Parks and recreation

The statistics distinguish between two main categories of areas: recreational areas and public green spaces. These two categories overlap significantly both thematically and geographically — meaning that many parks and other areas are counted as both recreational areas and public green spaces in the statistics.

However, recreational areas and public green spaces differ in terms of data sources and methodology, and each has its own set of tables. They are thus described separately below.

1. Public Green Spaces

1.1 Public

Defined in these statistics as areas that are “publicly accessible”.

1.1 Public Green Spaces

Public green spaces include small and large parks, forests, and other green spaces within urban settlements. The requirements for such areas are that they must be green, publicly accessible, and of a certain size.

Information on which areas are green is obtained from the FKB Green Structure dataset (FKB-grønnstruktur). The classes trees, bushes, and fields (grass) are considered green. The dataset is very detailed — often, a single tree or bush is delineated as its own polygon. Polygons that are within 5 meters of each other are merged (dissolved), so that nearby green areas are considered as one continuous area.

There is no single dataset showing which areas are publicly accessible. Areas assumed to be public are therefore derived by combining various data sources.

The following areas are used to form a dataset representing what is removed from the green structure to define the public green spaces:

• Properties/plots with public affiliation — either state, municipal, or county ownership in the Cadastre (Matrikkelen), or registered as public-sector entities in the Business and Enterprise Register (BoF).

• Buildings and courtyards.

• Properties containing a residence.

• European, national, and county roads and railways — as well as areas inside or adjacent to these areas.

• Selected “undesirable” land use classes:

  • Agriculture (15, 16)

  • Sports and recreation areas (13), including golf courses and ski resorts

  • Industry, mining, extraction, and storage (14.01)

  • Airports (08.01.02.00)

  • Accommodation and food service (04.03), including campgrounds

  • Holiday housing (02), including allotment gardens

  • Emergency services (10) and Armed Forces (11) — including closed military areas, but also publicly accessible sites like Akershus Fortress and Bergenhus Fortress

  • Health and social institutions (06), except hospitals (06.01) — includes prisons

  • Partially removed: unclassified buildings and facilities (14) — only if less than half the area is trees, bushes, or grass in the FKB Green Structure. This class contains many different types of areas, including valuable green spaces.

After the above selections, only green areas meeting certain size and width thresholds are kept, to avoid including small patches of little practical value to people:

• Polygons (or parts of polygons) narrower than 8 meters are removed.

• Polygons smaller than 300 square meters are removed.

• Finally, area is summarized for “polygon clusters,” where polygons within 2 meters of each other are considered one cluster. Only clusters totaling at least 1,000 square meters are retained. Small polygons (300–1,000 m²) are less likely to be public green areas, but if several are close together, they are more likely to form a real green corridor.

1.3 Green Corridors

Green corridors are green “paths” through built-up areas that can be used for travel and provide access to other green structures. They connect green spaces within urban settlements and provide access to nature and open areas outside the built-up zone.

Green corridors are not a separate classification but are included as public green areas if they meet the criteria described above.

2. Recreational Areas and Local Hiking Areas

We distinguish between recreational areas and local hiking areas only by minimum size requirements. A recreational area must be at least 5,000 square meters (5 decares), while local hiking areas must be at least 2 square kilometers (2,000 decares).

Thus, local hiking areas can be considered a subcategory of recreational areas.

There are no nationwide mapped datasets of either recreational areas or local hiking areas. In this statistical work, such areas are identified based on their potential for recreation.

2.1 Recreational Areas

The following land types are included as recreational areas:

• Forest, open firm ground, wetlands, bare rock, gravel, block fields, parks, and sports areas (according to Statistics Norway’s standard for land classification).

• Lakes and ponds smaller than 1 decare are also included.

• Sports facilities not normally available for general recreational use are excluded.

Recreational areas are similar to public green areas, and many overlap. However, there are some differences:

To qualify as a recreational area, people must be able to move about freely and use the space for a variety of activities such as play, sports, or events. Therefore, the minimum area requirement is higher — at least 5,000 m², roughly three-quarters of a football field.

Unlike public green areas, recreational areas do not have to be green. Playgrounds with asphalt and sand are included if they are large enough or connected to a park or other recreational area.

Some land-use classes are excluded because they allow too limited use to be considered recreational areas — for example, cemeteries. In cemeteries, activities like cycling or playing ball are not allowed, which limits recreational use. For public green areas, the requirements for free use are less strict, so cemeteries are included there.

2.2 Local Hiking Areas

A local hiking area must be at least 2,000 decares (2 million m²) in size. Aside from that, they are derived in the same way as recreational areas.

Typically, only large forests around urban settlements — such as Oslomarka and Bymarka in Trondheim — are large enough to qualify as local hiking area.

2.3 Safe Access

The statistics include two types of “safe access”:

1. Safe access to recreational areas — meaning one does not have to cross roads with relatively heavy traffic or high speed limits (Annual Average Daily Traffic ≤ 3,000, speed limit ≤ 30 km/h). Railways and metro lines are also considered barriers to safe access.

2. Safe access to local hiking area — allows for higher traffic volumes and speed limits. Access is considered safe if one can travel on roads, paths, or trails without having to cross or walk along barrier roads.

Barrier criteria for local hiking area:

• ≥ 3,000 AADT and 30 km/h

• ≥ 2,000 AADT and 50 km/h

• ≥ 1,000 AADT and 70 km/h
  Railways and metro lines are also considered barriers.

2.4 Dwellings, Schools, and Kindergartens

Building points and building types from the Cadastre (Matrikkelen) are used to identify residential buildings, homes, schools, and kindergartens.

3. Park

In these statistics, park is used as a general term for green and/or recreational areas

4. Urban Settlement (Tettsted)

A cluster of houses is defined as an urban settlement if at least 200 people live there. The distance between houses should normally not exceed 50 meters, but for large buildings such as apartment blocks, industrial buildings, offices, schools, or hospitals, the distance may be up to 200 meters.

Adjacent developed areas such as parks, sports facilities, and industrial zones are included in the settlement. Clusters of at least 5 commercial or 5 residential buildings within 400 meters of the urban core are also included.

Urban settlements are delineated annually by Statistics Norway (SSB) and published as maps and statistics.

The statistics are based on established classification standards.

The geographical scope is limited to urban settlements. Data are presented by settlement, municipality, county, and for the country as a whole.

Land use is based on the Standard for land use classification.
Public entities are identified using the Standard for Institutional Sector Classification from the Business and Enterprise Register.
Residential buildings are categorized according to the Standard for Building Type (level 2), including only:

• 01 Detached house

• 02 Semi-detached house

• 03 Row/terrace house

• 04 Large residential building

• 05 Building for shared housing.

Kindergartens and schools are classified at the three-digit level of the building type standard:

• Kindergartens (612)

• Schools (613–616).