| dc.description.abstract | As of May 2023 there are 197 vacated municipally owned buildings spread over 96 properties in Oslo. Buildings where the vacancy extends beyond natural phases of transition represent a waste of financial resources and they might also have negative social implications for their local neighbourhoods and surroundings. Further, a neglect of maintenance repeatedly leads vacated buildings to a state of disrepair, and to be replaced by new (and often bigger) construction. Failing to reuse existing buildings and instead rebuilding is not appropriate if the Paris Agreement´s 2030 objectives are to be met. Hence, this study asks how cities can develop strategies to reactivate vacated municipal buildings. To answer this question, the potential impacts of reuse are investigated, significant barriers to reactivate vacated buildings are identified, and tools and approaches for reactivation are explored.
The former Munch Museum (Old Munch) has been selected as the case for this study, shedding light on the process of finding new use for a municipally owned purpose-built museum building. The study is designed as an instrumental case study, meaning that Old Munch is used to explore the greater phenomenon of vacancy in Oslo and processes of reactivation. A broad theoretical review has created the basis for one-to-one interviews with different stakeholders involved in the process of reactivating the closed down museum. Further, GIS-, and document analysis have been conducted to elaborate the issue.
Three main barriers for building reactivation are identified, namely a substantial maintenance backlog, inflexible legislation and the sector division of municipal real estate management. Both informants and previous research highlight that reactivating vacated buildings is considered to positively impact all three dimensions of sustainable development – social, economic and environmental. Several promising tools and approaches to reactivating vacated buildings are mapped out, but they are considered to have little impact if they are not seen in connection to each other. Further, the complex system framing processes of reactivation calls for better cooperation between various sectors and disciplines – public as well as private. Such a cooperation could be formalized as a dedicated reception centre working operationally and strategically with reactivation, both long-term and temporary.
The particular focus on strategical approaches has previously been discussed to a little extent. However, a recently published report (the Audit Office, 2023) highlights the inadequately functioning system that exists today to clarify the future use of empty municipal buildings. This study goes further in suggesting possible and alternative approaches for reactivation. Drawing on this, strategic approaches for reactivation must be put on the agenda – both in the academic and professional field – to be further revised and refined. | |
