Loddefjord & Olsvik

Loddefjord and Olsvik is our first location. It lies 6 km south of the city. The area emerged in the early 1970s, and has a strong music identity along with a great variety in sports activities for kids and young people – with the shopping centre as the main hub and social arena with cafes, library, bathing facilities and ice rink. The area is rich in nature with large outdoor areas, but is also characterised by traffic and a lack of walking- and cycling paths. Residents have indicated that they want more social meeting places and low-threshold services.


We began by inviting citizen representatives from the area to come together and establish the priorities for our work there. This was our first step towards decentralisation, towards establishing priorities from the ground up.

Creative Loddefjord & Olsvik 2020

Lisa Baxter facilitated eight virtual workshops based on her Designing Public Value With Purpose process where participants:

  • looked at their immediate world with fresh eyes,
  • explored more deeply what it meant to live, work and play there,
  • traced some of the desire-lines and fault-lines that exist,
  • and in response, developed a set of core values from the ground up,
  • imagined what priorities, behaviours, and actions might flow from these values,
  • and what positive difference this would make.

Based on human-centred design principles, this process fosters a deeper, more empathic understanding of people and place before envisioning what ‘community flourishing’ could mean in this context.

 

Twenty-five people took part, local citizens and representatives from the church, sports and youth groups, the shopping centre, artists, the area planning office and the local cultural office.

Picture from Loddefjord

Did we achieve what we set out to achieve?

The answer is a resounding yes. We now have a cohort of representatives who are wholeheartedly engaged and intent on supporting a creative programme of community flourishing. This initial ‘deep work’ has created the beginnings of something that is authentic, human and generous in spirit, based on the following five elements: 

  1. Substance: An anchor for the programme based on a collective identity and common understanding of people, place and purpose. 
  2. Empathy: Connection with the human experiences and needs of those at the sharp end of life. 
  3. Focus: Agreement around who the priority groups are and why.
  4. Trajectory: A clear understanding of what ‘flourishing’ could mean within the unique context of Loddefjord and Olsvik. 
  5. Shared Values: Five core values that will inform the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of the whole programme.

How is this new or different?

This was the first time the City of Bergen had worked in this way. As a team, we weren’t calling the shots or operating to precise artistic or instrumental agendas. There was no plan, just a clear intention to support participation, open-ness and self-determination. What we weren’t expecting was how deeply human and emotional the experience and learnings were, or how far the process went in galvanising people around shared values and common cause. 

 

What next?

Our original intention was for the Cultural Department to then engage in citizen dialogue to directly support the co-creation of community engagement initiatives. However, the programme stalled due to Covid. In that time the following questions surfaced which meant we couldn’t go forward as planned: 

  • Is our understanding of what a community is, and how it works, fit for purpose? 
  • What is the role of the artist in supporting community flourishing? Is ‘creating work’ enough? 
  • How do we address the inherent tensions between public money and the power this confers with a more democratic approach to community flourishing? 

In response, we convened The Bergen Salons which substantially altered our thinking and approach.