development of the services. We have already learnt how severe problems are being faced and we are beginning to understand the great potential of the bottom-up approach. Everyday services related to running errands are part of the foundation of a city resident’s life. Commerce drives customer flows that generate traffic and logistic systems. this works its way up the cityscape and a city resident’s daily life. the process-like nature of urban development is manifested in the development of commerce. All the parts are in continuous movement. since the 1960s, there has been an increase in the unit size of commerce, a decrease in the number of business premises, and commerce has moved to the sides of major traffic routes and into large shopping centres. A car has become a prerequisite for running errands. this development has led to a concern about the urban centre remaining as a living environment and a great number of projects tackling this subject. the sello shopping centre in Leppävaara, Espoo is one example of the big commercial centres that have come into being in the Helsinki area, directing customer flows effectively by means of its varied offerings. this impact is intensified when the location of a shopping centre is being selected according to transport connections, and the centre is connected effectively with the region’s traffic system. there are also public services available at sello, such as the Leppävaara library, the music College, common service point and sello Hall. the market square and senate square with their surroundings form a central part of today’s national landscape of Finland that can well be called the icon of Helsinki. there is a desire to preserve the vitality and variety of this area; the area is being developed by the City in cooperation with local enterprises. the area is closely connected with the city’s kaartinkaupunki quarter and Erottaja square that form the Helsinki Design District. more than 100 companies belong to this design cluster. HELsinki As FinLAnD’s DEsiGn CAPitAL Design and creativity have a long tradition in Finland’s short history, and Helsinki has a strong role as a creative environment. About one third of the jobs in Finland’s creative sector are found in the Helsinki region. With their actions, the Design District in central Helsinki – with its Design museum and the museum of Finnish Architecture – the design-intensive companies in the vallila axle as well as the university of Art and Design in the Arabianranta area manifest the role of design in the everyday life of Helsinki’s residents. Alongside Aalto university, the other significant design school is the institute of Design in Lahti. the Espoo museum of modern Art and the planned moby Dick cultural centre to be built next to the Finnish science Center Heureka in vantaa embody the dynamic and synergic development of culture, design and city planning within the Helsinki region. the millennium technology Prize – the biggest in the world – is awarded every second year in Helsinki to those who develop technologies that improve people’s quality of life. this prize tries to bring forth innovations that support sustainable development and have a positive effect on wellbeing. Design has a central role in the effectiveness of technology. in 2017, Finland will have been an independent country for 100 years. this will be the culmination of a unique set of events that forms the decade of design, during which there will be numerous events emphasising the significance of design. Open Helsinki — Embedding Design in Life World Design Capital 2012 Application