3.3.6. The standards of Svartlamo(e)n

3.3.6. The Standards of Svartlamo(e)n

Svartlamo(e)n is known for being an experimental area, where you can rent as long as you want and still feel like you are owning the house you live in. This is a vastly different living situation compared to the regular renting market in Norway. Normally there are a lot of restrictions in the rental contracts; like not being allowed to hang stuff on the walls and restricting personalization of the house in general. This is not the case in Svartlamo(e)n and Mellamon.

The prices are also vastly different. At Mellamon, the one-bedroom apartments will have a monthly rent of 6 800 kroner, and the family apartments will have a monthly rent of 9 700 kroner at (Svartlamo(e)n, 2021). Kathrine the head of the housing organization, told the groups that the normal renting cost at Svartlamo(e)n is 74 kroner per square meter, this is exceptionally low. She also noted that a 45 square meter space can be rented for under 5000 kroner, but it’s often with a shared toilet solution. Compared to the median rent prices in Trondheim which is close to 9 000 kroner for a one-bedroom apartment, and close to 14 000 kroner for a 3-bedroom family apparent. This difference in renting prices could mean a lot for a family and could give them up to 50 thousand more to spend over a year, thinking about economic freedom this is crucial for families with less income (Svartlamon boligstiftelse, 2021a).

The group visited Svartlamo(e)n on separate occasions in pursuit of getting closer to the inhabitants and getting to know the area better from the inside and there were also interviews conducted during trips to Svartlamo(e)n. In one of the interviews, some residents invited the group in to see how the toilet solutions worked. It was displayed that there was a small bathroom with showers and a toilet, shared by 13 people. The standard of the bathroom was not what was excepted considering 13 people use the same bathroom, but they said it worked for them and that they are happy with the situation. To get to this common toilet we had to go through the back yard of the block, which we believed to be kind of messy like the rest of Svartlamo(e)n, with a lot of repurposed trash used as artsy relics and decorations. The whole area feels slightly untraditional in the way of using leftovers from construction as seating and decorations, but also adds to their anarchistic way of living and represents their laid-back mindset.

Figure 31: New Upcycled Housing, Sara Hafezi