Friluftsliv + the city

An eternal verity is an essential principle, basic or moral principal that cannot be displaced. ‘Friluftsliv' is a Norwegian expression and principle used to encapsulate everything to do with outdoor life and recreation. ‘Hygge’…outdoors.

Most are mad about the outdoors, no matter how ominous the weather. Friluftsliv is an eternal verity for most Norwegian people and I can attest, cross country skiing through Nordmarka has been the best thing for me to get through long and dark winters.

Luckily in Norway, nature is in no short supply. With forests, mountains and waterways making up almost 95% of all land (urban areas account for only 1.1% of land use).

When enjoying the best the friluftsliv has to offer, there is STRICT adherence to the ‘leave no trace’ philosophy. It is a badge of honour, a duty held in high a regard as the beloved royal family.

What is taken in, is taken home.

If you peel back the thin layer of urban development, Oslo is located at the heart of the junction between the forest and Oslofjord. Friluftsliv in all directions.

Despite this razor thin separation from nature in the heart of Oslo, a curious dichotomy exists. The thin veil of concrete has changed our perspective of the natural environment that lies just beneath our feet.

I have witnessed the careful and confident walking of a cigarette butt to the drain, sending it on its merry way into Oslo Fjord. I was a little taken a back, mostly by the brazen nature by which it was undertaken.

So revered is nature just 5 kilometers from the city centre, but so often neglected in the city. The act has led me to here, thinking about this dichotomy, constantly being drawn to the amount of cigarette butts on the ground.

Unable to just lay the blame at the doors of James Dean and John Travolta for making flicking cigarette butts very cool on the silver screen, I have been obsessing over why it’s a common practice in Oslo but unimaginable while enjoying a bit of friluftsliv.

How can we better facilitate proper disposal of cigarette butts and what we can do with it after we collect it? Is a butt-return system viable and is it possible to clean used cigarette butts and repurpose for building insultation or as synthetic down for clothing?

Furthermore, how we can shift our perspective of being cities from places disconnected to nature, to thinking of them as deeply embedded within in.

Now it’s time for Oslo to develop novel ways to care for our urban environment utilising the principles encapsulated within friluftsliv.