Urban structural dynamics in the city of Turku, Finland

Abstract

The research is focused upon differentiation in the physical and social space of the city of Turku, the interaction between these two aspects and the historical processes lying behind them. The theoretical framework is derived from the tradition of urban ecology and from those theoretical constructs in which the processes lying behind the differentiation and changes in urban structure are dealt with in a more conspicuous manner than in the traditional ecological approach. The empirical part of the work is devoted first to determining the dimensions of residential structure and land use in the city and the interactions between these by means of factor analysis and canonical correlation analysis. A synthesis of the results is provided in the form of a set of areal types, which constitute an easily interpretable model indicating the spatial variation in certain characteristic features at one cross‑sectional point in the development of the urban structure. The history of the urban structure comprises a description of the process of urban expansion and its social content. Three developmental phases are considered: the pre‑industrial city, the city in the course of industrialization and the present‑day city. Finally the influence of the historical processes prevailing at different points in time upon the structure of the present‑day city is discussed in the context of the areal types.