Background

The city of Narvik hosted a Future City Game on 25 November 2011, when hosting the annual Byromsseminaret Nordland 2011 (a conference on urban space). The two day event consisted of one day of lectures followed by a Future City Game workshop on day 2.

The participants were 40 planners, architects, politicians and developers from the county of Nordland in the northern part of Norway.

Objectives

The objectives of the game were to establish perspectives and discuss the basis for creating vital urban spaces and sustainable urban centres in cities located in the northern part of Norway. In the end, the participants came up with new concepts for revitalising Narvik city centre.

A summary of the discussions and ideas produced during the workshop resulted in a report on urban space in Nordland.

Report (in Norwegian):

http://www.nfk.no/Artikkel.aspx?AId=18960&back=1&MId1=141

Winning idea

The winning idea argued that to revitalise the city centre and the public square in downtown Narvik, new programmes and activities had to be implemented. A project called ‘kulturtorvet’ (culture square) provided a series of spaces and activities in and around the existing square, all related to youth and children's activities.

By providing spaces for the young generation, the project argued, one also provided good public spaces and meeting places for all generations.

Winning ideas from the other teams

The runner-up suggested that to revitalise public space in Narvik, one has to reconnect the city`s functions to the city centre. Making the square and city centre once again a node is fundamental to creating activity in and around the area, the project argued. Among the more radical ideas was a new gondola, making the mountain and ski resort above the city accessible directly from the city centre.

Photos on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/coevju/sets/72157628194899067/