Healthy Borough

In the Herttoniemi area, special attention was being paid to improve the well-being of city residents. The Healthy Borough brought new, innovative services and tools for residents to take care of their health and well-being.

The Healthy Borough was a programme carried out in the Herttoniemi area. It offered the residents new means to take care of their health. The idea was to motivate people to take responsibility of their own well-being.

The programme ran through 2008 – 2011. It involved the districts of West Herttoniemi, Herttoniemenranta, Roihuvuori and Tammisalo. The programme included several sub-projects.

Focusing on well-being

The long-term objectives of the Healthy Borough programme are to improve the well-being of people in different age groups and to make people feel healthier. The programme also aims to diminish the health gap between different social classes, and to cut the expected increase in healthcare costs. 

In short-term, the programme aimed to improve eating habits and physical activity, plus decrease risk behaviour. Furthermore, it increased people’s sense of communality and trust in their local communities.

Public sector, companies and NGO’s together

The Healthy Borough was a joint programme bringing together the public sector, companies and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Health Centre of The City of Helsinki ran the project. The other key actors from the City of Helsinki were the Sports Department, Department of Education and the Social Services Department. However, other departments of the city of Helsinki participated in the development work as well.
 
Forum Virium Helsinki was responsible for developing digital services and getting companies to participate. The companies involved were Logica, Medixine, Nokia, Palmia, Tieto and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Alongside these companies, several non-governmental organizations were also participating through the Finnish Centre for Health Promotion.

Further information
Project Manager Minna Torppa,
tel. +358 40 556 2125,
minna.torppa(at)forumvirium.fi