The University of Helsinki and the City of Helsinki are intensifying their collaboration to enhance the City Centre Campus. The streets Yliopistonkatu and Fabianinkatu will be developed into a green shared living space bringing together scholarship, learning, and urban life and culture to revitalise the city centre.
The City Centre Campus is a unique environment embracing research, science, learning, culture and urban living.
"The University and the City share the objective of boosting the dynamism of central Helsinki and establishing a new form of collaboration," together declare Rector Sari Lindblom of the University of Helsinki and Helsinki Mayor Daniel Sazonov.
The remodelling of Yliopistonkatu and Fabianinkatu meets this challenge by incorporating a pedestrian zone, University operations, a start-up ecosystem, cultural activities and services into a vibrant milieu.
"A versatile and vigorous City Centre Campus will attract talented students from the whole of Finland and from abroad. Moreover, collaboration with the City and other operators in the area will increase growth-driven business activities that are based on research and innovation, while boosting the visibility of innovation in society," affirms Rector Lindblom.
Unique pedestrian-friendly streets and their environs featuring various forms of art and events will attract students and employees, customers and tourists, and new businesses and services. Yliopistonkatu will be turned into a green shared living space at the end of the current decade, while the plan is to transform Fabianinkatu in the course of the 2030s.
"The University's strong presence at the heart of the city bestows a distinctive feature to Helsinki. I'm pleased about stepping up collaboration with the University in the development of the City Centre Campus. An attractive and vibrant campus will bolster the vitality of the city centre and promote services, events and business activities in the area," envisions Mayor Daniel Sazonov.
The University and the City of Helsinki invite the property owners along Yliopistonkatu and Fabianinkatu to join the development efforts as the planning progresses. Furthermore, the University is establishing an internal working group to develop the activities of the City Centre Campus' shared living space dedicated to culture and innovation.
The University of Helsinki will make a significant financial investment in developing the City Centre Campus. This is part of the University's long-term Campus Vision 2040 initiative, the first project under which is the Porthania renovation, due to begin in 2026.
