Sverre Bjerkeset & Jonny Aspen
APA
Bjerkeset, S. & Aspen, J. (1). Private-public space in a Nordic context: the Tjuvholmen waterfront development in Oslo. Journal of Urban Design, 22(1), 116–132. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2016.1240010
Abstract
Based primarily on an observational study, this paper addresses privately owned and managed public space at the Tjuvholmen waterfront development in Oslo. To date, no other research has been published internationally on external private-public space in a Nordic context. The four factors or processes dealt with are planning and development, design, management and, in particular, use. The main finding is that Tjuvholmen’s public spaces are characterized by ‘tightness’ and reduced publicness. As such, they share key characteristics with private-public spaces described in the literature from the US and the UK, while in some other respects they also deviate from these.
Main finding
Tjuvholmen’s public spaces are characterized by ‘tightness’ and reduced 'publicness'. Key characteristics are a closed planning and development process; physical and visual strictness and orderliness; widespread prohibitions and restrictions on use; extensive surveillance and control; lack of diversity in terms of uses and users; and, a certain tightness in people’s physical and verbal conduct.
Description of method used in the article
The main objective was to explore four interrelated factors or processes of public space production - planning and development, design, management and use. Data collection focused on detached, direct observations, which took place over a three-and-a-half-year period from late 2012 to spring 2016, most intensely in the period April‒September 2013. In total, field observations were undertaken on approximately 70 occasions.
Verdict
Policy implications