National Support Initiatives in Nordic Spatial Planning

Photo: Magne Roed / Unsplash.com

3.2. Norway

3.2.1. Introduction to the case study

In Norway, there are several different types of support initiatives, which may be structured in various ways, target different solutions and be initiated from different levels. They do not necessarily need to be initiated or solely owned by the state (Huynh et al. 2022). FutureBuilt is neither state-initiated nor solely state-funded. Instead, it is a private initiative that has partnered up with municipalities. In the period 2010-2020, FutureBuilt was funded 50/50 by state actors and participating municipalities. From 2020, the state support has decreased considerably, meaning that a larger proportion is now financed by the municipalities and participating developers. Within the scope of national support initiatives in Norway, FutureBuilt was identified as a relevant case to look further into. Despite being a private initiative and thus not a state initiative, it aims to become a nationwide programme and acts to support municipalities in their work tackling various sustainable urban development challenges. The case study was conducted through desk research and interviews with a representative from the FutureBuilt secretariat, as well as representatives from Drammen municipality and Lillestrøm municipality.

Information box 1: FutureBuilt’s history, aims and project criteria.

FutureBuilt is an initiative aimed at sustainable construction and urban development. The initiative serves as an innovation and learning arena for authorities, municipalities and the entire construction industry (FutureBuilt 2019a). The vision is to use pilot projects to showcase the most ambitious players in the industry, i.e. those that strive to lead the way and demonstrate that it is possible to develop a sustainable and attractive zero-emission city. The initiative started in 2010 and lasted for a ten-year period before being extended (i.e. FutureBuilt 2.0) for another ten-year period until 2030. The goal is to complete 100 pilot projects between 2010 and 2030 that cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% compared to common practices (FutureBuilt, n.d.a). As of March 2023, there are 71 FutureBuilt pilot projects. Those are both public and commercial projects, involving buildings such as schools, cultural centres and offices, as well as neighbourhoods and urban area projects (FutureBuilt n.d.b). The developers of the pilot projects can either themselves apply to be a FutureBuilt project or be asked and recommended by either the municipality or the secretariat to apply. Each project must fulfil certain criteria relating to environmental sustainability such as circularity, transport, materials, energy, water management, biodiversity and social sustainability in relation to citizen engagement and the creation of attractive and liveable neighbourhoods, as well as boasting innovative showcase qualities and new solutions (FutureBuilt n.d.a). FutureBuilt does not fund any FutureBuilt projects but acts as a knowledge broker for the exchange of good practices and serves as a quality assurer to ensure that the high sustainability requirements of the projects are fulfilled.

Originally, FutureBuilt focused solely on municipalities in the Oslo region. Bergen was the first municipality outside the capital region to join the initiative in 2023 (FutureBuilt 2022a). FutureBuilt consists of a secretariat in charge of daily operations and is co-owned by the municipalities of Oslo, Bærum, Asker, Drammen, Nordre Follo, Lillestrøm and Bergen. In addition, there are seven external collaboration partners: the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, the Norwegian State Housing Bank, Enova (Norwegian energy national fund), the National Office of Building Technology and Administration, the Green Building Alliance, the National Association of Norwegian Architects and DOGA (Design and Architecture in Norway) (FutureBuilt n.d.a). FutureBuilt is funded through a range of channels. The majority of the funding comes from the membership fee that each municipality contributes yearly in exchange for being part of the initiative, with the sum differing between municipalities (Interviewees 1 & 2). Additionally, since its establishment in 2010, FutureBuilt has had the central state on board – first the Ministry of Environment and then the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. As such, it has received partial funding from the state, but in a varying amount from year to year (Interviewee 1; FutureBuilt 2021).

3.2.2. Multilevel governance

Navigating existing funding

In Norway, there are various national support initiatives, grant schemes and other types of support initiatives for sustainable urban development. The navigation and application process may differ depending on the type of initiative, with information communicated through different channels (Huynh et al. 2022). The municipality representatives noted that there are various types of support available in Norway for sustainable urban development, but it is not always clear how to navigate them and find the relevant ones. Nevertheless, none of the interviewed municipality representatives described that as a major challenge but rather as an area with room for improvement. All stressed that FutureBuilt is a private initiative co-owned by the municipalities. None of the interviewees were familiar with any other initiatives like FutureBuilt (Interviewees 2, 3 & 4). Similar views were expressed by the representative from the FutureBuilt secretariat, who reported that many actors beyond the partner municipalities also turn to FutureBuilt for help and guidance. While they do not receive official support from FutureBuilt, the website functions as a hub for information and guidance on sustainable construction. Hence, other actors navigate FutureBuilt for support (Interviewee 1).

The first partner municipality (Drammen municipality) to join FutureBuilt was approached by the secretariat and asked to participate. With time and as the initiative gained recognition, the municipalities of Oslo, Bærum, Asker, Nordre Follo, Lillestrøm, all in the Oslo region, and later Bergen in Western Norway, joined, either by themselves approaching the initiative or being approached (Interviewee 1). The city council of the given municipality decides on whether to join the initiative or not, as there is a fairly significant membership fee (which varies from municipality to municipality) to participate in the initiative. That fee is charged to municipal budgets – the decision to join is thus a political question (Interviewee 3; Drammen Kommune 2021). The initiative is not designed to provide financial support or any form of funding to the partner municipalities or FutureBuilt projects. Instead, FutureBuilt offers support in other ways such as knowledge and expertise, networks, a forum for dialogue between developers and municipalities and a set of criteria to follow. FutureBuilt can communicate to the project developers about where they can turn to apply for funding (e.g. to Enova) but is not in charge of the funding in any way (Interviewees 1 & 2). FutureBuilt can use its website to announce when and where the project developers can apply for funding (see, for example, FutureBuilt 2022b; FutureBuilt 2020).

Interplay between the actors involved

Many of the initiatives and programmes aimed at sustainable urban development in Norway are top-down, meaning that they are initiated at state level and are designed to steer national efforts in certain areas. However, a shift can be seen, with initiatives originating from different actors and with a regional or municipal focus (Huynh et al. 2022). As previously mentioned, FutureBuilt is not an initiative that originated at state level. Rather, it originated from a private initiative partnering up with municipalities and various interest groups and authorities and is a recipient of state funds. “FutureBuilt is very much built from the bottom-up. We used our network to get other actors involved and evolved from being a very small player to being an influential player recognised by many,” explained the representative from the secretariat (Interviewee 1). As FutureBuilt has attracted much interest and requests by municipalities to participate, the initiative aims to span the entire country. However, that would require a funding commitment at state level (FutureBuilt 2023; Interviewee 1). FutureBuilt has a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (Kommunal- og distriktsdepartementet, KDD) and is engaged in dialogue with ministries at the administrative and political level, enabling FutureBuilt to express its aims and what it needs in order to progress (Interviewee 1).

On another level, there is a chance for the municipalities to influence the direction of FutureBuilt through dialogue during board meetings of the initiative. “The municipalities have what I perceive to be a fairly large role and are involved in influencing how the programme is developed based on the needs of the municipalities,” said one interviewee (interviewee 4). That influence is visible in the transition to FutureBuilt 2.0. The partner municipalities expressed the wish for a greater focus on social sustainability and projects that cover a larger geographical area (i.e. neighbourhoods instead of single buildings), which FutureBuilt 2.0 now covers (FutureBuilt 2019b; Interviewee 4). Moreover, FutureBuilt is perceived as a good system for sharing insights on the types of challenges municipalities face in their work on sustainable development and spatial planning. State actors can use this system to understand better the needs of the municipalities and draw on such insights to organise the support better (Interviewees 2 & 4).

Regarding state support, influence and dialogue between municipalities and the state level in general, it was noted that there are numerous counselling and training events at state level with courses and webinars aimed at municipalities. However, possibilities to influence the type of support provided to the municipalities by the state level seem to be somewhat limited (Interviewee 2).

Organisation and leadership of implementation of national support initiatives

The municipalities have the main planning responsibility for local urban development by creating municipal master plans (kommuneplan), area zoning plans (områdeplan) and detailed zoning plans (detaljregulering) (Huynh et al. 2022). FutureBuilt cannot, and should not, take over the municipalities’ planning responsibility. All FutureBuilt pilot projects must follow the overall spatial planning, regulations and guidelines for the various areas. If a potential project does not match the municipalities’ plans on land use, it will not be carried out. ”We are very keen not to work over the head of municipality, but with the municipality and work to provide quality in a way that the municipality wants,” said the representative from the secretariat (Interviewee 1). Insights from FutureBuilt can be used when municipalities are developing spatial plans. In other words, the initiative can exert an influence and show good examples but cannot itself decide the outcome (Interviewee 4). Further, one interviewee explained that FutureBuilt can have a positive impact and indirectly steer the direction taken in the municipality. “Through FutureBuilt and their criteria, it is possible to ensure that the project must have the lowest possible greenhouse gas emissions. It is a way of guaranteeing effective climate and environmental measures for a project. So that’s the advantage of FutureBuilt, but to emphasise, that is on top of the municipality’s regular planning” (Interviewee 2).

FutureBuilt revolves around implementing ambitious pilot projects. Each of the pilot projects must have innovative showcase qualities and the developers must comply to a set of quality criteria, such as on circularity, living environment, greenhouse gas emissions, social sustainability and waste management (see FutureBuilt n.d.c). As previously mentioned, the developers do not receive funding from FutureBuilt to implement the pilot projects. However, they receive guidance about where they can apply for funding opportunities, assistance, quality assurance, reputation building, media profiling, prioritised municipal case management and reduced building application fees offered by some of the municipalities (FutureBuilt 2019a). In addition, the initiative is seen as an important tool for the municipalities to bring in the private building sector as well, which accounts for a large share of developers in the country. It can sometimes be difficult for municipalities to reach and work with such stakeholders, but FutureBuilt has established a forum for improved collaboration between municipalities and private developers (Interviewee 4).

Regarding leadership of implementation of the initiative and especially the pilot projects, it was underlined that active leadership was needed; a detailed set of quality criteria and continuous work are required to oversee the implementation process – that is the responsibility of the FutureBuilt secretariat and its main task (Interviewee 1). During the interviews, the point was raised that there could be a risk of private developers applying to the initiative primarily with the aim of benefiting from media attention, prioritised case management and reduced building fees. However, none of the interviewees held that for highly problematic, since the developers must still meet the FutureBuilt criteria and follow the requirements in the municipal spatial plans; any developers failing to meet those criteria cannot be part of the initiative (Interviewees 2 & 3).

3.2.3. State support

One main challenge connected to municipalities’ work on sustainable urban development is that of interconnected issues – several points need to be addressed simultaneously and it is not possible to focus on one at a time. One municipality representative commented as follows: “We should reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, implement better transportation options, rethink how we build, adopt a more circular mindset, take into account natural areas and biodiversity, work to create compact urban development that is highly attractive and ensure social sustainability. There are many needs that need to be addressed at the same time, so it is imperative that we think in new ways and that we push development more” (Interviewee 2). Hence, the municipalities need state support to work on all those questions simultaneously. That may take the form of knowledge and expertise or guidance on how to implement solutions in land use planning. It was also mentioned that the municipalities need more money to implement sustainable urban development projects (Interviewees 2, 3 & 4).

There has been great interest in joining the initiative, including from municipalities outside the Oslo region. However, FutureBuilt itself needs state support in order to scale up and become an initiative with national scope and thus make a greater impact. FutureBuilt has received support from the state, but the sums vary from year to year. FutureBuilt is included in the national budget for 2022, in which it receives a grant from the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation (note that from early 2022 the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation changed its name to the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development), in relation to work on the climate and attractive local communities (FutureBuilt 2021). Further, in the period 2017-2020, the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation had a grant scheme aimed at municipalities’ and county authorities’ work on land use planning in urban growth agreement, with FutureBuilt being one of the programmes that received funding, for example in 2019 (Regjeringen 2019), 2018 and 2017 (Regjeringen 2018). It was mentioned that a long-term funding commitment is needed to ensure progress towards becoming an initiative with national scope (FutureBuilt 2021 Interviewee 1).

3.2.4. Summary

As mentioned previously, there are a number of Norwegian national support initiatives and grant schemes for sustainable urban development. As the case of FutureBuilt shows, there are also hybrid solutions whereby the initiative supports municipalities and developers in their work on sustainable urban development projects, while they are also recipients of financial support at state level (albeit to a varying degree). FutureBuilt has its roots in a private initiative that partnered up with municipalities in the Oslo region. Those municipalities are now co-owners and FutureBuilt has several collaboration partners, including state authorities.

FutureBuilt is an innovative initiative that gathers the most ambitious players in the construction industry. FutureBuilt revolves around implementing ambitious pilot projects that can lead the way in the field of construction and urban development – and then share the insights gained to guide others. FutureBuilt helps to drive green and inclusive urban development in the municipalities by acting as both a “carrot and stick” for sustainable building projects. It is used in addition to the municipalities’ own spatial plans and is not intended to oust them from their role, but rather to influence them, for example by showcasing best practices for construction with a set of sustainability criteria and new and innovative solutions. What FutureBuilt has created is a working method and model that others can copy or be inspired by, as a way to drive innovation and development.

The case of FutureBuilt exemplifies the fact that support initiatives can differ and come to fruition through various actors, not necessarily at state level. As such, the case study displays various types of influence and dialogue between different levels and actors, as well as the fact that there are both challenges and possibilities associated with work on sustainable urban development. However, it also shows that the municipalities need national support to implement and continue work on sustainable urban development. Major challenges connected to urban development still exist and resources and funding at national level are needed in order for those to be addressed.

Overall, the partner municipalities are very important for the operation of FutureBuilt and key sources of income for running the initiative. FutureBuilt aims to become a larger, more influential player and a national-level initiative spanning the whole of Norway. One way for FutureBuilt to become an influential regional and even nationwide initiative and a valuable tool supporting the state's efforts in sustainable construction and urban development is to enhance its collaboration with the state and secure a long-term funding commitment.