A Finnish environmental NGO working in urban environments - example of Dodo. Ecology and management of urban green space, Helsinki Summer School, University of Helsinki 2014.

1. A Finnish environmental NGO
working in urban environments –
example of Dodo
Titta Lassila
August 18, 2014
Helsinki Summer School
Ecology and management of urban green space

2. Why an urban NGO?
• Majority of people live in cities; 50-50 situation was reached
in 2008
– Finland 30 % in 1950  70 % in 2030
• Cities are getting bigger; in 1975 3 megacities of 10 million or
more inhabitants, by 2025 there will be 27 (21 in the
developing world)
• Urban people are increasingly detached from the natural
environment and the sources of food, energy, raw
materials,…or are they?
• Cities are not ecological bubbles!
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/aug/18/percentage-population-living-cities

3. "Well-designed and well-governed cities can
combine high living standards with much
lower greenhouse gas emissions.”
David Dodman, International Institute for Environment and
Development (IIED)

4. Sustainable Development Goals post-2015:
Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
- enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and
capacities for participatory, integrated and sustainable human
settlement planning and management;
- reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of
cities, including by paying special attention to air quality,
municipal and other waste management;
- provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible,
green and public spaces; etc.

5. Urban green space?
http://mashable.com/2013/

6. Dodo – A Progressive Finnish
environmental NGO
• Established 1995
• Promotes global environmental
thinking and citizen-based action
• Wide perspective to environmental
issues
• Urban point of view: individuality &
communality
• Open sharing of ideas and willingness
to test any possible solutions – with a
permission to fail
• Avoiding expert talk; everyone’s
entitled to understand and contribute
to the discourse
• strongly voluntary-based

7. In Dodo we ask:
• What is happy & sustainable life made of?
• Who decides our way of living?
• How can we find local solutions to global
environmental challenges?
• Can I do it??

8. Ideas rising into action
Lumituuli Oy
Demos Helsinki
Typpilaakso
– ‘Nitrogen Valley’

9. 1) Space:
Urban planning
“Cities have the
capability of
providing something
for everybody, only
because, and only
when, they are
created by
everybody.”
― Jane Jacobs, The Death and
Life of Great American Cities

10. This is OUR city
- and us means
everyone

11. “Copenhagen has
no cyclists.
Copenhagen has
ordinary citizens
who ride bikes.”
Bianca Hermansen,
urban designer
http://dodo.org/dodoilu/uutiset/copen
hagen-has-no-cyclists-copenhagen-has-
ordinary-citizens-who-ride-bikes

12. 2) Food: Urban farming
• A great success since 2009: you CAN grow your own food in a city!
 And that DOES make a difference!

13. Dodo’s urban farming 2009

14. One year later…
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=203894599090529
002570.0004bc88592cdfdb1ac67&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=60.18574
5,24.940681&spn=0.051209,0.09613&z=12&source=embed

16. Creating ones own urban green space - Kalasatama 2010

17. Kalasatama, July 2010
http://new-lifeflavour.net/

18. 2011: Urban farming centre Kääntöpöytä / Turntable

19. The Plan

20. The Plan – Made into reality

21. Urban beehives: Turntable, August 2013

22. Project
Forkprint
From global food
security to closed
nutrient cycle

23. 3) Home: Urban Housing Fair
2013 & 2014
30 % of our carbon
footprint & 15 % of
total ecological
footprint comes from
housing
Not the size but the
function
Think outside your
apartment

24. Happy housing companies
• How to make your whole house and living environment more
comfortable, safe and collaborative – and hence more
sustainable?

25. 4) Platform for ideas about anything

26. Elsewhere…
http://www.laciudadverde.co/2/
http://bicisporlavida.org/es#!/catid=1

27. What makes Dodo a great place to act?
• Learning by doing
• Global approach; sharing solutions and ideas
• Positivity; environmental activism is fun!
• Courage to try out even the boldest ideas

28. The NEXT level?
• Bottom-up ‘green economy’ & ‘clean-tech’
https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zqMPFRhRKB-c.kF7tdGTIKtMw
• Off-grid: small-scale energy production
• Off-pipe: stop to resource waste, closing the
nutrient cycle

29. What is YOUR
urban sustainability challenge?

30. Objective
• Message
• Target group
Means & action!
• Space & environment
• Platform
• People
• Resources
• Windows of opportunity within the political
framework?

31. Thank you!
titta.lassila@dodo.org
dodo.org