#03 POLICY BRIEF MAR 2019 Bringing attention back to the city centre - six Nordic examples Many small and medium-sized Nordic cities are dealing with challenges related to the role and development of their city centres. They use strategies related to urban planning, governance and business development, to aim for greater compactness, attractiveness, economic development and sustainability. What can we learn from the Nordic countries’ different approaches to city- centre development? This policy brief summarises investigations in six small and medium-sized Nordic cities. The discourse and practice of contemporary attractive and safe. In parallel with this, sprawling urban planning focuses strongly on densifi- urbanism has come to symbolise the environmental, cation and the compact city as the ideal and social and economic problems of contemporary cities. model for sustainable development. In the Added to this, the central part of a city is a limited Nordic countries as well as elsewhere in Europe, there space for which there are high expectations related to is a pervasive urban norm associated with planning, the urban norm, expectations that can be particularly development and lifestyles. According to this norm, challenging for smaller cities. Our studies indicate the compact city, and life in this city, is sustainable, that appropriate city-centre development requires co- nordregio policy brief 1 NORDIC CITIES DEVELOPING THEIR CENTRES n Mosfellsbær, Iceland, is situated on the outskirts of n Västervik, Sweden, has 21,000 inhabitants in the the capital area, which makes it rather like a suburb urban settlement, 1,500 of whom live in the city centre of Reykjavík. The main planning challenge relates (2016). During the past ten years efforts have been to the development of a completely new city centre directed towards developing the attractiveness of the from very little. There are around 100 residents in the city centre, much of it by increasing local collaboration centre of Mosfellsbær and around 9,000 in the urban between actors. Västervik was named Sweden’s City settlement in total (2016). Centre of the Year in 2017. n Sorø, Denmark (including nearby Frederiksberg), n Kokkola, Finland, has an urban settlement has around 11,000 inhabitants (2016), approximately population of about 36,000, with around 2,000 in 600 of whom live in the centre. The challenge for Sorø the commercial city core (2016). Improvement of the is to make the city centre more attractive to shops city centre, with the hope of reducing urban sprawl, and visitors, and to do this while dealing with the has received special attention in recent years. A limitations imposed on new developments (heritage, designated development plan formulates the vision of nature etc). To this end, the city has developed a a more attractive city centre. detailed masterplan. n Mariehamn is essentially the only city in Åland, with n Bodø, Norway, is a regional centre in Nordland. 13,000 inhabitants in the urban settlement and 400 In 2016, about 40,000 people lived in the urban in the immediate centre (2016). The municipality is settlement and 2,000 in the immediate commercial small and has historically grown outwards. The main city core. The current municipal plan (2014) challenge for Mariehamn is the impact of competition represents a policy change on matters of city-centre from a shopping centre in the neighbouring development, making it possible to densify the municipality, which heavily affects the urban economy immediate city core with new housing. and urban life. operation across sectors and actors, recognition of the an arena for many different actors. Formalised co- regional role of the city core, and investment in both operation bodies and continuous dialogue between the city centre and its periphery to create a balance the actors are considered to be positive elements for that attracts residents, visitors and consumers. development. In addition to their different approaches to competition from external shopping centres, cities CHALLENGES TO LIVELY CITY CENTRES employ diverse strategies to increase the critical mass The examples from the Nordic Region (see box above) of people who populate them and their venues. that are discussed in more detail in Nordregio’s report, Furthermore, in many cases there are concrete The compact city of the north – functions, challenges geographical and material influences on city and planning strategies (2018:4) show that there is development, both in the past and for the future; real competition from external shopping centres and existing buildings and functions, wetlands, railways that planning regulations do not always have the and municipal boundaries create place-specific desired effect on that competition. The responses preconditions for new development. It is also striking to the challenges vary. In some cases the main focus that the car, car use and parking needs reman decisive, is on new central housing projects; in others it is on despite current moves to ban cars from city centres new attractive public spaces or new types of plans, and government goals for zero growth in private car regulations or governance collaborations (see an use. example of this on page 3). Although there is a strong focus on commercial A dominant idea in urban development today is spaces, there are also public spaces of importance in that the city centre should be a place for events and smaller cities, such as parks, squares and waterfront experiences rather than, for example, simply a public promenades. These can be scarce, however, and or political space. This belief makes the development therefore it is of great importance that they are of centres primarily about municipalities collaborating safeguarded, open and used. with real estate interests, business owners and event Densification in Nordic cities is often about the organisers on topics ranging from signage to large- development of new housing. At the same time, smaller scale new developments. The city centre is clearly towns and cities are not under the same pressures 2 nordregio policy brief Planned housing development in the city centres as big cities, and a densification project may involve NORDIC CITIES DEVELOPING THEIR CENTRES only a few blocks or a small number of new dwellings. Mosfellsbær ~250 dwellings When it comes to the development of new housing, the cities investigated give the strong impression that Sorø ~20 dwellings they rely on hope: hope that the trend will change in Bodø ~2,200 dwellings (of which 1,600 are in the smaller cities and that more people – not only the commercial city core) ~800 dwellings are already under construc- young and the elderly – will be attracted to living tion in the commercial city core centrally. This makes densification and enlargement of the city centre currently more of a planning ideal Västervik Very limited in the city core and an expression of the urban norm than a response to existing demand in smaller cities. Kokkola The ambition is to increase the number of resi- l dents from 3,900 to 6,000 within 1–5 years Mariehamn ~1,200 residents COLLABORATION IS KEY The search for new ways to manage the perceived act according to their own power and legitimacy and challenges in city centres has given rise to new ways take on initiatives in their respective arenas, but the of collaborating in both Västervik in Sweden and initiatives are strengthened by the collaboration. Mariehamn in Åland. Three types of actors were involved – property owners, the municipality and Going through Citysamverkan makes it easier to businesses – and the planning offices were involved reach out to relevant local actors and can facilitate in both cases. local development. The collaboration revolves to a substantial extent around shopping and trade- The collaboration in Västervik can be traced back related issues but it has turned into an important to 2008, when the need to act on the threat of platform by enabling open dialogue on a regular external shopping centres became apparent. basis. In Mariehamn they identified challenges The local trade association and the business to effective collaboration. Even though property consultancy Västervik Framåt (VF) were the owners, the business sector and city officials are initiators. Commissioned to attract businesses to engaged, they often need to prioritise their own the city centre, VF concluded that investment in the agendas to the detriment of the city centre agenda. external shopping centre had to be balanced with The results of the collaboration in Mariehamn investment and initiatives in the city centre. There included a street programme, events, marketing was a need to co-ordinate efforts. Thus, Västervik and furniture and flowers in the city, so, despite the Citysamverkan was born. The collaboration is collaboration challenges, there were visible results in governed by agreements, meaning that the partners the urban environment. Shops and The Stores Municipality VÄSTERVIK CITY COLLABORATION (Västervik Citysamverkan) Property Restaurants Owners nordregio policy brief 3 CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES The Nordic cities explored here point The strategies in these Nordic to the following challenges for city- cities point to the following centre development: recommendations for policy makers: n External shopping centres that originally n Collaboration between businesses, property alleviated pressure on city centres are now strong owners and local government is central to getting competitors. things done in the city centre. n Planning regulations limit housing development in n City centres need to be flexible spaces, able to the city centre. adapt to trends in housing preference, external shopping and e-commerce. n The car! Cities have a regional role that means they generate commuting, parking and car use, n Cities are more than shopping centres. which can have negative effects on city centres. Remember the important non-commercial spaces in the city! n The compact city is a strong contemporary planning ideal, but it is not always a response to an existing demand for centrally located housing.