Suburban Densification in Oslo through the Lens of Social and Cultural Sustainability

Abstract

Contemporary Oslo has an annual population growth of circa 2% and viewed in a Norwegian perspective, it is growing faster than any other city. In this article we investigate whether social and cultural sustainability are taken in to account in the densification policy and practices taking place here. We start with an overview of research on socio-cultural sustainability and in particular how it has been addressed in the Norwegian context. After setting a theoretical and conceptual framework we investigate densification and social and cultural sustainability at different scales. Our analysis focuses on the policy level. We conduct a text analysis of the new municipal plan. Then, to provide a bottom-up perspective, we zoom in on one of the suburban areas, pointed out in the plan as a densification site. We combine survey with a mapping of the area and a description of its historical development to get an understanding of what the densification that has already taken place there, means for the residents. Our findings indicate that social and cultural resources are place specific. Additionally, what residents consider as resources valuable of being handed over for future generations is not always the same as what experts identify as worth preserving.