Developing baseline scenarios together with stakeholders in Tampere

In Tampere, nature-based solutions are planned for storm water retention and treatment in Lake Iides that is part of Viinikanoja catchment area. The pilot area is a green area by Vuohenoja stream, located about 5 km east from the city centre. To prevent flooding, alluvial meadows, in which water will be impounded during heavy rainfall, are planned in the area. The aim is to keep the retention volume as high as possible. Use of local plants and seeds is foreseen.

Our co-creation process included three events that are also part of the planning and design process. First, we held a kick-off workshop to get both the planning of the area and the co-creation of the baseline scenarios off to a good start. The workshop was held online, and the target group were professionals from different design fields from the city organisation, a design company and an NGO, i.e. one of the City Blues associated organisations Villi Vyöhyke.

Secondly, we organised a residents’ workshop to get feedback on the plans, as well as new local knowledge and empirical information to support the planning and scenario building. In the workshop, we gathered views on the things that should be considered when designing the site. At the same time, we understood which themes we should tackle in the scenarios.

Thirdly, we went through the scenarios generated based on the first two events with the city’s stormwater team and finalised the work.

The co-creation process involved stakeholder engagement with users of the area and several professionals. Overall, 47 people participated in three workshops to develop the scenarios in Tampere.

With experts from many different fields contributing to the discussions and developing the baseline scenarios, we were able to consider the issues in depth from several angles. For example, in the process of making the scenarios, we identified the importance of taking into account invasive species in all phases of designing and implementing the solutions. We also added the objective of making the site not only flood resistant but drought and heat resistant, as well.

As a result, we have now chosen the following three scenarios as our final baseline scenarios:

• Baseline scenario 1: The pilot site is designed to be drought and flood tolerant and rich in biodiversity.
• Baseline scenario 2: The pilot site is designed to be performing under drought and flood conditions and aiming to be safe and pleasant for the users.
• Baseline scenario 3: The pilot site is designed to eradicate invasive species and to introduce more local and native species.

The next step is to design the pilot. The master plan will be put out for public consultation, after which the construction design will begin later this year.

Text and photos: Anna Vilhula, City of Tampere

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