A Village in the City: The Svartlamon Story
Photo: Wil Lee-Wright
Idyllic little streets, gardens, and greenhouses made of old window frames, cats, kids, and even chickens all combine in a colourful collage that creates a one-of-a-kind community called Svartlamon. But what is Svartlamon, and what is it that attracts people to move to this neighbourhood?
Photo: Claudia Vargas
Kathrine Standal is the head of Boligstiftelsen, Svartlamon’s housing foundation, and knows Svartlamon from many sides. “What is Svartlamon? It’s the people who live here, not the houses,” says Kathrine. “In order to live here, you need to be willing to live with your neighbours. It has many advantages but can be challenging too,” she says.
What is Svartlamon? It’s the people who live here, not the houses. In order to live here, you need to be willing to live with your neighbours. It has many advantages but can be challenging too.
- Kathrine Standal
Svartlamon is a village within a city, and people know their neighbours much better here than in other parts of town. It is a family-friendly area in a very genuine sense. Most people know each other’s kids, and after a certain age, they just roam freely. “I think that children growing up here are really happy because they have a lot of grown-ups and children that see them and take part in their lives,” adds Kathrine.
I think that children growing up here are really happy because they have a lot of grown-ups and children that see them and take part in their lives.
- Kathrine
There is an openness, an acceptance that people are diverse and want to live in a diversity of ways. Here it’s easier to get the feeling of ownership and to see it in practice, as residents are free to influence and change their environment, both socially and physically. It all started at the end of the 90s, following the protests of the people and the involvement of well-known artists, the area was not allowed to become a private property and a special ‘urban ecological experimental area’ was created.
Photo: Claudia Vargas
Kathrine says that a vital part of Svartlamon is that it gives an alternative to standard neighbourhoods and shows that there are different ways of organising and developing a community, and homes.
The housing market in Norway is excessive, and people don’t actually need the big spaces they have. Even though it is important to have a good house, as it gets cold in winters,” says Ranja Bojer, a long time Svartlamon resident. “It is also important to show that one can build their own house and do so inexpensively. That is something people should know about.
- Kathrine
This is something which is part of the culture of Svartlamon and often draws people to it as it is a very tangible representation of a different way of creating community. A great illustration of that is the Eksperimentboligeror Experimental Housing, sitting in a row of six and made mainly from recycled materials, which have recently been added to the neighbourhood (pictured on opposite page, top right).
Photo: Claudia Vargas
Guro Sletnes, another resident, who has two kids and lives in a dreamy house made of recycled materials and painted pink, agrees with that. She likes the fact that her kids will have a different perspective because they grow up in diversity and see examples of a wide array of possible life choices.
She and her family moved in a year ago and had been building their house for two years. Even though they had friends from Svartlamon before, as they spent a lot of time there, she says, “It is a big difference to live in the community. Here, I have so many friends and people I know just next to me.”
Guro speaks about the generosity of her neighbours—not only with their time but also with things like bringing dinner by or sharing flowers because they have an abundance.
That’s something you don’t get when you live on the ‘outside.’ It’s a new life, and was really longing for that. Whatever you need, you will always get help.
- Guro Sletnes
Photo: Claudia Vargas
It is a common ground—a shared perspective—that unites people here. This also applies to the preservation of the area’s buildings instead of constructing new ones.
The house where Guro and her family live is made mostly with old materials, with only a little new. Guro herself always wanted to live in one of the old apartments in Svartlamon because she was, and still is, fascinated by the history of the old buildings. She wants people to know that it is possible to create a home that is both sustainable and ecologically friendly:
They are built to live in, not to sell.
- Guro
That gives freedom to choose other activities. One can choose to volunteer, develop their hobbies, or have more free time for family and friends instead.
- Guro
She also explains that it is important to understand that there is an opportunity to choose differently—to choose your own living style, rather than having it decided for you and paying the price for it. It’s about choosing a so-called ‘lower standard’—old and worn, with shared bathrooms and smaller spaces, and taking responsibility for property you don’t legally own in exchange for this freedom.
The exchange is for the freedom of choice, not the possibility to consume more. Quite the opposite—many of the residents aim to consume less and be conscious about their choices.
Photo: Claudia Vargas. Alise Plavina and Bjørn Inge Melås finishing their Friday’s work on their future home, Selbukassa.
Alise Plavina and Bjørn Inge Melås are finishing Friday’s work on the home they will move into with their families. What attracts them to Svartlamon?
Alise says her interest in Svartlamon is not so much linked to what the area may protect her from (real estate market, higher rents, etc.), but rather what it facilitates or allows to happen. For example, the house they are building—they are in the process of rebuilding Selbukassa, the nickname of an old log house from the 1920s, which they, along with others, moved from Selbu to Svartlamon to create four apartments.
Bjørn Inge mentions that these log houses were originally built to be easily moved or expanded. The fact that an old log house is getting a second life in Svartlamon is not surprising, as it fits perfectly with the spirit of reuse and repurposing.
Another reason for Alise’s interest in Svartlamon is the high density of individuals proactively engaging in the everyday practices of the community. This proactiveness is seen in political and environmental activism, solving practical everyday issues together, maintaining the buildings, gardening, sharing ideas, and generally being very open with each other.
An array of resident groups have been established to handle the community needs through volunteering. There are many levels of involvement to suit one’s abilities. It is done with the hope that the collective values and interests will overlap assuring that the community will be renewed and recreated continuously.
How then, in such an open atmosphere, is a balance between public and private interests established? In Svartlamon, are there are many possibilities to talk to the neighbours without inviting them into one’s personal space?
Photo: Claudia Vargas
There is a concept introduced by American sociologist Roy Oldenburg called the “third place.” The idea of the third place is that it is neither home nor workplace but something in between.
Svartlamon has many examples of this third place. Common spaces such as the gardens, the book café, the pub, and green areas play an essential role in the community’s life, vitality, and democracy. They provide residents with both a sense of community and a degree of privacy.
Photo: Claudia Vargas. Tom Hansen at Ivar Matlaus Bokkafé
One of these third places is the legendary Ivar Matlaus Bokkafé. Tom Hansen, one of the people behind it, says.
While living in Svartlamon, I am never short of anything, be it coffee, sugar, or a hug! It’s always within arm’s reach. I am often just out walking and get invited for a coffee.
- Tom Hansen
Photo: Claudia Vargas
Hansen enjoys sharing the duty of running and keeping the bookstore open, which occasionally hosts concerts and discussions, as well as presenting his selection of favorite books from the store—ranging from occultism to the arts.
The books are carefully selected—some are bought from book markets, secondhand bookshops, or ordered online, while others come from donations. It’s a diverse mix, just like the homes and the residents.
Photo: Claudia Vargas
There is no leadership structure at the café—it is the collective work of 15–20 people. The store has been here since 1997, when the area was saved.
On a sunny day, it’s not unusual to see a couch outside or people sitting on the grass in front of the store. “It’s like a small town here,” says Tom.
Photo: Claudia Vargas. Ramp is one of Svartlamon's most iconic places.
In the newly opened gallery ZNEDI, in her workshop, ceramic artist Katarzyna Chrzanovska can be found. Together with Ole Nordsveen, who redesigns old silverware, coins, and other materials into jewelry, they opened this space. Before that, she had her studio at RAKE, an artist studio collective in Svartlamon, for more than four years.
I found this place really soon after I came to Norway, and it became both my workspace and my free-time space, even though I don’t live here,” Katarzyna says. “I spend most of my free time here, we meet others at the studio, and we’ve been involved in Svartlamon Dagen and studio open days. I really feel like a part of it, and I don’t want to be anywhere else. People here are really warm, open to each other, and active in the community. They care about the environment—both social and natural.
- Katarzyna Chrzanovska
She describes how people simply come by and ask if you need help. “People also recognize each other’s faces, which feels good. You know instantly that you are in a good place.”
Photo: Claudia Vargas. Ranja Bojer, writer, DJ and longtime Svartlamon resident.
Ranja Bojer is a writer and DJ and has been living in Svartlamon since before it was saved.
It just seemed like the perfect place to live. Not just because of the cheap rent, but more because of the environment—a place where we could belong.
- Ranja Bojer
Ranja was a member of the board of the housing foundation for four years, so for her, it’s time for a break from being highly active in the community’s diverse activities.
It goes in waves, what you are able and want to contribute to the community. But it is essential to have the possibility to be active and have an influence on your closest surroundings.
- Bojer
Residents understand how the neighborhood may look from the outside to those unfamiliar with it. As a DJ, Ranja sometimes returns home late at night and has had taxi drivers ask, Oh, you live here? It must be dangerous! But for her, it’s quite the opposite. “It’s the safest place!” she says. She acknowledges that the neighborhood’s visuals—such as graffiti, alternatively dressed people, and unconventional houses—can sometimes lead to misunderstandings.
Photo: Claudia Vargas
Svartlamon is an organically experimental area, which means we can try out new things here and learn from these experiences. We want people to know about it.
- Ranja
For those familiar with the neighborhood, it’s no surprise that anyone is welcome to walk the streets and talk to people.
It’s great if people come, walk around, look around, and take pictures.
- Tom Hansen
Photo: Claudia Vargas. Katherine Standal by the "wall of cast-off" materials which have some of the most intriguing textures, colours and previous lives put into new use.
Photo: Claudia Vargas. The wall of "cast off things" stands adjacent to Strandveien 37.
For those curious about experiencing Svartlamon for themselves, Kathrine recommends attending Svartlamondagen, a one-day festival usually held on the last Saturday of May.
Ranja highlights the festival’s crucial role in showcasing what happens in Svartlamon and breaking possible prejudices about the area. The whole community is involved in its preparation, filling the neighborhood with concerts, activities for kids, food, open workshops, and joy.
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