The cities that will flourish in the future are the dynamic cities that have capacity to adapt to new requirements and cope with change and at the same time bring with them its long-term memory as a vital resource.

Urban development must provide space for new commercial ventures, activities and lifestyles. NIKU’s work on the topic of cities and urban areas seeks to acquire knowledge about and experience of how a city’s historical dimensions can be preserved and developed in various urban development processes.

The history of cities in Norway is relatively short in an international perspective. Nonetheless, it is characterised by an interplay of international forces and ideas. Our medieval cities, renaissance cities, wooden cities and reconstruction cities are examples of this. Contemporary research shows that added value can be realized through use and reuse of the existing urban structure and how the history of change is integrated in planning and urban design.

Cities have a complexity and history that requires a multidisciplinary approach, and NIKU’s expertise in the field is wide-ranging thanks to its architects, archaeologists, art historians, ethnologists and geographers.