We are today witnessing economic and social transformations on a scale comparable to the transition from an agricultural to an industrialised society. Our standard of living has increased dramatically, we are better educated and we have more spare time. During the last decade or so, urban areas have had to absorb a massive influx of people. 78% of Norway's population now live in densely populated areas, and only a small minority maintain traditional ways of living as farmers or fishermen. Whereas we used to spend much of our spare time in the household with our family, we are now shopping, travelling, and being mass consumers of the products of the culture industry, such as cinema, theatre, concerts and art shows. This trend has naturally caused a surging demand for creative workers. On a global basis, one third of the workers in advanced industrialised countries are employed in the creative sector, including arts and culture, research and development, and knowledge-based professions. Creativity has become the new driving force behind economic growth. In his report “Competing in the Age of Talent: Quality of Place and the New Economy” (2000), and his book “The Rise of the Creative Class” (2002), public policy scholar Richard Florida has helped focus our attention on these trends. It is now considered vital for any city to arrange large-scale cultural events (e.g., biennials, festivals) to attract creative talent and innovators and stimulate economic growth.
On the other hand, the mass consumption of culture puts increasing pressure on cities to meet the demands of powerful sponsors, which leads to increased commercialisation and homogenisation of the cultural scene. Chain stores outcompete local specialty stores, and the shopping mall boom of the 1980s, which faced strong criticism, is on the rise again, with vast malls being planned outside the urban centres. Thus, the city is changing from a centre of trade and industry to a place of housing and entertainment. People drive to the suburbs to do their shopping, whereas pedestrian city streets are filled with galleries and cultural “happenings”. The city and the suburb are switching roles. As a consequence, the provinces and the countryside may have their renaissance, and become avant garde. In this essay, I will try to show how the relationship between the city and the provinces has changed through several historical transitions from agriculture and trade through industrialisation, suburban planning and the current city as a culture factory. I will use examples from architecture and city planning in Bergen, and discuss its implications for the Nordic countries.
Trade and exchange of goods. In medieval times, Bergen was an important political, economic and cultural nexus for the West Nordic region, which included the Orkneys, Shetland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Denmark, as well as Western and Northern Norway. However, when Håkon V. Magnusson relocated the administrative functions from Bergen to Oslo in 1299, the foreign policy and lines of communication, traditionally focussed on the North Atlantic region, increasingly turned eastwards. Nevertheless, despite losing some of its political and economic status, Bergen continued to be a vital nexus for trade and maritime transport. As the Nordic centre for the Hansa trade union (1350-1754), Bergen was well connected with the outside world. As a consequence, many characteristic family names in Bergen, such as Friele and Rieber, come from Germany. During this Hansa period of active trade and administration, most of the Norwegian population lived in the countryside, while the majority of city residents were immigrant traders from Germany, the Netherlands or Scotland, often educated and with international experience. City craftsmen were often organised in various unions, while those living outside the city were referred to as “striler”. The name “stril” was a pejorative description of farmers and fishermen living beyond the Bergen city limits. One definition of a “stril” was a person who could row to the city in one day. They rowed to Bergen to sell fish and other goods and were considered different from city folk. A stereotypical “stril” had characteristic clothing, strong dialect, and a short, stocky body with very long arms from all the rowing. Despite the apparent animosity, there was a mutually beneficial relationship between the city and the surrounding areas. The Hansa period was a time of growth for farmers, craftsmen and traders alike, where the city was dependent on the surrounding population, and vice versa. For example, after each of the frequent city fires that wreaked havoc on Bergen's wooden buildings, the expert carpenters from the island of Osterøy were needed to rebuild the city. Active international trade eventually led to the emergence of a wealthy upper class that would increasingly assert themselves. An example from the heyday of the trade period is Damsgård Manor. The building in its present form is from the late 1770s, when it was rebuilt as a mansion for Christian Geelmuyden (1730-1795), whose family roots were Dutch, and who was given the ennoblement title Gyldenkrantz in 1783. Among his duties as a city official, Geelmuyden collected taxes from people living outside the city, and it is said that it was with their money he could build his miniature Versailles at the edge of the city. It is probably the only Rococo building in the world made of wood. The building with its garden reflects western Norwegian building traditions mixed with clear international impulses. To a visitor from France or Italy, Damsgård Manor is obviously provincial, but also inimitable. Thus, a provincial expression can embody something new and unique.
Industrialisation. During the industrialisation, the city becomes the home, workplace and livelihood for the majority of the population. Bergen experiences its greatest population growth in the years 1875-1914, and the greatest factor influencing the city and its design is the private business enterprise. Now, the freedom and responsibility of individual citizens is thought to stimulate progress and wealth. The old unions and city privileges had ensured a steady development of trade, crafts, manufacturing, and a certain system of economic and social protection for the poor, sick and unemployed, but these were now considered nuisance factors that would limit economic growth. During this new phase of aggressive economic policies, the quality of new city buildings was clearly affected, both aesthetically and technically. Low income housing was developed at minimal cost, examples of which are common in city neighbourhoods like Grünerløkka (Oslo) and Nedre Nygård (Bergen). These areas have in recent times been threatened with demolition, and have gone through extensive renewal and gentrification. The typical apartment buildings from the 1880s gave Bergen a more continental European look, modelled on the large cities in Northern Germany. However, when the housing market crashes in 1899, new legislation is formed to prevent similar real estate speculation, and there is a strong reaction to the earlier low-cost city development. For example, the painter and author Johan Christian Koren-Wiberg (1870-1945) strongly voiced his opposition to the apartment building architecture, arguing that the German-style buildings created slums and erased the city's history. He valued Bergen's wooden architecture, and criticised the developments of the late 1800s. By focussing on local examples as ideals, he inspired what has later been called the Bergen School, comprised of architects that develop a regional Western Norwegian architecture in the years before and after WWII. Along with his father, Koren-Wiberg started the Hanseatic Museum in Bergen, and his book on the cultural history of Bergen (Bergens Kulturhistorie, 1921) was instrumental in defining the local cultural identity and the characteristics of local architectural design. This was developed further by the architect Kristian Bjerknes (1901-1981) in his dissertation on old middle class houses in Bergen (Gamle Borgerhus i Bergen, 1961). Bjerknes, as part of the Bergen School, had a strong interest in the preservation of local building traditions. He founded the Gamle Bergen Museum of old buildings, which opened in 1949 with the goal of portraying life in the old city through living cultural history. Bjerknes became well known for incorporating traditional elements in his own buildings, and received an award for his use of wooden materials (Treprisen, 1975) in villas that combined Western Norwegian building traditions with a personal and contemporary expression. With hindsight, Koren-Wiberg's criticism of the apartment buildings and Bjerknes's emphasis on regional architectural traditions can be seen as reactions against the internationalisation, and mass production that accompanied the industrialisation, as well as the increasingly technocratic approach to city planning, which eroded the regional cultural traditions. Instead, the regional and provincial characteristics of the city were revitalised and viewed as a source of pride.
The City becomes a Culture Factory. After WWII, the suburbs start to expand at an alarming rate. The welfare state becomes a reality, and the Housing Bank is established for the express purpose of fulfilling everyone's right to own a house. Hence, people move en masse into cooperatives and standardised Housing Bank houses in government planned developments. As the car becomes an accessible commodity, the city gradually transforms into an economic and administrative centre run by daily commuters. New roads and parking lots demand large-scale demolition of the old wooden architecture. In 1975, designated Year of Architectural Preservation, efforts were made to halt this trend, and focus on preservation. However, the idea that the city is a workplace and not a place to live is the prevailing mind set for another decade until the economic recession of the late 1980s. Several city blocks of old apartment buildings were waiting to be demolished, but the economic setbacks caused the demolition plans to be suspended. It was in these areas the “New Bohemians”, or “Generation X” invaded the city and introduced much of the urban qualities that we today take for granted as part of city life. They had a different relationship with the city and with urbanism than the previous generation. Having travelled widely through Europe and elsewhere, these new residents imported a new urban life style, by starting their own coffee shops, alternative galleries, theatres, and underground venues for techno- and electronica. Personally, I can remember how city life was different during this period than today. For example, many of the run-down city blocks were considered unsafe, as they were occupied mostly by low-income residents, ranging from artists, students, and elderly people to drug addicts and people in various social predicaments. However, many of my friends settled in these areas because of the low living costs, and because they housed a creative under ground scene that was below the mainstream radar. Those who had a creative occupation were left to pursue their own interests, which facilitated artistic expression and new ideas.
This is an example of the kind of creativity that Richard Florida highlights as a key factor in stimulating economic growth and innovation. According to Florida, the formula is simple: “The key to understanding the new geography of creativity and its effects on economic outcomes lies in what I call the 3 T's of economic development: Technology, Talent and Tolerance. [...] To attract creative people, generate innovation, and stimulate economic development, a place must have all three. [...] I define tolerance as openness, inclusiveness, and diversity to all ethnicities, races, and walks of life. Talent is defined as those with a bachelor's degree and above. And technology is a function of both innovation and high technology concentrations in a region. My focus group and interview results indicate that talented individuals are drawn to places that offer tolerant work and social environments” (Richard Florida 2005:37).
So, what opportunities do the Nordic countries have to meet the demands of the three T's? All of our countries have enjoyed an enormous economic growth and increased wealth in the post-war era. The region as a whole has a golden opportunity to invest seriously in research, development and creative innovation. Given that most Nordic universities are essentially open to anyone, most people have the opportunity to obtain a higher education. It is a well established fact that people with higher education are more tolerant of other cultures, religions, sexual orientations and subcultures. By that argument, Nordic countries should be very tolerant, because we have a high general level of education. But is this the case? Have we become more open and inclusive, ready to embrace the diversity offered to us by globalisation? With increasing international tensions, fear of terrorism and a looming environmental crisis, the trend is quite the opposite. But what about Nordic cities? Did Bergen follow the formula of the three T's? When housing prices reached their all-time low in 1993, city officials had begun to recognise that Bergen had acquired certain urban qualities. Demolition was replaced by Urban Renewal and the Environmental City Programme (1993-2000), in which the city focussed on securing aesthetic quality, public spaces, heritage sites, and inner city rehabilitation. In 1995, the Parliament decided that aesthetic considerations should weigh more heavily in planning and building policy, and the Housing Bank's emphasis on universal design became an integral part of building regulations. Who would disagree? However, in the wake of the city renewal programme, the former low-income housing areas became increasingly popular among high-income residents, and the prices have since quadrupled. The strict technical and aesthetic requirements and universal design regulations have led to an homogenisation of the city. Apartment buildings now look the same wherever you turn. It is a shame to have to say that the market oriented housing policy and short-sighted planning that now dominate the city are destroying the diversity and creativity the gave the city its character. An all too narrow focus on formal aesthetic requirements and technical standards has thrown the baby out with the bathwater. For example, parts of Nedre Nygård in Bergen have ceased to exist as urban elements after the erection of completely anonymous facades that do not allow any businesses or other activities at street level. One could argue that the area has been redesigned as a suburb, to lure suburbanites back to the city. In addition, increased privatisation and commercialisation of public urban spaces now threaten the inclusive and diverse city landscape. Too much emphasis on city renewal is stifling creativity, which is often nourished by a certain level of decay. A speculative housing market with high prices and small apartments targeting single professionals or retirees is no place for New Bohemians. Where will they go?
If the province can maintain its uniqueness, develop its craftsmanship and quality, and resist homogenisation and shopping mall culture, it may once again assume a role as partner to the city. With our work and communication patterns revolutionised by new technology, we can practically live anywhere. If the Nordic countries can distance themselves from the myth that centralisation creates efficiency, and focus their efforts on more process oriented creative development, combining local traditions and knowledge with research initiatives and sustainable technology, their small and medium sized environments can thrive, and they can team up with the big players like in the old mutual relationship of trade and exchange of goods. Technology and talent are not limiting factors for the provinces. However, if we want to foster creativity, the key element is tolerance.
Bibliography:
Richard Florida, Cities and the creative class, New York: Routledge, 2005
Inger Lena Gåsemyr, Nedre Nygård i Bergen, 1900-2002. Kunsthistorisk analyse av en bydels skiftende utseende, Bergen: Universitetet i Bergen, 2002
Richard Lloyd, Neo-Bohemia. Art and commerce, New York: Routledge, 2006