Petition - STOPP THE SALES!

STOP THE SALE OF “HAUSKVARTALET” (The Hausmannsgate creative city neighborhood) Those who have signed this petition ask the city council to stop the sale of Hauskvartalet.

Hauskvartalet in downtown Oslo consists of the living- and workingcollective Vestbredden Vel Vel and the culturehouse Hausmania. Furthermore there are two constructionsites, and an appartment building that stands as a bricked up monument of unsuccesful city development and housing policies.

The living- and workingcollective started as a squat in 1999 to put focus on the housing shortage in Oslo. They have since then given many people a home. In addition, several hundred people in immidiate housingcrisis have recieved temporary housing. Vestbredden Vel Vel works in this way as an unofficial but acting supplement to the communal housingoffers.

Hausmania is an artist-run culturehouse with over 60 rooms for production of art and culture. Furthermore they have Grusomhetens Teater (Cruelty’s Theater) and the showcase space Podium. The culturehouse has through its lifespan delivered countless concerts, clubnights and other open events.

Together, and apart, Vestbredden and Hausmania have for over 15 years given social and creative contents to Hauskvartalet and Oslo city.

The residents in Hausmannsgate 40, and the artists and cultural workers at Hausmania, initiated to a rezoning of the neighboorhood in 2005. Based on this work the city council  resoluted unanimously an ambitious regulation plan for a completely urban-ecological culture neighborhood in 2008. The regulation is unique and demands, amongst other things, a simple standard and a development based on a high degree of user participation.

Hausmania have together with the architect office Eriksen Skajaa and support from Husbanken (the House Bank), developed a realistic preproject for the other recidential properties in the neighboorhood. This is one of the last possibilities to develop cheap housing in downtown Oslo.

Oslo council have on their side sanctioned a voulenteer based city garden and bricked up an appartment building that was regulated for conservation. Over all the council has not done a lot, before they now try to slaughter the urban ecological, social housing and the cultural Hauskvartalet by selling the properties with huge discounts to a commercial developer.

Today we have a housing and rental market where not only the youth and the disadvantaged are exposed, but also parents of small children, single residents, the elderly and many others. A normal job with average income is often not enough to get into the house market.

At the same time we have a global climate crisis that demands local solutions which also are about residence and consumption. Hauskvartalet answers to several central housing policy- and urban ecological challenges that Oslo faces. This doesn’t only have great value in itself, but is also a pilotproject with high transfer value for housing policies, urban ecology, architecture, climate politics and city development.

The project is initiated bottom up by housing activists, artists, musicians and cultural workers in co-operation with competent specialists. Development of a completely urban-ecological culture city neighborhood, based on a high degree of user participation, cannot be realized by overrunning the existing residents and the cultural environment.

Sign here: http://www.opprop.net/hauskvartalet