YTK Land Use Planning and Urban Studies Group

YTK is one of the three research groups within the Department of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics, in Aalto University School of Engineering. It engages in research and education concerning strategic and integrative land use planning, planning in the context of urban and regional governance, and the built living environment and housing as an object and condition of planning. YTK was originally founded in 1968 as a national multidisciplinary centre for further education in urban and regional planning and urban studies. Over the years YTK has developed a strong interdisciplinary research profile and functions related to doctoral education. In the beginning of 2012 YTK merged with the Department of Surveying to form a new Department of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics.

YTK co-operates closely with Finnish university departments and research institutions active in the fields of urban and regional planning and urban studies. YTK has also gained a status as an internationally well-known research unit and preferred research partner. In 2010, YTK organized the annual conference of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) - the main annual event for the European planning researchers.