Mrs Johanna PALOMÄKI

Planning Manager, City of Espoo Planning Department

Johanna Palomäki (MSc., Arch., planning manager at the city of Espoo, Finland) is a keen advocate of participatory planning and has done groundbreaking work in developing citizen engagement which actually influences planning outcomes. Since she was a student of architecture, she has found a special interest in child friendly environments. Voicing residents’ and particularly children’s needs in planning goes hand in glove with caring for urban green areas, she asserts, as according to studies people greatly value nearby nature, and children find endless affordances for play in the woods.