TURNING FACE TO THE SEA

seaside area. Waterfront areas that were formerly closed to the public have been turned into marinas, shoreline promenades and housing districts of high architectural quality, as has been done in the harbour towns of Continental Europe. The inner city area is being extended further and the process will continue. The city of Helsinki is planning to move the western and eastern freight harbours some 15 km to the east to Vuosaari in 2005. By renovation of the urban structure we can get two new housing developments for some 20  000 inhabitants to live. 
In Helsinki we have also been carrying on the tradition of the Finnish garden city. At this moment, new urban districts are under construction in the midst of nature, at Viikki and Vuosaari. In Viikki we are building a large scale ecological housing development close to Helsinki University Biotechnical faculty and research centre. 
The construction of new city districts will continue. The City of Helsinki looks out to sea and forward into the new decade with great confidence.

In 2000, Helsinki is celebrating its 450th anniversary and is one of the nine cultural cities of Europe. You can notice this in the city centre and in the new housing developments. Here you have some guidelines of planning and constructing in Helsinki. 
The City of Helsinki has deliberately set about creating the right conditions for investment in new housing and new business. The economy is recovering strongly and new office buildings are under construction again. New hightechnology centres have sprung up at Ruoholahti in a new housing development by the sea and at Pitäjänmäki in an old industrial area. In the heart of Helsinki in the Kamppi-Töölönlahti area construction is continuing. In recent years the population in Helsinki has been growing at a rate of 7  000 -9  000 a year. The total increase for the 1990´s so far is 60  500. 
In terms of new house-building per capita, Finland is one of the leading countries in Europe. Even during the recession of 1990´s, the City was able to provide the right conditions for building homes for its growing population. Every year it were built on 3  000 new flats the 

land owned by the city of Helsinki and on private land some 500 more. The City of Helsinki has invested decisively in municipal engineering, and in building children's day-care centres, comprehensive schools,

New housing development in old harbour and storage area

parks and waterside landscaping for its housing areas. Former warehouse buildings have been demolished and dock areas cleared, and modern urban districts have been built in their place at the edge of the sea. Big change has been carried out in four areas close to the innercity: Pikku-Huopalahti, Ruoholahti, Herttoniemi and Arabia

HISTORICAL APPERANCE

The historically arranged system of palace and park complexes divides a housing estate of the city of Peterhof into the three districts and the main objects arranging the town are: Peterhof State Museum, military high colleges, plants of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and Petrodvorets watchmakers' plant. 
The mainstream of today's townplanning policy is preservation, recovery and development of the historical and cultural potential of the region. Objects of new constructions under historical environment subordination are Neu Dorf Strelna Russian German's settlement arranged in the place of a former German colony. The project includes 129 twostoreyed cottages, objects of engineering infrastructure, manufacturing 

objects to provide employment of the settlers and to improve social sphere. At present 38 dwelling houses for 50 families are built. 
The projects Merchant's Harbour and The Down Road are two of a number of projects with an organic synthesising of the architecture and landscape art directed to increasing attractiveness of Peterhof for travellers. 
The idea of reconstructing historical appearance around the former Merchant's Harbour has found its reflection in the concept of revival and development of reserved territories of Peterhof State Museum. One of the main historical functions of Merchant's Harbour was receiving flows of tourists arriving in Peterhof by passenger ships and their own yachts. In the future this complex will fulfil the same function. 
To provide all services for tourists it is supposed to construct: new yachting port, docks, hotels, restaurant, cafe, etc. 
The project Down Road proposes developing the territory of southern

coast of the Gulf of Finland to include it into the sphere of tourist business. The monuments of history and architecture - palaces of Znamenka, Michailovka, Konstantinovskij, Tsar Stables and others - are located along the Down Road. 
The engineering opening-up of the project has started recovery of historical streets and roads, planning of adjoining territories, renovation of facilities. Based on the feasibility study a lot of investment could be offered to potential investors. Both existing and lost monuments of history and newly created complexes, for instance historical and ethnographical settlements and also harbours, parking lots, camping, motels could be shown as objects for investment.