From sparse to compact city – shifting notions of nature in post-war residential landscapes in the Helsinki region

Different urban models, ranging from sparse garden cities to dense compact cities, have aimed to achieve healthy environments and combat the disadvantages of the city. They have aspired to respond to the specific challenges of each era, although, the means have substantially varied. Shifting ideologies have materialized in urban models but also in landscape architecture – a field that has remained largely unexamined in urban planning history. This article highlights the role of landscape architecture – urban greenery, parks, and gardens – and the ideals of urban nature they entail. The focus is on post-war residential landscapes in the Helsinki region, Finland in the 1950s–2010s. The article analyses the changing planning paradigms of urban nature with five city types: the garden city, forest city, compact city, ecological city, and the new compact city. Each paradigm has its specific nature type, which is characterized by different meanings and spatial forms given to nature, the ideal environment and the appropriate density. The study brings a landscape architecture approach to the academic discussion on the role of urban nature in urban planning. It also offers a critical outlook, reminding that the discussion on nature is not neutral and straightforward, but contradictory and loaded with underlying meanings.