Pasila (; , ) is a part of
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
,
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, that is both a central-northern
neighbourhood and district, bordering the areas of
Alppila
Alppila () is a quarter of Helsinki, Finland. It is located north of the city centre, between the districts of Kallio and Pasila, and together with Harju it forms the district of Alppiharju. Alppila has a population of 4,244 (as of 2005) a ...
to the south, the Central Park (
Keskuspuisto) to the west, and
Vallila
Vallila () is a Subdivisions of Helsinki#Neighbourhoods, neighbourhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
Vallila is a central-northern neighbourhood, bordered by Pasila to the west and Alppiharju to the south. Like Kallio, Vallila is mostly re ...
to the east.
Pasila is a major transportation hub. At its heart is the
Pasila railway station
Pasila station (, ; previous Swedish name was ''Fredriksberg'' until 1990) is a railway station in Helsinki, Finland, approximately north of Helsinki Central. It is the second busiest railway station in Finland, after Helsinki Central, and take ...
, the second busiest station in Finland. The station serves about 130,000 people per day via 900 trains, 400 trams and 850 buses.
Central Pasila
The eastern and western parts of Pasila were formerly separated by a large railroad
classification yard
A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...
before the development of
Central Pasila (), beginning in 2014. Central Pasila is currently home to the major sports and music venue
Helsinki Halli and the
Tripla complex, which includes a hotel of about 430 rooms, 50,000 square metres of office space (including the headquarters of telecom operator Telia Finland), about 400 residential flats and the largest commercial center in the Nordic countries with 250 shops.
There are several projects under construction or planning near the railway station. In connection with Tripla, several Trigoni
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
s are planned, the tallest of which, about 180 meters high from the top of the building, will be visible, in good weather, all the way to the
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
n coast.
West
Western Pasila () was built during the 1980s. It is a mainly residential area with approximately 4,500 inhabitants. The apartment buildings in Western Pasila are skinned with red bricks. The Finnish national broadcasting company
Yle
Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...
as well as the commercial
MTV3
MTV3 (, ) is a Finnish commercial television channel owned and operated by the media company MTV Oy, originally launched on 13 August 1957 as a programming block, becoming its own channel on 1 January 1993. It had the biggest audience share ...
have their main premises in the northern end of the area.
Helsinki's main
police station
A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...
is also located in Western Pasila.
Before the 1970s, Pasila was home to dilapidated wooden houses and was known for cheap rent and crime. It was then known simply as Wooden Pasila (). Today only a few of the old wooden structures exist.
East
Eastern Pasila () is a highly mixed-use area of offices, flats and commercial spaces, built in the 1970s and 1980s. In terms of urban planning the most distinct feature of the area is its pedestrian-friendly design, based around a raised, pedestrian-only podium that connects to all buildings. Master planning of the area was led by
Reijo Jallinoja and was based on his 1967 thesis work. The area is home to about 5,000 residents and 11,000 workplaces. Notable institutions include
Helsinki Business College,
Haaga–Helia University of Applied Sciences, the Helsinki City Theatre company, the main library of the city and Finland's largest convention center,
Messukeskus. The area is a telecom and media center of national significance with the headquarters of telecom operator
Elisa
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...
and a major presence of telecom operator
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
, who also own the TV studios at the
Asemapäällikönhovi building, operated by Streamteam Nordic. The area is home to Helsinki's most vibrant street-art scene as well as the ''Helsinki Urban Art'' center, the international hub for street art in Finland.
North
Northern Pasila () is mainly known for
Ilmala depot and a 2010s residential area called Postipuisto.
References
External links
{{Coord, 60, 12, 00, N, 24, 55, 57, E, region:FI-ES_type:city(8078), display=title