Browsing by Author "Ahvenniemi, Hannele"

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  • Advancing sustainable transformation of cities - An analysis of city and household level efforts in the pursuit of carbon-neutrality targets
    (2020) Ahvenniemi, Hannele
     School of Engineering | Doctoral dissertation (article-based)
    It has been widely recognised that cities and particularly the built environment have a major role in fighting against climate change. Acknowledging the challenge, city governments have been eager to declare ambitious carbon-neutrality targets along with smart city strategies. Simultaneously academia and the business sector have announced a number of measures and solutions as to how these targets can be reached. However, a commonly accepted definition on smart cities – and an understanding of the link to sustainable cities – is still lacking. High expectations are also faced by households, major contributors of cities' greenhouse gas emissions, who are expected to be motivated to adopt smart and sustainable measures and understand the significance of them. This dissertation composes of five individual studies examining the topic 'Advancing sustainable transformation of cities' from various angles and on both city and household levels. The first part of the dissertation focuses on the target setting of cities, studying 1) the similarities and differences of smart and sustainable city targets, and 2) how cities express their environmental sustainability targets in their strategies. The second part of the dissertation deals with the household level, studying the environmental impacts and economic benefits of sustainability measures implemented by households, as well as other motivational factors behind sustainable choices. The results of the publications show that advancing environmental sustainability efficiently on both city and household levels may be challenging. When cities aim for 'smartness', they do not automatically pursue environmental sustainability. It seems that remarkable efforts are still needed to incorporate environmental sustainability targets of cities to an all-compassing action plan. When households implement carbon mitigating actions, these actions may not always lead to efficient results, nor do they necessarily provide economic benefits. Forerunner households who have implemented renewable energy technologies however report other type of benefits: they experience pleasure from energy self-sufficiency and being able to share information, among others. Information is crucial regarding households' efforts to cut carbon by implementing actions, and smart technologies may play a key role here. While smartness targets have become pervasive – bringing along technologies and measures to speed up sustainable transformation – it is essential for cities to clarify which of the smart measures truly are useful in regard of environmental sustainability goals.
  • Ympäristötehokkaiden toimitilojen kysyntä Suomessa ja niiden tarjoamat hyödyt käyttäjäyrityksille
    (2011) Ahvenniemi, Hannele
     School of Engineering | Master's thesis
    An interest in environmentally friendly construction has increased in the 21 st century and companies have become more aware of the benefits that ecological facilities can offer. In Finland 40% of all carbon dioxide emissions are caused by built environment and therefore buildings hold a large potential for achieving objects of sustainable development. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a demand for environmentally friendly real estate exists from Finnish occupiers and how companies can benefit from choosing green facilities. The data for the thesis was collected by contacting Finnish companies with over 50 employees and asking them to complete an Internet based questionnaire. The questions covered occupiers' criteria for relocation, green procedures for both usage and maintenance of real estate and their businesses awareness of green real estate and practices. In addition to this, a separate questionnaire was sent to shopping centre and business park managers asking if they had noticed any trends in tenants' interest in green facilities. The results of this thesis show that while enthusiasm for green facilities is high this currently only leads to a measurable change in a minority of cases. A considerable amount of companies showed interest in paying a premium for premises with green features. For this higher cost businesses expect to enjoy a more positive company image and to make cost savings in the long term. This change is often part of the companies' wider strategy. The most important reason for not showing interest in green facilities is usually related to the lack of knowledge and experience of these practices. Also the questionnaire addressed to shopping centre or business park managers revealed that there exists a growing interest in ecological facilities and that in some cases this interest has already led to green criterion. In future, green facilities will most likely become mainstream as a result of both legislative requirements as well as increasing demand.
  • Impact of infill development on prices of existing apartments in Finnish urban neighbourhoods
    (2018-01-01) Ahvenniemi, Hannele; Pennanen, Kyösti; Knuuti, Antti; Arvola, Anne; Viitanen, Kauko
     A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
    Popularity of infill development is increasing because of the environmental benefits and cost saving potential it provides, which relate to the possibility to use existing infrastructure and services. However, the impact of infill development on value of existing properties has not been studied to a sufficient extent. Therefore, the aim of our study is to analyse whether infill development affects the prices of existing apartments. We carried out statistical analysis based on data from seven case neighbourhoods, and prices of more than 6000 housing transactions from one decade. The results of our analysis do not support the hypothesis of infill development affecting positively existing housing prices, but neither did the study show a significant negative effect. Both amenity effect and negative externalities may provide explanations as to why property values do not change due to infill development.
  • Kiinteistöbrändit ja niiden vaikutus yrityksen imagoon
    (2008) Ahvenniemi, Hannele
     Insinööritieteiden ja arkkitehtuurin tiedekunta | Bachelor's thesis