Silence is golden - survey asks Helsinki residents about their havens of peace and quiet

Forests, parks, beaches, and islands all get a nod - and curiously enough, Malmi Airport

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By Jarmo Huhtanen
     
      To the naked eye, the Linnunlaulu Villas area on the Töölönlahti Bay appears the epitome of quiet.
      Only a swallow is sweeping over the bay. In the Blue Villa perched above the water, the writer of this article is licking a cold icecream.
      He can hear nothing - except if he stops to listen.
      Then there is suddenly much ado about nothing.
     
Plop, plop, plop. The feet of a tattooed jogger are tripping along a trail paved with asphalt.
      Klonk, klonk, klonk, squeak, calls out a commuter train in greeting.
      TA TA TA. Krrr. Sshhh. A rather cranky-sounding piece of machinery is snorting away in the railway marshalling yards, while the man holding the reins is wearing an orange helmet and blue ear protectors.
      Suddenly it is difficult to believe that one is standing in the middle of an area that Helsinki residents regard as "quiet".
     
The City of Helsinki’s Environment Centre conducted a survey recently, asking about the residents’ experiences regarding quiet areas in the capital city.
      People were asked to name places where the silence and the sounded landscape have become significant for them.
      Such quiet places are especially important for people who believe themselves to be "sensitive to noise".
      The proportion of such people is apparently some 30 to 40 per cent of the population.
     
An area from Laakso to Haltiala in the Central Park of Helsinki, the island of Seurasaari, the Viikki-Vanhakaupunki region, as well as the forests and shores of Vuosaari are generally found to be essential havens of peace and quiet.
      In addition to large parks and shores, Helsinki residents have also found even smaller secluded spots, a sort of ”pockets of silence", in the inner city.
      Such pockets include for example the hill of Torkkelinmäki in the Kallio district, the Engel Square in downtown Helsinki, as well as certain areas in the downtown district of Kruununhaka.
     
The greatest surprise in the survey was that many Helsinki residents regard even the Malmi Airport as a quiet area.
      The complete calming down of the airfield - once Helsinki's main airport but now  used mainly by light private craft - in the evenings, at nights, and also in the winter is regarded as special and valuable.
     
A certain place may also be perceived as silent, even if a decibel meter were to report otherwise.
      In a city, silence does not mean a place that is free from all sounds, but a location with a pleasant aural landscape.
      Finding a place to be quiet is easily influenced by what the surroundings look like. A landscape that pleases the eye may contain sounds that are not regarded as disturbing.
      Even the sounds at Linnanlaulu appear to be muffled somehow, despite the grating of the steel rails under the weight of a locomotive that is sweeping past.
     
The survey conducted by the City of Helsinki’s Environment Centre in the winter of 2008/2009 asked about respondents’ experiences regarding noise and quiet locations in Helsinki.
      A questionnaire was mailed to a total of 3,000 Helsinki residents. The number of responses was 1,602. In addition, 495 answers were received through the Internet.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 25.5.2010


Links:
  Helsinki-Malmi Airport (Wikipedia)

JARMO HUHTANEN / Helsingin Sanomat
jarmo.huhtanen@hs.fi