Monocle writes:
Oslo sits at ease with both its heritage and new role as a hyper-modern green capital – a self-assuredness that sees it finish above Stockholm this year (förlåt!). Decades of ambitious harbour-side developments are now complete. Known collectively as Fjord City, they have fully opened up the waterfront and transformed the Norwegian capital into an outward-facing city. The centrepiece is Bjørvika and the twin architectural gems of the Opera House and the Munch Museum. Fornebubanen, a major expansion of the metro system, will soon link the city centre with the rapidly expanding Fornebu peninsula in the west, once home to Oslo airport – another example of city hall furthering growth through electric public transport rather than roads.

The electrification of public transport now includes quiet ferries to islands in the Oslo fjord. Thanks to other green-infrastructure initiatives such as carbon capture and storage from the city’s waste-incineration plant, Norway’s capital could even achieve its highly ambitious goal of cutting emissions by 95 per cent by 2030.

Here, it’s not uncommon to see children travelling alone on trams, the metro or buses – a result of the city’s enviably low crime rates, which are below the European average and among the lowest in this survey. There are signs too that stories of Oslo’s impressive regeneration and safe, comfortable living are finally reaching more people beyond Norway’s borders. Visitor numbers are up – helped, perhaps, by the films of Joachim Trier, including the Oscar-winning Sentimental Value, which paint an appealing and intriguing picture of Oslo. So is the number of start-ups, though the city still lags behind the other Scandinavian capitals in scale and ambition.

Almost all of those who call Oslo home live less than 300 metres from a green space. Commuters increasingly choose to walk or cycle to work, where they typically spend 37 hours a week (when they’re not enjoying some of their five-week annual holiday allowance). Oslo’s small size is both attractive and a drawback: it will never be a global capital magnet. But it has proven to be big enough to produce unicorns and to finish 10th in our survey.

Adopt: A push to attract more international companies and secure better funding avenues for promising start-ups.

Drop: The flyover casting a shadow over the vibrant Grønland area – a remnant of a long-gone ring road.

Population: 730,000 (1.5 million in the metropolitan area)

Average hours of sunshine per year: 1,668

Bicycle modal share: 7 per cent

Urban green space: 48 per cent

Cost of monthly travel card: NOK2,198 (€202)

Number of international destinations served by the city’s airports: 122

See full article