Oslo’s Climate Shift in Urban Planning: From Tradition to Innovation

Land-use planning and related regulations are employed as purposeful planning tools in Oslo. Oslo municipality anchors its efforts in four key climate considerations: (a) planning for less transport and more public transport, walking, and cycling, (b) creating climate resilience, (c) preserving carbon in soil and vegetation, and (d) building in a climate- and nature-friendly manner. Among these, transportation has been most prevalent over time. For decades, Oslo’s planning philosophy has prioritized development from the city centre outward, focusing on densification around transport hubs. Weaknesses in how climate has been handled as part of planning have been identified at a national level. The Planning and Building Act and its implementation need to be strengthened. Oslo has led efforts to expand the interpretation and application of the Planning and Building Act, particularly in regulating emissions from construction. At a local level this relates closely with developing a broad approach spanning from green mobility to climate resilience through energy use, materials, and building activities. In the same year that the city council passed Oslo’s new climate strategy, a dialogue-based tool on these themes was implemented as part of the planning process. Today, the municipality is working to legalize this approach. Simultaneously, national experts have raised similar issues, and there is an interplay between levels of governance. Developing competencies in the municipality and internal networks and working with external networks in other parts of public administration and the building sector have been the main success factors in this work.