Putting together a coordinated effort to respond to a sudden crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic with data proved to be neither easy nor seamless. The lessons learned from the process will be a valuable asset as we develop our monitoring and information systems further.

The latest issue of Helsinki Quarterly covers topics ranging from population growth and urbanisation to sustainability, citizen security and environmental attitudes.

Among the tasks of the city administration is to monitor the development of Helsinki by means of statistical analysis, prognoses and research. Sometimes this requires us to delve into a variety of data sources in order to produce relevant insights and understanding about crucial urban developments.

The present issue of Helsinki Quarterly functions as an overview of essential research topics that City of Helsinki Urban Facts has dealt with during the past year. The thematic range reveals the multiplicity of aspects related to urban life, but also of the information required by the authorities to successfully develop a city.

The present issue of Helsinki Quarterly sets out to explore the history of Helsinki – urban actors, events, spaces and processes – from a transnational, comparative perspective. By doing so, it also takes the reader to several urban spaces in Helsinki, which even today display a multilayered, transnational past.