Down by the Fjord: successful public and private collaboration in a Neighbourhood redevelopment project

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and study the green procurement processes in the new and ongoing neighbourhood-building project named ‘Fjordbyen’ in Norway. The purpose behind this study is to look at how Fjordbyen approached these processes in order to contribute to the pool of knowledge on this topic. The Fjordbyen project is located on the shoreline in the Drammen Fjord and represents in effect the development of a new neighbourhood. This new development aims to settle at least 16,000 new residents and 16,600 jobs in a zero-emissions urban area that is green and future-oriented. The topic has been addressed by using a case study approach. The data for this paper is collected through a combination of desk research, a study of secondary data such as documents studies (reports, documents from websites etc.), two Citizen Surveys and four interviews with the key person involved in the front-end planning process of the Fjordbyen project. It will build on Public People Private Partnerships (PPPP) literature, theory related to stakeholder management and participatory process as well as theory related to organizing of the front-end of urban redevelopment projects and green public procurement. The study found that to a large extent the procurement processes in the development of Fjordbyen were conducted with green considerations in mind from its early stages. Through a combination of urban planning and typographical considerations, green procurement was conducted in the context of ensuring that not just greener products were purchased, but also green supply chains were managed as were the ‘grass roots’ development processes themselves. The finding of this study has an impact on the consideration of processes leading towards green procurement in urban and city development projects. This is particularly the case with regards to pushing even further research on the value and challenges associated with green procurement processes. The finding of this paper will not just be relevant to the project management field, but also procurement studies, urban planning, and industrial economics.