Augmented Urbans Local Action: Co-creating new urban landscape in Tallinn
Augmented Urbans project explores the nexus of sustainable urban development, participatory planning and XR technologies in four countries around the Baltic Sea. This is a story from Tallinn — one of our 7 local action pilot projects.
Tallinn AU Local Action deals with the transformations & change in Northern-Tallinn district: the high-voltage (110 kV) power line air-cabel network corridor will be substituted with underground cabels, leaving new public space development potential. Tallinn urban planners initial vision for the pilot site foresee new connection from the Central Railway Station to the seaside that is close to the pilot site — a smooth NYC-High-Line-style pedestrian and bicycle road. In the long term vision (approx. 15 years) tramline extension to the beach passing from the pilot site is also planned. Urban planners will firstly introduce this vision to wider public asking their ideas and feedback regarding the area.
Several amazing ideas have popped up while meeting with different stakeholders and looking for new functions for the high power line corridor in Tallinn pilot site.
Pollinator corridor concept
Environment experts claim that the pilot site (high power line corridor) is the last part of a long and functional pollinator migration corridor in the city. Pollinators use roads, railways and electricity power line corridors for migration.
The objective is to keep and enhance the value of the area for pollinators. It is planned to investigate the meadows and population of pollinator species in the pilot site in the summer 2019. In order to learn which species there are and how the existing vegetation influences abundance and richness of the pollinator species. The data will also help to understand what plants are needed to increase the pollinator population.
Currently there are more than 20 butterfly species and over 10 bumblebee species in the area. Most of the bumblebee species are under nature protection in Estonia.
The area is considered 4th maintenance level that means meadow was mowed twice a year. For enhancing environment for pollinators — environment experts suggest to reduce mowing to once a year to September only. So the plants blossom the whole summer and make wonderful living conditions to pollinators.
In order to prevent local people to call and complain about poorly maintained city scape we plan to install information boards about the pollinator corridor and species that grow and live in the area.
Community gardening — building local community and raising awareness
Tallinn pilot site is about 23 hectares, one specific slot of land is suggested for community gardening — it is an activity that unites community, suits for all age groups despite their social background. Gardening is therapeutic activity for urbanised people and brings people closer to nature.
Surprisingly, besides pines, birches, willows etc there are also old apple trees in the pilot site. In the beginning of January AU project team mapped 24 old apple trees with environment experts and some community garden enthusiasts.
In March 2019 an Apple Tree Pruning Workshop is planned, because the best time for pruning fruit trees is early spring before buds break and trees are still dormant. This will be the first call for interested community members to get together and learn a new skill — pruning an apple tree. This skill can be practised following years to community garden apple trees.
Few dead apple trees were mapped as well, normally these are cut down but the environment expert Meelis Uustal of AU Project team suggested to keep the dead trees because these make a perfect home for some species of solitary bees. Manmade insect hotels are an alternative to dead trees but involve some risks for the pollinators — parasitic wasps and flys are also attracted to move to insect hotels and to threaten the bee community.
On May 4th-5th a weekend full of hands-on workshops and activities are planned in the pilot site. It will be the possibility for active people around the pilot site to come out and build, plant or clean the area. Meet and make plans for the gardening season.
The activity takes place in the frame of community activity day Let’s Do it! — a cleanup day taking place in different forms all over Estonia. The day is also a part of a global event called World Cleanup Day that is initiated by Estonians.
Collaboration with nearby educational institutions and gardening schools
The site has a great potential for offering space to nearby schools and kindergartens for place-based education activities.
Indeed there is a community kindergarten (Kogukonna Laste Aed) that is planning to built a community garden together with children and their parents to the pilot site. They foresee building a sheltered stage, greenhouse, pizza oven etc — everything in the size of a child in order to make activities accessible to children. Activities are planned most of the time outdoors, whatever the weather. Kindergarten supervisors assist children to play and explore in the community garden and Merimetsa forest that is nearby.
Vocational schools that have gardening in the curriculum are invited to create the school flowerbed to promote gardening as a vocation. There are different types of gardens — healing garden, therapeutic garden etc that we can pilot there.
Pilot site place branding — in search for the perfect name
High powerline corridors have been no-mans land and have no specific name so far. Urban planners are looking for a name that best describes the area to market it better. Send your name proposal to local project coordinator anu.leisner(a)tallinnlv.ee. Author of the best name can enjoy the eternal fame for naming this beautiful area of Tallinn.
