This World Habitat Day, we are happy to welcome to a discussion of one of the defining challenges of our time: climate adaptation in cities along coasts and rivers.
Habitat Norway, together with GRID-Arendal, SDI. (Slum Dwellers International) and Osloregionen – Oslo Region Alliance invite you to Arkitektenes Hus in Oslo for an evening of international perspectives, Norwegian experiences, and public debate on climate adaptation, housing, and community resilience.
📅 5 October 2026 | 17:00-20:00
📍 Arkitektenes Hus, Josefines gate 34, Oslo
🖼️ The exhibition “Ecologies of Belonging” by PhD Vija Viese will be open and accessible throughout the day.
Across communities in Angola, Sierra Leone, Kenya, India and Norway – what does meaningful public participation look like in practice, and how can residents play a stronger role in shaping climate adaptation measures?
We welcome contributions from:
• Allan Cain, Development Workshop Angola
• Kamila Gojobe, Slum Dwellers International Kenya
• Vija Viese, NTNU
• Charlotte Aune Bryne, Osloregionen – Oslo Region Alliance
• Synne Movik, NMBU
• Herman Søndenaa, MDG
We hope to see you there!
About
* Physical and digital seminar
Climate change affects cities and communities where people live, whether in Nepal, Kenya or along the decaying Oslo Fjord. In coastal and riverine areas, flooding, erosion, pollution, housing pressures, and social inequalities increasingly intersect, creating new challenges for planning, development, and climate adaptation.
On World Habitat Day 2026, Habitat Norway, GRID Arendal, Slum Dwellers International and Osloregionen invite friends and colleagues to Arkitektenes Hus to explore how locally led planning can help create safer, more resilient, and more inclusive communities. Drawing on experiences from Angola, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Norway, we will discuss how communities can play a stronger role in climate adaptation and how local government, researchers and civil society organizations can work together more effectively.
The programme combines international case studies, Norwegian perspectives, and a public debate on some of the most pressing questions facing coastal and river communities today. Speakers include<
– Allan Cain, Director, Development Workshop Angola
– Kamila Gojobe, community organizer and national youth leader, Slumdwellers International SDI Kenya
– Vija Viese urban designer and PhD candidate in the department for Architecture and Planning at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
– Charlotte Aune Bryne, Climate and Environmental Planner, on behalf of the Oslo Region Alliance
– Synne Movik, Researcher, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU
– Herman Søndenaa, The Green Party of Norway (MDG)
Key questions:
– Should environmental protection and climate adaptation carry greater weight than the need for new housing, economic growth and defence preparedness as land-use conflicts intensify?
– Are municipalities responding quickly enough to climate risks, and what difficult decisions must be made today to reduce future costs and vulnerabilities?
– How can locally led approaches strengthen both climate resilience and the right to adequate housing in vulnerable communities?
– What does meaningful public participation look like in practice, and how can residents play a stronger role in shaping climate adaptation measures?