Urban laboratory for sustainable environment to enhance environmental expertise in Lahti
30.03.2012
The research project ”Urban laboratory for sustainable environment” studies the functioning of urban ecosystems, impacts of building on the environment and the associated knowledge infrastructure.
As a result of this project, a research infrastructure of urban environment, civil engineering and environmental informatics will emerge in Lahti to complement the existing environmental sector research infrastructure in the area. Parties involved in this research cooperation are Aalto University, the University of Helsinki and Lahti University of Applied Sciences.
Environmental information management brought to a new level: an entire urban area as a test laboratory
The project will facilitate research cooperation between research teams in Lahti area and elsewhere associated with urban environments. In the initial stage, a test area network and an environmental information laboratory will be set up in Lahti. These will collect and produce data on changes in the urban environment, water and material flows and ecosystem services produced by the urban ecosystem.
In the future, new research teams from other parts of Finland can become involved in the urban laboratory activities. The project will produce experience and skills in the areas of environmental measurements and informatics.
–The network will consist of 3–5 test areas representing different types of urban environments. Information produced by the test areas will be fed into a knowledge infrastructure to be built up during the project, in which it will be combined with other data, models and planning tools for the area, explains Professor Ari Jolma from the Aalto University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Key indicators of the status of an urban environment include material and energy flows on the interfaces of the city, water systems and the atmosphere.
– The study measures factors and variables relevant to water circulation and air quality in an urban ecosystem, explains Professor Heikki Setälä from the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Helsinki.
– In particular, by studying the flows and quality of urban stormwaters, we can glean information on the urban environment and gain a better understanding of the way sustainable urban environments work, Setälä adds.
More intensive cooperation between environmental experts in Lahti area
In recent years, a significant cluster of environmental expertise and businesses has emerged in Lahti area. The research project Urban laboratory for sustainable environment will establish in Lahti area a platform of multidisciplinary research cooperation and an infrastructure to back it up, which will support analysing and managing the processes of sustainable urbanisation.
– The research project will offer students at Lahti University of Applied sciences an excellent setting for traineeships and themes for development projects, explains Principal Lecturer Silja Kostia. Every year, some 40 new engineers graduate from the Degree Programme of Environmental Technology, and a Master’s degree programme in sustainable urban planning will be launched in autumn 2012.
The core of the cooperation platform consists of the University of Helsinki’s Urban Ecosystems Research Group, the Professorships of Environmental Informatics and Water Resources Engineering at Aalto University as well as the technological field of education at Lahti University of Applied Sciences. The platform also involves the decision-makers and authorities responsible for urban environment development in Lahti area, local environmental sector companies and the Lahti University Consortium.
The Urban laboratory for sustainable environment project is coordinated by Aalto University and it will be implemented in the period 1 January 2012–30 June 2014. Third-party funding outside the universities and the University of Applied Sciences will be coordinated by the Regional Council of Päijät-Häme through the EU Structural Funds and the City of Lahti.
Further information:
Professor Ari Jolma
Aalto University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
ari.jolma [at] aalto [dot] fi
tel. 050 347 6463
Professor Harri Koivusalo
Aalto University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
harri.koivusalo [at] aalto [dot] fi
tel. 050 570 9864
Professor Heikki Setälä,
University of Helsinki, Department of Environmental Science, Lahti Environmental Campus
heikki.setala [at] helsinki [dot] fi
tel. 050 540 8094
Principal Lecturer Silja Kostia,
Lahti University of Applied Sciences
silja.kostia [at] lamk [dot] fi
tel. 050 387 1901
