Making Helsinki City Centre More Family-Friendly
Kotilainen, Katja (2025)
2025
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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025061823252
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025061823252
Tiivistelmä
This thesis explores how to make Helsinki’s city centre more attractive for families with children aged 0–7. It investigates their current visitation habits, perceptions of family-friendliness, and what could encourage more frequent and longer visits. Although the city centre’s vitality has declined and its role is shifting from commercial to social, the needs of families have been largely overlooked in revitalization efforts.
Focusing on families living in the Helsinki metropolitan area but outside the city centre, the study examines day visits using a service design approach based on the Double Diamond model. Several qualitative methods including cultural probes (n=9), semi-structured interviews (n=12), customer journey mapping, a co-creation workshop, and archetype development were used. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data.
Findings reveal that families value basic amenities such as child-friendly dining and accessible toilets. A strong need for more engaging, child-appropriate destinations also emerged. Three family archetypes were developed to illustrate different visitor profiles. Two key themes stood out: the lack of child-friendly restaurants and the absence of a central playground. These were further explored through a restaurant customer journey map and a concept for an urban playground, offering concrete ideas to enhance the city centre’s appeal for families.
Focusing on families living in the Helsinki metropolitan area but outside the city centre, the study examines day visits using a service design approach based on the Double Diamond model. Several qualitative methods including cultural probes (n=9), semi-structured interviews (n=12), customer journey mapping, a co-creation workshop, and archetype development were used. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data.
Findings reveal that families value basic amenities such as child-friendly dining and accessible toilets. A strong need for more engaging, child-appropriate destinations also emerged. Three family archetypes were developed to illustrate different visitor profiles. Two key themes stood out: the lack of child-friendly restaurants and the absence of a central playground. These were further explored through a restaurant customer journey map and a concept for an urban playground, offering concrete ideas to enhance the city centre’s appeal for families.