Consulting with
the residents
The proposals for a neighbourhood plan for Breiðholt are the outcome of the most detailed presentation and approvalprocedure ever initiated for city planning in Iceland
Work on the neighbourhood plan for individual sectors of the city began in 2013 and is based on the municipality plan for Reykjavík 2010-2030. The first task was to analyse the status and eco-friendliness of all areas of the city with the assistance of capable organizers who were selected through a special pre-selection process at the outset of the work. The results of this work were then applied to formulate the first proposals for improvements in the areas which would then be presented to the residents in order to obtain their views on their nearby environment.
Various methods have been applied in order to obtain the views of the greatest number of residents
Creative Consultation
Various methods have been applied in order to obtain the views of the greatest number of residents. In collaboration with all the area schools in Breiðholt, the students of the 6th class were asked to construct a model of their own area. Several hundred children participated in this work which is named Creative Consultation. These models were used at open residents’ meetings in Breiðholt for the purpose of discussing the situation. At these residents’ meetings, draft proposals for their individual areas were presented and the residents were then given the opportunity to express their own ideas.
Combined, the ideas of residents as well as the proposals of city planning specialists created a draft for a vision for the future was discussed in focus groups that were managed by Gallup. The focus groups were randomly selected from Breiðholt residents and an even distribution of participants according to age and gender was ensured. The findings of the focus groups were then used to formulate working proposals for a new neighbourhood plan. A variety of ideas from the city planning specialists for the utilization of specific areas were rejected by the focus groups and therefore not adopted in the continuing drafting of proposals. All ideas have been registered in a digital map base that is published on the website of the neighbourhood plan and is accessible to all.
Presentation of working proposals in the summer of 2020
In August of 2020, working proposals for the neighbourhood plan for Breiðholt was presented on the website www.hverfisskipulag.is, and in addition a presentation of the proposals was announced both in Gerðuberg and in Mjódd, where the staff of the department of environment and planning were present in order to discuss the ideas and to receive comments and observations from the residents. At the time, walking tours around Breiðholt were arranged with the residents where recommendations and proposals were discussed. This part of the consultation process was concluded with an open meeting for residents which was streamed on the internet. Various comments and observations that were set forth during this extensive and open consultation process resulted in amendments being made to the neighbourhood plan proposals.
Here you can read more about the methodology and the consultation process.
