A transition to a denser and more sustainable city: Factors and actors in Trondheim, Norway

- Urban change is embedded in a complex system, operating in several layers or scales.
- Urban regime is a stable system involving public and private actors with heterogeneous interests and agendas.
- Despite a shift of paradigm in planning towards sustainability, urban regimes have remained rather stable.
- The analysis shows a persistent disconnection between sustainability targets and the conventional instruments of planning.
- Existing instruments seem insufficient to further advances toward sustainability.

This paper analyses urban densification in Norway as a key element of sustainable city policies. The city is viewed as a system in which changes of material aspects, such as density, are linked with social and technological aspects. Densification targets in Trondheim are used as a case study to explore the main actors and factors involved in urban development. A multilevel perspective approach used in sustainability transitions studies is applied as a model to describe them. The aim is to illustrate interactions and barriers arising in the implementation of densification policies. The argument suggests that despite a shift of paradigm in planning towards sustainability, urban regimes have remained rather stable. Some progress has been made, but further advancing the sustainability agenda may require new rules in the regime - for example, new planning policies integrated with taxation and financial instruments, and transport regulations - and a stronger emphasis on niche developments.