Upward slope: how skateboarding transformed the `Manchester of Finland´
(The Guardian Finland)

The skater-led DIY regeneration of Tampere provides a template for small post-industrial citiesThere´s little to distinguish Tampere from hundreds of other post-industrial small towns and cities across the global north. With a population of 232,000, it is Finland´s second-largest urban area, known as the Manchester of Finland due to its past as an industrial powerhouse. And like many other towns and cities, after a century of prosperity the decline of industry left Tampere facing an existential crisis. It now counts its major claims to fame as mustamakkara (a black sausage) and the world´s only Moomin museum.Although Finland consistently places at the top of global rankings in everything from income to equality to education, the collapse of its major trading partner, the Soviet Union, in 1991 left the country struggling with unemployment, particularly among the young. Tampere was not immune. The global financial crisis compounded Finland´s problems; youth unemployment in the Pirkanmaa region, which includes Tampere, hit 28% in 2009. Related: The new skate city: how skateboarders are joining the urban mainstream Continue reading...