Transforming disadvantaged neighbourhoods through service thinking for use by schools and the community

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master_Garg_Mansi_2024.pdf (46.61 MB)

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School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
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Date

2024

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ark

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Mcode

Degree programme

Master’s Programme in Urban Studies and Planning

Language

en

Pages

172

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Abstract

Schools located in disadvantaged neighbourhoods often deal with stigmatization and school rejection leading to an imbalance between the student base in the neighbourhood and the school composition. This phenomenon of school segregation has been observed to increase within the last decade in Finland which also coincides with increased immigration in dense neighbourhoods. It is identified through literature study that the main driver of school segregation is residential segregation, which is influenced by neighbourhood planning. Schools, thus face challenges concerning the size of school, and lack of space in dense and disadvantaged neighbourhoods for integration activities for parents of foreign speaking pupils in the community. Also, the effects of school segregation and residential segregation pose a huge challenge to pupils’ daily experiences in terms of availability and connection to educational, cultural, and social services particularly in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. There is a lack of systematic tool for considering the segregation perspective in local-detailed planning, service, and school network planning. Consequently, service thinking can tackle the challenge of efficient use of resources by improving neighbourhood services and connecting them with schools through a spatial network. The question of how service thinking can create new tools for neighbourhood planning to identify, develop and connect necessary spaces and services to reduce disadvantage and mitigate segregation is answered through this thesis. The thesis attempts to tackle the problem of lack of multipurpose interaction spaces faced by schools and communities in disadvantaged neighbourhoods through a network of spaces in the neighbourhood. Havukoski in Vantaa is chosen as an empirical study for this thesis since the demography of the neighbourhood affects the schools in the area strongly. When looking at socio-economic factors (income, employment, education etc.), Havukoski is one of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Vantaa. It also has the highest percentage of people with foreign mother tongue. Research methods such as mapping, site visits, and interviews with experts working on the area reveal challenges to development in the neighbourhood and the potential for a spatial network. The spatial network proposed in this thesis serves as a scenario for planning which generates knowledge to inform policies in service network planning, school network planning and local area planning.

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Supervisor

Lindgren, Tommy

Thesis advisor

Bernelius, Venla

Keywords

segregation, school segregation, service thinking, urban design and planning, social interaction, community development, touchpoints

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202409016067

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[master] Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu / ARTS