Frøya: ‘Something that is odd and sometimes a bit unpleasant about living at Enerhaugen is that it feels a bit like a white, privileged enclave, surrounded by some poverty and misery.’ Oslo, Norway
After splitting with her partner, Frøya moved into a one-bedroom flat in a block in Enerhaugen, Oslo. Her ex-partner remained living outside of the city, so it was important for Frøya to live close by the train station to coordinate childcare. She thinks the flat is good for the time being, but with only one bedroom it will be difficult to live there once her son gets older. From her window in the block, Frøya can see the social housing blocks at Grønland, which she describes in one of the postcards. One block is quite ugly — the building has blue window fixtures, yellow and red ornaments, and a red roof. Is the block used for social housing? Frøya is not sure, but the view from her window makes her reflect on her position within the larger borough. ‘A white, privileged, enclave’: this is how Frøya describes her block. When asked to reflect on the view from her window, she draws attention to the complexity at play within a borough undergoing gentrification, with different groups of people living next to one another.