2.1.

Township Profile

Township profile consists of township maps, a brief history, geographical features,

information on climate, economy, social and religious characteristics, and regional
development.

Oslo is the capital of Norway and is known to be the most populated city in Norway.
Oslo is considered as both a county and a municipality. Norway is divided into 11 regions or
counties and were known as amter since 1918. The counties are the first-level administrative
divisions of the country and are later subdivided into 356 municipalities. The population of
Oslo as of 23 November 2020 are 697,010 which is 13% of the population of Norway with a
population density of 1645 per square kilometres. Within Oslo city’s range are 40 islands,
343 lakes and the Oslomarka forest making this city one of the greenest cities in Europe
(Metrics, n.d.).

2.1.2. Township Map

Figure 1: The area of the capital city, county and municipality at 480.75 km² (Google Earth,
2021).
 Figure 2: Satellite image of the capital city in Oslo (Google maps, 2021).

2.1.3. History

During the Viking Age the area was part of Viken. Oslo was founded as a city at the
end of the Viking Age in the year 1040 under the name Ánslo and established as a kaupstad
or trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada, the king of Norway from 1046 to 1066
(TripAdvisor, 2010). According to Michael (1965), it has been regarded as the capital city
since the reign of Haakon V of Norway (1299–1319), the first king to reside permanently in
the city. He also started constructing the Akershus Fortress and the Oslo Kongsgård. A
century later, Norway was the weaker part in a personal union with Denmark, and Oslo's role
was reduced to that of provincial administrative centre, with the monarchs residing in
Copenhagen.

In 1624, Oslo was destroyed by great fire multiple times which lasted for three days.
Hence, Christian IV (1588-1648), the king of Denmark and Norway ordered his men to build
connecting roads in Akershagen near Akershus Castle thus, rebuilt the city there and
renamed it Christiania to honour himself. Many interesting landmarks existing today were
built during the 19th century, including the Royal Palace, Storting building which is the
Parliament of Norway, University of Oslo, the National Theatre and the Stock Exchange. In
1850, Christiania overtook Bergen, which is the second largest city in Norway in the present
and became the most populated city. In 1877, the city was renamed Kristiania. However, in
1925, the original name of Oslo was restored (Alsvik, 2013). In 1948, Oslo merged with a
municipality named Aker which surrounded the city and created a modern and large Oslo
municipality.

2.1.4. Geographical Features

 According to Figure 3, Oslo is located at the northern end of Oslofjord. The Oslofjord
is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the
Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the
north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area,
which leads to the Baltic Sea. In geological terms, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep
sides or cliffs, created by a glacier (Oesterud, 2016). The Oslofjord is not a fjord in the
geological sense — in Norwegian the term fjord can refer to a wide range of waterways.

There are 40 islands and 343 lakes within the city range, the largest island is
Malmøya at 0.56 km² while the largest lake is Maridalsvannet 3.91 km². This is also a main
source of drinking water for large parts of Oslo.

Figure 3: Map of Oslofjord (Finnrind, 2007).

2.1.5. Climate

2.1.6. Religious Characteristics

2.1.7. Economy

3. Smart Governance

Smart governance is the process of utilizing modern technologies and ICT to create a
collaborative, communication-based, transparent, and sustainable environment for the
citizens and government. Smart governments can be based on four different models, namely
the Government to Citizen (G2C) model- In this approach, the government interacts with
citizens using communication mediums such as newspaper, radio, television, and the
internet. And, the government provides a platform for citizens to voice their opinions about
government policies and schemes. Government to Business (G2B) model- Government
communicates with businesses to facilitate the growth of the economy. Companies can
directly acquire knowledge about new policies, taxes, regulations, and credit facilities.
Moreover, governments promote online business practices to save time and costs, and
businesses can collect real-time data from the government. Government to government
(G2G) model- This model creates a landscape for communication between government and
government organizations, agencies and departments. The aim is to integrate all channels of
governance with the help of ICT tools for a paperless, corruption-free, and sustainable
system. Government to Employee (G2E) model- With this model, the government can
communicate with employees and companies. Furthermore, personal information of
employees such as social security number, bank details, and personal details are stored in a
government database. And, organizations can carry out employee-related tasks such as
payroll, bank loans, medical plans, and pension plans online.

Alsvik, B. (2013). Oslo commune byarkivet (Oslo City Archives). Retrieved from
https://www.oslo.kommune.no/natur-kultur-og-fritid/byarkivet/

Mapes, T. (2019). A City Profile of Oslo. Retrieved from https://www.tripsavvy.com/oslo-

norway-city-profile-1626116

Metrics, M. (n.d.). Capital Facts for Oslo, Norway. Retrieved from

https://www.worldscapitalcities.com/capital-facts-for-oslo-norway/#:~:text=Oslo's
%20population%20density%20is%204%2C268,(1%2C645%20per%20square
%20kilometer).

Michael, D. (1965). "The growth of population in Norway 1735–1855". Scandinavian

Economic History Review. 13 (2): 97–142. doi:10.1080/03585522.1965.10414366.

Oesterud, T. I. (2016). What is a Fjord, and how is it formed… Norway Today. Retrieved
from https://norwaytoday.info/travel/what-is-a-fjord-and-how-is-it-formed/

TripAdvisor. (2010). Inside Oslo: Inside. Retrieved from https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-

g190479-s1/Oslo:Norway:Inside.html

Smartcity. (2017). https://www.smartcity.press/smart-governance-for-smart-cities/