Original story

1.4.2000 Her Worship the Mayor of Helsinki, Eeva-Riitta Siitonen

Helsinki Arena 2000 - Inaugural Address for Virtual Helsinki, 1.4.2000

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen of Helsinki…

We live in an era of rapid change. The beginning of the new millennium proved in a shocking and appalling manner just how vulnerable our increasingly technical society has become. But there are many sides to the question. If we go back fifty years, only 1% of households had a refrigerator. The structure of the city and the living conditions of its residents are thus quite different from what they are today. Technology, like fire, is a good servant but a poor master.

A sense of displacement and alienation is one of the great problems that the speed of development we are witnessing has brought with it, and the threat continues to grow. I am not here referring to a displacement through lack of financial resources, the creation of an underclass, but through a rapid change that not all have been prepared or able to adapt to, leaving many by the wayside, passive and reluctant to go forward with their lives.

Helsinki Arena 2000, “Virtual Helsinki”, now offers everyone an opportunity to take part and to rid themselves of the spiral of displacement within the society. We are not claiming that this project is a road paved with gold, a direct line to happiness and well-being, but with the new technology now available, every citizen will be able to publish his thoughts, to take part in discussions, and to follow the process of decision-making at first hand. To be fair, not all ideas that are put forward ever find an echo, and many will discover this and may perhaps become disappointed and frustrated as a result. It is nevertheless an essential facet of a democratic system that all should feel that they can play their part in the outcome of things. Data networks have brought a great improvement on this front. They shorten distances and narrow the gaps between the various levels of society and bring to discussions and to decision-making a far greater number of different viewpoints than earlier. The great majority of the discussions take place on the text channels, and one of the great things about the written text is that it pays no mind to the chimeras of good looks, a winning smile, and a charismatic delivery.

Our virtual and physical Helsinki contains many hopes for the future, and many threats, too. It would perhaps be well to bring up a few of them on this occasion.

It may already be time for us to consider whether virtual communities can be independent entities. For example, Virtual Helsinki is in many respects a larger concept than its physical counterpart. Many virtual societies gather their residents and participants from all corners of the world. The members of these societies should be able, using the rules of democratic co-existence, to influence the operation and the decisions of their own community. It is only natural that this should occur, but what are the limits within which virtual societies may be allowed to exercise independent decision-making authority, and how is that authority to be organized? Questions such as these will, I am quite sure, need to be addressed in detail before very long.

The explosive spread of electronic money witnessed over the last 12 months will almost certainly change many familiar economic structures in the next few years. Net shopping, telecommuting via the datanets, and networked entertainment and games can reduce tax revenues to a very damaging degree, unless we can find some way to curb the “online tax havens” currently operating in various forms. In the future, federal states, unions such as the EU, or the United Nations itself may even resolve that all network societies be organized under UN or union control and jurisdiction. International administration and control are perhaps the only means of overcoming many of the greedy and selfish aims that have surfaced, aims that have caused the situation to appear to be slipping out of the grip of democratically-elected decision-making bodies.

For many, virtual reality is an easy telephone directory, a first-rate tourist guide, an excellent map for finding directions, a videophone, a pleasant source of entertainment, or even a speedy means of travelling. Many find from it an active and interactive substitute for the dulling effects of television, but for some it can be a nuisance, even a recipe for disaster. There are many things we can have in excess, and many things in this world that can be abused. All the same, virtual reality is one of the things that will shake and shape the world of tomorrow, and it is coming, whether we like it or not. In time we shall see whether we used our opportunities wisely or wrongly.

The visions - and the nightmares - of the future will be with us before we know it. Genetic engineering, materials technology, and virtual worlds will send shocks through many of our long-held beliefs, our ways of living and going about our business, our image of the world and our own place in it. If we do not quickly harness these newcomers under our own control, they will just as quickly set about harnessing us under theirs. One can only steer and control a fast-moving vehicle from the front seat. Now we in Helsinki are in that front seat - and in global terms.

I believe that Helsinki Arena 2000 has been a wise venture in this respect. Here the world of virtual reality is tangibly linked with the physical realities around us. This helps us to find the coordinates for an understanding of the world in which we live. At the same time, it helps us to grasp what the virtual dimension can be at its best. Our Helsinki is being opened up to the world, showing a face both beautiful and sometimes troubled, as a city of know-how, the arts, and above all, a city of the people. Virtual reality, in a form such as is offered by Helsinki Arena 2000, is an excellent vehicle for our understanding and learning how to deal with reality itself.

It is with great pride and pleasure that I hereby declare open the world’s first virtual city.

Toteuma-arvio 2026

Toteuma lyhyesti

  • Ilmiön toteuma: 4/5
  • Toteuma viiden vuoden tarkkuudella: kyllä; arviointi-ikkuna on 1995–2005
  • Toteuma väljemmällä aikahorisontilla: kyllä, erittäin vahvasti
  • Ilmiön ydin: kaupungista rakennetaan osallistava digitaalinen vastine, jossa ihmiset voivat liikkua, saada palveluja ja osallistua yhteisiin asioihin.

Virtuaalikaupungit, 3D-kaupunkimallit ja myöhemmät paikalliset digitaaliset kaksoset ovat toteuttaneet ajatuksen. Kaikille yhteisestä yhden käyttöliittymän kaupunkitilasta ei tullut arjen pääasiallista ympäristöä.

Johtopäätös: virtuaalisen ja osallistavan kaupunkimallin ydin toteutui, mutta ennustettua hajautetummin.