In autumn 2015 I took part as an expert of human-centered design and smart use of spaces, in an experimental project by City of Helsinki. This project, titled “Open spaces” (Tilat avoimiksi), called for a more flexible use of spaces owned by the City, with the help of digital tools. At the same time the project was a practice for civil servants to try out experimental culture. In a series of workshops, a mock-up of a digital service for booking spaces across different departments of the City of Helsinki, was created. Although this project dealt mainly with making the use of space more flexible within the city employees and across departments – a healthy starting point – at the same time the overarching vision was that one day those spaces would be available for any citizen, entrepreneur or visitor to book up easily with one click. Let’s keep our hopes high that this experiment continues!
