16.07.19
On the second day of Albertine project the focus went towards the history of Oslo itself, mainly in the now so-called car-free zone.

“Today we stood at the bottom of the steps by Kronprinsesse Märthas plass by the City Hall. The goal for today was to talk about how the city has changed, from the polluted and poverty-stricken slum in Albertines era, to the ever-escalating addition of cultural centers in the Fjord City.”

“Before the City Hall was build, the area was actually both a heavily populated area and a centre for drinking and prostitution. In the book about Albertine, this is where she ends up after being pushed into this dark lifestyle.”

“Two Pakistani men, who have worked for Sporveien (the rail services in Oslo) for 40 years, said that Norway is the best place in the whole world. We talked with them about how the rails were divided into trams in the west and trains in the east until 1985, and how the area was still industrial until Aker Brygge was built not long after. We remembered the containers by the shore and talked about city redevelopment, of which they were optimistic.”