Duluth and Helsinki forever — and maybe Stockholm too

Kodiak Dec 01, 2012 6 Comments

I attended a screening of Helsinki Forever, a 2008 montage of video clips taken by Finnish documentary and feature film makers over the past 100 years. It opens with this scene from the 1920s.

After a bit of Websurfing I came upon this CNN report on underground Helsinki. What Helsinki is doing stands in stark contrast to what Duluth is doing, especially when I routinely read comments by prospective out-of-town developers that Duluth is an expensive place in which to build. Maybe they need to throw out their outdated rulebook. Take a look at this.

When Involta announced its intention to build a data center in Duluth, I posted some online comments in the DNT highlighting the brilliant opportunties offerred by the abundant and accessible bedrock. Wikileaks’ server is in a former nuclear bunker in Stockholm deep in the bedrock.

Does America need to look to the Old Country for innovation?

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History

6 Comments

wildgoose

about 12 years ago 

I spent New Year's Eve in Helsinki one year.  The whole town was drunk.  The whole town.

But that is not exactly a slam.  It's very efficient, beautiful, orderly and modern.  I remember a great mass transit system for example.  Imagine that, northern people with great mass transit. I don't doubt for a second that they are great planners with an eye to the future and sustainability.

Shane

about 12 years ago 

Helsinki and Stockholm are both the capital and largest cities in their respective countries. Not really comparable to Duluth in national stature.

DaVe

about 12 years ago 

Very interesting. Where did you watch the film?  Seems people were a bit less safety- conscious around ice-breakers back then, Yikes!

wildgoose

about 12 years ago 

Many differences, many similarities, Shane.  But that's an important point.

adam

about 12 years ago 

One of Wikileaks' servers. They colocate as well as being heavily mirrored.

Shane

about 12 years ago 

No real similarities, other than being located in a region with snow.

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