How a Google millionaire is creating an offline future for communities

Hazel Sheffield speaks to Jyri Engestrom, founder of Helsinki’s Cafe Siili, one of 81 businesses supported by a citywide app to encourage citizens to think sustainably

Jyri Engestrom (with partner Caterina Fake) hopes the cafe can restore a sense of community in the area

The colourful wooden buildings in Kapyla, a district in the north of Helsinki, were built in the 1920s to house the city’s working-class population. Like other garden cities, the idea was to enhance the sense of community for the workers escaping the slums. Multiple families lived in one building, with private garden plots for tenants, and courtyards in which to gather.

Jyri Engestrom, a Finnish entrepreneur, grew up in Kapyla. When he was young, every house had a grocer or a shop beneath, catering to residents. These days, all the businesses have closed down as the buildings have been converted to attractive residences, populated by creatives. With few communal resources, Kapyla risks becoming a neighbourhood where people come home from the city to watch TV in the evening, never talking to their neighbours. Apart from two months every summer, when Engestrom opens the door to Cafe Siili.

Siili, which means hedgehog in Finnish, is intended to be more than a neighbourhood cafe. It is a place for locals to gather and a focal point for the area. Engestrom hopes it can restore some of the sense of community in the area.