Rødberg

Rødberg is located between the historic rural centres ‘Nore’ and ‘Uvdal’. It is very much defined by its significant hydropower production plant, implemented in the 1920s. Before the hydropower development, the entire Numedal was a farming and woodland region. Hydropower production, farming and tourism now dominate the local economy. The hydropower plant Nore I is located in Rødberg, while the farmland areas are distributed along the Numedal valley. ‘Nore og Uvdal’ is a popular tourist destination, hosting 4000 second-homes counting up to 20.000 second-home dwellers during weekends and holidays. This has nevertheless a limited impact on the economy of Rødberg, which has not succeeded in creating attractions for the leisure time population of the area. 

Rødberg developed from a settlement of two farms into an industrial community and is today the administrative and commercial centre of Nore og Uvdal. Despite a growing number of second home dwellers, Nore og Uvdal is facing a decline in its permanent population. Skilful coordination of local production, assisted by technology and investment definitely has potential for lifting Rødberg to a level of more dynamism in terms of economic and social productivity. 

Rødberg must release a new strategy for advertising its hidden potential and unique resources where the rural and urban overlap. Nore og Uvdal municipality has a solid economy and political will to implement such a strategy for a more prosperous and attractive Rødberg.

The main task is to create an overall spatial plan for the project site. The plan must show an infrastructural solution for the central areas of Rødberg that ensures the flow of all activities in the town centre, resulting in a better-connected town centre as a whole, and a more attractive main street for recreational and productive purposes. The overall plan must show improved connectivity and mobility between the following areas:

1. The main street

2. The railway station and the leisure park area

3. The Shore side area of the Uvdal river and the Rødberg Dam

The strategy should answer the question: How to obtain a more dynamic town centre of Rødberg in terms of economic and social productiveness? There is an urge to identify realisable projects lifting the attractiveness of Rødberg, and a need to establish a programmatic strategy for future development. The strategy should take into consideration the different parties who have an interest in the town centre and enable the local community to engage in the transformation of their surroundings. The competitors can decide how to visualise the strategy. The strategy should emphasize the following:

• Define a variation of programmes and projects that can be implemented: both low threshold implementations in short term perspective and large investments with a long-term perspective.
• Define development in different stages. Some initiatives may be implemented simultaneously.