Erling Fossen
@oslourban.bsky.social
Oslopolitan dedicated to making the world a better place by strengthening our cities
Marseille observations 2: The former port area offers a lot of monumental concrete structures. Le Silo is already transformed into a highly successful event space, and not far away, the J1 - La Passerelle project is underway. These prosjects give new life to old structures and create time depth
November 15, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Marseille observations 2: The former port area offers a lot of monumental concrete structures. Le Silo is already transformed into a highly successful event space, and not far away, the J1 - La Passerelle project is underway. These prosjects give new life to old structures and create time depth
10 cities that are on my bucket list: 1. Istanbul (the Vikings called it Miklagard) 2. Shanghai 3. Tokyo 4. Arbil 5. Babylon (if I only could travel 3000 year back in time) 6. Vancouver 7. Beirut 8. Lagos 9. Medellin 10. Tbilisi. What is your bucket list @brenttoderian.bsky.social?
November 6, 2025 at 7:51 AM
10 cities that are on my bucket list: 1. Istanbul (the Vikings called it Miklagard) 2. Shanghai 3. Tokyo 4. Arbil 5. Babylon (if I only could travel 3000 year back in time) 6. Vancouver 7. Beirut 8. Lagos 9. Medellin 10. Tbilisi. What is your bucket list @brenttoderian.bsky.social?
My un-bucket list: 10 cities I will never visit. Some of them of political reasons, some of them cause there are too many cities to visit: 1. Every American city as long as Trump is president 2. DubaI 3. Moscow 4. Tel Aviv 5. Pyongyang 6. Minsk 7. Riyadh 8. Asmara 9. Monaco 10. Port-au-Prince
November 4, 2025 at 1:30 PM
My un-bucket list: 10 cities I will never visit. Some of them of political reasons, some of them cause there are too many cities to visit: 1. Every American city as long as Trump is president 2. DubaI 3. Moscow 4. Tel Aviv 5. Pyongyang 6. Minsk 7. Riyadh 8. Asmara 9. Monaco 10. Port-au-Prince
Marseille observations 1. Marseille has been developing 480 hectares of the former port area since 1995, adding a new layer to the old city. One crucial question remains: Will they manage to integrate the "new" city into the old urban fabric? So far the answer is NO @brenttoderian.bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Marseille observations 1. Marseille has been developing 480 hectares of the former port area since 1995, adding a new layer to the old city. One crucial question remains: Will they manage to integrate the "new" city into the old urban fabric? So far the answer is NO @brenttoderian.bsky.social
22 of Oslos finest urbanists recently visited Marseille. Observations will follow @zelandmark.bsky.social
October 10, 2025 at 9:58 AM
22 of Oslos finest urbanists recently visited Marseille. Observations will follow @zelandmark.bsky.social
Naples observations 5: In Quarteri Spagnoli, the average width of the streets is 3 meters only. Not exactly fire-friendly, but it creates miracles for street life. The entire area is 0.8 km², and is inhabited by 14,000 people, stretching uphill. #urbanism+ @brenttoderian.bsky.social
September 9, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Naples observations 5: In Quarteri Spagnoli, the average width of the streets is 3 meters only. Not exactly fire-friendly, but it creates miracles for street life. The entire area is 0.8 km², and is inhabited by 14,000 people, stretching uphill. #urbanism+ @brenttoderian.bsky.social
Naples observations 4: Naples metro stations are like the rest of the city; it goes from heaven to hell in the blink of an eye. The stations range from Toledo - the most beautiful metro station in Europe, to the station at Centro direzionale di Napoli #Urbanist+ @brenttoderian.bsky.social
September 7, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Naples observations 4: Naples metro stations are like the rest of the city; it goes from heaven to hell in the blink of an eye. The stations range from Toledo - the most beautiful metro station in Europe, to the station at Centro direzionale di Napoli #Urbanist+ @brenttoderian.bsky.social
Naples Observations 3: One of the characteristic features of Naples is the dark Vesuvian paving stone. The surface is not always natural; on some stretches, the dings and impressions come from hammers and chisels to create a less slippery surface when wet. Drinking in the rain is hazardous.
September 5, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Naples Observations 3: One of the characteristic features of Naples is the dark Vesuvian paving stone. The surface is not always natural; on some stretches, the dings and impressions come from hammers and chisels to create a less slippery surface when wet. Drinking in the rain is hazardous.
Naples observations 2: Diego Maradona is still the God of Naples. When Naples won their first Serie A Championship in may 1987 the city exploded: "May 1987, the other Italy has been defeated. A new empire is born". Poor south have beaten the rich north (Juventus, Milan, Inter).
September 4, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Naples observations 2: Diego Maradona is still the God of Naples. When Naples won their first Serie A Championship in may 1987 the city exploded: "May 1987, the other Italy has been defeated. A new empire is born". Poor south have beaten the rich north (Juventus, Milan, Inter).
Naples observations 1: On his italian journey, Goethe said Naples was "paradise populated with devils. Few cities have bigger contrast between rich and poor, the beautiful and the ugly. The multitude is Naples biggest asset: Behind every trace of present poverty there is a glimpse of past wealth
September 4, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Naples observations 1: On his italian journey, Goethe said Naples was "paradise populated with devils. Few cities have bigger contrast between rich and poor, the beautiful and the ugly. The multitude is Naples biggest asset: Behind every trace of present poverty there is a glimpse of past wealth
LA Observations 4: Where are all the people in LA after dark when nobody walks the streets? Universal Studios Hollywood, of course. Privatized fun when real life is too dangerous.
May 16, 2025 at 7:19 PM
LA Observations 4: Where are all the people in LA after dark when nobody walks the streets? Universal Studios Hollywood, of course. Privatized fun when real life is too dangerous.
LA Observations 3. People that use the metro rail in LA are either mad, bad or from out of town. We took the B-line from North Hollywood to Union Square during rush hour (empty) and the E-line in peak hour Saturday from Santa Monica to Little Tokyo (almost empty, exept from tourists and homeless).
March 24, 2025 at 6:31 PM
LA Observations 3. People that use the metro rail in LA are either mad, bad or from out of town. We took the B-line from North Hollywood to Union Square during rush hour (empty) and the E-line in peak hour Saturday from Santa Monica to Little Tokyo (almost empty, exept from tourists and homeless).
LA observations:
2. Downtown is dead. Even the monumental City Hall is surrounded with homeless camps. LA is a doughnut, nothing in the middle, surrounded with the good stuff. There are small pockets with urban life - like Little Tokyo - but try to walk down town by night. If you dare.
2. Downtown is dead. Even the monumental City Hall is surrounded with homeless camps. LA is a doughnut, nothing in the middle, surrounded with the good stuff. There are small pockets with urban life - like Little Tokyo - but try to walk down town by night. If you dare.
March 23, 2025 at 10:24 AM
LA observations:
2. Downtown is dead. Even the monumental City Hall is surrounded with homeless camps. LA is a doughnut, nothing in the middle, surrounded with the good stuff. There are small pockets with urban life - like Little Tokyo - but try to walk down town by night. If you dare.
2. Downtown is dead. Even the monumental City Hall is surrounded with homeless camps. LA is a doughnut, nothing in the middle, surrounded with the good stuff. There are small pockets with urban life - like Little Tokyo - but try to walk down town by night. If you dare.
Here are some observations from my trip to Los Angeles:
1. LA is not a city; it is a suburban agglomeration. No readable structures, no principles for densification. Around every corner, you can find suburban residential areas. If you walk, you are either "mad, bad or from outer town".
1. LA is not a city; it is a suburban agglomeration. No readable structures, no principles for densification. Around every corner, you can find suburban residential areas. If you walk, you are either "mad, bad or from outer town".
March 22, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Here are some observations from my trip to Los Angeles:
1. LA is not a city; it is a suburban agglomeration. No readable structures, no principles for densification. Around every corner, you can find suburban residential areas. If you walk, you are either "mad, bad or from outer town".
1. LA is not a city; it is a suburban agglomeration. No readable structures, no principles for densification. Around every corner, you can find suburban residential areas. If you walk, you are either "mad, bad or from outer town".
Maybe it’s time for France to reclaim the Statue of liberty since US is no longer a liberal democracy?
March 17, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Maybe it’s time for France to reclaim the Statue of liberty since US is no longer a liberal democracy?
Hvordan skal naboene i Skippergata forholde seg til rusmiljøet? "Det holder med å være medmenneske" sier gründeren bak Spor av Nord. Hør episoden i podden Kantsonen her:
open.spotify.com/episode/2S2A...
open.spotify.com/episode/2S2A...
På kant med hverandre, eller byen for alle
Kantsonen · Episode
open.spotify.com
March 3, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Hvordan skal naboene i Skippergata forholde seg til rusmiljøet? "Det holder med å være medmenneske" sier gründeren bak Spor av Nord. Hør episoden i podden Kantsonen her:
open.spotify.com/episode/2S2A...
open.spotify.com/episode/2S2A...
The Day that American Democracy died. RIP
March 1, 2025 at 12:38 AM
The Day that American Democracy died. RIP
Isn’t is ironic that US want to deport all immigrants, since they Are a country filled with only immigrants? Are the indigenous people behind this masterplan?
February 17, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Isn’t is ironic that US want to deport all immigrants, since they Are a country filled with only immigrants? Are the indigenous people behind this masterplan?
J.D. Vance said in his first speech on European soil that our biggest threat is from mass migration. Not the war with Russia? Our prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said after the speech "I didn´t applaud cause there was nothing to applaud". Our biggest treat is the zombies in the White House
February 14, 2025 at 8:07 PM
J.D. Vance said in his first speech on European soil that our biggest threat is from mass migration. Not the war with Russia? Our prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said after the speech "I didn´t applaud cause there was nothing to applaud". Our biggest treat is the zombies in the White House
Dear BlueSky-friends. Norwegian media is obsessed with the new Trump government. They are using both references to nazism og fascism to describe the rise of a new totalitarian regime in the US. Is it only Norwegians (and to some extent Europeans) that are that concerned?
February 13, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Dear BlueSky-friends. Norwegian media is obsessed with the new Trump government. They are using both references to nazism og fascism to describe the rise of a new totalitarian regime in the US. Is it only Norwegians (and to some extent Europeans) that are that concerned?
Urban fact about Oslo #3: Everyone believes that Oslo´s peer group is Copenhagen and Stockholm. It´s not. We look to Vancouver and Seattle. Same size, same climate, same attitude. @brenttoderian.bsky.social
January 28, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Urban fact about Oslo #3: Everyone believes that Oslo´s peer group is Copenhagen and Stockholm. It´s not. We look to Vancouver and Seattle. Same size, same climate, same attitude. @brenttoderian.bsky.social
Urban Fact about Oslo #2: 2/3 of the Oslopolitans voted YES to EU in the referendum both in 1972 and 94. Oslo is not Norway ⛄️
January 11, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Urban Fact about Oslo #2: 2/3 of the Oslopolitans voted YES to EU in the referendum both in 1972 and 94. Oslo is not Norway ⛄️
Breaking news. The Norwegian Oil fund is preparing a bid to buy California. Gavin Newsom is willing to accept the bid. He says in a comment that californian values is more aligned with Norwegian values than Trumps
January 8, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Breaking news. The Norwegian Oil fund is preparing a bid to buy California. Gavin Newsom is willing to accept the bid. He says in a comment that californian values is more aligned with Norwegian values than Trumps
Urban fact about Oslo: 1/3 of all travels are made by foot
December 28, 2024 at 6:44 PM
Urban fact about Oslo: 1/3 of all travels are made by foot
Benjamin Barber once asked: What if mayors ruled the world? Shouldn’t we continue to ask the same question in our troubled world?
December 22, 2024 at 1:39 PM
Benjamin Barber once asked: What if mayors ruled the world? Shouldn’t we continue to ask the same question in our troubled world?