A new security survey shows that the residents of Helsinki consider their own neighbourhood, the city centre and public transport safer than in any previous similar study. This article looks at the respondents’ assessments of the current safety situation as well as its development during the past three years.

Since the 1990s, children’s independent mobility in the city has been a lively topic of research. By international comparison, children in Finland still move fairly independently. However, recent decades have seen evidence of decreasing autonomy in children’s mobility. The article looks at Helsinki from the 1940s up until the present day and discusses how a changing city influences the spontaneous mobility of children.