Aalto/YTK

YTK carries out research on spatial and land use planning and related urban studies. The aim is to develop world class research, while supporting practical legislative work, policy development and knowledge production in the field.

YTK has strong expertise in the research of planning theory and practice and the land use planning system – especially from the perspectives of planning collaboration, strategy and sustainability.

In the research on planning collaboration, YTK has a long tradition in the development of various participation methods. Lately, the focus has been especially on the development of e-participation and evaluation tools (e.g. softGIS) and on the development of simulation and decision support platforms (e.g. Aalto Built Environment Lab). This is also connected with the human-oriented research on built environment, where experienced quality and socio-cultural meanings of the living environment are examined. Accordingly, methods are developed to translate research results into useful planning information.