A master thesis from Aalborg University
Envisioning Engaging Spaces for Youth and Young Adults in Tøyen: Mapping asset networks for targeted urban design interventions
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2018
Submitted on
2018-05-23
Pages
120 pages
Abstract
Globalisation and migration cause fast changes in the urban environment which puts significant pressure on the social, cultural and economic relationships in urban neighbourhoods and on the inhabitants growing up there. The project focuses the role of the youth and young adults (16-25) as an essential actor and asset of the disadvantaged neighbourhood of Tøyen, Oslo. Even though being a large group at a defining stage in their life, they tend to be left out the hegemonic process of urban development. Tøyen has during the past five years undergone an urban regeneration process, dubbed the Tøyen ‘Area-lift’. The thesis has its outset in how the process has influenced the opportunity space of 16-25’s and how urban regeneration can afford possibilities of engaging youth through urban design - with an emphasis of counteracting the adverse effects of regeneration, such as gentrification. By mapping the network of the local asset through literature research, interviews and field mapping, we sought potentials in the urban environment to help strengthen the neighbourhood and engage the youth in their community. The uncovering of many promising assets and programs led to a strategy of strengthening the physical connections in-between actors, by envisioning targeted urban design interventions that enhance communication, acceptability and curiosity amongst youth and the rest of the neighbourhood. Using local assets of the neighbourhood as the base of the further development of Tøyen ensures that the community takes part in the change and strengthens the sociocultural relation. The strategy has a potential to be implemented in other neighbourhoods to ensure strategically placed urban interventions for development of the community from within.
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