Steffen: ‘A new generation of “younger” people are moving in – I wish I had more “grown up” people [as neighbours].’ Oslo, Norway
Steffen is a man in his seventies who has lived in his flat at Kampen in Oslo for twenty-two years. Originally, he is from Denmark and he lived in several flats in Oslo until he finally settled in a one-bed on the fifth floor of a block. Half of the year Steffen lives here, and the other half is spent at his nearby allotment hut, which is walking distance from the block. Steffen likes the area and thinks it’s a good place to grow old. The grocery store is located close by and he’ll be able to reach green spaces if mobility becomes an issue.
Steffen likes to keep tidy in his flat, as well as his hut. His desk is neatly organised: ‘Knick knacks’, things, tools, and documents are stored in labelled boxes, and everything seems to have its own place in his fridge. Not all neighbours are as tidy. Steffen complains that neighbours – usually young people – block the garbage chute with large pizza boxes, and don’t consider that someone needs to take care of the problem. Although this is strictly against block policy, he also says that people sometimes leave large pieces of furniture or garbage by the entrance, usually when they move. Since many of the flats in the block are small, they are occupied by first-time buyers. But once they get a partner, or have children, they move on. In his childhood, Steffen explains that families often lived in one bed flats, but today standards have changed, and people want more space. When they move, they leave things behind. Steffen sees these issues as a generational problem, where the way young people live today doesn’t harmonise with the lifestyle and concerns of elderly population living nearby, forcing them to move out of the city centre.