellow. in addition to Koivukylä and Havukoski, Ilola, Asola, Päiväkoski, and Rekola are Hanging out in Koivukylä USP / 2018 also located within these borders. The loca- in Finland and it is the first totally pre- tion of our study area is visualized in Fig- served suburb in Vantaa. The entire apart- ure 1a–b, in which Koivukylä and Havukoski ment building area is protected by the mas- are highlighted in yellow. ter plan. The Havukoski suburb is a unique Hanaböle village was historically locat- model in the field of suburban construction ed in the Koivukylä major region, and the (Vantaa alueittain… 2015, 195). In order oldest notes on Hanaböle are from the 1500s. to construct a socially successful suburb, However, the area was most likely populat- the planning process included experts from ed earlier (Vantaa alueittain... 2015, 175). various fields, such as sociologists and The small center of Koivukylä is divided psychologists working alongside architects. into three small regions – Koivukylä, Asola The area was planned to be very efficiently and Havukoski. built and it was advertised with the slo- gan: “A compact city is a contact city”. The Koivukylä’s major region is mainly a resi- building style is typical for the 1970s era. dential area. Job self-sufficiency in Vantaa High-rise buildings are over ten stories is lower only in the major region of Korso. high, and between those there are three- and These days there are 28,062 inhabitants in four-story buildings as well. Row houses the Koivukylä major region (Vantaa alueit- were built on the periphery of Havukoski. tain… 2017). The number of inhabitants has Thousands of new apartments were built in increased by about 11,000 people since 1980. Havukoski in the 1970s, but far less than The original plan in the 1970s was to devel- the number that had been planned. Parts of op the Koivukylä major region as one of the the construction plan were postponed and regional centers of the Helsinki region with changed; for example, buildings were built 50,000 inhabitants living nearby by the year lower than originally planned. Sato and 146 2000 (Vantaa alueittain… 2015, 179). Haka acted as construction companies and The center is not very well connected they only built apartments, though they had because the center is divided by the rail- the opportunity to build service centers as way track and a small riverbed, Rekolanoja. well. Since the 1970s, quite a few apart- Intense development of the center eventual- ments have been built in Havukoski (Vantaa ly resulted in better commercial services, alueittain… 2015, 194–195). but the residents had to wait for over 30 Havukoski has one of the highest concen- years. A small shopping center was built in trations of apartment buildings in Vantaa. the late 2000s on the border of Asola and There were fewer than 100 inhabitants in Koivukylä, with a K-Citymarket acting as the 1971, but by 1980 there were already 10,530 anchor tenant. These days there are several inhabitants. Today there are 8,163 inhabit- grocery stores and some specialty stores in ants in the Havukoski small region (Vantaa the center as well. alueittain… 2015). By the end of 1990s, the Havukoski suburb was one of the neighbor- Havukoski Small Region hoods in Vantaa supported with the help of the European Union’s (EU) “Project Urban.” Havukoski is located east of the main rail- Project Urban aimed to create better liv- way line (Helsinki–Tampere). The northern ing environments, and in the Havukoski area part is the densely built Koivukylä-Havu- the environment and properties were reno- koski suburb, whereas the southern part is vated. In addition, the area was developed filled with open Hanaböle fields, as well as with different social and cultural actions. Keravanjoki and Rekolanoja running through The old village of Hanaböle and its environ- those fields (Vantaa alueittain… 2015, ment, as well as Keravanjoki shore, are the 194–195). most important areas for recreation (Vantaa Havukoski suburban planning started in alueittain… 2015, 194-195). Along Keravan- 1967 (Vantaa alueittain… 2015, 194–195). joki, there are wide green spaces, swimming The first inhabitants moved there in 1972.

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