AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.03.2004, Blaðsíða 23

Helguvík, skipulag. / Helguvík, Development Plan.
Reykjanesbær
A Continuation
Capital Area
Árni Sigfússon, Mayor
„How many people live within a 45-
minute commute from Helguvík?"
This was an important question
asked by the directors of a foreign
company, exploring the possibility of
running a factory ín the Industrial
Estate of Helguvík, in Reykjanesbær.
Their question addressed the ease in
possibly operating a 100-man factory
in this location. The answer was
carefully deducted,“170,000 people!"
Icelanders’ realm of experience is
unfortunately not used to such dis-
tances in commuting. We talk about
the capital area and the countryside.
After a 20-minute drive from down-
town Reykjavík, one starts to look for
„the countryside"!
My prediction is that within not too
many decades, lcelanders will view
this issue with the same eyes as
larger nations. The difficulty is that
the nation does not have many
of the
decades with which to examine this
problem. We have the intelligence
and maturity to think of this now. We
have the strength to immediately
react. If we wait too long, the
inevitable will be that much more
costly. The beautiful and precious
coastline of the greater capital area
will certainly become the most
attractive housing area for families.
Harbours and industrial areas in
urban districts, pressed hard by
heavy transport needs that go
through residential areas or cut entire
areas into parts, will call for reloca-
tion with much expense. We have
the opportunity to decide whether
we have to ask in the future who on
earth planned these congested
areas. We have still the opportunity
to do this correctly.
Large industrial and high-activity
areas with powerful harbours have to
be located outside dense residential
areas so that they will not be
enclosed by further development.
Such an opportunity is now available
both towards the west and north of
the capital area, in Helguvík and
Grundartangi. We are speaking of
only a 30-40 minute drive from the
centre of the capital.Therein lies the
opportunity for the Industrial Estate in
Helguvík.
Hundreds of hectares of very build-
able land lies between the interna-
tional airport and the harbour. It is
still possible to keep this area at a
suitable distance from the housing
area where necessary. One has also
the opportunity to keep this area out
of the main route of travellers on their
way to the capital, the Blue Lagoon
or southern lceland. We can still
keep the views we want, the condi-
tions needed for varied industries,
and the high-activity areas with a
long future.
The Industrial Estate in Helguvík and
a continuous area to Keflavík Airport
create a unique opportunity for the
surrounding municipalities. By this I
mean not only the surrounding
towns, but the entire capital area.
Architect Guðmundur Jónsson has
laid the groundwork of the detail
plan of the Industrial Estate in
Helguvík in correspondance with
what has been said above. His plan
seeks to create opportunities for
diverse activities, keep open possibil-
ities for expansion, and separate
heavy traffic from business traffic. A
plan has also been drawn up for the
development of the region for the
next 20 years. Care has been taken
in creating a breathing space
between the residential area, the
Industrial Estate in Helguvík and
Keflavík Airport, with defined outdoor
areas. Many hundreds of hectares of
land await the opportunity to service
an international shipping harbour,
international airport and a secure
highway to and from the capital area.
All electrical power generation in the
region will of course be green ener-
gy, from the geo-thermal
drillholes of Reykjanes. The
Reykjanes residents offer this area
for reasonable and common use. It is
undoubtedly to the advantage of all
our countrymen to open this area
and utilise it for common urban
development in the following years
and decades. ■
Q vs 21