Tommi Laitio is an inaugural Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow at the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins. Before joining the Center, he acted as the first Executive Director for Culture and Leisure for the City of Helsinki, overseeing a staff of 1800 professionals delivering the Finnish capital’s arts and culture, sports and recreation, public library, and youth services.
During his two-year fellowship, Laitio led a research project on the capabilities local governments need for park and library partnerships to create both positive impact and public trust. His work on designing for friction utilizes the Latin American concept of convivencia. The approach has gained interest among many public space providers, and he has delivered dozens of keynotes on the subject in Europe, and North, and Latin America. Laitio also co-leads a thought partnership on socio-economic mixing with the Memphis River Parks Partnership related to the opening of Tom Lee Park.
