Designing for wellbeing

which it would be possible to reach local residents. Some of the resources,
such as local associations, seemed like potential collaborators later on in the
process and channels to meet active residents. Active locals are important
nodes in a social network and usually know how things work in an area.
During our meetings with a few of them, we collected valuable information
about different initiatives taken within the area, where people meet each
other, and what Kannelmäki’s most important information channels are.
After we had gained our first impression of Kannelmäki, choosing
a direction for the project required more information about residents’
attitudes and desires towards their neighbourhood. An event was set up
in the local cultural centre, Kanneltalo, in order to engage with residents
and hear their views on what an ideal neighbourhood would be and how
they perceive their current living environment. The event also served as
a way to let more people know about the on-going project, and to show
local residents that they have the opportunity to get involved and affect
the direction of the process. To facilitate the discussions with residents
we used pictures. The interviewees were asked to describe what the word
neighbourhood means to them, to choose a picture that they associate with
their ideal neighbourhood and another one that they associate with their
current neighbourhood. The pictures used during the interviews aimed to
help the interviewees to recall memories, emotions and attitudes about
the neighbourhood and to give answers resembling storytelling.
The Sitratori central square was frequently mentioned as a restless
and unpleasant area and was therefore chosen as our focus. We arranged
a workshop to allow the locals to share their ideas for the amelioration
of Sitratori by drawing and using collage techniques on top of black and
white pictures of the area. For those who hesitated to express themselves
visually there were notes with three simple questions or tasks: “What kind
of things in your living environment make you feel good?” “What kind of
things in your living environment bother you?” and ”Describe Sitratori in
one sentence.”
108 · Social wellbeing through participation in Kannelmäki suburb