Case Study E: Kopli liinid

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Area	Kopli liinid
Place	Tallinn
Country	Estonia
Topics	Access to the sea for everyone; Green and blue infrastructure; Sustainable housing
Author(s)	Kätlin Umal, Aurore Rabier, Irma Karic, Sarah Jankowski, Bine Schneider, Martina Palmiero, Pricop Alin, Najoua Saadi

Rationale

• Why do you think this case is relevant? What is your hypothesis considering the landscape challenges?
• Format: 3-4 sentences

On the north-eastern side of the Kopli peninsula in the north of Tallinn, lays the former village for the workers of the russo-baltic shipyard. It has with time declined and turned into a wasteland. For a time, it became a shelter for the poorest and an adventure terrain for photographs or young people that want to test their courage in the abandoned houses. However, nowadays, it seems that the influence of the Kalamaja district has came to Kopli lines, and that this former ghost-town will soon turn into a new trendy neighbourhood for families. The challenge is now to respond to the housing need while respecting the coastal ecosystem.

Location and scope

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A Landscape System Analysis

A.1 Landscape layers and their system context

Geomorphology, landscape units and coastal typology

The coast of Kopli Liinid is characterised by hard rock sandstone cliffs and limestone steps, soft rock coasts and wave-dominated sediment plains, which are characterised by silty, sandy, gravel, pebble and boulder beaches, about half kilometer in length.

The landscape on the coast of Kopli Lines and it's neighbours

We can find more soft rock bluffs of Quaternary glacial drift deposit at Kopli, while more eroded hard rock sandstone cliffs and limestone steps can be found at Viimsi. The main type of sediment found on our coast at Kopli is what is typically found inside most of the bays, which is sand, but because of the lower width, there are numerous rocks and pebbles scattered around, making an especially scenic site. Here we can also see the general differences between the various coastal typologies that Estonia has to offer, compared to the different landscape that Finland has in store

Coastal typologies; A-foredune ridges plain, Harilaid, Estonia (Photo H. Tõnisson), B-erosion of low sandy coast at Kopli Liind site, Estonia (Photo H. Tõnisson), C-very narrow and low sandy coast on rocky basement, kiiu Abla, North from Tallinn, Estonia (Photo T. Łabuz), D-pocket beach with ephemeral embryo forms surrounded by rocky coast, Helsinki, Finland (Photo T. Łabuz). Link:https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Low-and-scarce-sandy-coast-in-North-east-part-of-Baltic-Sea-A-foredune-ridges-plain_fig8_324177287 .

Land use

The Kopli lines history was mainly influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union. Before the XXth century, it was a natural area, where fishermen established some settlements. In 1912, Russia decided to use Tallinn as a naval base, and started to build a shipyard on the Kopli peninsula. The Kopli lines were created at that time, as the village for the workers.

After the end of the Second World War, the shipyard was no longer for military purposes. Little by little, the wooden houses of Kopli lines have deteriorated and the neighborhood became a ghost town. The Kopli area is mainly a wasteland nowadays. Its reputation towards the Tallinn inhabitants is quite bad because some of the remaining houses are squatted, and many misadventure stories are told about this place. However, the character of the place, and the heritage it’s showing, are triggering some people’s interest.

But the tables seemed to have turned recently, when the company OÜ Fund Ehitus invested in that place. Inspired by the popularity of the Kalamaja district, they plan to build a whole new housing neighborhood, inspired by the previous planning of the worker’s village. They intend to give to the place its former function, but the character of the 'lines' might be lost in the process.

Kopli Lines: evolution of land-use: switching between natural and housing area

Kopli Lines main land-use in 2019 before the work construction

April 2019: The construction has started

Green/blue infrastructure

• What are the major potential elements of a green/blue infrastructure network? Are these likely to change/disappear? Why is that?
• You find my background material on green infrastructure in our reading list

The KOPLI bay presents a generally green character and a relatively flat topography.

Reading the green infrastructure map allows us to identify three components:

- A park located in the south of the bay named Susta-Park, with an area of 8 ha. It's characterized by its landscape diversity with wetlands, wooded areas and rocks. - Areas of lawns, planted with small scattered trees, located mainly at the seaside and to the east. - Wooded wetlands, marked on the map in (blue-green)

As for the blue infrastructure of Kopli it consists of two elements; - The running water of the sea from a shallow depth of 0 to 5 m - Stagnant water, especially large wet spots punctuated on the site.

Today, the urbanization does not stop widening to the detriment of existing green spaces and fragment the space. The map shows that green spaces are fragmented.

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Actors and stakeholders

The landscape changes are manly driven by the investors and the city, who have both high power.

Even though, mostly affected by the landscape changes are the squatters, which are currently the only inhabitants.

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  Power map showing the stakeholders

Sacred spaces and heritage

• Which places/elements hold cultural value and to whom?
• You may add a map and some images, please also explain in your caption why these elements are valuable

The historical memory of Tallin is very interesting and complex.

1. One of the places with more historical value in the Kopli district is the Estonian Maritime Academy. The first maritime school in Estonia was founded in Tallinn in 1715. Tallinn Maritime School, whose successor is the Estonian Maritime Academy of TUT, was founded as one navigation class in 1919. At the same time, in 1920 he established the School of Marine Engineers in Tallinn and in 1935 was merged with Tallinn Marine School. On August 1, 2014, the Estonian Maritime Academy joined the Tallinn University of Technology as a college member and has been renamed TUT Estonian Maritime Academy.

2. Nikolai Kirik (church) is the remaining element of the sacred places of this area. Its purpose was to serve as spiritual guidance for the local community. It has been designed by Aleksandr Vladovsky in 1935. The building resembles Russian historical wooden architecture. With its architecture, it resembles the wooden house of the working class that lived nearby. The church is an inseparable piece of pre-war cultural environment of the seaside Kopli area in Tallinn.

3. Wooden houses are the cultural heritage elements of this area that represent one era for this place (until WWII). They have been built for the working class community where employees of Russo-Baltic Shipyard had all the essentials for their living. The architecture of these houses shows that the community lived simple and idyllic life next to its working place with the access to the beach.

4. The Rock of Kopli Park is a protected natural monument. The density and the size of the tip of the rocks are different in different parts of the park, the large boulders are close to each other. They create an unusual and very particular environment, and are important for Estonian natural history.

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  Map of sacred spaces and heritage with the keywords

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  Nikolai kirik (church) and Wooden houses

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  Estonian Maritime Academy and Kopli Park

Visual appearance and landscape narrative

• Which elements are essential for the landscape character?
• Has the landscape been painted or otherwise depicted, when and whom? Which elements are essential?
• Which narratives exist? Who has written about this landscape or depicted it in some way?
• You can add text and images

The name of the peninsula comes from its past land use as a place for herding. Since then the eastern coastline has changed less than the western during the change from fishing village to industrial area with factories and supporting buildings. As the past functions are ended on the area the Kopli lines have since stayed in stagnation.

About the Kopli peninsula and its industrial past one can read in “Kopli sonata. The Russo-Baltic Shipyard.”

There are not many paintings of the area - neighboring areas with their rural/industrial settings have been inspiring more. There are but a lot of historical plans. And the site with its history and melancholy is inspiring a lot of photographers.

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  Fisherman´s hut on the Kopli seashore by C. Fr. Chr. Buddeus (I half of 19th century)

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  grafiti in latin on a house waiting to be demolished

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  Plan of the Russo-Baltic shipyard from 1919-1920

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  Administrative building of the Russo-Baltic shipyard and the nearby barracks

A.2 Summary of your landscape system analysis and your development Targets

If nothing is done for this area, the following goals of the European Union Sustainable Development Plan risk not to be fulfilled:

• Goal 10-Reduced inequalities:

In the Kopli lines case, the driving forces are willing to give more power to a wealthier class, which goes against the pro-poor fiscal policies that the EU is trying to implement. There's also a gentrification risk.

• Goal 13-Climate action:

The upcoming project proposed by OÜ Fund Ehitus, is planning to re-build houses near the coast line, not taking into account the flood risk that will increase with the climate change phenomenon. It's also disturbing the biodiversity which is already poor along the Tallinn coast (excepted the Natura 2000 area)

• Goal 14-Life below water:

The upcoming project will also increase the population on the peninsula, which means more visits to the coast, and more risks of an increase of waste production that can end up in the sea.

• Goal 15-Life on land:

The area of Kopli lines became a wasteland with time, which is a chance to develop an interesting ecosystem and reinforce the biodiversity. If this area is built up again, the vegetation dynamic will be stopped and highly reduced.

Hypothesis:

• By following the current dynamics of the place, the coast aesthetic qualities and biodiversity will decrease,the population that visits the place will be less diverse, and the heritage of the place will be lost

Are there any existing initiatives taking action in this landscape ?

In 2016 a festival occured at the Kopli lines, except this and the housing programm, no actions were taken for this landscape. The existing actions are definitely moving forward to develop the city of Tallinn. However, this development may completely erase the history and heritage of the place.

A.3 Theory reflection

How can international documents be used for the local landscape ?

• International Guidance Report: Guiding Principles for City Climate Action Planning

This document is presenting several principles that city can adopt in order to become more resilient to climate change and help reduce the impacts of it. There are 8 general guiding principles, the city planning should be ambitious, inclusive, fair, comprehensive and integrated, relevant, actionable, evidence-based, transparent and verifiable. At the scale of the Kopli Lines neighbourhood, there are 3 principles that will particularly help developing a climate-resilient planning. Inclusiveness, that can be applied for example by involving the former population of the neighbourhood in order to avoid social conflicts. Fairness, by developing more functionnal and pro-environmental planning alternatives. Based on evidence, by asessing the risks and potentials of the actual site.

• European policy : About Green Infrastructure: Biodiversity Strategy and Environmental Impact Assessment of Projects "

The European Commission has set a strategy for green infrastructure. This strategy aims to halt the loss of biodiversity in Europe by 2020, through disaster risk reduction and the promotion of green continuity. Thus the enlargement of the Natura 2000 network which currently covers 18% of the territory of the U.E. The Kopli Lines study area can contribute to this policy by setting up an ecological corridor. To do this, it is above all on the connection of natural or semi-natural green fragments present on the site that we must work, then think about sustainable management of this corridor from an economic, ecological and social point of view. From an architectural point of view, the adoption of green roofs could improve the Kopli ecosystem.

• European policy: Coastal Zone Policy

Included as a framework for Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Management the Coastal Zone Policy requires the EU Member States to provide a Strategic Environmental Assessment (Directive 2001/42/EC) in order to protect the natural resources and prevent the coastal risks. Our project site could reach the recommendations of the Integrated Coastal Management by promoting coastal tourism in our area. In order to reach the goals of the Maritime Spatial Planning, the site could also help the preservation, protection and improvement of the environment; improve the resilience to climate change impacts or promote a sustainable tourism.

• National policy (NATIONAL SPATIAL PLAN ESTONIA 2030+)

Estonia has a national spatial plan 2030+ dealing with the current issues in the country´s development and the measures that should be implemented by year 2030 in order to solve those issues. One of the main challenges is to assure that every settlement of Estonia becomes livable. The future development should focus on: improving the quality of everyday life concerning the residential situation, access to jobs and education in terms of public transport, improvement of regional and international transportation, energy management- production of sustainable energy, its storage and trade-, preservation and demarcation of landscapes that define Estonian identity… This plan represents the sum of general objectives that can be reinterpreted and put in the action on local level.

A.4 References

• [[1]] Estonian Geo portal
• [[2]] General maps
• [[3]] The last days of Kopli lines
• [[4]] {Forgotten Tallinn Series, Ep.3}~ Kopli Lines, Abandoned Ghost Town
• [[5]] Surreal silence on Kopli routes
• [[6]] The construction company has started work on Kopli lines
• [[7]] Stalker, a blog about abandoned world; Kopli Lines
• [[8]] Kopli's lines have begun to change
• [[9]] Will this spring be the last of abandoned Kopli lines?
• [[10]] Redging works on Kopli routes are in full swing, a beautiful seaside area is waiting for rebirth
• [[11]] Long-awaited event. The first new house on Kopli's lines became a cornerstone
• [[12]] Kopli Lines: a new residential environment on the seashore
• [[13]] NATIONAL SPATIAL PLAN ESTONIA 2030+
• [[14]] Sacred spaces and heritage_ Koplipargi
• [[15]] Sacred spaces and heritage_ Maritime Academy
• [[16]] European policy: Biodiversity strategy
• [[17]] European policy: Environmental Impact Assessment of Projects
• [[18]] European policy: Coastal Zone policy
• [[19]] European policy: Maritime spatial planning
• [[20]] European policy: Integrated social management

Phase B: Landscape Evaluation and Assessment

B.1 Assessment Strategy

• Based on the hypothesis derived from your previous landscape systems analysis you are now asked to define the goals for assessing the landscape. Your assessment is the basis for evaluating the landscape status.
• Which elements and phenomena need to be mapped, why and how?
• This a text contribution, max 250 words

B.2 Mapping

• As defined by your assessment strategy you conduct the mapping and present your findings here
• As a minimum, at least three different themes need to be mapped, you may choose more if needed

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  Landuse change of the Kopli peninsula

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  Map of the common trasport and street

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  briefly explain the findings of your mapping

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  Development of the Kopli lines

• Your case your assessment mapping theme3.jpg

  briefly explain the findings of your mapping

B.3 Problem definition and priority setting

• Give a summary of the major findings of your mapping process, what are the problems/potentials identified?
• Draw a problems/potentials map
• Set priorities for the most relevant issues

Problems

• Flooding

The shore of our study area is not negatively affected by tides or the rising sea level, but it is exposed to storm surges of a high amplitude, at an unprecedented frequency in the last couple of decades, instead of one event in a century as it should occur. As a result, the moraine bluffs of the promontories are being eroded at a fast pace, and the volume of sand is decreasing, explaining the low width of the beach. Further inland, there is another depression at the end of the main road, near Susta Park, putting at risk most potential development in that area and discontinuing the accessibility.

• Landscape diversity

As we can observe on the map, the old functionality of the study area brings a lackluster in terms of a modern landscape diversity between housing, buisness and green areas. As a result, the accessibility is not meant for pedestrians and housing, but rather for industry.

Potential

There is a housing problem in Tallin, and changing the now unused industrial landscape in a housing one will reactivate the area and also help in solving the population issue. To do this, there is also the potential for funding and using the model of modern european standards in creating a sustenable and efficient landscape. There is also an upcoming touristic potential to our study area, since the area has a fascinating history and is close to the shore, bringing with it activities such as fishing, bird-watching and many more.

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  Problems and potential

Priorities

B.4 Theory reflection

• Please reflect the assessment and evaluation methods used based on at least three readings
• Did you encounter limitations'
• 200 words test contribution

B.5 References

• give a full list of the references you have used for this section
• [[21]] Landuse map of the comprehensive plan of North Tallinn subdistrict, 2017
• [[22]] Landuse map of the comprehensive plan of Tallinn, 2001
• [[23]] Estonian Geo portal

Phase C – Strategy and Master Plan

C.1 Goal Setting

• Define strategic planning objectives based on the evaluation findings
• Link back to your original targets from section one and the Development Goals
• 150 words text contribution

C.2 Spatial Strategy and Transect

• translate your strategic goals into a vision
• develop a spatial translation of your vision
• exemplify your vision in the form of a transect with concrete interventions
• add map(s) and visualizations

• Your case spatial translaton vision.jpg

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• Your case transect.jpg

  add caption here

• Your case transect detail1.jpg

  add caption here

• Your case transect detail2.jpg

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C.3 From Theory of Change to Implementation

• For implementing your vision: Which partnerships are needed? Which governance model is required?
• Who needs to act and how? Draw and explain a change/process model/timeline
• Which resources are needed? On which assets can you build?
• add 150 words text and visuals

• Your case spatial your governance model.jpg

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• Your case spatial your process model.jpg

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C.4 References

• give a full list of the references you have used for this section

D. Process Reflection

• Reflect in your intercultural and interdisciplinary team on the outcomes of your study
• Which limitations were you facing?
• What have you learnt from each other?
• What would you do differently next time?
• You can also use diagrams/visuals
• 250 words text

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