Illustration Hasle Stasjon. Source: Stor-Oslo Eiendom

NABOBRUK conducts integrative and comparative analysis of two ongoing neighbourhood-scale urban developments, namely Hovinbyen in Oslo and Nordhavn in Copenhagen.

• Nordhavn is a flagship new neighbourhood in a space-constrained part of Copenhagen based on land reclamation and has put in place numerous climate and energy measures over the past decade based on the vision of Bjarke Ingels Group.
• Hovinbyen is a comparably scoped development in Oslo with innovative aspects such as a data centre co-located with mixed-use buildings that allow re-use of waste heat.

There is rich scope to explore multiple energy vectors in energy systems in and across both these neighbourhoods. The project will conduct multi-level governance analysis across national-urban-neighbourhood policies and institutions in Denmark (EU member state) and Norway (EEA). It seeks to study how energy use is governed through new urban development strategies in contexts with ambitious climate policy, where Oslo in Norway and Copenhagen in Denmark seek to play leading roles in building sustainable urban environments – utilising spatial planning as a measure for securing energy efficient infrastructure. The analysis will rely on in-depth empirical work including expert interviews, focus groups, event ethnography, and non-participant observation.

Correspondingly, NABOBRUK aims to:

• Advance an integrative understanding of sustainable energy development and governance at the neighbourhood scale relative to ambitious national climate and energy policies.
• Derive novel analytical insights about determinants of and the scope for sustainable energy governance at the neighbourhood scale based on comparative empirical work in two prominent urban developments in Nordic capital cities with scope for ambitious energy infrastructure.

Project period: 2025