Our Tier 1 Cities
CITY OF KRISTIANSAND
Kristiansand in Norway
Kristiansand is the administrative, business and cultural centre of Southern Norway. A modern city with a cosmopolitan history, the Kristiansand region is the fastest growing region in Norway. The Kristiansand region is the leading region in Norway in the export of processed goods, primarily to the oil- and gas industries. The region also has an extensive processing industry, producing silicon, silicon carbide and nickel. The industrial expansion has led to related study programmes at the regional university, University of Agder, e.g. both master degree and doctoral programmes in Mechatronics and renewable energy.
The city has a strong cultural scene and was awarded by the Norwegian cultural authority as the Norwegian Cultural City in 2007. Kristiansand is home to Norway’s biggest tourist attraction Kristiansand Zoo, including a zoo, amusement park, water park and overnight accommodation inside the park.
Kristiansand in Europe
Historically, Kristiansand has been a busy international shipping port, a role that is still emphasised by the growing number of companies supplying personnel, equipment and services to the North Sea oil industry and the rest of the world. Kristiansand is well connected internationally both in terms of transport and industry.
KRISTIANSAND AND RESILIENCE
Planning Kristiansand
Kristiansand plans to develop a framework for efficient and timely communication between responders, industries and the public. Furthermore, the city requires resilience and vulnerability frameworks that comprise critical infrastructures and vital services that are essential for the well-being of our community.
Stress tests for infrastructures and services that raise risk and situation awareness will also be helpful. By doing so, the city is not only prepared for individual disasters, but for a failure of services such as power blackouts or transportation disruptions.
The tools developed by the Smart Mature Resilience project will be piloted, implemented and evaluated in Kristiansand in cooperation with Kristiansand’s partner research institution, the University of Adger.
Resilience Goals
Through developing its resilience, Kristiansand plans to equip its community, industries, environment and organizations to adapt to challenges in terms of trends such as rising sea levels and shocks such as extreme weather events. The city plans to adapt to a changing climate, with sea level rise a particular concern along with hurricanes, extreme precipitation, drought and floods.
The city wishes to develop thematic maps according to demographic and infrastructural variables to help develop the capability for self-analysis. Finally, the city wishes to learn how to build resilience of cooperation between complex social systems.
Resilience Engagement
Kristiansand received an award from the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection for its excellent preparedness and risk assessment
City factsheet
Population (city)
Population (metropolitan area)
Area
Municipalities
Approx. 87 000
Approx. 135 000
277 km2
Søgne, Songdalen, Iveland, Vennesla, Birkenes, Lillesand and Kristiansand
Geography of surrounding area
Woodlands, farmland, archipelago, fjords and mountains
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 653569.