When Temporary becomes Permanent
What is a reception center? According to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), it is “somewhere asylum seekers who are waiting for an answer to their application, or have received an answer, lives.” The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right of all individuals to an adequate standard of living, which includes the provision of food, clothing and accommodation to those asylum-seekers who are unable to secure these (UNHCR, 2001). Some people stay in reception centers for a few weeks, others for months, some even for years. Many of these centers turn into parallel worlds, in some cases secluded from their surroundings, and temporary interventions become permanent solutions.
The location of a reception center will have an impact on its host community. It will also have a critical impact on the health, well-being and protection of the displaced population, as well as their ability to manage daily activities, ensure participation and develop relations with the host community. The location of reception facilities should favor the potential of social inclusion. Isolated sites far away from the existing urban life and facilities of sub-standard quality, can amplify a feeling of exclusion and alienation, and function as a trigger for frustration and tension.
The In Transit 2 Studio explored two themes: how to transform existing conditions in reception centers of inadequate living standard into dignified and livable environments, in Berlin, Germany; and how to develop an urban planning strategy that includes accommodation of new arrivals and urban design interventions for a host community in need of spatial improvements and access to public spaces as a mean of reducing social inequality, in this case the Tøyen neighborhood in Oslo, Norway.
Following the high numbers of people seeking asylum or other forms of protection in Europe in 2015, revealed the lack of capacity in response mechanisms of industrialized nations, such as Germany and Norway. One such example is the use of the defunct Tempelhof airport in Berlin as a reception center accommodate new arrivals in 2015. The Tempelhof site served as one of many case studies during the semester.
While the numbers of new arrivals were significantly lower in Norway, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) realized that it had to update its contingency plans and prepare for the possibility of increasing numbers of new arrivals in the years to come. With this as a point of departure, the studio focused on how to improve contingency plans, while also benefitting the Tøyen neighborhood as a potential host community for one or more reception centers.
Tøyen is an international and multicultural neighborhood in Oslo. 49% of the population is of ethnic minority origin. Tøyen’s population is also constantly shifting as people tend to live there for shorter periods of time compared to other areas in the city. High number of internal social inequality, and the decision to move the Munch Museum– one of the few neighborhood tourist attractions - to the emerging waterfront area, led local politicians to grant the neighborhood an ‘area development boost’ known in Norwegian as ‘Områdeløft Tøyen’.