Elina Alatalo

Elina Alatalo is an architect and doctoral researcher in Environmental Policy of Tampere University, Finland. Her recent research has concentrated on new forms of urban activism, getting vacant spaces back into use and developing sustainable urban neighbourhoods. She is specialized in creating experiments with citizens such as building a community sauna or facilitating network of self-organized coworking places. Currently she works for the communication and dissemination of INNATURE  project that enhances biodiversity and social inclusion by transforming Europe's living environments. She teaches landscape architecture in Aalto University, where she also coordinates interaction in CO-CARBON research project that looks on urban nature. Elina was an active member of COST Action called Writing Urban Places that delved with the possibilities of narrative and other creative methods for urban research. She is also a co-founder of Insurgent Spatial Practices -collective that explores the valuable knowledge that alternative cultures develop in cities.