Hamar’s strategic work with public space and life

How does a municipality of 30,000 people redefine itself as the “Urban Heart” of an entire region? For the Norwegian city of Hamar, situated one hour north of the capital and beautifully by Lake Mjøsa, the answer wasn’t just about building new buildings, retail or destinations, it was about prioritizing the life in between the buildings, investing in the public realm and creating a city that works in every season.

Since 2012, Gehl has been a long-term strategic partner to the City of Hamar, giving us the opportunity to contribute to a rare urban transformation: how a decade of strategic planning, deep analysis of the public life and space, citizen engagement and investing in the public spaces of the city has turned a car-dominated downtown into a vibrant destination for families and pedestrians.

Here is a look at the “Hamar Model” and the results of this ten-year journey, as well as Gehl’s role in it. To tell us the story, we have invited Guro Vestvik, Urban Development Manager in Hamar, for a conversation. But first an attempt to describe 15 years of impressive transformations in a cohesive written piece.

The “Hamar Model”: A holistic approach

From a Gehl perspective, the core of Hamar’s success lies in its unique methodology, often referred to as the “Hamar Model”, combined with strong political will and efforts from the municipality. Instead of treating urban planning as a series of isolated construction projects, the city agreed on, and adopted, a holistic view built on four key pillars:

1. City Space & Life: Prioritizing human activity over infrastructure.
2. Connection & Mobility: Ensuring the city is easy to navigate without relying solely on cars.
3. Building & Function: Creating spaces that serve the community’s needs.
4. Dialogue & Process: Involving politicians, stakeholders, and citizens from day one.

With a political interest in developing the city center in the early 2010s, Gehl was hired to make a public space strategy for the city. The work resulted in not only a public space plan, which in itself became a powerful tool for the city, but also a process for changing mindsets. This process-led approach included workshops, feasibility studies, and public meetings, ensuring that the changes reflected the true identity and desires of the people living there.

“Working with public involvement is demanding, but I believe it pays off over time. Although it was probably the most challenging aspect because of the time it required, we would not have succeeded without it. It created a strong foundation and a sense of ownership among those we were planning for.”

Guro Vestvik, Urban Development Manager in Hamar.

Public Space and Public Life studies as a foundation for the transformation

With a focus on the life of the city, Hamar fully adopted working methods of Gehl’s working methods to collect public life and public space data and has conducted two PSPL (Public Space Public Life studies) to measure the impact of the public space improvements. Deep analyses of the city center have not only provided insight into how the city is used (or not used) but have also helped direct and prioritize investments and clarify the focus of development.

“We have invested in documentation to ensure that what we do is not left to chance.”

Guro Vestvik, Urban Development Manager in Hamar.

Diagnosing the city and setting a strategy

In 2013, Gehl conducted initial analyses to create a baseline for a Public Space Plan. The study highlighted significant issues with car dominance, lack of activity (especially a lack of offers for children and young people), shrinking retail and many empty stores and poor connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists.

The focus of the plan was on city life, public space, identity, and urban quality as the driving forces for development. This plan served as a strategic steering tool designed to strengthen the city center and move away from fragmented planning treating the city center as a coherent whole. It also ensured that new development areas were integrated into a unified city structure.

Living up to its own standard, the plan not only emphasizes the importance of utilizing workshops and feasibility studies with politicians and citizens, but was also politically approved in 2013 as a steering document for the development of the city. The broad consensus and awareness of the plan have made it a strong unifying document and, now for more than a decade, a tool for guiding priorities and investment.

“There is such strong consensus around the plan that you avoid having the same discussions over and over again. With the right groundwork in place, it helps ensure that the available resources are directed toward the right priorities.”

Guro Vestvik, Urban Development Manager in Hamar.

Measuring impact

In 2019, a follow-up Public Life Analysis was conducted to document the effects of the strategies implemented since the 2013 plan. By comparing 2019 data with the 2012 baseline, the study quantified the success of the “Hamar Model” and demonstrated that the physical changes made to the city, such as investments in several of the city’s central public spaces, new playgrounds, the removal of parking, the restoration and renovation of key historic buildings for public use, and the development of a new cultural center and library located on the main square, had created a measurable increase in activity.

2012 to 2019: A City Coming to Life

The 2019 analysis confirmed that the city had become more lively and diverse. These findings laid the groundwork for the subsequent 2020 Place Analysis and Mobility Strategy, which further aimed to establish Hamar as the “Urban Heart” of the region.

“Not doing things according to a strategic plan is simply fumbling in the dark. If we hadn’t had such clear direction, we wouldn’t have invested.”

Guro Vestvik, Urban Development Manager in Hamar.

But let us first linger a bit on the impact of a thorough engagement process, joint visioning and public life data collection. Guro points out that the political will and interest in the work of the planning department were key to setting the strategy (which was politically approved as a steering document) and establishing collaboration within the city and with private stakeholders. At the same time, she notes that the data collection has actually proven that the investment in a plan that was considered something extra, and not necessary or part of the municipality’s regular work, the public space plan, has created a lot of value and paid off.

It has led to fewer discussions along the way, because it has created a strong sense of ownership and shared knowledge without overcomplicating things. This has been the strength of the Gehl plan, in the way it clearly communicates complex matters in a simple way and creates engagement and ownership without requiring extensive professional expertise.

“Measurements have, to a high degree, shown the value of spending money on a plan that isn’t legally required. It is clear that this has saved us from many discussions along the way. The strategy has been communicated so effectively that it has been easy to build ownership of it without a great deal of professional expertise.”

Guro Vestvik, Urban Development Manager in Hamar.

A City for All Seasons: Regional plans for mobility, the 5 minute city, and place identity

To get back to the transformation journey: A standout feature of Hamar’s transformation is its refusal to let the weather dictate public life. In 2020 Gehl was hired to look outside of the city center and develop a mobility strategy and a “place analysis”. A key part of the mobility network was designing for walking and cycling specifically in dark and snowy conditions.

The goal was to bolster Hamar’s appeal as a home for young families and meet sustainability benchmarks. This meant embracing the local climate: in Hamar, a winter commute to school might involve not just cars or bikes, but toboggans. The strategy fosters a “short trip” culture, ensuring that the city center remains connected to local nodes regardless of the season.

Working in cooperation with Artelia (formerly Moe), Gehl crafted a strategy that went beyond traditional transportation boundaries to include the connections between people, destinations, and unique experiences. The process relied on robust data analysis, combining quantitative mobility counts with qualitative “sprints,” workshops, and interviews with key city actors. This led to a framework built on four strategic moves and 12 key actions designed to prioritize people-first mobility.

In parallel with the mobility strategy, a comprehensive Place Analysis (Stedsanalyse) was conducted in 2020. To achieve the vision of becoming the “Inland’s Urban Heart,” the city utilized social media analysis and mapped the “mental boundaries” of residents to understand Hamar’s identity.

As Guro describes, this analysis introduced the concept of the 5-minute city and created an understanding of how different places in the city have different purposes, as well as the importance of neighborhood life for residents’ quality of life.

The Place Analysis, paired with the Mobility Strategy, highlighted that the city’s compact nature and proximity to nature were key assets, but that congestion and the conflict between car use and pedestrian needs were key issues. In many ways, the analysis highlights the nature of many small Scandinavian cities, where proximity and access to transport modes do not necessarily go hand in hand, as one might assume. The strategy focused on providing vehicle access to the inner city without increasing congestion, balancing car use with pedestrian needs, and there is significant learning from this that can be applied to other places in Scandinavia and beyond.

Temporary to permanent

The largest development, and what Guro is most proud of (apart from the engagement process, and especially engaging young female teenagers in the planning process), and the most visible recent change, has been at Mjøsfronten, the waterfront along Lake Mjøsa. In 2013, a staggering 70% of the central harbour area was occupied by parking, cutting the city off from the water.

“Mjøsfronten is probably what I am most proud of, because we had the opportunity to test things out on such a large scale and with a great deal of freedom. We got the business community involved in the development and managed to create an enthusiasm that was so contagious, even among the contractors, that we could call someone in the evening and say, ‘I need an excavator. Can you come?’ and they would reply, ‘Yes. Yes, I’m coming.’”

Guro Vestvik, Urban Development Manager in Hamar.

In 2022, Gehl was commissioned to facilitate a process with politicians and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive public space plan and strategy for Mjøsfronten. This plan provides a vision and a holistic approach to the future development of the area’s urban spaces and public life, aimed at being implemented over the coming years. The plan has since laid the foundation for the detailed plan of the area, developed by C.F. Møller.

A key part of the strategy was the use of temporary measures (strakstiltak) as a first step. Instead of waiting for final construction, the municipality implemented immediate, temporary installations to activate the area. Although the installations**, such as F&B venues, seating, and pavilions,** were temporary, they were executed with high standards in quality, design, and materiality.** The stakeholders were local restaurant and bar owners**, who were invited to participate in the development of the area. This meant that the temporary area provided a business opportunity rather than competition.

“We were holding an event after finalizing the area, which was intended to be an internal gathering for those who had been involved. Then, three or four hundred people showed up and lined up to get in. So we simply had to open it up to everyone.”

Guro Vestvik, Urban Development Manager in Hamar.

This has paved the way for permanent changes, including new playgrounds and activity offers for children and young people. The transformation has replaced asphalt and parking with dining areas, recreational spaces, and increased public life, and has become one of the most talked-about transformations. It has turned Hamar into a destination for weekend visits and tourists and, not least, made the city center a place for its citizens: a place people use, spend time in, and visit, both on weekdays and weekends.

“It’s about being able to measure whether what you do is effective in relation to growth. Just look at the growth and the positive feedback we’ve received about the transformation of the city center…”

Guro Vestvik, Urban Development Manager in Hamar.

Looking ahead

Today, Hamar serves as a regional center for a large surrounding area. By sticking to a long-term strategy that values human experience, seasonal adaptability, and identity over asphalt, Hamar has proven that even small cities can achieve a bustling, vibrant “urban heart.” Illustrating that meaningful transformation comes from consistency, through shared vision, strong collaboration, and a willingness to test and learn over time.

As other cities face similar challenges, Hamar stands as a clear example: when you invest in public life, you don’t just change a place, you change how it is used, experienced, and valued.