On the feasibility and effectiveness of urban densification in Norway

Abstract

Urban densification has been widely adopted as a strategy to achieve the sustainable city. There is a wide consensus on the benefits of the compact city in regards to environmental performance. Yet, there are some unanswered questions mainly in connection with implementation challenges and the real gains in attaining sustainable development. This is a particularly relevant discussion in a high-income and sparsely populated country such as Norway. In such a context the strategy appears difficult to implement. The implications of urban densification with regard to the sustainable city are analysed in this paper using the concepts of feasibility and effectiveness. The study was conducted by a combination of exploration of theoretical concepts related to the sustainable city and evaluation of empirical data in four Norwegian cities: Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Stavanger. These cases were analysed in relation to densification, dwelling types, and transportation modes. Although densification is proven feasible in most of the studied cities according to the results, this may be happening not solely because of successful planning efforts, but also because of demographic trends. The effectiveness of this strategy with regard to sustainable patterns, particularly in urban mobility, offers, so far, less evident and direct benefits. Densification is only one of the many qualities that the sustainable city requires; however, it is a precondition for the existence of other essential features for urban sustainability.