• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Parkly

Parkly

We create happy and functional public places

  • Home
  • Parkly
  • Cases
  • News
  • People
  • Contact
  • EN
  • FI
  • DE

New team member: Jalmari Sarla

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a Helsinki-based urbanist with a main professional interest in designing and supporting better public spaces through placemaking. My background is in design (BA) and I have worked as an employee and a freelancer in the urban planning field. After graduating as MA in Urban Studies and Planning with a thesis focusing on placemaking and public space experience, I am now joining Parkly team with a mission to improve urban spaces and experiences together with our clients and local communities.

Why did you become an urban designer?

Back in the day during my design studies and beyond, I have always wanted to work with urban challenges related to places, neighborhoods and cities. I love living in the city and I want to contribute to it also in my professional life. By combining my design skills with my knowledge in urban research, I feel I can make the most difference in my mission to improve urban environments for everyone. 

What is your favorite city and why/what can we learn from it? 

I have a special soft spot for the two very different cities I spent exchange semesters in: Budapest and Hong Kong. From Budapest, we can learn how restaurants and nightlife can make use of “leftover” public spaces and support amazing streetlife. From Hong Kong, we can learn how even hyper-dense urban environments can be designed in a way that creates enjoyable and highly diverse urban experiences on a pedestrian level.

How do you think placemaking can best contribute to urban development?

Placemaking emphasizes the needs and desires of local communities and empowers them to reshape their public spaces. In a world where so much attention is given to economic and technical matters, placemaking can help planners and designers pay attention to the softer side of urban life: experiencing places through senses, aesthetic sensibilities and communal activities. The official planning process comes to a close when a plan is implemented, but the process of placemaking is ever-evolving and continuous.

You recently wrote your master’s thesis for the University of Helsinki with a commission from the City of Helsinki. What would you say are the key learnings from your research?

My thesis explored two placemaking case studies through an ethnographic process in order to evaluate their effects on the spatial and aesthetic experiences of the public spaces in question. Among my main findings were that people in both studied Helsinki neighborhoods desired for more active and green public spaces, and that placemaking, along with adjacent research and participant observation, can produce very important place-based knowledge for urban planners that often lacks today.

Why Parkly? What are your expectations working in the Parkly-team?

I expect to put my hands in the dirt and get many chances to pour my passion for great places into making concrete improvements in everyday urban environments. Moreover, I get to do that not only with the local communities, but also with two like-minded designers whose pioneering placemaking work I’ve held in high regard for years, Päivi and Daniel!

Dream big! What does an ideal future city look and feel like?

My ideal future city is dense, lively and egalitarian. It is full of public spaces where you can enjoy life as a citizen, not only a customer. It is safe to walk and spend time in whether you are a small child, an elderly person or someone with disabilities. It is a place where lots is happening, you can be pleasantly surprised by what you encounter and where you will have unforgettable experiences that spark joy with you and your friends. It feels magical rather than mundane.

Footer

Parkly Oy

Mechelininkatu 23 LH 4
00100 Helsinki
Finland

Contact us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Copyright © 2023 · Parkly

We value your privacy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
JSESSIONIDsessionThe JSESSIONID cookie is used by New Relic to store a session identifier so that New Relic can monitor session counts for an application.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
__cf_bm30 minutesThis cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
_icl_visitor_lang_js1 dayWPML sets this cookie to store the redirected language.
aka_debugsessionVimeo sets this cookie which is essential for the website to play video functionality.
player1 yearVimeo uses this cookie to save the user's preferences when playing embedded videos from Vimeo.
wpml_browser_redirect_testsessionThis cookie is set by WPML WordPress plugin and is used to test if cookies are enabled on the browser.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
sync_activeneverThis cookie is set by Vimeo and contains data on the visitor's video-content preferences, so that the website remembers parameters such as preferred volume or video quality.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga1 year 1 month 4 daysThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_*1 year 1 month 4 daysGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views.
_gat_gtag_UA_*1 minuteGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to store a unique user ID.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
vuid1 year 1 month 4 daysVimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos to the website.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Save & Accept
Powered by CookieYes Logo