AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.04.2002, Blaðsíða 19

Grafarholt og Úlfarsfell.
Organization of Reykjavík, financial firms and institu-
tions, committees, and city departments.
At the beginning of 1998, the development policy was
divided into two parts: Administration and Planning. A
special City Center District Council was established to
be in charge of administration, and the Planning
Department of Reykjavík was put in charge of planning
aspects. The preparation of a developmental policy for
the city centre is a pioneering undertaking in this coun-
try and a new approach based on established practices
in neighbouring countries, especially in Britian. Many
people participated in this project, which originated in
fepresentatives of Laugavegur’s interested parties col-
iaborating on research of area shopping and services.
The English consultants came from a known British
consultancy, and their main consultant was the archi-
tect Richard Abrams, who has previously worked in
lceland. Another consultant, specialist Jim Morrisey,
took part in the financial, organisational, and social
aspects of the policy. In the City Planning Department,
Hafdís Hafliöadóttir, former City Centre Area Manager
and presently the Planning Officer in Hafnarfjöröur, and
,r>gibjörg Guölaugsdottir, Department Head, were
largely instrumental in getting this work on track and
acted as liaison officers between the consultants and
the deputies of the interested parties in the beginning.
This part was later taken over by Anna Margrét
Guðjónsdóttir, the current cultural representative of
Reykjavík, who finished this work as project manager,
organised steering groups and the final publication.
During this final stage, close cooperation with the State
Planning Institute was important and the same applies
to the legal aspects of the policy.
At a later stage Jóhannes Kjarval, City Centre Area
Manager, and Helga Bragadóttir, Division Manager for
local plans and the present City Planner, joined the
working group along with her area managers and ívar
Pálsson, attorney of the City Plannning Department.
During the planning process, the work was regularly
presented to the Planning and Traffic Committee (now
the Planning and Building Committee) and to residents
in pamphlets and leaflets. City Council Steinunn Valdís
Óskarsdóttir, who is a member of the Executive
Committee of the City Council and a member of the
Building Committee, as well as the City Centre Council,
was in charge of the working group during the final
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