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What kind of strategy will guide our pursuit of a good life within planetary boundaries? – Read Executive Director Minttu Jaakkola’s thoughts on Puistokatu 4’s strategy for 2026–2030!
Puistokatu 4, a House of Science and Hope, has brought together researchers, artists, activists, political decision-makers, business leaders, and city residents since 2022. In December 2025, the TAH Foundation and the Nessling Foundation signed an agreement to jointly fund Puistokatu 4’s activities through 2030. In this text, Puistokatu 4’s Executive Director Minttu Jaakkola outlines the strategic thinking behind Puistokatu 4, which—strengthened by an impact assessment—will guide our work over the next five years.
TEXT: MINTTU JAAKKOLA
My colleague Anna Herlin and I began dreaming of a place like Puistokatu 4 in 2019. The dream grew out of frustration: although the ecological crisis affects us all, most discussions and solutions take place in silos. There was no physical space where people could meet across disciplines, sectors, and roles, “share their perspectives and current realities, and build solutions together.
The dream came true in August 2022, when the culturally and historically significant wooden villa at Puistokatu 4 opened as a Space of Science and Hope. Over the past three years, nearly 200 members have worked within the multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral community at Puistokatu 4, and the events organized at the house have attracted thousands of participants.
The villa in Kaivopuisto, Helsinki, may seem like a tiny bubble from the perspective of society or the world, but the people who work and visit there represent dozens of different disciplines, organizations, and sectors, as well as thousands of social networks and lived realities. Through these its influence spreads.
The sense of community that is being built at Puistokatu 4 is an antidote to the polarization, individualism, and loneliness that characterize our times.
Cultural change towards a shared vision – a good life within the planetary boundaries!
Bringing people together and fostering cooperation requires an inspiring vision. From the very beginning, the vision of Puistokatu 4 has been to normalize a good life within planetary boundaries.
If everyone lived like Finns, we would need almost four Earths to sustain such a lifestyle. Our values, ideals, and worldviews must evolve so that we can imagine what a good and desirable life within planetary boundaries truly looks like. What we need is cultural change.
The basic unit of cultural change is the individual: all communities, organizations, and structures are ultimately made up of individuals. It is essential to recognize one’s own thoughts and actions as part of a shared vision.
A study of more than 130,000 people worldwide shows that the main obstacle to change is not people’s unwillingness to act in the face of the ecological crisis, but the mistaken belief that others do not share the same concerns. Puistokatu 4 challenges this misconception by bringing together people committed to finding solutions to the ecological crisis and reminding them that they are not facing it alone.
The impact evaluation confirmed what we had observed at Puistokatu 4: our strategy works!
The impact evaluation conducted by 4FRONT on the first three years of Puistokatu 4’s operations shows that Puistokatu 4’s work promotes the cultural change needed in the ecological crisis.
According to the evaluation, Puistokatu 4 provides its community members and event participants with a deeper understanding, inspiration, and a sense of belonging. This has changed individuals’ thinking and values and motivated them to take action.
“At Puistokatu 4, it feels like you’re not alone in facing these enormous challenges. It also serves as an inspiring example of how each of us can recognize our ability to make a difference through our own choices and actions. We all have something to contribute, something to give, which in turn influences others and multiplies opportunities for change.” – Member feedback 2023
Everyone who works at or visits Puistokatu 4 is a potential change agent within their own community. By engaging a diverse range of audiences through its community and programs, Puistokatu 4 extends the reach of its transformative power across social, informational, and professional networks.
“The way Puistokatu 4 envisions a better future—without compromising on quality of life or aesthetics—sparked something in me. I ended up returning to university to study sustainable food systems. Now I hope to run my own farm and advocate for a sustainable food system. These ideas were already present in my thinking, but Puistokatu 4 had such a strong impact that they became central to my life, ultimately leading me to change careers.” – Event visitor feedback 2024
The model developed on the basis of the impact evaluation illustrates the impact of Puistokatu 4 through four mutually reinforcing circles:
Science and hope as forces of change
Puistokatu 4 is also known as a Space of Science and Hope. The name reflects two essential forces of change needed to build a future worth striving for. This is especially important at a time when efforts are being made to curtail the freedom and standing of science, and when hope is often dismissed as naive or passive.
Insights from researchers across disciplines provide essential foundations for understanding our current reality and envisioning a future that respects planetary boundaries. Hope, by contrast, is an active force for change: it emerges through collective action and guides us toward the futures we have imagined together.
Puistokatu 4 is an invitation to pause, connect, dream, and act. Change begins when you step into a shared space with others and realize that you are not alone.
Read more about our strategy for 2026–2030!
