Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.08.2017, Page 22

22 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 15 — 2017
“I moved away from downtown be-
cause I started feeling like I was living
in a theme park, or a zoo,” says Grímur
Jón Sigurðsson. In 2012, he bought an
apartment on Laugavegur in the heart
of Reykjavík. That year 673,000 tour-
ists visited the country, last year they
numbered 1,767,726. “As an Icelander I
feel like people are paying to see me in
my natural habitat, but there is noth-
ing natural about it. 101 Reykjavík has
become a society that is supposed to
represent Iceland, but it isn’t real,” he
states.
Downtown—the infamous 101
post code—has always been an escape
from Reykjavík. The city, as a whole,
was mainly built for cars, with large
single-family homes and the endless
suburban sprawl that reaches far into
the lava fields on the outskirts; but the
old centre has always been different. It
has the highest population density of
any area in the country and with ser-
vices, restaurants, bars and museums
within walking distance, it has been
the only taste of big city European life
in Iceland. But in recent years, it has
Welcome To
THEME
PARK 101
Impossible prices, citizen flight
and the audacity of hope
By: Elías Þórsson
Composite Photo:
Reykjavik Street
by iStock, Boy
photographed by
Axel Sig,
Box made by
Julia Mai
101 Reykjavík has always been the beating cultural
heart of Iceland; it is where Björk became a star,
where Iceland Airwaves is held and where you
go for a Bæjarins Beztu hot dog. But in recent
years it has undergone dramatic changes,
with skyrocketing real estate prices,
private rental companies and a boom-
ing tourism industry, turning it into
a different beast entirely, and
many of its residents are
not happy.