Riskimaisemiin

Riskimaisemiin is a Finnish term used in risk studies to describe an approach that treats risk as something spatially embedded in landscapes. It emphasizes how hazards are distributed in spaces and how communities perceive and experience these risks in everyday life. The concept links physical risk data with social meaning, place, and memory, and is used in risk communication, urban planning, and climate adaptation to connect technical analysis with lived reality.

Etymology and usage: The term combines riski (risk) and maisema (landscape) with the illative suffix -iin, yielding "into risk landscapes." It is not a standard dictionary entry but appears in Finnish academic and policy discourse as a way to frame hazard as a landscape that people navigate rather than as abstract numbers alone.

Methods and practice: In practice, riskimaisemiin invites participatory planning, interviews, and participatory mapping to identify locally salient risks. It can be paired with GIS by overlaying community concerns with hazard layers to produce more inclusive risk reduction strategies.

Relation to other concepts: It overlaps with risk perception, vulnerability, and resilience, offering a qualitative complement to quantitative risk assessments. It foregrounds questions of equity, everyday safety, and how social and environmental factors shape protective actions.

Examples: In flood-prone areas, a riskimaisemiin approach might reveal that residents avoid certain routes or distrust official warnings, guiding targeted communication and structural measures. In wildfire zones, perceptions of defensible space, evacuation ease, and daily routines inform adaptation planning.

See also: risk perception, hazard, climate adaptation, resilience.