Helsinki planning exhibition and talk in Baltimore with presentation next Monday evening

Tram incorporating an artistic lighting treatment as part of Helsinki's annual lighting festival.

Helsinki was one of the cities I wrote about ("HELSINKI AS AN EXAMPLE OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES DRIVING URBAN REVITALIZATION PROGRAMS") in the context of the "Europe in Baltimore" article series.  They have done and continue to do many amazing things as far as urban planning and enlightened government practice is concerned.

For example, compared to DC which has hired architects to design a new library without creating a plan first ("The Central Library planning process in DC as another example of gaming the capital improvements planning and budgeting process"), Helsinki embarked on a wide ranging planning initiative to support the development of a new central library.  After that process, they held an international design competition to hire architects to design the library based on the planning.

As part of the program, the Embassy of Finland is supporting an exhibition, "Helsinki: New Horizons," on Helsinki's planning regime, which is being exhibited at Morgan State University in Baltimore for the month of June.

It will be launched on Monday with a presentation by Helsinki's planning director.  From the blog entry:

The exhibition premieres in the United States on June 2nd-June 30th at Morgan State University’s Center for the Built Environment and Infrastructure Studies (CBEIS). A smaller satellite exhibition will be on view in downtown Baltimore at the headquarters of the Baltimore Chapter of The American Institute of Architects from June 9th – August 29th.

On June 2nd, the Morgan State School of Architecture & Planning will host a lecture by Mr. Olavi Veltheim, Town Planning Division Director of the City of Helsinki, at 6:00pm, followed by an opening reception at 7:00pm. We invite you to get acquainted with the new Helsinki.

The exhibition is free and open to the public. Click here to RSVP.