The ‘garden city’ in the green infrastructure of the future: learning from the past

Contemporary urban development takes place mainly in already built areas. The article’s objective is to examine how towns on the outskirts of large cities can use and revitalise green areas and the urban heritage of garden cities to contribute to filling the societal demand for building sustainable cities. Lillestrøm, a former garden city on the outskirts of Oslo, Norway’s capital, is used as the starting point to discuss how learning from the past can provide a foundation for developing new solutions. The case study was carried out as a DIVE analysis by using qualitative methods to describe the town’s cultural environments, their characteristics, and heritage assets. The analysis is supplemented with practical advice. Local planners need convincing arguments to promote urban heritage and green infrastructure as resources in sustainable urban development in a time of accelerating densification and climate change.