Public Sektor PhD-Project  

The Suburban Room

Krøgenes local center & the surrounding areas.

Krøgenes is located in a suburban area of Arendal. In 2015, the municipality of Arendal started a 3 year area and transport plan project together with the County of Aust-Agder and the municipalities of Froland, Grimstad and Tvedestrand. A hearing draft for the regional area and transport plan for the Arendal region, including a draft for a road by-pass, was presented to the municipalities in in 2018. The draft recommends a future development pattern in the city region based on a compact building strategy, developping mainly around the main public transport axes in the cities. In parallel with this work, the municipality of Arendal initiated the revision of the the municipal areaplan, where the same strategy was taken into account in the planning program. The area plan for Arendal was finally adopted on May 24 2019.

The municipality is also preparing a municipal sector-plan for one of the suburban center areas; the town center of Krøgenes. There strategic approach is to suggest a considerable urbanization with the construction of housing, commercial premises and service areas, with high density, based on a street pattern program. Principles such as the “ The city of proximity” in the Municipal Plan and the 10-minute town, or the “walking-town”, will form the basis for the development of the Krøgenes areas – a place which has primarily business and shopping center functions today. The goal is to development a local area and local town center with urban qualities based on the sustainability goals .

In connection with these planning processes and related development agreements, the municipality will initiate, in cooperation with the network “With a Heart For Arendal”, a mobilization process with the aim of ensuring active participation from civil society, the business and cultural actors, in order to give the possibility for the inhabitants to contribute to place quality, meeting places, good public functions and good housing facilities.

This area is not part of  a national project, but we have established a dialogue with Pådriv Oslo about a potential network-collaboration. There seems to be a development at Krøgenes so far, that has been somehow blind to the context and the landscape surrounding the area. Krøgenes has not integrated functions like new homes, schools, kindergardens or a community center, in the central development area. This is partly due to the fact that the central area has business- and industrial functions. Krøgenes is an example of a car based development, with connecting roads and a bridge leading out to the Raet national Park on the Tromøy Island.

In addition to Krøgenes, the new development area at Vindholmen with the “ Bryggebyen” development project just started by “ Fossekompaniet”. This area and the surrounding and existing neighborhoods will be part of the analysis. I will also look at the connection to the area east of Krøgenes, Saltrød, where the municipality is planning for the strengthening of the local center functions of the area. A new pilot project is under development. The city council has decided to localize a multifunctional building for elderly people, child care/ Kinder-garden and health institutions and services in this area.

The overall research questions will be addressed, and interviews, document analysis and close readings of relevant project and planning documents will be analysed. I will look into how new methods or approaches used in the city center case, can help mobilising the resources and interest for this area, and create a shared vision for the further development, building on local knowledge and narratives, and broad participation from a diversity of actors. “Peoples walk”, “Childrens Walk”, “People meet people”, and the Dream-lab are methods of data collection and integration that could be tested in order to answer the research questions and analyze the outcome of this process. Other approaches and methods could also be tested such as Pådriv. Especially digital tools and new ways of organising the leadership of the process will be addressed if relevant for the case-study.

Film & photos from the start of the PhD-project (2017/2018)

Film & photos from Desember 2019

Krøgenes

Vindholmen

Film & photos from July 2020

Krøgenes - Løkholmen