Situated in northern Europe, the capital regions of Helsinki, and Oslo have many similar premises concerning urban development. However, the structure of the two regions differs by many measures. We explore the differences in urban density and its development in the both regions and the policy instruments that have affected them. Differences are identified by comparing the population densities of urban settlements and the mean distances from residents and workplaces to the city centres of Oslo and Helsinki using GIS methodology and existing literature. In the Oslo region, the population density shifted from a decreasing trend to an increasing one in the late 1980s. In contrast, the Helsinki region only started to densify in the 2010s. Also, the mean distance of residents and workplaces from the city centre is farther in Helsinki. The long period of low-density housing development and the creation of jobs outside centres in Helsinki is related to weaker political steering towards a compact urban form. In Oslo, regulations such as a greenbelt policy but also physical factors, led to densification relatively early. Lagging in densification policies, Helsinki could learn from the experiences of steering land use and mobility in Oslo, which would need additional research.

Diverse physical features of urban areas alongside socio-demographic characteristics affect car ownership, and hence the daily mobility choices. As a case of sustainable mobility, we explore how various urban environments and socio-demographics associate with the spatial and social distribution of household car ownership and carlessness in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. Three urban fabrics characterizing the study area are established based on the transportation mode (walking, public transportation, or automobile) the physical urban environment primarily supports. The national level Monitoring System of Spatial Structure and Urban Form database, and the National Travel Survey (2016) are utilized to further include spatial and socio-demographic variables into our analysis across these fabrics. Our results show that households with and without cars differ in terms of residential distance to the city center, neighborhood density, house type, and socio-demographic profiles. Single pensioners and students are most likely to be carless, whereas families represent the opposite. Within the carless households the differences are also evident between different groups. For the more affluent households residing in dense and well-connected areas, and mostly possessing driver’s licenses, carlessness is presumably a choice. Contrarily, many other carless households represent the less affluent often located in the more distant, low-density, and less accessible areas, while also possessing less driver’s licenses, making carlessness more of a constraint, as the local urban fabric does not support such lifestyle. Consequently, carless households should be increasingly recognized as a focus group in sustainable urban planning in terms of identifiable best practices and potential vulnerability.

In the last two decades, new working spaces (NWS), such as co-working spaces, libraries and cafeterias have been increasingly used as temporary or permanent locations for work. Studies on their proliferation, types and location factors are rapidly appearing from multiple perspectives. However, several European cities still lack a clear overview of this phenomenon. In this context, a systematic spatial analysis of NWS within the urban structure should be carried out, considering the characteristics of the urban form, degree of accessibility and travel mode opportunities, as well as multi-functionality of the urban districts and location of jobs. Thus, the paper first presents a review of the current studies on location factors of NWS and then develops additional planning arguments on the multi-functionality, urban form. Next, the phenomenon is empirically analysed in Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The results show that the NWS are predominantly located in the most compact and/or multi-functional districts and pedestrian zones. Unlike in many other European cities, there are both free and paid NWS. This new knowledge is not yet embedded in the planning agendas, but it can support future strategies and practices for a more sustainable urban development including the location of workplaces.