From Industrial Area to Viable Urban District: A feasibility study of a plot at Oslo's outskirts with emphasis on vitalisation and retrofitting.

Solli, Astrid Ballestad

4. semester

Surveying, Planning and Land Management (cand.geom.), Master

2018

2018-06-08

109 pages

How can one vitalise a homogeneous industrial area that exclusively promotes cars - where heavy and through traffic creates segregation, and moreover noise and air pollution? Creating viable environments primarily concerns how to adapt the environment to the human scale and human interest. Partly, addressing potential catalysts for vitalisation - something which represents the interest and essential needs associated with the residents. Good accessibility and transparency are furthermore essential factors to generate life and minimise the segregation, especially when it comes to the case of this thesis. As a sub-area within one of Europe's largest comprehensive redevelopment project, Hovinbyen, the industrial area at Haraldrud shall be transformed into a vital urban district. Concerning the future redevelopment of Haraldrud, this project report emphasise the space between the buildings and the genius loci of the area. The purpose of this study is to address site-specific attributes concerning how Haraldrud can be adapted to the human scale and soft mobility, and how the genius loci of the area can be safeguarded through retrofitting. However, in this case, there are more interests involved - some of which possibly less worried about creating a liveable outdoor environment. Minimising the urban expansion at the conserved forest areas surrounding Oslo is the main motivation for this brownfield to be designated as a future potential residential and business district. Oslo's population increases drastically, which is why the authorities advocate increased vertical development, as opposed to urban expansion. This pretext implies that areas, which due to high levels of noise and air pollution are considered not liveable yet, shall be transformed into viable urban districts. Compact development moreover implies, in this context, that proximately central areas must provide smaller and denser dwellings in order to prevent increased housing prices and social segregation. To this extent, small interventions may improve the accessibility significantly if one starts by connecting critical missing links. This project report consists of a case study, including a site-specific analysis and a feasibility study, and, moreover, a discussion regarding the challenges and conflicts of objectives associated with the vitalisation of the industrial area, Haraldrud.

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