{"id":3134,"date":"2026-06-15T20:23:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T18:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stics.sk\/carpets-from-fishing-nets-and-a-car-park-that-doubles-as-a-shelter-what-we-learned-in-finland\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T20:34:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T18:34:19","slug":"carpets-from-fishing-nets-and-a-car-park-that-doubles-as-a-shelter-what-we-learned-in-finland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stics.sk\/en\/carpets-from-fishing-nets-and-a-car-park-that-doubles-as-a-shelter-what-we-learned-in-finland\/","title":{"rendered":"Carpets from fishing nets and a car park that doubles as a shelter. What we learned in Finland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Four days, two cities, dozens of stops. From 1 to 4 June 2026, a Slovak delegation of mayors and business representatives travelled to Helsinki and Espoo in search of an answer to the question our local authorities ask most often: how do you turn smart city theory into something that actually works? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The answer we brought home is surprisingly simple. It is not about technology. At first glance the Finns do nothing that could not be done here as well. But they do one thing consistently: every investment they make serves more than one purpose. A library is also a workshop. A car park is also a shelter. A transport hub is also a city district. And that is exactly the difference between a city that has smart projects and a city that is smart. <\/p>\n\n

Day one: the transport hub that became a city<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

We began the programme at Finnish developer YIT with an analysis of its flagship project, Mall of Tripla in Helsinki.<\/p>\n\n

Tripla is not a shopping centre. It is a complex that brings together a major transport hub, housing, offices, shops and public spaces, and it stands on the site of a former industrial zone. The project holds LEED Platinum certification and green roofs make up as much as 40% of its area. <\/p>\n\n

For Slovak local authorities it is a demonstration of how neglected land can be turned into a living community centre instead of yet another single purpose building.<\/p>\n\n

Day two: open data, a single ticket and a city that does not sell its land<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The second day belonged to the innovation hubs Forum Virium and EpiCenter Helsinki, which serve as testing laboratories for new technologies. Exactly the kind of environment we are building here through the Living Labs of the STICS project. <\/p>\n\n

On mobility, the Finns showed us where they are heading. They presented an open source application available on GitHub, which by 2030 they plan to develop so that a passenger buys a single ticket from their own front door to their final destination, no matter how many modes of transport they change along the way. The results so far speak for themselves: as many as 90% of Helsinki residents now get around on foot, by bike or by public transport. <\/p>\n\n

The strongest inspiration for managing municipal property, however, came from the Kalasatama district, which is being built on the site of the former docks. Here the city does not sell its land. It owns it and leases it to developers on long term contracts. That way it keeps control over what gets built on its territory, and secures a permanent income at the same time. The whole district also uses a pneumatic underground waste collection system. <\/p>\n\n

We rounded off the day at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Helsinki, where our delegation was received by the Slovak ambassador.<\/p>\n\n

Day three: how innovation reaches decision-making<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

On the third day we moved up a level, to the mechanisms that make innovation possible.<\/p>\n\n

At Helsinki City Hall we studied how innovation makes its way from presentations into practice, and how the city is drawing up a new strategy that responds flexibly to changing conditions instead of staying fixed for ten years.<\/p>\n\n

At the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment we looked at Finland’s national Smart City concept and at how the state delivers projects in the field of sustainability. We took the opportunity to present the STICS platform and our objectives, and we invited the ministry representatives to the international inDays Michalovce 2027 summit (11 and 12 May 2027) <\/p>\n\n

A visit to the Laajasuo sports park was a reminder that innovation is not only software. Good infrastructure, inclusive play equipment and thoughtful urban design build resilient communities just as effectively as any app. <\/p>\n\n

Day four: carpets from fishing nets and a car park that doubles as a shelter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Posledn\u00fd de\u0148 priniesol dva najsilnej\u0161ie pr\u00edklady toho, o \u010dom je cel\u00e1 t\u00e1to cesta.<\/p>\n\n

In the innovation city of Espoo we visited the Lippulaiva public library, housed inside a shopping centre powered by geothermal energy. The library is a showcase project of the circular economy: the tables and chairs are refurbished and the carpets are woven from discarded fishing nets. Inside you will find the shared Makersplace workshop with tools and sewing machines, a community kitchen and creative zones for children. <\/p>\n\n

Representatives of Espoo showed us how the city links its own goals with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Two examples worth remembering: <\/p>\n\n