Walks+Talks: Reinventing Tøyen

Reinventing Tøyen

Tøyen is a densely populated and highly multicultural area close to the city center of Oslo. An overall plan initiated by the municipality of Oslo aims to improve the local community qualities at Tøyen, focusing on inclusion and safety specifically. Former inhabitants feel pressed out due to gentrification and rising house prices. Join this walking tour to discuss and reflect on the process of participation when intervening in existing neighborhoods and social structures. In this walk you’ll get a taste of Tøyen!

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Tøyen Torg

Områdeløft Tøyen is an area-boost program, developing a good and safe neighbourhood in a deprived area. The population is facing complex challenges related to housing, employment, income levels, school drop-out, education level and health. Together with the inhabitants, civil society, private actors and other public services the city area district (bydel) are working to improve social and physical qualities of Tøyen (and Grønland.) Områdeløft Tøyen work together through the neighbourhood house (Aktivitetshuset K1), local volunteerism, social entrepreneurship, adequate public services, cooperation with commercial actors and the common areas in residential environments, park/green areas and playgrounds to improve the local trust and wellbeing. The examples will show how the Tøyen area boost program develops modes of participation for an inclusive and sustainable urban planning and development.

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Hagegata

How can we address residents’ needs in a community uplift program? Work with human centric specialists! We are currently facing a renewed interest in human centric city development, with citizen participation placed at the core of community design processes. Katja’s conversation will be focusing on how to engage anthropologists and make the best of a partnership between human specialists and the designers designing the neighborhoods together with the residents. In recent years, there has been a movement in anthropology toward the study of place, while design and planning have been moving toward the perception of place as part of a greater social, political, and cultural milieu. Neighborhoods are the units of change and as professionals we are part of the “culturalization of space”.

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Kolstadgata

Kolstadgata is going to be closed for car-based traffic, and the Agency for City Environment in Oslo (Bymiljøetaten) wanted the local inhabitants view on what the new street and square should look like. MakersHub and Growlab Oslo got the task of investigating how a future square would be used, as well as creating enthusiasm for the future changes. The lessons learned from the project will be used as the foundation for the new design of the square. The project has five phases, consisting of insight, design, building, activation and evaluation.

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Aktivitetshuset K1

Tøyen Sports Club was founded by a group of Tøyen activists that saw that the area needed a better activity and sports offering. They wanted to create affordable, non-religious and political independent sports and cultural activities available to everyone. Through their physical and cultural activities they aim to create an even better community and belonging in Tøyen. They also want to break down economic, social and cultural barriers, as well as being a contributor to increased organizational participation and improving the general health in this part of the city. The sports club has also started their own youth management program, named Tøyenakademiet, where they are training local youth in how to participate in organisations, organize events, activity management, how to be a young entrepreneur etc. These young talents will be the clubs future. It is looking brighter by the day.

Tøyen orchestra, which is a multicultural, local orchestra with student from Tøyen primary school have a program that, through music, focuses on giving all children confidence and dignity. The goal of the orchestra is to give all children, no matter what background they come from, the possibility to learn to play a instrument.

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Sørli lekeplass

The role of community consultation in successful urban transformation: Sørli Playpark. The upgrade of Sørli play park is part of the community uplift program of the Tøyen-area and local authorities plan to facilitate the process of Tøyen becoming a safe and inclusive neighbourhood park, based on the needs of a highly involved and engaged local community. Prior to this process, the playpark was a ferocious park with poor lighting, worn surfaces and a poorly developed playground. Users did not feel safe and the park did not accommodate for the needs of the neighbourhood. During the design process the community’s involvement indicated that the park should be a place for people in ages to enjoy, well lit and with several different activities and places to hang and meet.

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Tøyen torg

Tøyen Square and its four main entrances has been completely redesigned by Grindaker AS Landskapsarkitekter with new paving, lighting, vegetation, and seating areas. The city of Oslo wanted to create a main square that represented Tøyen’s history, placement in the local community, and a more attractive and safe meeting place. Under the direction of the City Environmental Agency in Oslo, Byverkstedet carried out a temporary project on the square. This collaborative design process resulted in feedback from the local community that would be implemented in the final project. The client’s goal was that the design of the square would reflect the “Tøyen-ness”, or the identity of the surrounding multicultural landscape. The concept of the “Tøyen carpets” was established by designing three different brick paving patterns. Carpet patterns from around the world were referenced by the large diamond pattern on the central square. The outer zones were identified with lighting, seating and raised vegetation planters. The central zone remains open and unprogrammed.

Pia Haukali In Pia`s master thesis in landscape architecture she explored how a feminist approach can contribute in the planning and design of more including and safe public spaces. In the thesis she proposes a method to analyse public urban spaces through a feminist perspective. This analysis considers qualities and use of public spaces and help uncover who they are facilitated for. Many public spaces are not gender equal and can be better suited for the needs of women and girls. To create more gender equal spaces we need to ensure inclusive participation and design urban qualities uncovered as especially important for women and girls.

In 2018 the public square known as “Tøyen torg” was revitalized with a new design. Is the new square gender equal? Why, or why not?