Small Ugly Places
Key Partners
- Key Partners
- Office of the Chairman of the Executive Board, Oslo
- Kari Bjørka Hodneland
Audience
The target group was 250 Primary School Children aged 10-12 from five inner city schools in Oslo.
Process/activity
Primary school children were given experiences of their local environment and were asked to identify and report to the local authority on poorly maintained parts of the built environment in public places in the vicinity of their schools.
The children were then asked to devise new designs for street furniture and details of the built environment to enhance aspects of their neighbourhood. The experience helped them to identify with their neighbours and encourage them to make informed choices about their own behaviour.
One group of children was particularly concerned about a plank fence of posters in the local neighbourhood area. The posters were torn down and the children bought some paint and brushes and repainted the wall. The full size litter bin in the shape of a yellow rabbit- like animal whose favourite dish is chocolate paper was made by a boy in the 5th grade. What does a typical small "ugly" place look like? That is for the children to decide.
In most of the participating classes, the containers for recycling glass was a matter of great concern and many ideas for new design were presented. The drawing of Lakkegata School and its school yard is made by Tjammal. One class made the wooden gates in the area of Grünerløkka their main field of investigation.
Notes and sketches from the children's logbooks made it easy for the teacher to see how the project was developing, what progress was made, and who needed some guidance. The logbooks also served as a shared base for discussions with the teacher and also with the other pupils of the working group. Occasionally, the children were allowed to bring the logbooks home to show their parents. One of the participating girls was particularly concerned about a rusty bicycle in the river. Her worries are reported in this chapter, and here is her image of the bike which caused so much frustration.
One logbook note reports a nice place which unfortunately is not very well kept, another reports that it is quite warm and the third invites everyone to tell those who spray-paint their signature everywhere, to stop doing so.
Some participating children were most concerned about spray painting on walls, the tagging, behind the Kon-TikiMuseum, Bygdøy. Graffiti on walls, litter bins and benches were reported by all classes and so were wrecked signs.
Anders' idea for new design of a bench which looked like a dinosaur, caused a very interesting group discussion; was it a bench or a sculpture, and how could elderly ladies possibly climb the ladder to get seated? The water pouring out of the dinosaur's mouth was supposed to serve as a drinking fountain, an idea very much admired by all.
Context
The Small Ugly Places project began as a pilot scheme, an integrated component of a 'Safe City' campaign in Oslo, Norway. Much of the context for this project was drawn from a Doctoral Thesis* by Kari Bjørka Hodneland working on the concept of a Model for Increasing Awareness of the Built Environment (MIABE). Hodneland's academic research, examining raising children's awareness of the built environment, was drawn from communication with and observations on the Small Ugly Places project.
* "Room for Children's Participation? Reflections on Communicative Practice in an Educational Context." ISBN 1082-547-0212-8
Aim
Practical involvement by the children in the process and outcome of democratic participation was central to the aims of this undertaking. Through the Local Government office of Design & Planning it was aimed to achieve the implementation of the children’s active inclusion in the democratic process. A further aim was the development of a ‘communicative capacity’ to allow this participation without barriers to language associated with specialised industry and Local Authority administration. It was hoped that through a process of socialisation a sense of ownership of their environment and the development of civic pride would emerge. Enhancing the school experience and pupil/teacher communications and relations played their part as an aim of this project.
Objectives
Increasing awareness of the built environment is a gateway objective to achieving enhanced communication, improved citizenship amongst primary school children and a better living environment. A further goal of this project was to equip the participants with the self-confidence to engage in the democratic process, with the planning authorities in this case, not simply as an exercise in inclusion, but as active and practical participants.
Outcome
Notwithstanding the fact that children and young people have had statutory representation in all cases related to the Norwegian Planning and Building act since before Norway’s 1989 ratification of the UNCRC, the Small Ugly Places project has brought these children a closer and more intimate participation with the built environment. This example of direct democracy at a local level allowed schoolchildren, through active participation, to become self-confident and familiar with their involvement in the democratic process. The children were able to develop moral and intellectual qualities and civic virtues by engaging with the built environment and the municipal offices concerned with its administration.
As a result of this undertaking in creative consultation in Oslo the children experienced personal growth, stimulation of responsibility and awareness of the built environment and a positive experience from dialogue. It is refreshing to see the planning process as a servant to the demands of inclusive democratic politics and administration.
Find out more
Dr Kari Bjørka Hodneland runs the architectural practice Form & Arkitektur
in Oslo, Norway, specialising in participation projects with children
and the young based on an increased awareness of the built environment.
She has
co-authored several primary school text books on the subject of Arts and Crafts.
Kari also lectures, supervises and assesses university students specialising in participation with children.
Could the theory of communicative planning possibly guide a practical process to enhance children's understanding of democracy?
