2024 in innovations: greenery, traffic monitoring and market square events

Artikkelikuva: 2024 in innovations: greenery, traffic monitoring and market square events

Pilot projects carried out in 2024 in Helsinki involved testing what kinds of new tasks drones could carry out, how sensors improve road safety and how to add more greenery to the city. In addition to this, pilot projects developed new tools to support employment and used satellite data to forecast the effects of climate change.

In 2024, the City of Helsinki’s innovation company Forum Virium Helsinki, in collaboration with the City, residents, companies and experts, developed innovations that make the city greener and help reduce traffic emissions. Many of the pilots carried out during the year included objectives focusing on inclusivity, the prevention of social exclusion and the creation of living and pleasant urban spaces.

Read on to learn more about seven success stories from 2024.

1. City provided with temporary greenery

    City residents want to see more greenery in their local environments. In response, cities are working hard to come up with ideas on what kinds of green solutions they could implement in built environments. In 2024, temporary greenery was tested in several places in Helsinki. The PilotGreen project, which is co-funded by the European Union, brought a Nature Station and a temporary park built out of waste materials to Suvilahti, reinforced the amphitheatre in Alppipuisto Park with turfstone made from industrial surplus material and added green walls to a tram stop on Hermannin rantatie. The latter pilot, in particular, improved pleasantness while also benefiting nature, which was proved with measurements; the eDNA measurements carried out at the tram stop indicated that it was visited by pollinators. The temperature of the stop also decreased by approximately two degrees compared to its surrounding environment. 

    The pilots were carried out by Innogreen, Blokgarden, Nomaji Landscape Architects and Abau Design, Loci Maisema-arkkitehdit and Spolia Design.

    2. Market squares became event venues

      Helsinki has been promoting living and sustainable urban food culture in many ways in recent times. Some of the most visible results of this work were the two new market square events centred around local foods and beverages organised in autumn 2024 at Hakaniemi Market Square as part of Helsinki’s Food Year 2024: Wild Food Revolution – Mushroom Party, which celebrated the mushroom season, and Sobar – Autumn Party, which celebrated non-alcoholic beverages. The two events attracted a total of over 1,000 visitors. They were organised in collaboration with Helsinki City Premises Ltd and food entrepreneurs as part of the Urban&Local – Future Food Ecosystem project, which is co-funded by the European Union.

      The aforementioned events were by no means the only food innovations of the year. The Urban&Local Local Food Stall operated in Hakaniemi Market Hall in 2023, which provided entrepreneurs with opportunities to test the demand for and hall sales of their new products, resulted in the establishment of a new restaurant called Tian Tian on Vaasankatu at the start of 2024. The Local Food Stall gave the entrepreneurs behind the restaurant, which specialises in dumplings, the courage to start their own business. The restaurant currently employs four people.

      3. Road safety and emission reductions facilitated through monitoring and by supporting pedestrian and cycling traffic

        Traffic emissions can be reduced by examining traffic flows, developing planning, making vehicles lighter and encouraging people to walk and ride bicycles, for example. These were also the focus areas of several pilots carried out in Helsinki in 2024 with the aim of cutting traffic emissions. One of the most innovative was the new type of distribution centre that was piloted in Jätkäsaari as part of the DISCO project.

        Collecting traffic data is necessary for the development of smart traffic, as demonstrated by the pilots of the Mobility Lab Helsinki project, which ended in 2024. The project involved piloting a range of innovative methods for collecting traffic data, including various lidar solutions (page in Finnish). When traffic flows smoothly, emissions are reduced. Traffic is one of the largest sources of emissions in Helsinki.

        In the Kaisantunneli tunnel that opened in the spring, the project tested a new type of traffic sensor that measured the number and speed of pedestrians and cyclists. Meanwhile, a pilot carried out on Esplanadi involved monitoring how plants and a cycling lane affected the appeal of the area, the amount of time spent there and different forms of mobility. 

        In addition to these, a pilot carried out near Kaisantunneli, behind Kiasma, involved testing a new bicycle parking solution in which each bicycle is stored in a designated bicycle bay. The idea was for cyclists to be able to safely store not only their bicycles but also their equipment. Both the bicycle parking hub and the measurement of the users of Kaisantunneli were part of the Helsinki Mobility Lab smart mobility project, which ended in the autumn. 

        4. Residents’ attitudes towards drones surveyed

          Helsinki has been actively piloting various types of drone solutions for many years now, with pilots involving the transportation of epipens and the scanning of a city district using drones, among other things. Pilots carried out in 2024 involved testing the suitability of drones for traffic monitoring and transporting a rescue buoy to people in distress at sea. The pilot involving the use of drones to tackle traffic congestion (page in Finnish) was even reported on by MTV3. The work was carried out as part of the Acumen project.

          Furthermore, during the year two surveys were carried out to find out how the residents of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area feel about drones. The surveys were coordinated by the CITYAM urban air mobility project being carried out jointly by six cities and co-funded by the European Union. The objective of the project is to increase the safe and responsible use of drones in Helsinki, Tartu, Gdansk, Hamburg, Stockholm and Riga. Responses to the first survey were received from over 5,000 people, with the number of responses to the second survey being only slightly lower. The majority of the respondents believe that drones can be useful. 

          In 2025, the aim is to have drones fly longer distances than ever before in Helsinki, as the City pilots the transport of medical samples from a hospital to a laboratory. 

          5. New tools to support employment

            The City of Helsinki is investing in ensuring that as many residents as possible are able to operate in the digital world. In recent years, one operator that has been actively exploring the possibilities of digitalisation is the City of Helsinki Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division’s Rehabilitative Work Activities unit. Forum Virium Helsinki has also been involved in developing tools to strengthen the digital skills of employees and clients in many ways through several projects funded by the European Union. Some of the tools piloted have also been made available permanently, such as the digital learning environment tailored to clients’ needs that was tested in the DOT project in 2023 and put into permanent use in January 2024. 

            Solutions piloted and co-created in 2024 included the Kierrätysmestari (‘Recycling Master’) course that increases awareness of the circular economy, a resource package on AI and a skills mapping tool that helps Work Activities clients develop their skills. The Kierrätysmestari course was co-created with the clients and staff of Rehabilitative Work Activities and Disability Services and became a permanent part of their training portfolio. Developed as part of the Treasource project focusing on the circular economy, the course is also being localised into Norwegian and Estonian in 2025. 

            The skills mapping tool continues to be used to assess the digital skills of Rehabilitate Work Activities clients and recommend digital courses to them. The pilot was carried out as part of the From Work Activities to Employment project, which, as the name suggests, supports the transition from work activities to employment, and the CommuniCity project, which is aiming to launch a hundred pilots. 

            The From Work Activities to Employment project developed the work ability of Rehabilitative Work Activities clients and solutions for identifying previously acquired skills in collaboration with vocational education and training providers. In 2025, the ENOT project (page in Finnish) funded by the European Social Fund will continue to develop practices and tools for the accreditation and recognition of learning in collaboration with Helsinki Vocational College and Laurea University of Applied Sciences.

            6. Integrating social aspects into the city’s digital twin

            Helsinki’s digital twin models the different aspects of the city digitally. In most cases, the digital twins of cities focus primarily on the built environment, but Forum Virium Helsinki’s projects have also explored other aspects. Adding new dimensions to cities’ digital twins expands their potential applications. In the summer, Forum Virium Helsinki published a guide on how to take social dimensions into account (page in Finnish) in cities’ digital twins. The work was part of the DikaS project funded with so-called AKKE funding (‘Supporting sustainable growth and vitality in the regions’).

            Furthermore, 2024 saw the development of a free demo tool (page in Finnish) for examining heat and flood risks and social vulnerability and making them easy to understand for the public. This data can help cities adapt to changing climate conditions and concentrate measures to areas where residents are most likely to suffer from the changes brought about by the climate crisis. The tool was and continues to be developed as part of the Regions4Climate project focusing on climate change adaptation, which is funded by the European Union.

            7. Active piloting continued

            As an innovation company, Forum Virium Helsinki is tasked with bringing innovative services and technologies to the city. These services and technologies are piloted and developed in collaboration with the City, residents, companies and experts. Typically, a single pilot will run for a few months. Pilots are usually organised as part of agile pilot programmes or as a result of innovation competitions. 

            In 2024, Forum Virium Helsinki organised ten calls for pilots. These calls resulted in the selection of approximately 30 pilots for implementation in different parts of Helsinki, including Malmi, Kalasatama, Jätkäsaari and several service homes. 

            In 2025, the first new pilots will start in January. You can find information about Forum Virium Helsinki’s ongoing pilots on the Ongoing pilots page.

            Photo: Vesa Laitinen

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